Inovev forecasts 15,000 units a year for the new Renault Rafale
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Inovev forecasts 15,000 units a year for the new Renault Rafale
- Renault is presenting its new D-segment Rafale coupé SUV at the 2023 Munich Motor Show. This model, inspired by the C-segment Renault Arkana, the success of which is undeniable (76,000 units sold in Europe in 2022 against 18,000 Kadjar), will attempt to repeat Arkana's commercial success at the top echelon.
- For this, the carmaker started from the base of the Renault Espace SUV, itself derived from the Austral SUV, to create a silhouette close to the Arkana and which is in line with the movement of the Mercedes GLC coupé, BMW X4 or Audi Q3 Sportback. It is true that coupé SUVs were initiated by Premium carmakers and these still represent the vast majority of coupé SUV sales today.
- Renault is very reckless to venture into this category because the chances of success of the Rafale remain very slim. Indeed, between a Premium brand coupe SUV and a Renault mainstream brand coupe SUV, the customer will almost always prefer the Premium brand. Renault is of course building on the success of the lower-segment Arkana, but can that success really be repeated on a higher-segment model? Nothing is less sure. Especially since the Safrane, Renault has never stood out in the top of the range.
- Inovev is counting on a sales volume of 15,000 copies per year of the Renault Rafale. It is produced at the Palencia site in Spain, alongside the Renault Austral (115,000 units per year) and Espace (25,000 units per year). The Rafale will be available in gasoline hybrid (200 hp) or plug-in gasoline hybrid (300 hp) but not in a battery electric version. We are talking about prices between 45,000 and 65,000 euros depending on the version and the engines.
Inovev forecasts 500,000 sales of the new Volkswagen Tiguan SUV by 2025
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Inovev forecasts 500,000 sales of the new Volkswagen Tiguan SUV by 2025
- The third generation of the C-segment Volkswagen Tiguan SUV will probably be the last, as this model unveiled at the 2023 Munich Motor Show will see its seven-year commercial career come to an end in 2030, when all Volkswagen models sold in Europe are expected be equipped with fully electric motorisation. However, the range of battery electric cars is identified by the designation ID (ID3, ID4, ID5, ID6, ID7, etc.).
- The Volkswagen Tiguan will therefore make its last lap in Europe between 2024 and 2030. And it will really be a challenge for the carmaker because the Tiguan is one of the best-selling SUVs in the world, with 800,000 sales in 2018, 700 000 sales in 2019 and another 530,000 sales in 2022. It will be very difficult for Volkswagen to produce a battery electric SUV at such a volume.
- The new Tiguan unveiled at the 2023 Munich Motor Show will still be equipped with petrol (1.5 TSI) and diesel (2.0 TDI) engines and plug-in hybrid petrol engines of 204 hp and 272 hp, but will not be entitled to battery electric motorization reserved for the ID range.
- This is why Inovev is not optimistic about the expected production volume of the new Tiguan, in a period when battery electric motorization should develop strongly and where internal combustion engines will continue to decline.
- We can count on 500,000 sales per year in 2024-2025 then 400,000 in 2026-2027, 300,000 in 2028-2029 and 200,000 in 2030.
- The new Tiguan will compete with the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage as well as the Peugeot 3008, Citroën C5 Aircross, Opel Grandland, DS 7 which will be available in a battery electric version.
The Citroën Ami is produced at a rate of 12,000 units per year
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The Citroën Ami is produced at a rate of 12,000 units per year
- The European market of small urban vehicles (L6/L7 segments) is estimated at around 40,000 vehicles a year. Until the arrival of Renault (Twizy) and Citroën (AMI) on this small market, the leaders were mainly French (Ligier, Aixam, Microcar). The arrival of Renault and, above all, Citroën has a made a breakthrough in this market, due to their low prices (€7,800 for an AMI) and their purely electric powertrains, which were not the norm for these segments. The Renault Twizy, launched in 2011, had already a first attempt in this market, but its conception was closer to a scooter than a car. So it wasn't a big success.
