Is the end of Lancia coming soon?
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- A single model was presented on the Lancia booth at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show : the Ypsilon. The rest of the range was absent (Delta, Flavia, Thema, Voyager). This is the first time that the stand of the Italian firm was so empty. Is this a herald of the end of the brand?
- The leadership of the Fiat-Chrysler Group has recently stated that the Lancia brand would now be reserved for Italy and will market a single model. A brand with a single model in a single country, this means the group is killing the brand softly. Autobianchi met the same fate in the 90s.
- After the takeover of Chrysler by Fiat in 2010, they decided to remove the Chrysler brand in Europe and replace it by Lancia, they did it by renaming its models : the 200 (Flavia), 300 (Thema) and Voyager (Voyager). The expected success was not met and the sale figures of the renamed Chryslers under the Lancia name became confidential.
- In the groups brand management , Fiat has always struggled to have the Alfa and Lancia brands coexist, both brands have a premium positioning with little differentiation. And these two brands weren't a match for German brands such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes who have developed and diversified themselves. Especially as the Fiat-Chrysler group is now boosting the Maserati brand. Under these conditions, wedged between the Alfa brand and German brands on the one hand, and the Maserati brand on the other, Lancia has no more significance on the world market.
The Renault plant in Batilly will run at nearly 100% of its production capacity in 2014
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Read more... The Renault plant in Batilly will run at nearly 100% of its production capacity in 2014
Tesla expects to sell 500 000 electric cars a year by 2020
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Read more... Tesla expects to sell 500 000 electric cars a year by 2020
32% overcapacity in Europe in 2013 (against 31% in 2012)
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- The utilization rate of car plants in Europe (Russia and Turkey included) continued to decline in 2013, but less strongly than in 2012. This rate fell to 68% instead of 69% in 2012 and had reached 75% in 2011, which is the lowest in the decade after that of 2009, which did not exceed 62%. Overcapacity in Europe therefore reached 32% in 2013 against 31% in 2012 and 25% in 2011. The best result of the decade was reached in 2007 with only 15% overcapacity.
- It is the further decline in automobile production in Europe in 2013 (-5%), which worsened the situation last year, despite several plant closures in recent years, Ford (Southampton), PSA (Aulnay), Mitsubishi (Born), Opel (Antwerp), SAAB (Trollhättan), Fiat (Termini), which offset the decline. In 2014, the closure of the plants of Bochum and Genk and the expected recovery in the European market should reduce overcapacity in Europe by 1% to 2%.
- Carmakers are not all in the same boat. While general manufacturers GM, PSA, Renault-Nissan, Honda and Fiat-Chrysler reduced their production rates last year, premium manufacturers BMW, Tata Motors (Jaguar -Land Rover) and Daimler increased theirs. These three manufacturers are also those with the best utilization rate of their plants in Europe (over 80%), ahead of the Volkswagen group, Hyundai-Kia and Geely (Volvo) that recorded utilization rates between 75% and 80%.
Read more... 32% overcapacity in Europe in 2013 (against 31% in 2012)
The Peugeot 308 is the Car of the Year 2014
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- After the Volkswagen Golf in 2013, the new generation Peugeot 308 was elected Car of the Year 2014. One year to the next, two mass-produced cars from segment C have thus won the title, after the election of two electric cars (the Nissan Leaf in 2011 and the Chevrolet Volt in 2012).
- In 2014, electric cars were not far from the title, since the BMW i3 is in second place and the Tesla Model S is third. The other models that were selected were : the Citroën C4 Picasso II, Mazda 3, Mercedes S Class and Skoda Octavia III, these models had fewer points. The 308 Next Generation is the fourth car of the brand to win the title after the 504 (1969), the 405 (1988) and the 307 (2002).
- Inovev expects that 180 000 Peugeot 308 will be produced per year, while the manufacturer announced a production rate of 800 units per day (160 000 per year) it has now been increased to 1 000 units per day (200 000 per year) by the second quarter of 2014, thanks to the arrival of an estate version.
- The first sale figures for 2014 in Europe are not yet known, but we can see that during the first two months of 2014, the Peugeot 308 has already taken the ninth place in the French market, ahead of its competitors the Renault Megane (10th) and the VW Golf (11th).
