The Algerian Renault plant does not meet the carmaker's objectives at all
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The Algerian Renault plant does not meet the carmaker's objectives at all
- The Algerian Renault plant located in Oran (Western Algeria) was inaugurated in 2014 to meet the demand of the Algerian market which had seen imports gradually reduced following the decision of the local government. The French carmaker was counting on 75,000 vehicles produced per year in this plant, representing 50% to 75% of the local market (exports were not planned).
- The vehicles marketed were the Renault Clio and the Dacia rebadged Renault Logan and Renault Sandero. The 75,000 units were almost reached in 2018 (33,000 Sandero, 24,000 Logan and 13,000 Clio) but that year represents the peak of production never exceeded since, as the production volume of the plant fell to 60,000 units in 2019 before collapsing in 2020, during the Covid crisis. The partly closed plant only produced 761 vehicles in 2020 and the following years saw no real progress: 5,208 vehicles in 2021, 2,773 in 2022 and 2,456 in 2023.
- The Renault Symbol (new name for the Renault Logan) became the only car assembled on the site, but without an improvement of the volumes. The problem would lie in the CKD/SKD process with the volume of imported parts being reduced by the Algerian government in order to promote local integration of the supply chain.
- The Stellantis group, for its part, would have responded favourably to this request by establishing a plant in Oran intended to produce Fiat 500 and Doblo, with a capacity of 50,000 units per year which could be doubled by 2026. The group says it wants reach 10% of local integration rate in 2024, 25% in 2025 then 35% in 2026, according to the wishes of the Algerian government.
The Ford Mustang Mach E (BEV) fails to convince
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The Ford Mustang Mach E (BEV) fails to convince
- The American carmakers GM, Ford and Chrysler came late in the BEV market due to government policy unfavourable to this type of engine and the ancestral habits of American customers to use vehicles equipped with large gasoline engines 8 and six cylinders, very fuel-intensive in a country where the price of fuel remains low, compared to Europe for example.
- Only Tesla wanted to progress against the tide in this specifically hostile market, with honourable success, as the Californian carmaker produced in US, 356,000 BEVs in 2020, 444,000 in 2021, 593,000 in 2022 and 703,000 in 2023. Compared to Tesla, GM, Ford and Chrysler have remained very timid in the BEV market.
- GM launched the Chevrolet Bolt, then the Chevrolet Silverado EV, Chevrolet Blazer EV, GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, with mixed success. Chrysler has not yet launched BEVs but plans to launch a future range of BEVs such as the Jeep Wagoneer S, the Dodge Charger or Ram pickup EV. Regarding Ford, the carmaker launched the Mustang Mach-E in 2020, the F-Series Lightning pickup and the Transit EV.
- While the electric version of Ford F Series and Transit are selling in very small numbers, the Mustang Mach-E has found its customer base but displays relatively modest volumes. Between April 2020 and April 2024, 256,785 units were produced, or 64,000 per year on average and 5,350 per month on average. Compared to its competitor the Tesla Model Y produced in the United States (180,000 per year on average and 15,000 per month on average), the difference is abysmal.
The Dacia Sandero was the most produced car in the region Europe + Morocco + Turkey in 2023
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The Dacia Sandero was the most produced car in the region Europe + Morocco + Turkey in 2023
- Within the Europe 30 country region (EU + United Kingdom + Switzerland + Norway + Serbia + Morocco + Turkey), defined as EEZ by Inovev (Europe Economic Zone including Serbia, Morocco and Turkey as they export to Europe the majority of cars produced on their soil), the Dacia Sanderoproduced in Morocco became the most produced car in 2023 (293,787 units) ahead of the Renault Clio (262,714 units) produced in Turkey.
- The Dacia Sandero, which is the second best-selling car in Europe in 2023, is ahead of the Tesla Model Y (best-selling car in Europe in 2023) in production because it is produced in Germany (77%) and imported from China (at 23%), while the Sandero has been only produced from Morocco since the second half of 2022.
- In 2024, the share of Tesla Model Y produced in Germany is expected to increase further to gradually approach 100% following the capacity increase of the Gruenheideplant.
- The first place of the Dacia Sandero is a performance as this model was initially only a low-price model intended mainly for emerging and semi-emerging countries located in Eastern Europe. In fact, this model became an accessible model that could appeal to all European customers who could find many of the cars offered today too expensive, particularly BEVs and mid-range SUVs. It is to be noted that the Dacia Duster is in third position in this ranking among SUVs behind the VW Tiguan and Nissan Qashqai.
The utilisation rate of European plants rose to 67% in 2023
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The utilisation rate of European plants rose to 67% in 2023
- After recording good utilization rates in 2017, 2018 and 2019 (around an average utilization rate of 80%), European automobile plants suffered the shock of the health crisis in 2020, the semi-conductors crisis in 2021 and the consequences of the war in Ukraine in 2022 (increase in the price of fuel, electricity and raw materials) and an overall stagnation of the demand. As a result, European automobile plants operated at around 61-62% of their capacities in 2020, 2021 and 2022, which put several largely oversized plants at risk.
- Four European plants closed during this 2020-2022 period: the two Honda plants in Swindon (England) and Gebze (Turkey) and the two Nissan plants in Barcelona (Spain) and Avila (Spain). Many other plants saw their activity decline sharply, but further closures were avoided with a view to a relaunch of markets and production from 2023.
- Of course, a partial recovery took place in 2023, but it remains modest since we went from an utilization rate of European plants of 61% in 2022 to 67% in 2023, far from the results recorded before 2020.
- Carmakers kept their less active plants, maybe expecting that the European market could quickly return to the pre-covidlevel while maintaining a good level of exports to Asia, America and Africa.However, we note that 16 European plants will benefit from a utilization rate equal to or greater than 90% in 2023 (see graph below) with a strong representation of the Volkswagen, BMW and Toyota groups.
Comparison between the seven largest European producers of PCs: Germany clearly the leader
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Comparison between the seven largest European producers of PCs: Germany clearly the leader
- Germany is well ahead of other European countries. We note that France give up its second position to Spain in 2010.
- We also note the slow decline of England and Italy, and at the same time the strong progress of Czech Rep. and Slovakia which are now ahead of England and Italy.