European automobile production increased by 9% in 2023
- 说明
European automobile production increased by 9% in 2023
- European automobile production (29 countries: EU minus Malta + UK + Norway + Switzerland) increased by 9% in 2023, to 14.24 million vehicles (VP+LUV), compared to 13.04 million in 2022. This is a good performance but firstly, global automobile production has increased more and secondly this catch-up is only very partial, since the volume of production in Europe had reached 18.36 million in 2017, 17 .99 million in 2018 and 17.70 million in 2019.
- The years 2020, 2021 and 2022 saw European production reach the lowest level in decades: 13.39 million in 2020, 13.08 million in 2021 and 13.04 million in 2022. The missed sales volume during these years can be estimated to more than 12 million vehicles in total (including almost a million on the Russian market following the European withdrawal).
- The recovery recorded in 2023 is explained above all by the rebound in the European light vehicles market (PC+LUV), of around 14%, but the increase of Chinese, Japan and Korean imports have limited the growth of the European production which was not offset by the volume of exports to China or the United States.
- Germany remains the leading European producing country (4.3 million vehicles), ahead of Spain (2.2 million), France (1.4 million), the Czech Republic (1.2 million), the United Kingdom United (1 million) and Slovakia (1.0 million).
- If France remains the third European producing country, it is mainly thanks to the assembly of light utility vehicles which represent 35% of its production volume and even more than 75% at Renault!
Vinfast sold 35,000 BEVs in 2023
- 说明
Vinfast sold 35,000 BEVs in 2023
- The Vietnamese carmaker Vinfast sold 34,855 BEVs worldwide in 2023 while its official target was 50,000 units. This relative failure is due – according to the carmaker – to a difficult economic context and the disinterest of customers in certain countries for battery electric vehicles. Inovev can add that Vinfast is a brand still unknown in many countries and that competition is tough in many countries on the battery electric car market, such as in China, Europe or the United States.
- The carmaker Vinfast was created in 2017 and aims to compete with the leaders in BEV market as Tesla and BYD. But the Vietnamese brand is still far from reaching the sales volume of these two leaders, since Tesla produced 1.81 million BEVs last year and BYD just over 3 million BEVs and PHEVs.
- The carmaker objectives are, however, ambitious, since its manager has announced that he wants to sell 1 million electric vehicles by 2030. To do this, Vinfast has announced the development of its sales network on American soil and on European soil, but also advanced discussions concerning the construction of a battery electric car assembly plant in India (150,000 units of capacity) and another in Indonesia (50,000 units of capacity). The objective is to go from a capacity of 300,000 units today to 500,000 from 2026.
The Ford group sold 4 million vehicles in 2023
- 说明
The Ford group sold 4 million vehicles in 2023
- The Ford group (Ford, Lincoln) sold 4 million vehicles worldwide in 2023 compared to 3.7 million in 2022, which represents an increase of 9.1%. This volume allows the Ford group to remain the seventh carmaker in the world behind Honda and ahead of Nissan, but well behind Stellantis and GM groups.
- The Ford group, which implemented a new strategy aimed at removing sedans from its products range in Europe and the United States, paradoxically did not suffer from this situation in 2023, in sales volume at least, since the carmaker is managed to increase its sales in Europe, China and especially in the United States (its first market) by reorienting its customers towards SUVs and pick-ups. Will this strategy continue to work in the coming years?
- In addition, Ford is very late in the electrification of its models: in 2023, Ford has sold 107,000 BEVs and 59,000 PHEVs and 128,000 FHEVs worldwide, these models representing only 7.5% of the carmakers global sales.
- In comparison, GM sold 628,000 BEVs (including 440,000 from Wuling and Baojun), 21,000 PHEVs and 10,000 HEVs, representing 11% of the carmaker's total sales.
- In the graph below, we can clearly see the parallel and declining trajectories of GM and Ford since the years 2016-2017. The former number 1 and ex-number 2 became number 5 and number 7 in the world.
The Suzuki group sold 3.1 million vehicles in 2023
- 说明
The Suzuki group sold 3.1 million vehicles in 2023
- The Suzuki group sold 3.1 million vehicles worldwide in 2023 compared to 3 million in 2022, representing an increase of 3.5%.
This volume allows the Suzuki group to remain the ninth carmaker in the world behind Nissan, but followed this year by the Chinese BYD which has made strong progress over the last two years.
This volume allows the Suzuki group to remain the ninth carmaker in the world behind Nissan, but followed this year by the Chinese BYD which has made strong progress over the last two years.
- Suzuki has been always a specialist of small cars (including a good number of Kei cars competing with most Daihatsu sold in Japan). Consequently, Suzuki had to withdraw from the Chinese and American markets (markets with little demand for small cars) but made a strong progress on the Indian market (a market with high demand for small cars) which has quickly become Suzuki's leading global market, reaching 60% of the carmaker's global sales in 2023, ahead of Japan (22% of global sales) and the Europe far behind (7% of global sales).
- Globally, Suzuki seems to have stagnated these last ten years, getting closer to Nissan which collapsed during this period, but failing to gain a few places globally. The carmaker does not sell electric cars, which is a barrier to its development... The partnership with Toyota did not allow a relaunch of Suzuki on a global level but simply avoided an erosion of Suzuki sales, thanks to rebranded models.
The Honda group sold 4.2 million vehicles in 2023
- 说明
The Honda group sold 4.2 million vehicles in 2023
- The Honda group (Honda, Acura) sold 4.2 million vehicles worldwide in 2023 compared to 3.8 million in 2022, which represents an increase of 10.9%. This volume allows the Honda group to remain the sixth carmaker in the world, well behind the Stellantis and GM groups.
- For several years, Honda seems to be in decline for its automotive division, the carmaker having gradually gone from 5.3 million vehicles sold worldwide in 2018 to 4.2 million units in 2023. Among Japanese carmakers, only Nissan experienced an even greater decline than Honda.
- Honda's latest models have not been as successful as expected and the late launch of electric cars has failed to meet expectations, resulting in Honda becoming one of the world's most late in the BEV market. Honda has for many years preferred to invest in the hybrid engine, like Toyota. As a result, sales of Honda BEV models are almost zero in 2023.
- Added to this is Honda's disinterest in the European market which resulted in the closure of its factories located in England and Turkey. In addition, competition in China has weakened Honda's position in this market, with its local sales gradually decreasing from 1.7 million in 2020 to 1.2 million in 2023. However, China still accounts for 31% of Honda global sales in 2023, compared to 33% for the USA and 15% for Japan.