Alfa-Romeo will launch a second SUV in 2018 and a third in 2019
- 说明
Alfa-Romeo will launch a second SUV in 2018 and a third in 2019
- The Alfa-Romeo brand (a subsidiary of the Fiat-Chrysler Group), which now has only one SUV in its range (the D-segment Stelvio), has announced that it will launch two new SUVs, one C segment (based on the Jeep Compass platform) in 2018 and the other E-segment (based on the Maserati Ghibli platform) in 2019. The Alfa-Romeo C-segment SUV will therefore be a variant of the Jeep Compass, while that in E segment will be a variant of the Maserati Levante.
- All manufacturers are aggressively developing SUVs in several segments, with this type of vehicle accounting for almost one in three European sales. Jaguar, Maserati, Bentley, and Alfa-Romeo were the last to enter this market.
- Alfa-Roméo started very late in this market, since the Stelvio began its career less than a year ago. 11,582 units were sold in the first nine months of 2017 (of which 10,501 in Europe, 633 in the United States and 285 in China). The Alfa-Romeo Stelvio is 4.68m long, 1.86m wide and 1.65m high. It is therefore likely that the future segment C SUV will measure about 4.50m and the segment E about 4.90m.
- These two new models will probably be produced on Italian soil, which should allow local production to increase volume significantly. Indeed, according to Inovev, the three SUVs of Alfa-Romeo should sell a total of 100,000 annual units, out of a total of one million vehicles made in Italy.
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Mitsubishi replaces the Space Star with a new model based on the Clio
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Mitsubishi replaces the Space Star with a new model based on the Clio
- The Japanese brand Mitsubishi Motors, bought by the Renault-Nissan group last year, has suffered a significant erosion of its sales over the past twenty years, in the Japanese market, as well as in the US and European market.
- Thus, in the European market, Mitsubishi's sales dropped by almost 50% between 2000 and 2017, from 190,000 units in 2000 to 100,000 in 2017. The manufacturer's range policy and quality problems have contributed to this decline in sales. The acquisition of the brand by Renault-Nissan is expected to radically change the range policy and put an end to quality problems. The first element of this change is the announced replacement of the Space Star sedan (launched in 2013) with a model based on the Renault Clio and Nissan Micra platform.
- The Renault-Nissan group will proceed in the same way as for the Micra, namely to replace a bottom of the B segment (made in Asia) by a more up market and more expensive B-segment sedan (manufactured in Europe). The new Space Star (which could take the Colt name) would be manufactured in Europe and no longer in Thailand. It could be manufactured in France (Flins), Slovenia (Novo Mesto), Turkey (Bursa) or Spain (Valladolid). Renault-Nissan wants to double sales of Mitsubishi in Europe thanks to this new model. In 2017, the Space Star sold 30,000 units on this continent (against 26,000 in 2016 and 28,000 in 2015), a small increase due to its recent mid-life restyling.
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Diesel engines progress in Japan ... but remain marginal
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Diesel engines progress in Japan ... but remain marginal
- While diesel’s influence is declining in Europe (its market share has decreased from 50.2% of new car registrations in the first half of 2016 to 46.3% in the first half of 2017) and stagnating at a very low level in the United States (0.5% of market share in 2017), it is progressing significantly in Japan (+ 20% increase in sales in the first half of 2017 compared to the first half of 2016).
- Diesel is considered in Japan, in the "Next Generation Vehicles" plan, as an alternative and ecological energy, in the same way as battery-powered vehicles, or biofuels.
- One-fifth of the cars imported to Japan have diesel engines, i.e. 30,000 units out of 150,000 in the first half of 2017. German brands (Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Mercedes) are both the most popular and have the most diesel engines.
- These vehicles with low CO2 emissions benefit from tax deductions in Japan, which can attract a certain clientele. However, on the Japanese market as a whole, diesel represents today only 1.5% of market share, that is to say 20% of imports which themselves represent only 7% of the market, since the Japanese manufacturers do not market this type of engine in Japan (except Mazda on the CX5).
- Japanese customers prefer to move towards the hybrid engine offered by several Japanese manufacturers, notably Toyota that sells 40% of its models in Japan with this type of engine.
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阅读全文... Diesel engines progress in Japan... but remain marginal
PSA group will open a factory in Algeria
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PSA group will open a factory in Algeria
- After Renault, Hyundai and Volkswagen, PSA group will open a factory in Algeria, via a joint venture created with three Algerian partners. This is the third operation of the French manufacturer in the region, after the announced construction of a plant in Morocco (Kenitra) to manufacture the Peugeot 301 and Citroën C-Elysée (90,000 units per year from 2019 ), and of an assembly workshop in Tunisia for the assembly of the Dongfeng Peugeot pick-up truck (1,200 units per year).
- Peugeot sold 7,000 cars in Algeria in 2016 and it will sell as many in 2017 (all imported from Europe), against 36,000 in 2015 and 42,000 in 2014, before import quotas were introduced.
- The Algerian government imposed new import quotas in 2016 to encourage car manufacturers to set up in the country. PSA is the fourth manufacturer to respond positively to this request.
- The first vehicles will be produced in 2018 in a new factory located near Oran, in western Algeria. PSA Group (Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel, Vauxhall) objective is to gradually grow production in this plant to 75,000 vehicles in 2023, five years after the start of the site, which is 49% owned by the French manufacturer. We do not yet know which vehicles will be manufactured on this site, but it could be Peugeot 208 and 2008. All production will be sold in North Africa and will not be exported to Europe.
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Volvo creates a new brand ... for China
- 说明
Volvo creates a new brand ... for China
- Volvo (a subsidiary of Chinese Geely group) will create a new car brand for China. This brand, named Polestar, comes from Volvo's sports department, but now claims full brand status.
- This brand, whose models will be exclusively manufactured in China starting in the summer of 2019, will be dedicated to 100% electric vehicles sold locally, responding to the wish of the Chinese government to encourage Chinese car manufacturers to boost their production of electric vehicles (see the quotas imposed on manufacturers in 2019 at the bottom of the page).
- The first model of the Polestar brand was unveiled this month. This is a coupe simply called Polestar 1 and is built on the same platform of the Volvo XC60, XC90, S90 and V90, namely the SPA platform dedicated to Volvo D and E segment models. This 4.50m long model will start production during the summer of 2019.
- It will be followed by a D segment sedan called Polestar 2 and a D segment SUV called Polestar 3, all 100% electric. The range will then be supplemented by other models still unknown to date.
- It is not known if these models will be exported to Europe, and today Volvo does not have 100% electric vehicles on this continent, but only plug-in hybrid vehicles, such as the V60, XC60, XC90, S90 and V90.
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