German premium manufacturers limit their Chinese production to their most accessible models
The production of German manufacturers in China remains high, accounting for a quarter of the country's production in 2020, in the passenger car category, mainly with the Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes brands.

However, German premium manufacturers have been careful to produce their most affordable models locally, as the more expensive models are always imported from Europe and the United States.

For example, at BMW, only the 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series and X1, X2, X3 (including the electric iX3) are made in China. The 7 Series, 8 Series, X4, X5, X6 and X7 are imported.

At Mercedes, Class A, Class C, Class E, Class V, GLA, GLB, GLC, EQC are made in China. S-Class, GLE, GLS, SL and AMG GT are imported.

At Audi, the A3, A4, A6, Q2, Q3, Q5 are made in China while the A7, A8, E-Tron, Q7 and Q8 are imported.

It does not appear that these manufacturers plan to manufacture their most expensive models in China any time soon. The total imports of these vehicles represent nearly 400,000 units each year (395,000 in 2018, 370,000 in 2019), i.e. a volume equivalent to one-fifth of what they produce locally.

The case of Volkswagen is more complicated because the range of this manufacturer in China is very different (and larger) than that offered in Europe. However, Volkswagen imports nearly 40,000 vehicles into China each year.



    
 

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Toyota to launch all-electric SUV in 2021
The manufacturer Toyota was the pioneer of the hybrid vehicle (gasoline-electricity), since in 1997 the Japanese started production of the first generation Prius, with a success that has grown over the years to represent a million and a half of hybrid car sales per year, under the Toyota and Lexus brands. The Prius plug-in hybrid is more recent.

As for the 100% electric vehicle, Toyota has never really taken an interest in it until recently, as the demand for this type of vehicle has grown to be significant, mainly in Europe and China. In 2019, the Toyota Group launched for the first time a 100% electric vehicle in-series (if we put aside the few fuel cell cars running on hydrogen), it is the C-segment CHR EV SUV. But this model was restricted to the Chinese market. Lexus, the Toyota's luxury branch, has extrapolated the UX 300e SUV that is available on the European market, in addition to the Chinese market.

Toyota is therefore continuing on this path by announcing the launch in 2021 of a brand new 100% electric SUV for global sales, based on the new e-TNGA platform. This vehicle is the first to be based on this platform. It will be produced at Toyota's ZEV plant in Japan. It will take place between the CHR and the RAV4, so it will be a competitor to the recently presented Nissan Ariya. The Nissan Ariya is, let's remember, Nissan's first 100% electric SUV.

Note that Subaru, Daihatsu and Suzuki are partners of Toyota's ZEV plant. There will therefore soon be new 100% electric cars based on the e-TNGA platform marketed under these different brands.



    
 

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England could become a home for Chinese vehicles
Several countries have announced that they will suspend the sale of cars with combustion engines between 2025 and 2040. These are the following countries, mainly European: 1 / By 2025: Norway. 2 / By 2030: Ireland, Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Slovenia and the United Kingdom (except hybrids). 3 / By 2032: Scotland. 4 / By 2035: United Kingdom (excluding Scotland) and California. 5 / By 2040: France, Spain and Canada. More countries will most likely be added to this list in the coming years. It remains to be seen whether these announcements will be scrupulously respected.

Let us take a look at the United Kingdom: this country, which had recently been detached from the European Union, saw its national automobile production sink in the 1980s, before calling on Japanese manufacturers to revive an automobile activity in the country. Brexit will see these manufacturers desert the country (Honda, Nissan, Toyota). There is therefore still the possibility for England to call on new manufacturers to relaunch an automobile activity in the country, if the automobile industry remains a strategic industry for the United Kingdom. And who else than Chinese manufacturers could meet this potential demand from UK?
Chinese carmakers will export their electric vehicles to Europe throughout the 2020s, and it will be relevant - once the volume of these exports is large enough - to transfer the production of these vehicles to Europe.
England could therefore eventually become a welcoming land for Chinese vehicles and thus offset the amount of customs duties with traditionally low prices for Chinese vehicles, even electric ones, which England could sell throughout Europe.



    
 

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Tesla begins exporting its Model 3s from China to Europe

Tesla begins exporting its 100% electric Model 3 sedans to Europe. Until recently, these models came from the US factory in Fremont (California) and in the future, they might be manufactured in the plant in Berlin (Germany) under construction. For a while, the Model 3s sold in Europe will therefore come from the Chinese plant in Shanghai, perhaps to avoid sporadic deliveries. Tesla is not the first (nor the last) to export electric cars to Europe from China. MG has already been doing this for three years (its sales will exceed 25,000 units in Europe in 2020). Polestar has been doing this since last year. BMW has been doing it since this year (iX3). In 2021, Renault will export the Dacia Spring to Europe and new players have indicated that they will do the same, not to mention Smart, which will export its future Fortwos from China in 2022. MG stated that it will market four new electrified models in Europe as early as 2021. Dongfeng has announced its arrival in Europe with two electric SUVs (Seres 3 and Seres 5) and a van (EC35). Lynk & Co has announced its arrival in Europe with the SUV 01 with a plug-in hybrid engine.


Is this the start of the dreaded invasion of Chinese brands in Europe? In any case, this is a return of Chinese brands in Europe, after a first failure observed in the early 2000s. This coming back will be achieved through  electricity and also Western brands producing in China (Tesla, BMW, Renault). But the announced tsunami will not materialize during the 2020s, because the traditional brands already present in Europe still have many strengths.




    
 

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Ineos has acquired the Smart factory in Hambach
After tough negotiations, the Daimler group agreed to sell its Smart factory in Hambach (France) to the British industrialist Sir James Arthur Ratcliffe, head of the Ineos group. Ineos’ project is to manufacture an SUV at the Hambach plant to replace the small Smart Fortwos produced there since 1998 (nearly 2 million units in total).

The Daimler group has in fact decided to transfer the production of Smart Fortwo from France to China, under the guidance of the Geely group (owner of Volvo and shareholder of Daimler). This transfer should take place in 2022 or at the latest in 2023.

The SUV that will be manufactured in Hambach will be derived from the Grenadier which was unveiled last September. This model is inspired by the old Land Rover Defender whose production ceased in Solihull (England) in 2016.

The Grenadier will therefore become the largest model produced in series in France, in particular because it will be equipped with large petrol and diesel six-cylinder engines (of BMW origin). This production may go against the wishes of the French government whose an announced objective is to place France at the forefront of the European automotive industry for low-emission vehicles.

In fact, it was really necessary to quickly find a buyer for the Hambach plant and Ineos positioned itself very quickly to take over this plant. It is possible that after the “Grenadier”, Ineos moves towards a more environmentally friendly production. For now, we can expect production in the range of 15,000 to 25,000 Grenadiers per year, if the model manages to find its audience. This quantity is practically identical to that of the Smart Fortwo produced in Hambach in 2020.



    
 

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