Lexus will produce vehicles in the U.S. at the end of 2014

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Lexus will produce vehicles in the U.S. at the end of 2014
 

- In 1989, the Toyota group launched in the U.S. the Lexus brand to compete with the premium brands already on the U.S. market, such as Cadillac, Lincoln, BMW and Mercedes.


- Since the early 2000s, the sales level of the Lexus  in the USA is quite similar to BMW’s or Mercedes’s, two leaders of premium cars from Europe.


- Lexus has replaced  in the US the two American leaders of premium cars, Cadillac and Lincoln from the  beginning of 2000s onwards. In 2012, Lexus sold three times more vehicles than Lincoln and 1.7 times more vehicles than Cadillac.


- Into the four premium brands mentioned above, Lexus is the only brand  which does not produce vehicles on the U.S. soil. But this situation will end at the end of 2014. The Toyota management decided to produce Lexus vehicles on U.S. soil to support the high sales level of  the luxury brand in the U.S. (around 250 000 vehicles per year) .


- The first Lexus  model  produced in a US plant will be the ES, upscale and rebadged version of  the Toyota Camry. 50,000 Lexus ES should thus be produced annually from 2015 in the Toyota plant of Georgetown (Kentucky). Other models will be added to the production in the coming years.


- It is to be noted that in 2012, 70% of Lexus produced in Japan by Toyota are destined tor the USA market.


13-18-9

 

Vehicles and components share between Mercedes and Renault-Nissan

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Vehicles and components share between Mercedes and Renault-Nissan
 
- The Renault-Nissan and Mercedes groups have recently initiated a cooperation with the aim to jointly develop and produce new vehicles, platforms, engines  and components:
- Production of the new Mercedes Citan (slightly modified version of the Renault Kangoo) in the Renault-Nissan’s plant in Maubeuge, France,
- Production of the 1.5 DCI diesel engine, designed by Renault and  then mounted on the recent Mercedes Class A vehicles,
- Components share between the future Renault Twingo and  future Smart, respectively produced at Novo Mesto (Slovenia)and Hambach(France) in 2014,
- Use of a Mercedes platform for the future Renault Laguna

- This cooperation  between the two groups might still increase:
- Both companies plan to cooperate to design and produce a large utility vehicle. This future utility vehicle will be positioned between the Vito and the Sprinter within the Mercedes range and produced in a Renault plant in France:  Sandouville(where the current Renault Traffic is produced), or Batilly(current production site of Renault Master).
- Another vehicle would be considered in 2017: a Sport Utility Vehicle, based on the Renault Captur and  which would be positioned, below the GLA and GLK SUVwithin the Mercedes range,  This new vehicle would be produced in Valladolid, alongside Captur.

- Because the Mercedes capacities in Europe are quite full up and conversely Renault have available capacities, both groups find here a short-term response to optimize their production tooling.

13-18-8

 

The U.S. market has grown by 6.9% in the first four months of 2013

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The U.S. market has grown by 6.9% in the first four months of 2013
 

- Sales of light vehicles (passenger cars and LCVs) in the United States have increased by 8.5% in April 2013 compared to April 2012, to 1.29 million units and 6.9% accumulated over four months of 2013 vs. the same four months of 2012 to 4.98 million units. Carmakers still expect a market of more than 15 million vehicles for the full year 2013, which is possible given the current pace. Let us recall that in 2012, the american market reached 14.5 million units (against 12.8 million in 2011, 11.6 million in 2010 and 10.4 million in 2009).


- Regarding the passenger car market, the Toyota group is leading in the 1st semester of 2013 with a market share of 16.5% ahead of the GM group (13.6%), the Hyundai-Kia group (12.2% ), the Ford group (11.3%), the Honda group (10.4%), the Renault-Nissan group (9.9%) and the Fiat-Chrysler group (8.2%). German brands enjoyed a combined market share of 11.3% over the same period. Japanese brands achieve a combined market share of 42.7%.


- Concerning the market for light commercial vehicles (SUVs,  minivans,  and pick-ups), The GM Group was leading in the 1st semester of 2013 with a market share of 23.0% ahead of the Ford group (21.6%) and the Fiat-Chrysler group (15.6%). In this market, the Big Three (GM, Ford, Chrysler) still retain a major influence. However, Japanese brands enjoyed a combined market share of 30.6% over the same period ahead of German brands (4.6%) and Korean brands (3.6%).

13-18-7

 

Chinese carmaker brands (excluding JV) are not all on the same boat

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Chinese carmaker brands (excluding JV) are not all on the same boat
 
- Brands (excluding JV) Chinese manufacturers have decreased by 37% of the Chinese market in 2010 to 30% in 2013 (on the first three months of the year), but they are not all on the same boat.

- Indeed, when looking at the performance of the top 10 brands (see top ten below), we find that six brands have been declining since 2010 (Changan, Chery, FAW, BYD, Dongfengand JAC), while the other 4 continue to grow significantly (Geely, Great Wall, SAIC and Brilliance).

- In 2013, the decline is greater for some brands. Dongfengsold 60,897 vehicles (excluding JV) in the first three months of the year,  21.8% less compared to the first quarter of 2012.

- Within these Chinese carmakersthe multiplication of sub-brands was not as successful as planed.

- Thus, Chery announced at the Shanghai Motor Show, that it would abandon its three sub-brands Riich, Rely and Karry, while concentrating its production on the Chery brand (strategy change symbolized by a new logo).

- This announcement joins the Inovev analysis published in March, the relevance of multi-brand independent Chinese manufacturers strategies. View article "The Chinese groups' multi-brand strategy called into question“.

13-18-6

 

The Spanish market is expected to stabilize at 700 000 PC's in 2013

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The Spanish market is expected to stabilize at 700 000 PC's in 2013
 

- The Spanish market is expected to stabilize at 700,000 cars in 2013, with the continuation of a system of scrappage schemes (PivePlan), but much less ambitious than the Prever Plan, which was helped sustain and even develop the automobile market for ten years (1997-2007).


- The end of the Prever plan and the severe economic crisis that began in 2009 made the Spanish market drop by 56% in five years, from 1 600 000 to 700 000 units.

 

- Let us recall that the Pive plan provides an aid of 2000 euros (1000 euros from the government in 1000 from automobile brands) for the purchase of a new vehicle to replace a vehicle over 12 years old.

 

- Today, the unemployment rate in Spain is one of the highest in Europe (25%). The purchasing power has fallen sharply and the purchase of new cars is no longer a priority.

 

- Consumer confidence will take several years before returning. The Spanish car market is likely to be low for several years.


- Per carmakers, the VW group (24.1% market share) was ahead of its competitors in 2012 (thanks to its Spanish brand Seat), such as PSA (15.5%), Renault-Nissan (15.2%), GM (9.3%) and Ford (7.3%).

13-18-5

 

  1. The Renault Flins plant will produce 82,000 Nissan Micra per year from 2017
  2. Opel will now use its own engines for 90% of its range
  3. The Ford Focus and F-Series were the two most produced vehicles in 2012 worldwide
  4. The UK market has declined from 2.58 million PC to 2.04 million in 9 years
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