Freightliner confirms its leading position in heavy utility vehicles in the USA
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Freightliner confirms its leading position in heavy utility vehicles in the USA
- The US heavy utility vehicle market reached 460,000 vehicles in the first 11 months of 2023, which augurs a market of 500,000 vehicles for the whole year. This volume is one of the best of the decade, as 476,000 units were recorded in 2022, 462,000 in 2021 and 410,000 in 2020. Volumes from 2014 to 2018 oscillated between 400,000 and 490,000 sales. Only the year 2019 exceeded 500,000 sales, with a volume of 527,000 units, a record figure for the period 2013-2023.
- The US heavy utility vehicle market is divided into 13 different brands integrated into 10 groups, making it a very concentrated market. The sales leader remains the Freightliner brand, which belongs to the German group Daimler Trucks, with 136,448 sales over 11 months 2023, representing 30% of the US heavy-duty truck market. In second position, but well behind, the International brand which belongs to the German Volkswagen group sold 66,218 HUV, representing 14% of the market.
- Ford is third, with 64,253 sales, representing 14% of the market, ahead of the Paccar group's Peterbilt and Kenworth brands, which each occupy 9% of the US heavy-duty market, or 18% for the Paccar group as a whole.
- In sixth position, Volvo Trucks occupies 6% of the market. Its subsidiary Mack Trucks occupies 4% of the market, which totals 10% of the market for the Volvo Trucks group. Two Japanese carmakers are included in this ranking, Isuzu and Hino, representing 5% of the US market. The Chrysler group still occupies 4% of the US heavy-duty market. The GM group now represents only 3% of the US heavy-duty truck market. Tesla is starting out in this heavy-duty market, with 180 units sold over 11 months of 2023.
Kuwait purchased 113,000 vehicles in 2022
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Kuwait purchased 113,000 vehicles in 2022
- Kuwait is a country located between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which has nearly 3 million inhabitants. The automobile market represents on average between 100,000 and 150,000 new vehicles each year. In 2022, it reached 113,000 units, compared to 101,500 in 2021 and 75,000 in 2020, a year marked by the Covid-19 crisis. The year 2022 returns to the level of the years just before the Covid crisis, such as 2019 (110,000 sales).
- However, this figure still represents only 75% of the previous peak with more than 150,000 units reached in 2015. Like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the Kuwaiti automobile market depends on fluctuating oil prices, since Kuwait depends much of the production and sale of oil. The more prices increase, the richer the country is and can import and buy new vehicles. The more prices fall, the more the automobile market collapses. This is the situation observed between 2015 and 2020.
- The composition of the market by brand has remained the same for several years, with a strong presence of Japanese brands, but the Chinese MG belonging to the SAIC group is progressing strongly, moving from 10th place in 2021 to 7th position in 2022, practically doubling its sales in one year.
- The best-selling model in 2022 is the Toyota Prado SUV, with 10,072 units (8.9% of the market) ahead of the Toyota Land Cruiser SUV (7,131 units). Toyota places seven models in the Top 15 by model last year, which places the carmaker as the big leader in the Kuwaiti market in 2022 (with 36.5% of the market).
BYD should confirm the construction of an assembly plant in Hungary
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BYD should confirm the construction of an assembly plant in Hungary
- Chinese automaker BYD has announced it is in final negotiations with the Hungarian government to build an electric car assembly plant. BYD plans to produce electric cars and batteries at a factory in Szeged, in the south of the country. Remember that BYD already has an electric bus factory in Hungary (Komarom) but the company wants to set up another factory (much larger) to produce electric cars on a large scale and become the largest producer of electric vehicles in Europe, with a goal of selling one in ten electric cars sold in Europe by 2030 (i.e. approximately 500,000 units).
- Hungary has seen battery carmakers set up on its territory for some time. The establishment of BYD in the country only strengthens the presence of the Chinese in Hungary.
