Ford plans to build a new assembly plant in Mexico
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Ford plans to build a new assembly plant in Mexico
- The Ford Group is currently the sixth biggest in the world, after Toyota, Volkswagen, General-Motors, Renault-Nissan and Hyundai-Kia. It produced 6.2 million vehicles in 2015 (compared to 6.0 million in 2014), representing an increase of 3.7% on the previous year.
- The Ford group has benefited mainly from the growth of the American market (an 8% increase of its production in the USA), the European market (a 9% increase of its production in Germany, a 13.5% increase of its production in Spain, a 22.5% increase of its production in Turkey) and in the Chinese market (an 8% increase of its production in China). Its production in India has also grown (+13.7%), thanks to the Ecosport.
- Mexico is the fourth biggest producer country for Ford, after the USA, China and Germany. The American manufacturer currently has two factories there: Cuantitlan, which produces the Fiesta (105 000 vehicles in 2015) and Hermosillo, which produces the Fusion (328 000 vehicles in 2015). Ford has decided to build a third factory there (in the San Luis Potosi region). This factory is due to become operational in 2018. Its capacity of 150 000 vehicles a year could eventually be doubled.
- The factory will produce compact models primarily for the North American market. According to Inovev, this could be the future generation of the Focus, the Escort model currently sold in China, or the future generation of the Ecosport.
- Last year Ford produced 814 000 Focuses (238 000 in the United States, 252 000 in China and 272 000 in Germany), 214 000 Escorts (exclusively in China) and 230 000 Ecosports (120 000 in India and 60 000 in China).
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Breakdown of Chinese Car Imports in 2015
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Breakdown of Chinese Car Imports in 2015
- Given the constant growth of the Chinese automobile market seen in recent years, import volumes have also continued to grow. They stood at 400 000 vehicles in 2009, going up to 1 100 000 in 2012 and 1 300 000 in 2015. Their market share has grown from 3% in 2009 to 4% in 2012 and 5% in 2015. Despite the strong growth in Chinese production, demand for vehicles manufactured abroad has not abated, even though imports into China remain at low levels in comparison to the United States or Europe.
- Import volumes are largest in Europe (600 000 vehicles in 2015), well ahead of the Nafta zone (300 000), Japan (285 000) and Korea (100 000).
- By brand, BMW was the biggest importer of vehicles into China in 2015 (180 000 vehicles), ahead of Mercedes (134 000), Lexus (88 000), Volkswagen (87 000), Audi (82 000), Subaru (62 000), Toyota (60 000), Porsche (54 000) and Land Rover (53 000).
- Which vehicles were imported most into China in 2015?
- 67% of imported vehicles were from Premium brands and 56% of imported vehicles were SUVs. The top 20 imported vehicles represent about half of total imports. Of these twenty models, 15 are SUVs and 14 are from Premium brands, which means that Chinese car production does not fully cover all Premium brand models, notably SUVs (BMW X3, BMW X5, Mercedes M Class, Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne, Porsche Macan, Lexus RX) and top-of-the-range sedans (BMW 7 Series, Mercedes S Class, Audi A8) which therefore have to be imported.
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Tesla is unveils its new segment D model
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Tesla is unveils its new segment D model
- Californian manufacturer Tesla has unveiled its new segment D model, named the Model 3, with an advertised price of 35 000 dollars (without ecological premium), which is below the price of the segment F Model S. Its range is approximately 350 km, 150 km fewer than the range of the Model S.
- The Model 3 will go on sale at the end of 2017, first in the United States, and then in the main foreign markets. Tesla says that the Model 3 will allow it to move closer to its target of 500 000 sales worldwide in 2020, a level corresponding to the maximum capacity of its Fremont factory in California.
- In 2015, Tesla manufactured 50 000 Model S at this site, plus some Model X starting towards the end of the year. In 2016, this level is forecast to increase by 50%, according to Inovev (to 75 000 vehicles) owing to an increase in production of the Model X and the consolidation of the Model S, which is due to go on sale in new markets.
- The Model 3 is positioned as a rival to Premium European models, such as the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C Class, Jaguar XE and Volvo S60. These five models accounted for 250 000 sales in the United States in 2015. According to Inovev, the Tesla Model 3 could make up 30% of the market in 2020 (80 000 vehicles per year) and be bought by one customer out of three in the United States (40 000 vehicles per year), out of 120 000 annual sales.
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Renault seeks to kickstart the compact MPV market with the new Scenic
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Renault seeks to kickstart the compact MPV market with the new Scenic
- The market share of compact MPVs (segment C) has declined significantly in Europe from its peak in 2005. Between 2005 and 2015, this share shrank from 10% to 5%. In the same period, the market share of compact SUVs (segment C) grew from 4% to 20%. It is undoutable that SUVs have won over part of the clientele for sedans, but they have also won over a significant part of the clientele for compact MPVs (certainly no less than half).
- Sales of MPVs have dwindled over the years, except sales of the BMW Active Tourer/Gran Tourer which made its debut on the market very recently, in 2014. This model took fourth place in this market in 2015, overtaking the Renault Scenic.
- Le Renault Scenic was the long-running market leader among compact MPVs, but its supremacy has been challenged for many years by five competitors. To regain the position of market leader and also to revive the overall market for compact MPVs, Renault has decided to use the same method it has recently used for the Espace, taking inspiration from the design and philosophy of the SUV.
- The new Scenic (which will be joined by a Grand Scenic in autumn 2016) will therefore be quite different in appearance. It will be manufactured at the Douai site, alongside the Espace and Talisman, which share the same CMF platform. Inovev predicts a production level of 130 000 to 150 000 vehicles annually (Scenic and Grand Scenic), which will once again put it in the lead for this category.
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Renault launches a new SUV for the Russian market
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Renault launches a new SUV for the Russian market
- Renault has unveiled a new segment C SUV called the Kaptur, which is part of the Captur range, but has different dimensions. While the Captur measures 4.12 m in length, 1.78 m in width and 1.56 m in height, the Kaptur is 21 centimetres longer, 3 centimetres wider and 5 centimetres taller. This means it has similar dimensions to the Renault Kadjar, which is 4.45 m long, 1.84 m wide and 1.60 m tall. In fact, it has the same dimensions as the Dacia Duster, whose platform it shares.
- Although it could have played the role of the Grand Captur in Europe (the Scenic is available in this region as the 20-centimetre-longer Grand Scenic) the Kaptur will only be available in Russia and neighbouring Eurasian countries. This is why the Kaptur will be manufactured in Russia (beginning from the summer of 2016), at the Renault factory in Moscow (Avtoframos), which is currently operating well below capacity, partly due to the shrinking of the Russian market and the transfer of the Logan and Sandero models to the factory in Tolyatti (Avtovaz).
- The Kaptur, unlike the Captur, is a four wheel drive vehicle, as it uses the same platform as the Dacia Duster (produced in the same factory in Moscow under the Renault brand). Production forecasts for the Kaptur are difficult to analyse, but the Kaptur's arrival will be much welcomed at the Moscow site, which is currently operating at just 32% of its capacity. In addition to this, its arrival is perfectly in line with the Russian government's strategy, which encourages automobile manufacturers to produce new models locally.
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