- Renault has unveiled its third generation Twingo a small car (segment A). It succeeds the latest generation released in 2007 that also succeeded to the generation of 1993.

- The first generation Twingo was produced at 2.4 million copies over 14 years (1993-2007) and the second generation was sold at 900 000 copies in 7 years (2007-2014).

- The engine located at the rear rather than at the front. This was technically imposed by the common platform Renault-Daimler planned for the new Twingo and the new five-door Smart (which will be launched this year). The two models will be produced jointly in the Renault plant of Novo Mesto in Slovenia, which has been  producing the Twingo since 2007.

- The new Twingo is only available in a five-door version and no longer in a three door version, this choice may have been taken so that the Twingo doesn’t compete with the Smart Fortwo.

- According to the manufacturer, the Twingo is expected to enter the Premium market in segment A, the same as the Fiat 500 or Opel Adam.Inovev expects the new Twingo to be produced  at around 150 000 units per year on the site of Novo Mesto, that has a production capacity of 200 000 vehicles per year.

  

- Citroën has unveiled the C4 Cactus. The C-segment (compact sedans, compact MPVs, compact SUVs) accounted for 42% of Citroën’s global sales in 2013. This segment is the largest in terms of volume according to the manufacturer, both in Europe and world wide where the growth is the fastest .

- It is therefore on this segment that Citroen intends to increase its efforts. However, the positioning of the C4 Cactus is unclear. According to the manufacturer, the model is between a C4 sedan and a C4 Aircross SUV. For Inovev, its positioning would be clearer in segment B. Its platform is the same as the Peugeot 208 and Citroën C3 and its dimensions and pricing are very close to those of the Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008.

- The C4 Cactus can be equipped with a three cylinder petrol engine (1.2 VTi 82 hp or 1.2 THP 110 hp) or a diesel four-cylinder engine (1.6 e-HDI 92 hp or 1.6 BlueHDI 100 hp). The C4 Cactus will be sold starting from June 2014 in France and in other European countries.

- The model will be manufactured in the Spanish plant of Villaverde, that has a production capacity of 200 000 units a year. Today, the plant manufactures the latest copies of the Peugeot 207 for some markets, but its production will cease late 2014.

- Inovev expects a production of 50 000 units per year for the C4 Cactus, or more given the current success of the mini-SUV segment (Renault Captur, Peugeot 2008).

  

- The Ford Group sold 6.25 million vehicles worldwide in 2013 (representing an increase of 10.2% compared to 2012) and going over the 6 million threshold the group hadn't reached since 2009. In fact, since it has parted from its Jaguar (2008), Land Rover (2008) and Volvo brands (2009), and it is gradually separating from Mazda, the Ford group has lost a large amount of its sales volume. The removal of the Mercury brand (2010) confirms this trend.

- After being the second and the third largest world manufacturer, the Ford group is since 2013 at the sixth place in the global carmaker ranking. It is now behind Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen, Renault-Nissan and Hyundai-Kia in 2013.

- Having focused on both Ford and Lincoln brands, the U.S. group benefited from the 2013 recovery of the U.S. market (+11% to 2.5 million sales), and the strong growth it registered in China, with Chinese sales rising by 62% to 700 000 units. In Europe, Ford fell by 4% to 1 million units sold. The manufacturer is also very present in South America, Russia, India, Australia and South East Asia.

- The Ford group also benefits from two models (throughout the carmakers of the group) that are the most sold in the world: the Focus (sold 1.07 million units in 2013) and the F-Series pickup (935 000 units sold in 2013). The Focus is mainly sold in North America, Europe, China and Russia. The Ford F-Series is sold mainly in North America.