Could Saudi Arabia become a BEV producer?
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Could Saudi Arabia become a BEV producer?
- A joint venture has been established in Saudi Arabia between the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF (Public Investment Fund) and the supplier Foxconn from Taiwan. This is now to create a range of all-electric vehicles (BEV) under the new Ceer brand. Component licenses are also to be acquired from BMW for this purpose.
- No details of the models or production capacities were given, but it was announced that the Ceer models will be marketed in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region from 2025. The market for BEVs there is still in its early stages, but may grow rapidly, especially in the region's major cities. There are about 200 charging stations in Dubai and 2,000 in Abu Dhabi. There are currently no special incentives for BEV customers. However, some initiatives have been announced. In North Africa, Morocco plans to save about 23% energy in the transport and trafic sector by 2030. In Egypt, El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company wants to build up to 3,000 charging stations in collaboration with Chinese carmaker Dongfeng.
- Electronics carmaker Foxconn, best known for producing cell phones, has turned to electric vehicle production to diversify its product range. For example, the supplier has already partnered with Vietnamese carmaker VinFast and U.S. startup Fisker, as well as a strategic partnership with Stellantis. But its ambitions appear to go even further. For example, Foxconn has bought the GM pickup truck plant in Lordstown, Ohio, and will produce three BEV models under the Foxtron brand: the Model E sedan, the Model B crossover vehicle and the Model V pickup truck.
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Hyundai-Kia models in the NAFTA zone 2022-2026
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Hyundai-Kia models in the NAFTA zone 2022-2026
- Hyundai will bring the Ioniq 6 E-segment sedan (a BEV) and a refresh of the Venue SUV to North American in the first half of 2023. In the second half of the year, the redesigned Kona will appear there. Then in 2024, the BEV SUV Ioniq 7 will appear, alongside a redesign of the Nexo model and facelift of the Santa Cruz, Santa Fe and Tucson models. In 2025, the Palisade and Elantra models will be redesigned and the Ioniq 5 and Sonata models will receive a refresh. In 2026, the Ioniq 3 compact BEV SUV could possibly be launched in North America.
- Hyundai-Kia premium brand, Genesis, which to date has only been marketed in the NAFTA zone, will launch a BEV version of the G80 sedan in 2022. A BEV version of the SUV model GV70 will then appear there in 2023. The GV80 and G80 models with internal combustion engines will receive a facelift. In 2024, the GV70 with combustion engine will then also be modernized. In 2025, a BEV version of the G70 sedan and an as yet unknown BEV crossover could possibly appear. The SUV GV60 will be modernized. In 2026, a BEV version of the GV80 SUV could be marketed in North America. In addition, the G80 is to be redesigned.
- Kia will still launch the EV6 GT, a slightly sportier version of the electric EV6 sedan, and a plug-in version of the Sportage SUV on the North American market in 2022. The Niro model will be redesigned and the Telluride SUV, which is only available there, will be modernized. At the end of 2023, the all-electric SUV EV9 should appear and the model Sorento will be modernized. In 2024, the more compact all-electric SUV EV4 could appear alongside a redesigned Model Forte and the modernized Niro and Carnival models. In 2025, the new BEV model EV5 will appear, while the EV6 and Sportage models will be refreshed and the Telluride and Seltos models redesigned. In 2026, the EV range could be supplemented by the EV3 model, while the Sorento and K5 models are to be redesigned.
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Ssangyong has found a new buyer
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Ssangyong has found a new buyer
- Korean automaker Ssangyong avoids bankruptcy for the third time, this time thanks to the takeover by the South Korean family consortium KG Group, which specializes in chemicals and steel. The South Korean authorities have thus found a local solution, preventing a takeover by a foreign company, such as China's SAIC (after the first bankruptcy) or India's Mahindra (after the second bankruptcy). South Korean authorities believe that it is easier to continue the Ssangyong brand with the help of a local buyer.
- Ssangyong has a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year in South Korea. However, in 2021, production volume was very low (82 000 units) and has fallen to almost half of its capacity.