- BYD has quickly become the second largest producer of BEVs in the world (behind Tesla) and the first in China, a market in which it will become the sales leader for all engines combined, ahead of the Volkswagen group and the GM group. BYD thus sold 2,683,374 vehicles in China over the first 11 months of 2023, a figure compared to 2,723,854 sales of the Volkswagen group and 2,091,368 sales of the GM group (including Wuling). But while VW and GM are down compared to 2022, BYD is growing.
- BYD had indicated a few months ago that it wanted to establish itself industrially in Europe, because this market is supposed to become fully electrified in 2035 and recent measures aimed at increasing the price of Chinese cars in several European countries have only encourages this decision. BYD will now follow its great rival Tesla in Europe, which has a factory there that can already produce 500,000 vehicles per year.
The United Arab Emirates purchased 218,000 vehicles in 2022
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The United Arab Emirates purchased 218,000 vehicles in 2022
- The United Arab Emirates is a federal state made up of seven emirates, the largest being Abu Dhabi. This federal state brings together nearly 10 million inhabitants. The automobile market represents on average between 200,000 and 400,000 new vehicles each year. In 2022, it reached 218,000 units, compared to 192,521 in 2021 and 152,235 in 2020, a year marked by the Covid-19 crisis. The year 2022 returns to the level of the years just before the Covid crisis, such as 2019 (215,977 sales) or 2018 (219,269 sales).
- However, this figure is still only a nearly half of the previous peak with more than 400,000 units reached in 2015. Like Saudi Arabia, the UAE automobile market depends on fluctuating oil prices, since Emirates relies heavily on the production and sale of oil. The more prices increase, the richer the country is and can import and buy new vehicles. The more prices fall, the more the automobile market collapses. This is the situation observed between 2015 and 2020.
- The composition of the market by brand has remained the same for several years, with a strong presence of Japanese brands, but the Chinese MG belonging to the SAIC group entered the top 10, moving from 13th place in 2021 to 8th position in 2022, doubling practically its sales from one year to the next.
- The best-selling model in 2022 is the Toyota Hilux pickup, with 13,640 units (6.3% of the market) ahead of the Nissan Patrol (11,212 units). Toyota places nine models in the Top 15 by model last year, which places the carmaker as the big market leader in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 (with 30.8% of the market).
Despite the loss of their bonus in France, Chinese BEVs will remain competitive
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Despite the loss of their bonus in France, Chinese BEVs will remain competitive
- The prices of Chinese electric cars sold in Europe are lower than those proposed by European, Japanese or Korean competition. When we compare the price in France (without the bonus) of the MG 4 (C segment sedan) produced in China by the SAIC group to its best-selling European competitors in Europe, we observe a price difference of generally more than 10,000 euros.
- Starting price (without bonus) in France of the following BEVs (in December 2023): Peugeot e-308 = 42,590 euros, Renault Mégane E-Tech = 38 000 euros, Volkswagen ID3 = 42,990 euros, Citroën e-C4 = 35 740 euros, MG 4 = 29 990 euros. If Chinese cars lose their bonus of 5,000 euros following the new regulations which will be applicable in France from 2024, there will remain a price difference of more than 5,000 euros in favour of Chinese cars. These will therefore remain competitive.
- The upper segment Tesla Model 3 (D segment) is also offered at a very low price (starting price in France: 42,990 euros) because it is imported from China. Imported from the USA, its price would be much higher, the cost of labour being lower in China than in Europe or the USA. The BMW i4 (competitor of the Tesla Model 3) is priced starts at 57,550 euros in France.
- We can ask ourselves whether producing in Europe, a region where labour costs are higher than in China, will be profitable for a carmaker already producing in China. Over the first 10 months of 2023, Chinese brands sold 275,000 cars in Europe (EU + UK + Switzerland + Norway), including more than 150,000 BEVs. Over the whole of 2023, we can expect 330,000 sales of Chinese cars including 180,000 BEVs.
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