Russia revives the old brand Moskvich
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Russia revives the old brand Moskvich
- The Russian Moskvich brand (based in Moscow) produced cars from 1946 to 2001. These mid-range cars were positioned in the hierarchy of Russian cars between the ZAZ (Zaporojet) of the lower price range and the GAZ (Volga) of the upper price range.
- The Moscow plant was supplemented in the 1970s - with the help of Renault - by a second plant in Izhevsk, which doubled the brand's capacity (from 150,000 units to 300,000 units) and reached a production peak of 315,000 units in 1976. Production of older Moskvich models slumped until 2001, increasingly competed by Lada models (AvtoVAZ Group) in the same market segment.
- Then the Moscow plant was bought by Renault and modernized, creating the Avtoframos company. This company will produce Renault vehicles in Moscow from 2005 to 2022, mainly cars with Dacia original parts (Logan, Sandero, Duster). The production volume of Avtoframos increased until 2013, reaching a production peak of 200,000 units in that year. As AvtoVAZ was acquired by Renault in 2013, production of the Logan and Sandero was moved from Moscow to Togliatti (AvtoVAZ's production site), dividing by two the production volume in Moscow.
- After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Renault's operations in Russia ceased and the Moscow and Togliatti plants were sold. Today, Avtoframos is renamed Moskvitch and the Moscow plant will produce new models marketed under the name Moskvitch 3, derived from the Chinese SUV JAC JS4 (C-segment). Moskvitch plans to produce 50,000 cars in 2023, 10,000 of which will be electric. New models will be added to the product range in 2024.
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Ssangyong has found a new buyer
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Ssangyong has found a new buyer
- Korean automaker Ssangyong avoids bankruptcy for the third time, this time thanks to the takeover by the South Korean family consortium KG Group, which specializes in chemicals and steel. The South Korean authorities have thus found a local solution, preventing a takeover by a foreign company, such as China's SAIC (after the first bankruptcy) or India's Mahindra (after the second bankruptcy). South Korean authorities believe that it is easier to continue the Ssangyong brand with the help of a local buyer.
- Ssangyong has a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year in South Korea. However, in 2021, production volume was very low (82 000 units) and has fallen to almost half of its capacity.
- The current model range is reduced to four models, all of which are SUVs: Tivoli (B-segment), Korando (C-segment), Rexton (D-segment) and Torres, the recently unveiled new SUV for the D-segment that will gradually replace the Rexton. The Torres has been very well received in the South Korean market and in exports, and already allows the brand to greatly increase its sales in 2022 compared to 2021 (over 110,000 units). Without the Torres, Ssangyong's sales would have fallen to 60,000 units by 2022.
- Ssangyong had accumulated six years of debt totaling $267 million, which had been reimbursed or was about to be reimbursed by the KG Group consortium. Like the previous candidate (Edison Motors) to acquire Ssangyong, the KG Group consortium has claimed that the future of the Korean brand will be electric. Ssangyong's first electric SUV is expected to hit the market in 2023.
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European Passenger cars market has partially cached up its shortfall since fall 2022
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European Passenger cars market has partially cached up its shortfall since fall 2022
- The European market (29 countries: EU+ UK + Norway + Sweden) for passenger cars (PC) recorded a decline in the first seven months of 2022 compared to the first seven months of 2021: -2.4% in January, -5.5% in February, -18.9% in March, -20.2% in April, -12.6% in May, -16.9% in June, -10.5% in July, with the total of the seven months recording a decline of 13.3% compared to the first seven months of 2021. The reason for this decline is said to be supply shortages that have forced carmakers to fill orders later than planned, resulting in delivery delays and longer lead times. These supply disruptions are said to be a result of semiconductor shortages in the market and the impact of the war in Ukraine on car wiring.
- Since August 2022, there has been a slight improvement in the situation: Car registrations increased by +3.4% in August, +7.9% in September and +14% in October. Since the end of the summer, a (partial) catching-up process has been evident, making it possible to limit the decline of the European market (29 countries) for passenger cars to -9.8% in the cumulative nine months of 2022 and -7.9% in the cumulative ten months of 2022.
- At this pace, the European market (29 countries) for passenger cars could end the year with a -4% decline in registrations.
- The most worrying point is light commercial vehicles, whose sales will slump by 2022 (-20.4% in the 10 months) and which currently have not really caught up (-21.9% in the 3 months, -23.9% in the 6 months, -20.9% in the 9 months). This decrease in light commercial vehicle sales could be related to the decline in economic activity in Europe, which has been observed since the beginning of the year and represents a real risk of recession according to the European Commission.
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Toyota launches the fifth generation of the Prius
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Toyota launches the fifth generation of the Prius
- Toyota Prius was the pioneer among cars with hybrid drive (gasoline-electric drive) from 1997. It has gone through four generations so far (1997, 2003, 2009, 2015) and was joined by the Prius C (more compact C-segment version) and the Prius Plus (station wagon version of the Prius) in 2011 and the Prius Prime (plug-in hybrid) in 2012. The Prius C and Prime have their own life cycle and different generations, which we will not talk about here. The Prius Plus, on the other hand, has only seen one generation and has not been replaced due to its moderate success.
- The original Toyota Prius (non-rechargeable hybrid) grew in popularity until 2012, peaking at 600,000 units per year, up from 200,000 in 2006, 300,000 in 2008, and 500,000 in 2010, at which time the complementary models (Prius C, Prius Plus, Prius Prime) were launched, gradually reducing sales of the original Prius. Most importantly, however, the gradual expansion of hybrid powertrains at Toyota (Yaris, Corolla, CHR, Camry, RAV4, etc.) has significantly diminished the influence of the Prius, not to mention competition from hybrid cars from other brands (especially Korean carmakers), competition from foreign plug-in hybrid cars, and, of course, competition from battery electric vehicles entering the global market.
- By 2022, Toyota Prius production has fallen to less than 100,000 units, down from 200,000 in 2018, 300,000 in 2017, and 400,000 in 2016. The new generation, to be unveiled in late 2022 and launched in early 2023, must try to revive the career of a model that marked its time but is now under severe pressure.
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Chinese passenger car market grows strongly in the first 10 months of 2022
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Chinese passenger car market grows strongly in the first 10 months of 2022
- China records a strong increase in new car registrations in 2022, despite a rather weak economic growth at the moment (this year it is not expected to exceed 3-4%), due to the slowdown in Chinese and global demand (especially in China due to the "zero covid" policy and generally globally due to the war in Ukraine): +14.0% for the cumulative 10 months of 2022 compared to the cumulative 10 months of 2021, compared to +9.1% for the first quarter of 2022, +3.5% for the 2022 half year period, due to a disastrous April following the return of the Covid 19 crisis, and +14.4% for the 9 months period of 2022 thanks to a catch-up in June, July, August and September 2022.
- We are expecting for the end of the year a volume of 24 million passenger cars sold in China, which would be above the volume of 2018, 2019, 2020 or 2021. However, this would still be below 2016 or 2017 levels (24.5 million passenger cars per year). The good health of the Chinese passenger car market is fueled by the sales boom in electric cars.
- However, there is a disconnection between passenger car and utility vehicle (UV) sales, as the Chinese commercial vehicle market will decline significantly in 2022 compared to 2021 (-32.0%), a year that already saw a 3.0% decline compared to 2020. The year is expected to end with a volume of 3.3 million UVs sold in China, down from 4.8 million units in 2021 and 5.1 million units in 2020.
- This decline in UVs sales is a good example of the decline in economic growth in China in 2022, as UVs sales are directly linked to a country's industrial and commercial activity. China is now talking about the risk of a global recession.
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