- The current model range is reduced to four models, all of which are SUVs: Tivoli (B-segment), Korando (C-segment), Rexton (D-segment) and Torres, the recently unveiled new SUV for the D-segment that will gradually replace the Rexton. The Torres has been very well received in the South Korean market and in exports, and already allows the brand to greatly increase its sales in 2022 compared to 2021 (over 110,000 units). Without the Torres, Ssangyong's sales would have fallen to 60,000 units by 2022.
- Ssangyong had accumulated six years of debt totaling $267 million, which had been reimbursed or was about to be reimbursed by the KG Group consortium. Like the previous candidate (Edison Motors) to acquire Ssangyong, the KG Group consortium has claimed that the future of the Korean brand will be electric. Ssangyong's first electric SUV is expected to hit the market in 2023.
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Russia revives the old brand Moskvich
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Russia revives the old brand Moskvich
- The Russian Moskvich brand (based in Moscow) produced cars from 1946 to 2001. These mid-range cars were positioned in the hierarchy of Russian cars between the ZAZ (Zaporojet) of the lower price range and the GAZ (Volga) of the upper price range.
- The Moscow plant was supplemented in the 1970s - with the help of Renault - by a second plant in Izhevsk, which doubled the brand's capacity (from 150,000 units to 300,000 units) and reached a production peak of 315,000 units in 1976. Production of older Moskvich models slumped until 2001, increasingly competed by Lada models (AvtoVAZ Group) in the same market segment.
- Then the Moscow plant was bought by Renault and modernized, creating the Avtoframos company. This company will produce Renault vehicles in Moscow from 2005 to 2022, mainly cars with Dacia original parts (Logan, Sandero, Duster). The production volume of Avtoframos increased until 2013, reaching a production peak of 200,000 units in that year. As AvtoVAZ was acquired by Renault in 2013, production of the Logan and Sandero was moved from Moscow to Togliatti (AvtoVAZ's production site), dividing by two the production volume in Moscow.
- After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Renault's operations in Russia ceased and the Moscow and Togliatti plants were sold. Today, Avtoframos is renamed Moskvitch and the Moscow plant will produce new models marketed under the name Moskvitch 3, derived from the Chinese SUV JAC JS4 (C-segment). Moskvitch plans to produce 50,000 cars in 2023, 10,000 of which will be electric. New models will be added to the product range in 2024.
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Toyota launches the fifth generation of the Prius
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Toyota launches the fifth generation of the Prius
- Toyota Prius was the pioneer among cars with hybrid drive (gasoline-electric drive) from 1997. It has gone through four generations so far (1997, 2003, 2009, 2015) and was joined by the Prius C (more compact C-segment version) and the Prius Plus (station wagon version of the Prius) in 2011 and the Prius Prime (plug-in hybrid) in 2012. The Prius C and Prime have their own life cycle and different generations, which we will not talk about here. The Prius Plus, on the other hand, has only seen one generation and has not been replaced due to its moderate success.
- The original Toyota Prius (non-rechargeable hybrid) grew in popularity until 2012, peaking at 600,000 units per year, up from 200,000 in 2006, 300,000 in 2008, and 500,000 in 2010, at which time the complementary models (Prius C, Prius Plus, Prius Prime) were launched, gradually reducing sales of the original Prius. Most importantly, however, the gradual expansion of hybrid powertrains at Toyota (Yaris, Corolla, CHR, Camry, RAV4, etc.) has significantly diminished the influence of the Prius, not to mention competition from hybrid cars from other brands (especially Korean carmakers), competition from foreign plug-in hybrid cars, and, of course, competition from battery electric vehicles entering the global market.
- By 2022, Toyota Prius production has fallen to less than 100,000 units, down from 200,000 in 2018, 300,000 in 2017, and 400,000 in 2016. The new generation, to be unveiled in late 2022 and launched in early 2023, must try to revive the career of a model that marked its time but is now under severe pressure.
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