Tesla factory ramp up in Berlin boosts European BEV production
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Tesla factory ramp up in Berlin boosts European BEV production
- European production (EU + UK + Switzerland + Norway) of BEV increased by 45% over the first 10 months of 2023 compared to the first 10 months of 2022. This trend should be confirmed over the 12 months of 2023 (figures from the year will be known at the end of January 2024). The volume stands at 1,150,000 BEVs produced over the first 10 months of 2023 compared to 792,000 over the first 10 months of 2022, an increase of 358,000 vehicles. For comparison, BEV sales in Europe over the first 10 months of 2023 exceeded 1.6 million units (+45% compared to the 10 months of 2022).
- A third of this production increase is due to the increase of the Tesla Model Y which started production in April 2022 in the German factory near Berlin. In 2023, this model will largely supplant all other BEVs in terms of volume produced, with 150,000 units over the first 10 months of 2023. This volume produced in Europe represents 75% of Tesla Model Y sales sold in Europe, the remaining 25% coming from China.
- The other BEVs still represent very low volumes compared to the Tesla. The VW ID4, Audi Q4, Skoda Enyaq and VW ID3 belonging to the Volkswagen group occupy the next four places ahead of the Fiat 500e and Peugeot e-208.
- It is to be noted that very few BEVs produced in Europe are exported outside Europe, because demand is very low in the USA and is mainly focused on Chinese models in China. Also to be noted that the pioneering models in Europe Renault Zoé and Nissan Leaf no longer even appear in the Top 25 BEVs produced in Europe. These models are expected to be discontinued next year due to lack of demand.
The range of BEVs at Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and Audi still under construction
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The range of BEVs at Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and Audi still under construction
- At the end of December 2023, the range of battery electric vehicles from the German brands Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and Audi is still under construction, eleven years before the regulation year which will require only offering zero emission vehicles on the European market.
- Remember that the German government is expecting 15 million BEVs on German roads by 2030, compared to just over a million today. According to the VDIK (Verband der Internationalen Kraftfahrzug), an organization defending the positions of importers in Germany, BEV sales are expected to represent 19% of the German market in 2023 and 22% in 2024.
- How is today the BEV range of the four major German brands made of? It currently consists of the models listed in the table below.
1. At Volkswagen, the core range (C & D segments) is well represented, but a BEV is missing in the B segment. It is expected for 2025 or 2026 and will be the size of a Polo.
2. At BMW, we note the presence of three BEVs - sedans and three SUVs positioned more in the higher segments (D-E-F segments). A BEV sedan is missing in the C segment.
3. At Mercedes, the BEV offering is very extensive in the SUV category, but it is still incomplete in sedans. Sedans in C-D segments should be unveiled in 2024-2025 based on the concept car presented at the Munich Motor Show.
4. At Audi, the BEV offering is almost as complete as Mercedes one in the SUV category, but the lack of BEV sedans is obvious.
An Audi A6 E-Tron is planned for 2024, but the carmaker will have to extend its range towards the C and D segments.
An Audi A6 E-Tron is planned for 2024, but the carmaker will have to extend its range towards the C and D segments.
Inovev forecasts 200,000 units per year of the new Dacia Duster
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Inovev forecasts 200,000 units per year of the new Dacia Duster
- Dacia (Renault group) presented the third generation of its C-segment SUV, the Duster, whose origins date back to 2010. This model immediately met a real success thanks to its low pricing. The first generation of the Duster as sold at more than 150,000 units as early as 2011, while the second generation almost doubled that figure, with nearly 300,000 units in 2019 (just two years after its launch). Since 2019, the Duster has fallen to 200,000 units per year. This is why the model is being replaced in 2024.
- The new Duster modernizes its design, with some aesthetic details that make it look like a Japanese or Korean SUV. Regarding the platform, the new Duster changes era, thanks to the use of the CMF-B platform – as on the Dacia Logan, Jogger and Sandero – this platform being also used by the Renault Clio, Captur and Arkana (but with different materials applications).
- The new Duster keeps the same length (4.34 m) as the previous one, but it should be noted that it will be available from 2025 in a 7-seater version named Bigster and which will reach 4.60 m.
- The new Duster will be equipped for the first time with the 3-cylinder 1.2 petrol with 48V mild hybridization of 130 hp already, also used in the Renault Austral and Espace. The diesel engine is ousted but the LPG version remains. No battery electric version.
- The new Duster will, as before, be produced exclusively at the Pitesti site in Romania. Inovev forecasts 200,000 units per year between 2024 and 2030. It is possible that this will be the last version of the Duster with a thermal engine.
Volvo launches its very first minivan
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Volvo launches its very first minivan
- While the minivan (MPV) market is gradually disappearing in Europe and the United States (150,000 sales in Europe in 2022 compared to 2,300,000 in 2006 and 250,000 sales in the USA in 2022 compared to 1,300,000 in 2006), and it has also fallen significantly in China, going from 2,300,000 in 2016 to just under 1,000,000 in 2022, the carmaker Volvo (a subsidiary of Geely) is launching its very first minivan in 2023.
- Volvo had been known since the 1960s for its large station wagons and had never marketed MVPs. Since its integration into the Chinese group Geely, Volvo has gained a small market share in China (nearly 1%), a country which – as we have seen – still appreciates MPVs and especially the large ones. Indeed, these vehicles are often used by companies for their employees or partners journeys.
- The new Volvo EM90 minivan is therefore basically a pure Geely product intended mainly for the Chinese market. Indeed, the vehicle uses the SEA (Sustainable Electric Architecture) platform and the body of the Zeekr 009 minivan, the Zeekr brand being part of the Geely group.
- The Volvo EM90 is therefore a battery electric vehicle which measures 5.21 m long by 2.02 m wide and 1.86 m high, and weighs nearly 2.8 tonnes, like the Zeekr 009. The Volvo is however less powerful than the Zeekr 009, the Zeekr brand being at the very top of the hierarchy of Geely group brands. The Volvo EM90 is equipped with a 200 kW or 272 hp electric motor (400 kW or 544 hp on the Zeekr) and by a 116 kWh batteries.
Chile now buys more new vehicles than Argentina
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Chile now buys more new vehicles than Argentina
- Chile is populated by 19.2 million inhabitants while Argentina is populated by 46.1 million inhabitants. Until 2020, Argentina bought more new vehicles (passenger cars and utility vehicles) than Chile, which seemed normal as this country is twice as populated as Chile. But since 2021, Chile has purchased more new vehicles than Argentina, which suggests the extent of the economic crisis currently gripping Argentina.
- In 2021, Chile purchased 434,347 vehicles compared to 370,357 units for Argentina, becoming the second largest market in South America behind Brazil (2,119,851 vehicles). In 2022, vehicle sales in Chile reached 445,937 units compared to 395,540 units in Argentina.
- In addition to this performance, Chile is the country in South America where the most Chinese brand vehicles are sold (116,668 units in 2022, which is much more than the other countries in the region: 44,577 units in Ecuador, 40,850 in Peru, 35,033 in Brazil, 18,766 in Colombia, 9,719 in Bolivia, 5,491 in Uruguay, 2,525 in Argentina and 1,753 in Paraguay). The 116,668 Chinese cars sold in Chile in 2022 already represent 26% of the Chilean market and 42% of all Chinese cars sold in South America (275,382 units).
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