The Toyota Yaris is the most produced car in France in 2020
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The Toyota Yaris is the most produced car in France in 2020
- The Toyota Yaris became again the most produced car in France in 2020, ahead of the Peugeot 3008 which was the most produced in 2018 and 2019. Actually, there were two different generations of Yaris produced at the Onnaing site (France) last year, but the addition of the two models represents 188,142 units, while the Peugeot 3008 did not exceed 148,733 units in 2020.
- The production decline was bigger for the Peugeot model (-40%) than for the Toyota model (-16%), but according to Inovev, the explanation for this decrase is not only linked to the coronavirus crisis, which also affected Toyota, but also the strong competition from the new generation of the Peugeot 2008 which arrived on the market in December 2019 with performances finally close for a lower price.
- The mid-2020 facelift of the 3008 does not appear to have made effect in one way or another. In 2019, 245,932 Peugeot 3008 were produced at the Sochaux site, compared to 224,065 Toyota Yaris at the Onnaing site.
- For 2021, it is difficult to make a forecast, because the year 2020 has been a very special year. On one hand, the revamp of the European market (main market for Peugeot 3008 and Toyota Yaris) should benefit to both models, especially as the Peugeot 3008 will benefit from its facelift and the Toyota Yaris of its new generation, to the first time in a full year. The Peugeot 2008 which could be a competitor has been fully produced in Spain since the end of 2019. Finally, the Peugeot 308 will be renewed in 2021, but it seems difficult for it to achieve the levels of 3008 and Yaris production volumes.
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Seat Alhambra, Citroën C4 SpaceTourer and Alfa Giulietta stopped
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Seat Alhambra, Citroën C4 SpaceTourer and Alfa Giulietta stopped
- Three European models were stopped in December 2020: the Seat Alhambra, Citroën C4 SpaceTourer (ex-C4 Picasso) and Alfa Giulietta.
- The Citroën C4 SpaceTourer compact MPV (C-segment) is facing the strong demand for SUVs. Nearly 70,000 units of the Citroën C5 Aircross SUV were produced in France in 2020, while the Space Tourer did not exceed 30,000 sales. It is to remind that the C4 Picasso was close to 100,000 units per year and even the previous generation had reached nearly 300,000 units in 2007.
- The large Seat Alhambra MPV (D-segment) suffered the same consequences as the C4 SpaceTourer, as the Seat Tarraco SUV (D-segment) has taken a large part of its customers. It was produced in 25,000 units in 2020, while the Seat Alhambra did not exceed 15,000 units last year, including 846 units in December. In 2017, its production reached more than 33,000 units.
- Alfa Giulietta suffered from its non renewal. Its product life cycle lasted ten years which is a far too long period. As a result, the model was out of date versus C-segment competition. Its sales did not exceed 15,000 units in 2020, compared to 50,000 in 2013 and 83,000 in 2011.
- In addition, the production of the electric version of the VW Golf was logically stopped in December 2020, as this model, which was produced in Dresden, has been replaced by the VW ID3 since last fall. As for the Renault Espace, its end of production has been postponed for few months, a year at most, even if its sales fell to their lowest level in 2020: only 4,172 sales including 454 units in December, against 9,067 units in 2019, 11,591 in 2018, 17,931 in 2017 and 25,392 in 2016.
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Ford stops car production in Brazil
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Ford stops car production in Brazil
- The US carmaker Ford has announced that it is shutting down car production in Brazil, a year after it pulled out of Russia. Fourth group in the country during a long period, but far behind FCA, VW and GM (which together represent 50% of production and sales in Brazil in 2020), Ford has started to see other groups selling more vehicles: Renault-Nissan from 2012, Hyundai-Kia from 2016 and Toyota since 2019, which is closely follow Ford.
- Brazil is today the fourth largest market of the Ford group, behind the NAFTA zone, Europe and China. However, Ford believes that the volumes sold in the country are not enough to maintain production there. This can be understood because only two small models are produced for the local market: the Ford Ka(A-segment) and EcoSport(B-segment). This decision finalise the decline of Brazil's position in Ford's overall production. In fact, in 2020, Brazil only represented 3.5% of Ford's global automobile production, compared to 8.5% in 2009.
