The planned takeover of Ssangyong by Edison Motors is abandoned
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The planned takeover of Ssangyong by Edison Motors is abandoned
- The Korean manufacturer in difficulty Ssangyong was to be bought by the Korean company of electric buses Edison Motors but this takeover plan has just been invalidated by the Korean authorities, due to the non-respect of the deadline for payment of a value of 225 million euros stipulated in the sales agreement between the former owner of Ssangyong, the Indian Mahindra and the new buyer, the Korean Edison Motors.
- The objective of making Ssangyong a brand of 100% electric vehicles, as many are being created in China and the United States, is therefore abandoned. Consequently, the Ssangyong firm is condemned to wait for a new buyer or to disappear.
- Ssangyong produced only 82,000 vehicles in 2021, compared to 107,000 in 2020, 133,000 in 2019 and 142,000 in 2018. The peak of production was reached in 2013, with 172,000 vehicles produced, which is extremely low for a SUV manufacturer, because this type of model has experienced strong growth over the past twenty years to the point of representing half of sales in the main world markets.
- Ssangyong's offer may not be adapted to demand, especially since the manufacturer's range is quite modest (four models in the catalog in 2021) and little known in many markets. South Korea alone accounts for nearly 70% of the brand's sales, with 56,400 units in 2021. In Europe, 9,300 Ssangyongs were sold in 2021, 7,100 in South America and 3,000 in Australia. In China and the United States, the brand is not even distributed.
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Volkswagen removes the Passat from the US market
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Volkswagen removes the Passat from the US market
- Volkswagen has decided to end the commercial career of the Passat sedan manufactured since 2011 at the Chattanooga (Tennessee) site, which was specially designed for the American market.
- This D-segment model, which had enjoyed relative success in this market during the first years of its career, reaching 157,000 sales in 2011 and 177,000 sales in 2012, saw its influence shrink sharply and rapidly over the following years. Its sales fell to less than 100,000 units in 2015 and less than 10,000 units in 2020. The automaker's goal was to shift North American customers from the Jetta (C-segment sedan) to the Passat, the Jetta enjoyed good success between 2005 and 2012, with sales in North America ranging between 250,000 units in 2005 and 400,000 units in 2012.
- This strategy did not materialize, firstly because of Dieselgate, a scandal that affected the Volkswagen group concerning its diesel engines, and secondly because of the declining influence of sedans in the face of SUVs in the North American market. The second generation of the American Passat did not bring anything to any revival of its career.
- Even American sedans (C, D and E segments) have been devastated by the strong demand for SUVs and the only sedans that have managed to partially resist in this market have been Japanese and Korean sedans. European sedans have suffered a lot, especially those of the Volkswagen brand which had to completely revise its strategy by launching SUVs in different segments, such as the Taos, Tiguan and Atlas which ended the career of the Golf, Beetle and now Passat.
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Inovev plans 500,000 units per year of the new Nissan X-Trail
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Inovev plans 500,000 units per year of the new Nissan X-Trail
- The Nissan X-Trail (sold in North America and China as the Nissan Rogue) had a period when it was one of the most produced SUVs in the world, with 825,000 sales in 2016, 905,000 in 2017 and 840,000 in 2018, thanks to a very competitive price in relation to the dimensions and performance of the vehicle. In this, it was a competitor to the Ford Explorer and Chevrolet Traverse.
- But since 2019, sales of the X-Trail and Rogue have fallen sharply, from 775,000 units in 2019 to 470,000 in 2020 and 430,000 in 2021. The semiconductor crisis and that of Covid-19 do not explain everything. The model born in 2014 has probably been slow to be replaced (like its cousin the Nissan Qashqai) and the competition has been sharpening for several years. No doubt also D-segment SUVs that are neither hybrid nor electric are of less interest to customers. This is why the new generation of Nissan X-Trail and Rogue unveiled in 2022 is immediately offered with an E-Power hybrid engine which replaces diesel (the only engine available in Europe). This engine is a 3-cylinder turbo petrol engine with a displacement of 1.5 liters aided by an electric motor, a set that develops 190 hp. A 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine developing 180hp will also be available but only in markets outside of Europe. The platform is the CMF-C shared with the Nissan Qashqai. The X-Trail will continue to be manufactured mainly in Japan (Fukuoka) and the United States (Smyrna, Tennessee), but also in China (Guangzhou, Guangdong) and Russia (Saint-Petersburg). In total, the new Nissan X-Trail / Rogue should be around 500,000 annual sales worldwide against 400,000 annual sales for the Qashqai.
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The Vietnamese manufacturer Vinfast wants to set up an assembly plant in the USA
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The Vietnamese manufacturer Vinfast wants to set up an assembly plant in the USA
- The Vietnamese manufacturer of 100% electric cars Vinfast, which currently has an assembly plant in Vietnam with a production capacity of 500,000 vehicles per year, will set up a new assembly plant in the United States. This plant located in North Carolina (which already has a BMW assembly plant) will have a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year for a local destination mainly. Vinfast is counting on the development of the electric car market in the United States to justify its establishment in the country, hoping that demand will not focus solely on Teslas. The targeted segments are rather upper segments (D/E).
- The start-up of manufacturers such as Rivian, Fisker or Lucid shows that the 100% electric market could diversify in the United States over the next few years and that each brand could find its market. Vinfast said construction of its US plant will begin in 2022 and auto production will start in 2024.
- The range of electric cars produced in the United States should consist of SUVs of different sizes. We are talking about the VF-8 (5-seater) and VF-9 (7-seater) models, 4.75 m and 5.10 m long respectively.
- Three other models were presented at CES in Las Vegas in 2021, the VF-5, VF-6 and VF-7 of smaller dimensions, but it is not certain that these models will be produced in the United States even if their marketing in Europe is already planned. The VF-5 is an SUV 4 meters long, the VF-6 4.25 meters long and the VF-7 4.50 meters long (size of a VW ID4). Vinfast would study the possibility of producing them directly in Europe, precisely in Germany.
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The Volkswagen group's strategy is to reduce its range to increase its profitability
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The Volkswagen group's strategy is to reduce its range to increase its profitability
- Volkswagen wants to eliminate more than half of its thermal models by 2030, not only to become a 100% electric manufacturer in 2035 but also to favor profitability over volume. Volkswagen wants to move upmarket and focus on a smaller and more expensive model range. It is obvious that with a reduced range and sharing as many components as possible, a manufacturer theoretically becomes more profitable because it focuses on a limited number of models and platforms. This reduction will affect the Volkswagen brand, but also Audi, Skoda, Seat and Porsche.
- Today, Volkswagen's European range has around fifteen different models, the Chinese range around thirty models, the North American range around ten models and the South American range around ten models. Overall, there are around forty different models and the manufacturer's objective is to eliminate twenty-five of them within eight years.
- This reduced range should be revived by the 100% electric models (ID range) which are currently four in number (ID3, ID4, ID5, ID Buzz) but which should increase to ten by 2030. These vehicles are more expensive than thermal vehicles, which is in line with the strategy of favoring the most expensive vehicles and on which the margin is higher. Regarding internal combustion vehicles, the least profitable and least sold models will be phased out first. The question is whether this pruning will not benefit other manufacturers or whether it will not cause a decline in car markets insofar as other manufacturers have a comparable strategy.
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