Ford Mustang Mach E sales beginning are difficult
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Ford Mustang Mach E sales beginning are difficult
- Ford introduced its first mass-produced electric car last spring, the Mustang Mach E. This name could suggest that this model is derived from the Ford Mustang coupe, but it is not. In fact, the Mustang is the last survivor of the Ford brand's passenger car line-up in North America, as the automaker has removed the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Taurus from its manufacturing program in that region.
- Produced since February 2020, the Mustang Mach E has failed to find its customers in the American market, which is rather a buyer of large pickups and large SUVs equipped with thermal engines.
- The Mustang Mach E comes under the form of a compact SUV with an 100% electric motor, but not based on the MEB platform of the Volkswagen group.
- Ford produced only 283 units of this model in eight months, which is a very small figure, even in a period of market crisis. This means the model has sold less than 280 units since the start of the year. At the same time, Tesla produced 153,000 Model 3 at its Fremont plant and sold 83,000 in the US market. As for the Model Y, which is the direct competitor of the Mustang Mach E, Tesla has produced 21,000 units since last March and sold 18,500 units in the US market. The sluggish start-up of the Mustang Mach E possibly demonstrates that Ford does not really have any legitimacy in the market of electric cars, and it could be that this model will experience a real commercial failure.
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With its new 500, Fiat did not want to follow Smart's strategy
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With its new 500, Fiat did not want to follow Smart's strategy
- The FCA group unveiled earlier this year the battery electric Fiat 500e. It will be on sale from October. Even if its silhouette remains close to the Fiat 500 marketed until then, the model is different as the dimensions have increased (+6 cm in length and +6 cm in width) and few parts are common. The cabin design is also completely reviewed. In addition, the new Fiat 500e is not produced in Tichy in Poland as for the thermal version, but in Mirafiori in Italy.
- However, Fiat did not choose the strategy of Smart, by marketing the new 500 only in a battery electric version, which would have caused a fall in sales of Fiat 500, in a magnitude of 80 to 90%, because the electric version is more expensive, around 15,000 euros (15,000 euros for the entry-level thermal and 30,000 euros for the 500e). And European customers, especially Italian, are not 100% adept of electric cars. An 80-90% drop in Fiat 500 sales is equivalent to a loss of around 150,000 vehicles per year, and the carmaker was unwilling to take such a risk.
- As a result, FCA offers two Fiat 500 today: the classic 500 with a combustion engine, produced in Tichy and which keep the old body launched in 2007, and the 500e produced at Mirafiori, which benefits from a new body.
- The question of the thermal Fiat 500 remains: will it continue to pursue its career with the same body as the current one or whether it could soon take over the more modern body of the 500e? And if so, will the thermal Fiat 500 production be transferred to the Mirafiori plant, leaving the Tichy plant without activity, despite lower costs production in Poland?
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Among the 10 best-selling cars in Europe, 9 are made in Europe
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Among the 10 best-selling cars in Europe, 9 are made in Europe
- Europe is the region with the highest number of mass production carmaker, such as Volkswagen, Renault-Nissan, PSA, FCA, BMW and Daimler (unlike China which has the most small and mid-sized carmakers).
- The Volkswagen group thus remained the world's leading carmaker between 2016 and 2019, before falling to second place in 2020, the Renault-Nissan group is now the third largest carmaker in the world and the PSA-FCA (Stellantis) merger is underway to create the world's fourth largest carmaker. As for BMW and Daimler, they are the first premium carmaker in the world.
- On the European market, these six carmakers represent three quarters of sales in 2020, as in 2019. But considering that Japanese (Toyota, Honda), Korean (Hyundai, Kia), Chinese (Volvo) and American (Ford) carmakers also produce in Europe for local demand, imports from outside Europe represent only 15% of sales.
- This proportion can be compared to what we can see in Asian car-producing countries, the import rate being even lower in Korea (it is 12%), in Japan (6%) and in China (5%).
- In the United States, this proportion is 40%, but if we consider the NAFTA region (Canada-Mexico-USA), we only obtain 15% of imports from outside, i.e. a figure equivalent to Europe.
- Among the ten best-selling cars in Europe in 2020, only one is produced largely outside the European Union: the Renault Clio (second sale) which comes in ¾ from Turkey, and ¼ from Slovenia.
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Hyundai started the production of the Kona-BEV in Europe
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Hyundai started the production of the Kona-BEV in Europe
- The Korean carmaker Hyundai has started the production in its Nosovice plant (Czech Republic) of its compact SUV (segment B), the Kona, but only in a 100% electric version (BEV). Hyundai's Czech plant, which has a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year spread over two shifts, already produces the i30 sedan (C-segment) in three different bodies: sedan, station wagon, fastback sedan, as well as the Tucson (C-segment SUV).
- In 2019, the plant's production volume fell to 267,000 vehicles, compared to 340,000 units in 2018 and 357,000 units in 2017. The production volume decline in Nosovice may explain why Hyundai decided to produce part of the Kona on this factory, especially as the Hyundai iX20 model was discontinued at the end of 2019.
- In 2019, the Kona was sold at 101,249 units in Europe, including 21,562 units in a 100% electric version. For comparison, the i30, iX20 and Tucson were sold respectively at 76,815 units, 18,962 units and 137,618 units (or a total of 233,395 units) during the same period.
- The Korean carmaker has decided to produce in the Czech Republic the electric version of the Kona sold in Europe (the thermal versions will continue to be imported from Korea), representing nearly 30,000 units per year, according to Inovev.
- In the first seven months of 2020, the electric Kona was sold at 15,549 units in Europe, which effectively suggests a volume of 28,000 to 29,000 units for the whole year, at this current rate.
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Inovev forecasts 450,000 units per year of the new Dacia Sandero
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Inovev forecasts 450,000 units per year of the new Dacia Sandero
- The Renault group, owner of the Romanian firm Dacia, has unveiled the new Dacia Sandero, which is marketed in the Renault Clio V category (based on the same CMF-B platform), i.e. the B segment. The difference is based in the price since the Sandero will continue to be sold at a lower price than a Clio, even if the Dacia model is upgraded.
- The Sandero should only be produced in Morocco (Tangier and Casablanca), for the versions sold in Europe, while today it is produced in Morocco and Romania. The carmaker also informed that the Logan (4 doors version of the Sandero) will now also be produced in Morocco, and no longer in Romania as it is today. This transfer of production effectively condemns the Dacia Dokker and Lodgy which are now produced in Tangier but which were not successful and therefore did not meet the carmaker's objectives. Creating a compact MPV and a low cost utility vehicle is no longer one of Renault's priorities, a few weeks before the presentation of the new generation of the Renault Kangoo.
- The Romanian plant in Pitesti will therefore now be solely dedicated to the production of the Dacia Duster, a compact SUV (C-segment) which is very successful in Europe and of which an extended version could be launched soon, replacing the Logan station wagon.
- Inovev forecasts an annual worldwide production of 450,000 Sanderos, sold under the Dacia and Renault brands depending on the market. Its production in Morocco will represent 300,000 units per year, ie 2/3 of its world production. It is to not that the Sandero sold outside of Europe is produced in Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Iran, Morocco and Russia.
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Read more... Inovev forecasts 450,000 units per year of the new Dacia Sandero
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