Chinese FAW will build a new assembly plant in Algeria
 
Chinese automaker FAW will set up an assembly plant near Algiers, Algeria, in partnership with the investment group Arcofina (particularly involved in the modernization of the city of Algiers).

The two partners have signed an agreement for the construction of a plant dedicated to light utility vehicles. This site should have an initial capacity of 10,000 units per year.

Under the terms of the agreement, the plant will be owned 51 % by Arcofina and 49% by FAW.
The two partners have not given a date for the construction start and commencement of production of vehicles.
But production will likely start in 2015.

FAW is one of the three largest Chinese manufacturers (with SAIC and Dongfeng) and the second foreign manufacturer to build a plant in Algeria after the French manufacturer Renault.

The works of the Algerian Renault site have indeed started near Oran, and the first vehicle, a Renault Symbol (a Dacia Logan rebadged) should be delivered in November 2014.
 
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Land Rover is taking full advantage of the success of SUVs
 

The SUV market (all segments) is growing rapidly worldwide and major widespread manufacturers (Toyota, Renault-Nissan, VW ...) benefit from the success of this market.


"Specialist" and historical brands such as GMC, Jeep, Land Rover and Ssangyong also benefit from the high degree of interest of this market.


The British manufacturer Land Rover as well as Jeep and GMC are prime examples of this. Composed of the Defender, Freelander, Range Rover Evoque (2011), Discovery, Range Rover (2012) and Range Rover Sport (2013), until 1992 the manufacturer was producing less than 100 000 vehicles and is now (2013) producing nearly 350 000 SUVs.


Since its acquisition by the Tata Motors group in 2008 the dynamism of the manufacturer has been highlighted by the launch of a new model each year. In addition to the renewal of the Defender (2014) and the Freelander (2015), the manufacturer may introduce an additional model. This new model will be between the Evoque and the Range Rover and it will be based on the new platform shared by Jaguar and Land Rover.


With its recent entry into the Chinese market, the renewal of existing products and the expanding of its range, Land Rover expects to sell on the global market 600 000 vehicles per year by 2020.

 
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PSA: Which plants will benefit from the closing of Aulnay-Sous-Bois?
 
Until 2006, the PSA Group had four plants producing B-segment vehicles:
-Ryton (England), which closed in 2006. This plant  used to produce the Peugeot 206.
-Trnava (Slovakia), opened in 2006 to produce the Peugeot 207, the successor to the Peugeot 206,
-Poissy (France), which produces the Peugeot 208,
-Aulnay-Sous-Bois (France), which produced until October 2013 the Citroën C3/DS3.

Between 2007 and 2013 the volume of the European market dropped by over 25%. PSA vehicles from segment B are primarily sold on this market. This led to significant production overcapacity of PSA plants.

To curb this trend the French group has decided to rationalise the production of segment B vehicles .

One would have thought that PSA would have benefited from this rationalisation to transfer the production of the Citroën C3/DS3 from Aulnay-Sous-Bois to the Trnava plant (Slovakia) whose production costs are assumed to be lower.

This is not the case since the production of Trnava has been practically stagnant since 2009, even with the arrival in 2008 of the Citroen C3 Picasso (MPV from segment B) and the arrival of the Peugeot 208 in 2011.

It is therefore the Poissy plant that was able to increase its production from 2011 benefiting from the choice made by PSA, while between 2004 and 2011 this plant and the Aulnay-Sous-Bois plant had the same production volume and were following
the same downward trend.
 
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In 2013, at a global level Hyundai-Kia has moved closer to Renault-Nissan
 
Toyota announced that it had sold 7.41 million vehicles worldwide (including the Daihatsu and Hino brands) in the first nine months of 2013 (+0.1%), which could allow it to maintain its position as the leading global automobile manufacturer throughout the year.

In second place, General Motors is said to have sold 7.25 million vehicles (+4.6%).

In third place, Volkswagen is said to have sold 7.03 million vehicles (+4.8%).

In fourth place Renault-Nissan is said to have sold 5.70 million vehicles (-1.8%). This is the only group among the top five that hasn't grown in 2013 compared to 2012.

In fifth place, Hyundai-Kia would is said to have sold 5.65 million vehicles (+8.9%) displaying the largest increase in 2013 among the five largest automotive groups. The Korean group seems to be getting close to the Franco-Japanese group and it is not impossible that the Hyundai-Kia group finishes the year in front of Renault-Nissan.
 
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Ford is struggling in Europe
 

While the Ford group’s (that currently only includes the Ford and Lincoln brands) sales  are increasing strongly in Asia (+52% in China in the first ten months of 2013) and North America (+12% in the United States on the first ten months of 2013), Ford is conversely experiencing a significant decline in Europe (-5%).


For the first time, vehicle sales in the Asia-Pacific region crossed the threshold of one million units, thanks to China which recorded 750 000 units sold over ten months.


In North America, the group’s sales reached 2.5 million units (including two million in the United States) over the same period.


In Europe, the Group's situation is more complex. Ford sold more than one million vehicles in the first ten months of 2013, for the first time the sales volume of this continent were lower than sales of the Asian continent.


The American manufacturer is going to reduce the production of the B-Max minivan in its Romanian plant, Ford is reducing its production for the third consecutive month in response to a weak demand from Europe. Sales of its C-Max and S-Max are also down, the minivan market is declining in Europe because of the rising demand for SUVs. The current range of Ford minivans appears cramped, because of the Ka, Fiesta, Focus, Kuga and Mondeo. Thanks to its recent restyling only the Ford Fiesta was able to progress.


The arrival of an SUV in segment B (the Ecosport) could improve the carmaker's position.

 
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