Category Blog

Details: Published: 25 November 2020

GMC unveils its 100% electric Hummer pickup

- The GM Group, through its GMC brand, has unveiled its new all-electric pickup to be launch onto the market in 2021 under the Hummer brand name. Hummer was a GM brand producing SUV between 1998 and 2010, after being distributed by AM General between 1992 and 1998, which was a supplier to the US military.

- The 2008-2009 economic crisis stopped the Hummer brand, as for Pontiac and Saturn brands also belonging to the GM group. But the Hummer name remained the property of the GM group.

- The leading American carmaker therefore took the opportunity of the popularity of SUVs, pick-ups and electric powertrains to relaunch the Hummer name in the category of 100% electric pick-ups, competing the Tesla Cybertruck pick-up, unveiled last spring and which will be on the market next year.

- The Hummer pick-up, with four doors and short be, will be marketed in three different versions: the EV2 (625 hp) authorizing 400 km of autonomy priced at $80,000, the EV2X (800 hp) authorizing 482 km of autonomy priced at $90,000, the EV3X (800 hp) authorizing 482 km of autonomy priced at 100,000 dollars and EV Edition (1,000 hp) authorizing 563 km of autonomy priced at $110,000. These prices remain uncompetitive compared to those of the Tesla Cybertruck as the Californian carmaker announces $70,000 for the version allowing 800 km of autonomy and $40,000 for the version allowing 400 km of autonomy.

- The more classic design of the GMC Hummer could however convince some potential customers.

Contact us: info@inovev.com

Details: Published: 25 November 2020

Production

Europe lost 4.3 million vehicles (PC + LUV) over 9 months 2020

- The loss of production of passenger cars (PCs) and light utility vehicles (LCVs) in Europe is estimated at 4.3 million units in the period of the first nine months of 2020 compared to the first nine months of 2019. The scope of this analysis Europe 29 countries including Great Britain, but without Serbia, Turkey and Russia.

- The PC + LUV production volume estimated according to Inovev would be 9,321,660 units against 13,610,526 units a year earlier. The difference is therefore 4,288,866 units. If we take into account only passenger cars, the difference is only 3,876,842 units, the estimated total being 8,186,537 units compared to 12,063,379 units a year earlier.

- This loss of production is mainly due to the Covid-19 crisis which caused the closure of most plants located in Europe during one month or two depending on the country and the carmaker. It can also be specified that the fall of global markets caused a significant drop in exports and the recovery starting in summer took place gradually and on new sanitary rules inside plants, which did not helped to restart more intensively the production during this post lock-down period. Consequently, stocks are very low, lower than usual, because during the lock down more vehicles were sold than produced.

- The production volume lost in 2020 cannot be cached up, because if plants can lose 30% of their volume as it was during the first nine months of 2020, they cannot produce 30% more than their maximum capacity. Especially as the market recovery is unlikely to be "V" shaped, but will be gradual and long over time.

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Details: Published: 25 November 2020

Inovev forecasts 15,000 units per year of the Cupra Formentor

- Cupra was until now the sport range of the Spanish brand Seat, but since the beginning of this year the name has become a brand in its own from the Volkswagen Group, even though it is closely linked to the Seat brand. The creation of a new brand is always a risky exercise because creating an unknown brand in a market of well-known brands, each of them having an image and a reputation, is a gamble that few carmakers want to attempt.

- The strategy of creating a Cupra brand is a reminiscence of the creation of the Polestar brand from sporty versions of Volvo. But while Polestar is now in the category of plug-in electric cars (BEV and PHEV), the Cupra brand remains in the technology of thermal engines.

- The Formentor SUV (C-segment) is presented as the first 100% model of the Cupra brand. Closely derived from the Seat Leon sedan showed a few months ago, the Formentor claims its position as a sports car within the Volkswagen group (2.0 TSI engine of 310 hp).

- With a height of 1.51 m, the Formentor SUV is taller than the Leon by 5 cm but is 9 cm lower than the Seat Ateca which is the C-segment SUV of the Seat brand. Its length is 4.45 m, which is 8 cm longer than a Seat Leon.

- The CupraFormentor will be produced at the Martorell plant (Spain), alongside Seat models, but Inovev does not forecast more than 15,000 units sold per year, due to a relatively high-end price positioning.

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Details: Published: 25 November 2020

Kia brand could account for almost 30% of vehicles produced by Hyundai-Kia in India

- The launch of Kia in India is quite recent, as it started in August 2019. The Kia brand has been added to the Hyundai brand in this market with three different models, the first launched in August 2019 (the SUV Kia Seltos- 4.32 m long), the second launched in February 2020 (MPV Kia Carnival - 5.11 m long) and the third launched in September 2020 (the SUV Kia Sonet- 4.00 m long). The three models produced in India by Kia are therefore complementary, as the Sonetcan be considered as a B segment model, the Seltos as a C-segment model and the Carnival as an E-segment model. These three models are produced at the Hyundai plant in Chennai.

- Kia's production volume in India is increasing every month, except during the lock-down introduced in April 2020. This volume has increased from 5,000 monthly units in May 2020 to 10,000 in July, 17,000 in August and 25,000 in September. Kia has produced more than 165,000 cars since August 2019. The brand has found its market, which was not easy as the Indian market is 50% shared by Maruti-Suzuki and 15% by Hyundai. These two carmakers are leaders in India.

- Hyundai does not appear to have suffered too much from Kia's entry into the Indian market. The two brands coexist, except that the capacity of the Chennai plant is limited to 750,000 units per year. So Kia will have to take some capacities on Hyundai lines. In 2019, this plant produced 737,000 vehicles (including 55,000 Kia), against 713,000 in 2018 and 715,000 in 2017. At the current rate, Kia could represent 200,000 vehicles per year at the Chennai plant (100,000 Sonet and 100,000 Seltos models).

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Details: Published: 25 November 2020

Inovev forecasts 50,000 units per year of the new Tata Altroz

- Tata Motors is one of the main Indian carmakers, with Maruti (Suzuki) and Mahindra. Its production is more focused on utility vehicles (more than half of its total production carried out in India in recent years) than on passenger cars.

- In this context, Tata Motors' range of passenger cars remains very limited, compared to its two main competitors in the Indian market, Maruti and Hyundai. In 2020, the Tata catalogue consists of the Tiago sedan in the A segment, the Tigor sedan in the B segment, the Nexon SUV in the B segment and the Harrier SUV in the D segment. Added this year the Altroz which is a B segment sedan intended to replace the Tigor.

- Tata Motors reached its peak production in 2011 with nearly 900,000 vehicles produced in India, but production volume fell to 500,000 units per year between 2014 and 2017, before rising to 600,000 in 2018 and then falling back to 550,000 in 2019.

- This evolution can be explained by the unsuccessful successive models, first the Bolt and Zest, then the Tiago and Tigor. These two series having failed to do better than the old Indica and Indigo (1998- 2017). The failure of the Tata Nano (2009-2018) also greatly affected the Indian carmaker. The only satisfaction was the Jaguar Land Rover division acquired in 2008 which increased its influence around the world until 2017, but since that date this division has also suffered a sharp drop in sales.

- At the current rate, the Tata Altroz is expected to be produced at 50,000 units per year, which will not be enough to relaunch the brand.