Comparison between France and Sichuan/Chongqing

Sichuan  is a Chinese province (490 000 km2 and 80 million people). Chongqing, formely capital of Sichuan, and its surroundings have been administratively separated from Sichuan to become a municipality (82 000 km2 and 29 million people).
Sichuan/Chongqing (Sichuan + Chongqing) can be compared to France (550 000 km2 and 63 million people).

The automobile production of Sichuan/Chongqing started to take off in the early 2000s, while France started its own a century earlier.

- It is in 2012 that the automobile production volume of Sichuan/Chongqing exceeded that of France. 
Sichuan/Chongqing keeps on rising, given the very large and growing demand of the Chinese market as a whole (exports remain low), while France, that offshored a large part of its production and has suffered from a European market down by nearly 25% since 2007, did not cease seeing its production levels decline from 3.5 million vehicles to 1.75 million in 2013 ...

- Forecasts suggest a widening gap between the production volume between France and Sichuan/Chongching. Inovev aims on a production of 2.1 million vehicles in France in 2015 and 4.2 million units in Sichuan/Chongqing by the same date, which is twice the amount of France.

FinallySichuan/Chongqing has 15 plants for nearly 4 million units (PC + UV) of capacity, while France has 14 plants with a total capacity of around 3.2 million units.

 

14-19-9  


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2013 Sales by body type

On the three largest global markets, China, the United States of America and the European Union, the face of the automobile market (sales by body type) has transformed itself and is very different today.


Indeed, if global sales are divided into five distinct types of bodies (1 / sedans (with trunks) and estates 2/ hatchbacks 3/ SUVs and crossovers 4/ MPV 5/ pick-ups), we can observe that sedans with trunks and estate vehicles are very well established in China (64% of sales in 2013) and in the USA (48% of sales), while they represent only 19% of the market in Europe.


In Europe, it is Hatchback that are the most present, with 51% of sales in 2013. Conversely, these hatchbacks represent only 12% of sales in China and only 3% in the USA.


SUVs (and crossovers) can see their market share progress throughout the past dozen years, representing 17% of their sales in Europe, 19% in China and 31% in the USA in 2013.


Victims of the success of SUVs, minivans have seen their market share decrease, representing only 13% in Europe, 5% in China and only 4% in the USA.


Finally, pick-up represent 14% in the U.S. while they are marginal in Europe and China.

 

14-19-8  


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The new DS product plan (2014-2018) revealed

We have already observed that the creation of a global third brand within the PSA Peugeot Citroën group was approved by  PSA’s new board of directors. This brand called DS and located in the Premium category will win over customers used to buying Audi, BMW, Mercedes or even Volvo and Saab vehicles.


Until now, the DS 3, DS 4 and DS 5 were integrated into the Citroën brand, in Europe at least, whereas in China DS already forms a full-fledged brand since the fall 2013.


Last year, 85% of DS sales were made in Europe and 15% outside of Europe, mainly in China. In addition, 60% of these sales accounted to the DS 3. In 2017-2018, the manufacturer’s objective is to sell 50% of its vehicles in Europe and 50% outside Europe, and these sales should be better distributed across the entire range.


The product plan announced for the DS brand by 2017-2018 is as follows: new DS 3 in 2017 ( segment B sedan), DS 5 launch in China in 2014 and in Europe in 2016 (segment D sedan), DS 6 launch in China in 2016 and in Europe in 2017 ( segment D sedan), DS 6WR launch in China in 2014 and in Europe in 2017 (segment D SUV), DS 9 launch in China in 2017 and in Europe by 2018 (segment E sedan) and finally the DS 9WR will be launched China in 2017 and in Europe in 2018 (segment E sedan). This new DS range is part of the PSA program to offer 26 models in its catalogue by 2022, including 13 Peugeot, 7 Citroën and 6 DS.

 

14-19-7  


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The new Audi product plan (2014-2019) revealed

Audi wants to become the first premium brand by 2020, ahead of BMW and Mercedes. To achieve this, the German carmaker has unveiled its new product plan for 2014-2020. The quantities produced of these vehicles will soon be calculated by Inovev. At first, let us review the future models:
2014: new generation Q7, an E segment SUV and the new generation R8 Coupe .
2015: launch of the TT Roadster and the Q1 an A segment SUV. The latter will share a platform with the Seat and Skoda compact SUVs. There will also be the launch of the new generations of the A4 and A5 sedans from segment D.
2016: launch of new D segment SUVs, Q5 and Q6, whose launch will continue through 2017.
2017: launch of an SUV in segment B, the Q2 and new generations of the A6 and A7 sedans from segment E.
2018/2019: launch of the Q8 and Q9 two SUVs from segment F (models primarily intended for the American and Chinese market). In addition, the Audi TT Off-road could be marketed as of 2018. It seems it may not be eligible to the Q name .

In 2020, the Audi range should therefore include 18 different models including 7 SUVs. Production sites dedicated to sedans, estates and coupes remain unchanged. However, uncertainty remains regarding the manufacturing site of the future recreational vehicles Q1, Q2, Q6, Q8 and Q9 which will be added to the current range.

 

14-19-6  


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Changan Ford is going to launch a new brand

In order to better establish themselves in the Chinese market Ford and its Chinese partner Changan have planned to launch a new common brand in 2016. This new brand could be called « Jiayue » but no official announcement has been made. The first model may be based on the Ford Focus Classic and manufactured in Chongqing by September 2016 (70 000 units per year).

It is  interesting to analyse the different strategies implemented by independent Chinese carmakers and the strategies implemented by joint venture partnerships between Chinese and foreign carmakers. The volume of sales is what defines if a new brand should be launched or not.

In the first scenario, independent Chinese carmakers that account for 30% of the Chinese market are turning toward a multi-brand  strategy instead of a mono-brand strategy. In the second scenario JV carmakers that hold 70% of the Chinese market are creating more and more brands.

The Volkswagen group has three brands (VW, Audi, Skoda), GM Group has four brands (Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, Wuling), PSA has added a third brand to its catalogue (DS has been added to Peugeot and Citroën). GM (and SAIC) created the Baojun brand in 2013 and Kia will soon create a brand dedicated to China in order to boost sales.

 

14-19-4  


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