Joint ventures now represent only 1/3 of Chinese production
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Joint ventures now represent only 1/3 of Chinese production
- The evolution of the production volume of passenger cars in China (which really started in the early 2000s) was based on two very distinct processes, the first by giving free rein to Chinese brands to produce their own vehicles, sometimes copying foreign productions, and this only until the 2010s when Chinese carmakers now felt capable of innovating on many points, including exterior design (which was the most visible point of copying), and the second which simply consisted of asking Chinese carmakers to produce foreign cars (European, Japanese, Korean, American) under license, via joint ventures, which could allow these Chinese carmakers not only to produce cars in large numbers - based on significant Chinese demand - but also to access advanced technologies in terms of engines, safety, design and on-board electronics. By working alongside foreign engineers and designers, local teams acquired technical and managerial know-how that accelerated their professionalization. Producing under license required Chinese carmakers to meet international quality standards, which improved their reputation and competitiveness. Once the skills were acquired, Chinese brands were able to develop and export their own models, becoming the world's leading vehicle exporters today. But what happened in China is nothing new, as Japan and then Korea had followed a similar approach.
- Both strategies allowed for a parallel increase in the volume of Chinese automobile production until 2020, the date of the Covid crisis. From that date, impacted by the electrification of vehicles decided by the Chinese government, the production of JVs began to decline while the production of Chinese brands increased dramatically, so that by 2024, out of 27.5 million cars produced in China, 18 million will be produced by Chinese brands and 9.5 million by JVs. And the gap will continue to grow.
The brands that grew the most in Europe in the first half of 2025
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The brands that grew the most in Europe in the first half of 2025
Toyota plans to produce battery electric vehicles in the Czech Republic from 2028
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Toyota plans to produce battery electric vehicles in the Czech Republic from 2028
- Toyota, the world's leading carmaker since 2020, does not have a very strong position in the market of battery electric powertrains, as its sales of models equipped with this type of powertrain currently represent only 1.3% of its total production. Its current battery electric models range is limited, with only the BZ4X SUV and its more luxurious version Lexus RZ, plus a compact SUV from the Lexus brand (the UX) as well as pickup trucks from Stellantis, the ProAce and the ProAce City available with a combustion engine but also in battery electric.
- In the fall of 2025, two models will be added to Toyota's battery electric range: the CHR+ SUV produced in Turkey and the Urban Cruiser SUV produced in India (in cooperation with Suzuki).
- But Toyota, aware of the increasingly restrictive regulatory context which condemns thermal cars by 2035, wants to accelerate its electrification program with an assembly program for a new battery electric SUV which will be produced from 2028 in the Czech Republic, in the Kolin factory, where the Aygo X hybrid and the Yaris hybrid are currently produced.
- The carmaker aims to produce 100,000 units per year, in a factory that has a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year, which means that Toyota plans to produce 100,000 units of this model there in addition to the 100,000 Aygo X hybrid and 100,000 Yaris hybrid each year. Ultimately, this factory is expected to produce only battery electric vehicles.
The brands that declined the most in Europe in the first half of 2025
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The brands that declined the most in Europe in the first half of 2025
- In a European automobile market (30 countries = EU + United Kingdom + Switzerland + Norway) which fell by 1% in the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of 2024, around forty brands saw their sales fall by more than 1%, while around fifty saw their sales remain stable or increase.
- Among the forty brands that saw their sales decline by more than 1% in the first half of 2025, it is interesting to know which brands were the most affected and what were the reasons for their decline. When we look at this list, we see that the 13 declining brands suffered from the lack of success of their models (Lancia, Smart, Mitsubishi, DS) or the failure of their strategy (Jaguar, Tesla). Toyota lacks battery electric models, which would explain the drop in its sales in Europe in the first half, in a context of a sharp increase in BEV sales.
- If we look at the volume of lost sales in the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of 2024, we see that out of the forty brands that saw their sales decline, 13 brands lost more than 10,000 sales from one year to the next.
- Tesla (-55,000 sales), Fiat (-44,000 sales) and Toyota (-43,000 sales) lost the most sales. But we note that the Stellantis group has suffered much more than the others, since the Fiat, Citroën, Opel, Lancia brands are among the brands having lost the most sales in 2025 and accumulate a loss of 120,000 sales for the four brands. This is twice as much as Tesla's losses. The case of Toyota is more surprising, because this carmaker had been growing for several years.
Western European carmakers have relocated a third of their production to Eastern Europe, Morocco and Turkey
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Western European carmakers have relocated a third of their production to Eastern Europe, Morocco and Turkey
- The European automobile industry, located mainly in the West of the continent in the 20th century France, Germany, England, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands), decided to gradually relocate part of its production to countries with lower labour costs, firstly to make more profits and secondly to invest in these new markets where the motorization rate was very low. We thus saw part of this automobile production being relocated to Spain and Portugal in the second half of the 20th century, then after the fall of the USSR in 1991, to the countries of Eastern Europe, former satellites of the USSR, such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary. These relocations were especially favoured after the entry of these countries into the European Union in the early 2000s.
- This production located in Eastern Europe has become increasingly important, increasing from 2 million vehicles (PC+LUV) in 2005 to 4 million in 2019 and 3.5 million in 2024. At the same time, production in Western Europe decreased from 16 million vehicles (PC+LUV) in 2005 to 13.5 million in 2019 and 10.5 million in 2024.
- Turkey and Morocco have emerged as new locations for the European automotive industry. Production in these two countries has grown from 800,000 units in 2005 to 1.75 million units by 2024.
- In total, Western Europe has relocated a third of its production to Eastern European countries, Turkey, and Morocco. Indeed, by 2024, 5.25 million vehicles will be produced in these offshoring countries, compared to the 10.5 million vehicles produced in Western Europe.
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