French brands are neglecting segment E
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- Such as the general brands Ford, Opel and Fiat, French brands have abandoned the production of cars from segment E in Europe. The last segment E car produced was the Citroën C6.
- Premium German manufacturers such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes have indeed monopolized almost the entire segment.
- On the graphs below, one can see that from one generation to the next, French segment E models have seen their influence drop and eventually disappear in 2012. 2012 is the year the Citroën C6 was last produced and marked the end of French manufacturing of segment E cars produced Europe.
- As a result, top of the range French brands are only represented today by D-segment cars(Renault Laguna, Renault Espace, Peugeot 508, Citroen C5) that in turn have lost much influence over the past ten years, for the same reasons.
- Ford and Opel, are experiencing the same phenomenon (Ford Mondeo, Opel Insignia). Fiat is focusing on segments A and B (Fiat 500, Panda, Punto), abandoning D and C segments (Fiat Bravo).
- Volkswagen does not market any vehicles from segment E but has a strong presence in segment D with the Passat and the CC, and has one vehicle in segment F, the Phaeton.
Since 2009, which manufacturers benefit from the Chinese market?
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Read more... Since 2009, which manufacturers benefit from the Chinese market?
Why PSA keeps the Rennes plant?
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Jaguar-Land Rover are going to build a plant in Brazil
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- Jaguar - Land Rover (Tata Group) has signed an agreement with the governor of the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro to establish an assembly plant in Itatiaia (in the state of Rio).
- Subject to final approval of the project by the Brazilian government, the construction site will begin in 2014 and the first vehicles will be launched in 2016.
- The plant will initially have an annual production capacity of 24 000 vehicles . The vehicles produced there will be sold mainly in Brazil but also in South America. No export are currently scheduled for North America.
- Jaguar-Land Rover has been present on the Brazilian market for over 20 years. It sold 9 549 vehicles there in the first ten months of 2013 (+40% compared to the previous year), in other words 1 000 vehicles per month.
- These vehicles will cater for the wealthier part of the population for whom the locally produced models do not comply with their needs. This part of the population are oriented towards generalist brands and models of segments A, B, C and D.
- It is likely that the vast majority of vehicles produced in Brazil as from 2016 will be from the Land Rover brand and not Jaguar.
Read more... Jaguar-Land Rover are going to build a plant in Brazil
The U.S. market is gradually returning to its pre-crisis levels
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- The U.S. market is slowly returning to its pre-crisis levels (2000-2007), since it should end the year 2013 on a volume of registrations of around 15.5 to 16 million units.
- In 2007, just before the outbreak of the financial crisis, the U.S. market had reached 16.2 million units, previous years were even better (17 million in 2005 and 16.5 million in 2006).
- In 2013, the U.S. market is gradually approaching these same volumes and is gradually moving away from 2009, figures where it fell to 10.4 million units.
- This market has increased by more than 5 million units between 2009 and 2013, which represents an increase of over 50% in four years. Meanwhile (between 2009 and 2013), the European market 27 countries (similar to the U.S. market in terms of volume) lost 17% of its sales volume, and has dropped by 25% since 2007.
- Which manufacturers have benefited the most from the recovery of the U.S. market? Themarket share comparison of different automotive groups between 2009 and 2013 reveals that the builders who have made the most progress since 2009 are the Fiat-Chrysler group (+3 points), Renault-Nissan (+1 point), Hyundai-Kia (+1 point) and Volkswagen (+1 point).
- In a rising market, on the other hand GM (-2 points), Toyota (-3 points), Honda (-1 point) have lost market share.
Read more... The U.S. market is gradually returning to its pre-crisis levels