Toyota still believes in the A segment in Europe
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Toyota still believes in the A segment in Europe
- The A segment (the smallest and cheapest cars on the market) is in free fall in Europe. The number of different models produced in this region has increased from 15 in 2012 to 8 in 2022, which means that it has been halved in ten years, and Inovev predicts that there will be only 6 in 2023 and probably 4 in 2025.
- A-segment models recently removed from the European manufacturing program were the Peugeot 108, Citroën C1, Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo. The Smart Fortwo and Forfour will in turn be phased out over the next few weeks. As for the Renault Twingo and the Volkswagen Up, their fate is already sealed because they should be removed within the next two years, according to their manufacturer. Their replacements will be segment B electric cars (R5, ID2) and not segment A.
- There is a 50% drop in the production of segment A cars in Europe between 2016 (1.2 million vehicles produced) and 2022 (600,000 vehicles produced), due not to a drop in demand but to a scarcity of supply, the reason given by the manufacturers being the low profitability of this type of model. However, 20% of sales of segment A cars in Europe are in 100% electric versions, therefore at much higher prices. This 20% of electric versions represents double the proportion of sales of cars in other segments. There is therefore a real market for electric A-segment cars, but manufacturers seem to be losing interest in this demand. Toyota still believes in the A segment in Europe by launching the Aygo X, but this small car scheduled for 100,000 sales per year will not be available in a hybrid or electric version.
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Reprieve granted to Renault Clio and Peugeot 208 with thermal engine
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Reprieve granted to Renault Clio and Peugeot 208 with thermal engine
- Renault has decided to launch a new generation of the thermal engine Clio in 2026, three years after the restyling of the current Clio (fifth generation). It will therefore be the last Clio with a combustion engine offered on the European market, since the end in 2035 of sales of new cars with combustion or hybrid engines was validated on June 8, 2022 by the European Parliament.
- Renault will therefore add a combustion engine car in the B segment in 2026, while it plans to launch the new electric R5 in 2024 and the new electric R4 in 2025.
- The manufacturer may have thought that not only is the democratization of electric vehicles taking longer than expected, and that with the rise in the price of raw materials and rare earths, this will not improve in future years. Selling an electric vehicle at the same price as a thermal vehicle will be impossible in this decade.
- As a result, Renault management has estimated that sales of the electric R5 will not be equivalent to those of the Clio. The sixth generation of the Clio will allow the manufacturer to reconnect in the B segment with past volumes. The engines of the future Clio, which will use the current platform, will be a 1.2 petrol mild-hybrid 48V and a new 1.8 full hybrid.
- At Peugeot, the same observation as at Renault will have the same effects. The new generation of the 208 (code P31) will be launched in 2026 only in the electric version, but the current 208 will continue its career in the 1.2 petrol version after a restyling in 2023. The first will be produced in Zaragoza (Spain) while the second will be produced in Kenitra (Morocco).
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阅读全文... Reprieve granted to Renault Clio and Peugeot 208 with thermal engine
Ford could stop vehicle assembly in Saarlouis in 2025
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Ford could stop vehicle assembly in Saarlouis in 2025
- Eight years after the closure of the Opel plant in Bochum (the last assembly plant to have closed in Germany), the Ford group has announced that it may stop vehicle assembly in Saarlouis in 2025. Opened in 1966 to manufacture the American manufacturer's C segment sedans, first the Escort then the Focus and its C-Max and Grand C-Max minivan derivatives, the Saarlouis plant which had a capacity of 400,000 vehicles per year remained at this level until 2011, apart from a fall in 2009 and 2010 following the financial and economic crisis triggered in the fall of 2008. But this plant has experienced an uninterrupted fall since 2015, from 375,000 units in 2015 to 260,000 in 2019 and 115,000 in 2021. The reason for this collapse is the collapse of the Focus, to which was added the disappearance of the C-Max and Grand C-Max minivans.
- With the future going through the electric vehicle, Ford has decided to produce this type of car in two other factories, that of Cologne (Germany) and that of Valencia (Spain). Ford's first electric vehicle that will take over Volkswagen's MEB platform will be launched in 2023 and manufactured in Cologne. The manufacturer intends to launch seven new models of this type by 2025 and eventually sell 600,000 units, the production volume of which will be divided equally between Cologne and Valencia.
- Ford Europe's current range of passenger cars with thermal engines will therefore gradually disappear by 2028. First, the Ecosport, Mondeo and Galaxy/S-Max in 2022, then the Fiesta and Focus in 2024-2025 and finally the Puma and Kuga 2027-2028 SUVs. In 2021, Ford sold 525,000 passenger cars in Europe compared to 655,000 in 2020 and 965,000 in 2019.
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阅读全文... Ford could stop vehicle assembly in Saarlouis in 2025
GM wants to return to Europe with electric vehicles
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GM wants to return to Europe with electric vehicles
- The European subsidiaries of the GM and Ford groups accounted for over 20% of passenger car sales in Europe in the 1980s and 1990s. Their share continued to decline thereafter: 19% in 2000, 17% in 2005, 15 % in 2010 and 14% in 2015. In 2017, Opel/Vauxhall (European subsidiary of GM) came under the control of the French group PSA.
- GM also had American brands in its catalog (Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Saturn) but only the Chevrolet brand was marketed in Europe in the 2000s until it was removed from this market in 2015. Finally , the Swedish brand Saab which belonged to GM since 1989 failed to impose itself in the Premium category against Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Volvo. The Saab brand was phased out in 2011.
- Since 2017, GM sales in Europe have remained anecdotal. They concern the Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette and some Cadillacs. This withdrawal from the European market (amplified by GM's withdrawal from the Russian market) has caused a change of scale at GM, since it has gone from second place in the world in 2010 to fourth in 2020 and sixth in 2021.
- GM management now intends to return to the European market with electric vehicles. It is obvious that this return to Europe will be difficult insofar as the electric cars that the GM group will offer in the near future (such as the Buick Wildcat) only correspond to a very small market niche. The agreement with Honda could allow it to eventually bring inexpensive electric cars to market, but that will take several years.
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Vehicle sales are picking up (modestly) in Ukraine and Russia
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Vehicle sales are picking up (modestly) in Ukraine and Russia
- The automotive market in Russia and Ukraine was down slightly in January 2022 compared to January 2021 (-4% in Russia, -7% in Ukraine). The invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24, 2022 immediately resulted in a much greater fall in the automotive market in Ukraine, noticeable from February 2022 (-16%) while the drop in new car sales in Russia was of the same order as in January (-5%).
- The fall of the two markets was very brutal from March 2022 (-68% in Russia and -94% in Ukraine compared to March 2021), reflecting what generally happens in times of war. In the case of Russia, it is rather the cessation of production of most car factories in the country as well as imports that created this significant drop in the market.
- In April 2022, the fall in the market in Ukraine stabilized at -88% compared to April 2021, while in Russia it worsened (-80%).
- In May 2022, there is a slight improvement in both markets, since the market decline is only 70% in Ukraine compared to May 2021, and in Russia the market decline is only 74% compared to May 2021.
- Admittedly, on the Russian and Ukrainian markets, the fall in the markets remains very significant, but the improvement in the figures in May 2022 could suggest that the situation will improve in the coming months. However, we must remain cautious because Russia is still suffering from the closure of local factories and the cessation of European imports. But Russia could relaunch the activity of these factories on its own initiative and switch to imports from China.
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阅读全文... Vehicle sales are picking up (modestly) in Ukraine and Russia