- The purely electric Citroën AMI launched in 2020 is closer to the concept of car. It has been a honest success, selling around 12,000 units a year, or 36,000 over three years, with production taking place at the Kenitra plant in Morocco. As a result, the Citroën AMI quickly became the best-selling car of these segments. And the Stellantis Group has decided to replicate this success for its other access brands, such as Opel and Fiat.
- In 2022, the Opel version was launched on the market, with a style very similar to that of the Citroën. This version is aimed primarily at the German market and bordering markets (Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland).
- In 2024, the Fiat version will be added, with a new style reminiscent of the old Fiat 500, but still based on the Citroën AMI. This version will be aimed more at the Italian and Moroccan markets. With these three models, Stellantis hopes to achieve sales of 20,000 per year, or 50% of the small car market.
The future Fiat Panda (2024) will be produced in Serbia (Kragujevac)
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The future Fiat Panda (2024) will be produced in Serbia (Kragujevac)
- The Serbian plant at Kragujevac initially belonged to the sole Yugoslav producer, Zastava. In 1954, Zastava signed an agreement with the Italian carmaker Fiat to produce Fiat vehicles under license. These vehicles gradually develop the automotive market in Yugoslavia, just as they did in Italy a few years earlier. The end of Yugoslavia began with the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and Russia in the early 1990s. The Kragujevac factory was bombed by NATO during the war in Yugoslavia at the end of the 90s, but was rebuilt in the early years of the 2000s. In 2010, the plant was bought by Fiat to produce the 500L (a 500 estate version) there between 2012 and 2022.
- While the plant ceased operations in 2022 and its future (within the new Stellantis group created in 2021 from the merger of PSA and Fiat-Chrysler) seemed uncertain, it will be in charge of producing the future Fiat Panda, scheduled for 2024. This new model, based on the CMP platform shared with the Peugeot 208, Opel Corsa and DS 3 and which will also be adopted by the future Citroën C3 and Lancia Ypsilon, will be available in both combustion and electric versions, like the models mentioned above.
- This future Panda will be 4 m long compared to 3.69 m for the current Panda and will therefore upgrade from the A to the B segment, leaving the Fiat 500 free in the A-segment and coming back in the B segment market, left empty by the old, non renewed Fiat Punto. It seems that the current Fiat Panda, which will continue to be produced in Pomigliano (southern Italy), will continue its career as an entry-level model. As with the Fiat 500, there will therefore be two Fiat Pandas.
Inovev plans 100,000 units per year in Europe for the new VW Passat
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Inovev plans 100,000 units per year in Europe for the new VW Passat
- Until 2022, the Volkswagen Passat (D-segment sedan) was produced in Europe, China and the United States, with a different body for each of these regions. Production of the Passat ceased in the United States in 2022, while it continues in Europe and China. In China, the local Passat has seen its sales stabilize at around 200,000 units per year for ten years, while in Europe, the Passat has seen its sales divided by three for ten years and even divided by four since 2006-2007.
- The one that was Volkswagen's revival car in 1973, after the collapse of the Beetle in the early 1970s, gradually became a marginal car within the German carmaker. So much so that Volkswagen had considered not replacing the current Passat. Especially since the brand's D-segment sedan promised a bright future was the battery electric ID7. Finally, a new generation of Passat will see the light of day in 2024, but only in station wagon (SW) version in order not to interfere with the ID7 available only in sedan body.
- The new generation of the Volkswagen Passat SW presented at the 2023 Munich Motor Show shares its MQB platform with the future Skoda Superb which is evolving on the same market, in sedan and station wagon versions. The Passat SW is 15 cm longer, than the Superb. The engines are numerous: a 2.0 petrol TSI (201 hp or 261 hp), a 2.0 diesel TDI (120 hp or 148 hp), a 1.5 petrol 48V MHEV (148 hp) and a 1.5 petrol PHEV plug-in hybrid (201 hp or 268 ch). Obviously no electric motor. Inovev forecasts 100,000 units per year in Europe the new VW Passat.
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