Contact us: info@inovev.com 

Contact us: info@inovev.com 

- Overcapacity in China's automotive industry began to significantly increase in 2011. By the end of 2014, excess capacity stood at 16.06 million units, operating ratio dropping below 60 percent for the first time in six years. Operating ratio differs from maker to maker, European, US and Korean automakers are operating at over 90 percent capacity while Japanese at 78.8 percent.
In contrast, Chinese manufacturers' operating ratio was a mere at 43.5 percent in 2014, putting pressure on business performance.

- Chinese automakers' overcapacity problem is deeply tied to stagnating sales. Chinese consumers prefer large automobiles, while the core products of Chinese automakers are A (mini) and B (small) segment models whose market decreased 5.5 percent to 2.14 million units in 2014.

- In addition, the introduction of China 4 emission standard on diesel vehicles negatively impacted the commercial vehicle market, driving down sales of Chinese automakers. Also, registration restriction of new vehicles introduced by Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and other large cities increases ownership cost, turning away consumers in these cities from Chinese automobiles and channeling them toward high-quality foreign products. Moreover, foreign brands quickly reacted to stagnating sales by reducing prices, making an effort to control sales decline. Chinese automakers haphazard facility investment was another reason for ballooning overcapacity. Triggered by an over 30 percent annual increase in automobile production for two consecutive years in 2009 and 2010, local automakers built new plants without stopping for the next five years.

Contact us: info@inovev.com 

- The market for segment F vehicles represented 600 000 global sales in 2014, including 300 000 sedans and almost as many SUV, the rest being coupes and convertibles. The main sedans available in this segment are the Mercedes S-Class (80 000 units produced in 2014), BMW 7 Series (42 000 units in 2014), Audi A8 (30 000 units in 2014), Jaguar XJ (20 000 units in 2014 ) and Lexus LS (17 000 units in 2014). In Europe, the first four models mentioned above are the bestselling models, while in the USA and China, the Lexus LS is one of the best selling models. In the USA, the equivalent models from Cadillac and Lincoln have gradually disappeared, but Cadillac will return in this segment with the upcoming launch of the CT6 that will try to shake hierarchy in its home market and in China.

- It is in this context that BMW introduced the sixth generation of the 7 Series. Built like all 7 Series on the site of Dingolfing(Germany), the new 7 Series will attempt to compete with the Mercedes S-Class which was sold at nearly 80 000 units per year. Previous 7 Series only reached 50 000 units sold per year on average. Inovev expects for the new generation amounts equivalent to the previous one, i.e. 50 000 annual sales.

- The new 7 Series is distinguished by a weight loss of almost 130kg compared to the previous generation, with a mixed composition of carbon fibre reinforced plastic, aluminium and high-tensile steel. It will again be available in two lengths (5.10 m and 5.24 m, i.e. 2.5 cm more than the previous generation).

- The new model will be equipped initially with a six-cylinder petrol engine 3.0-liter turbo developing 320hp (740i), an eight-cylinder petrol 4.4-liter bi turbo 445hp (750i) and a four-cylinder engine 2.0 litter turbo coupled to an electric motor developing 326hp (740i), the latter being a plug in rechargeable version that will be marketed in the first half of 2016.

Contact us: info@inovev.com