Subaru will cease the production of the Toyota Camry by the end of 2016
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Subaru will cease the production of the Toyota Camry by the end of 2016
- Following the agreements between both manufacturers and because of insufficient capacity to produce the Camry (the best-selling passenger car in the United States), since 2007 Toyota has a production capacity of 100 000 vehicles per year in the U.S. Subaru plant located in Lafayette, Indiana (which has a total production capacity of 270 000 units per year).
- The contract running for five years was renewed in 2012, but will not be renewed in 2017, according to the decision taken by Subaru. Subaru which has raised high expectations for the U.S. market (sales have doubled in four years), now wants to use 100% of the production capacity of its plant in Lafayette.
- Subaru wants to produce other models of its own brand on site, such as the Forester, Impreza and XV and its adventurer version, currently imported from Japan.
- Subaru plans to sell 500 000 vehicles in the United States in 2016, against 425 000 in 2013 and 340 000 in 2012. Currently, most models come from Japan (255 000 in 2013 out of 425 000 total sales). The manufacturer wants to reduce the volume of imports from Japan, like other Japanese carmakers.
- Toyota will in turn repatriate the Camry from the Subaru plant to one of its U.S. plants or build a new plant in order to produce this model.
Read more... Subaru will cease the production of the Toyota Camry by the end of 2016
European Carmakers platforms policies
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European Carmakers platforms policies
- The competition is very fierce in the automotive industry. Many factors contribute to the success or failures of carmakers’ strategies. Control of technologies is a key component of carmakers’ strategies. It contributes strongly to the design/engineering of vehicles responding better to the demand and to the reduction of cost.
- A vehicle is composed of many components grouped together in different manners. In the recent decade a new word has been put on the front of the communication : the platform. Many carmakers communicate today about its new platforms, much more efficient than the previous ones.
- However several questions arise: What is really a platform? Do the carmakers really reduce the number of their platforms?
- Do some carmakers control the design and engineering of platforms better than other ones? And will this control give them significant strategic advantages versus competitors? Or is it mainly communication?
- A complete study has been conducted by Inovev to answer these questions. This document (available in Premium access): explains how the standardisation helps to reduce cost, analyses the VW modular platform strategy with its advantages/dangers and provides details production data by platforms for main European carmakers (VW, Renault-Nissan, PSA, FIAT-Chrysler, BMW and Daimler) for the period 2005-2017.
Japan 2013 HEV/PHEV/BEV Passenger Cars Sales in December 2013
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Japan 2013 HEV/PHEV/BEV Passenger Cars Sales in December 2013
- December 2013 sales volume of HEV/PHEVs went up 44,9% compared to the same period of 2012 to 72 502 units, BEVs rose 29,6% to 1 317 units.
- Toyota/Lexus’ HEV/PHEV sales volume went up 20,6% to 49 619 units. The Toyota brand increased sales, up 19,2% to 46 929 units. By model, the Aqua/Prius-C (B segment) fell 19,3% to 16 467 units and has been dropping since September 2013 when the new Honda Fit Hybrid was launched.
- Honda increased 2,4% fold to 19 717 units. The new Fit Hybrid went up 4,9% fold to 12 403 units, maintaining brisk sales. The Vezel Hybrid (Compact SUV), released in December 2013, sold 2 146 units.
- In the BEV segment, the Nissan Leaf went up 42% to 1 235 units while overall BEV sales increased 29,6% to 1 317 units.
Read more... Japan 2013 HEV/PHEV/BEV Passenger Cars Sales in December 2013
January 2014 Vehicle Sales Overview in Ten Asian Nations
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January 2014 Vehicle Sales Overview in Ten Asian Nations
- In January 2014, vehicle sales in ten Asian countries (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam) decreased 10,1% compared to the same period of a year earlier to 698 000 units. In ASEAN, Indonesia surpassed 100 000 units, while Thailand fell below 70 000 units for the first time in 25 months. India continued to see double digit decline.
- Thailand fell 45,5% to 69 000 units. The sharp drop is the result of piled-up backlog orders, generated by the First Car scheme, which artificially increased demand in the First half of 2013. Indonesia increased 7,1% to 103 000 units driven by Daihatsu, Suzuki, Honda and Mitsubishi. In contrast, Malaysia fell 8,7% to 50 000 units. However Honda increased 58,1% to 6 393 units thanks to strong performance of the Jazz.
- Korea increased 4% to 122 000 units. SUVs went up by a remarkable 60%. Hyundai rose 2,6% percent to 52 000 units aided by the fully-remodeled Genesis and the hybrid Grandeur (D segment) launched at the end of 2013.
- India dropped 11,7% to 270 000 units. Tata Motor’s sales worsened, down 40,2% percent to 28 500 units when Maruti Suzuki only decreased 6,3% to 96 500 units.
Read more... January 2014 Vehicle Sales Overview in Ten Asian Nations
January 2014 Vehicle Production Overview in Seven Asian Nations
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January 2014 Vehicle Production Overview in Seven Asian Nations
- In January 2014, vehicle production in seven Asian countries (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Korea, Taiwan) decreased 12,1% compared to the same period of a year earlier to 1,06 million units. In ASEAN, while Thailand remained sluggish, Indonesia stayed on a growth path. India dropped below the result of the same month of 2013 for the fifth consecutive month.
- Thailand declined 31,1% to 163 000 units. The sharp drop is the result of piled-up backlog orders, generated by the First Car scheme, which artificially increased demand in the first half of 2013. Production decrease of Nissan and Honda was each over 50%. Indonesia went up 9,9 percent to 107 000 units, maintaining high growth. Apart from Suzuki and Nissan, all other major automakers increased production. Meanwhile, Malaysia dropped 1,3% to 56 000 units. Honda, which boosted capacity to 100 000 units in the second half of 2013, rose 50%.
- Korea dropped 10,3% to 368 000 units. GM Korea, which halted production of LCVs that do not meet emission regulations, fell 30%. India declined 10,1% to 326 000 units. Although the top four manufacturers (Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors et Mahindra ) posted production decrease, fifth and sixth placed Nissan and Honda brisk sales.
Read more... January 2014 Vehicle Production Overview in Seven Asian Nations
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