- The American carmaker has announced that it wants to focus on the production of SUVs and pick-ups in the NAFTA zone for the North American market. In addition, and despite equivalent volumes in Brazil, production in China appears to be mandatory and therefore maintained. Europe (Ford's second production area in the world), could therefore supply the Brazilian market in the future with sedans and SUVs of small segments. Ford does have a production unit in Argentina (50,000 units in 2019) but mainly produces Ranger pick-ups there. It is not inconceivable that Argentinian production will also be stopped in favour of Thailand, a country which specializes in the production of pick-ups. For Brazil, this is the second defection of a carmaker after Mercedes.
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A new 100% electric Chinese SUV is arriving in Europe: the Aiways U5
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A new 100% electric Chinese SUV is arriving in Europe: the Aiways U5
- On the European markets, some Chinese brands are already operating, such as MG, Great Wall, JAC. But these brands are sold in very confidential quantities (less than a thousand in 2020). Only the MG brand managed to sell notable volumes, with 25,641 units sold in Europe in 2020, but of which 70% are destined to the UK market.
- MG's main model is the ZS SUV (B-segment) which was sold at nearly 16,000 units in 2020, including 9,000 in 100% electric version (BEV) and nearly 7,000 in thermal version.
- SAIC, owner of the MG brand, does not stop there, having just launched a new brand in Europe: Aiways. The first model of this new brand, the U5, is also an SUV, of D-segment (4.68m in length) and 100% electric.
- The Aiways U5 saw its production start in Shanghai in December 2019 and its sales began in Europe in December 2020. SAIC created the Aiways brand to differentiate these “premium” models from the more affordable MG models in terms of price and performance. The U5's battery + electric powertrain give it an announced range of more than 400 km (WLTP cycle), for an kerb weight of 1,730 kg.
- Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) represent 5% of the European market in 2020 and this market share will grow over the next ten years. The arrival in mass volume of BEVs from Chinese carmakers on the European market is still difficult to forecast. Nonetheless, the need to supply the European market with vehicles at reasonable prices for a clientele that will increasingly be electrically oriented, opens the way to opportunities for Chinese carmakers.
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VW Group sales decline by 15.2% worldwide in 2020
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VW Group sales decline by 15.2% worldwide in 2020
- The Volkswagen group (Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, MAN, Scania) recorded a drop in its global sales in 2020, like most carmakers, due to the coronavirus crisis. The German carmaker recorded a 15.2% drop in worldwide sales, to 9,305,400 vehicles (passenger cars + light, medium and heavy utility vehicles) against 10,975,300 units in 2019. Consequently, the Volkswagen group fell behind the Toyota group in 2020, as the Japanese carmaker has surpassed 9.5 million sales last year.
- The breakdown of Volkswagen group sales in 2020 are as follows: 5,328,000 Volkswagen (-15.1%), 1,692,800 Audi (-8.3%), 1,004,800 Skoda (-19.1%), 427 000 Seat (-25.6%), 272,200 Porsche (-3.1%), 371,700 Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (-24.4%), 118,100 MAN (-17.3%), 72,100 Scania (- 27.5%) and 18,700 Bentley - Lamborghini - Bugatti (-3.0%).
- We observe that the Premium brands have suffered less from the crisis than the mainstream brands, even if they have recently benefited from new models which have enlarged their range, particularly in the SUV category.
- By region, the Chinese market (3,849,000 sales; -9.1%) has become again the VW group's leading market, ahead of Europe (3,616,900 sales; -20.5%), North America (785,800 sales; -17.4%) and South America (489,700 sales; -19.5%).
- Sales of the VW group's electrified vehicles reached 422,000 units in 2020, including 231,500 BEVs and 190,500 PHEVs, mostly to Western European market. The VW ID3 recorded 56,500 sales in 2020.
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