Honda opened its fifth plant in China
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Honda opened its fifth plant in China
- Honda, which had until now of four factories in China (Zengcheng, Wantong, Huangpu and Wuhan) has now opened its fifth assembly plant. This one is located in Guangzhou, it is thanks to the partnership that the Japanese manufacturer concluded since 1998 with the Chinese assembler GAC. The capacity of this new plant is 120 000 vehicles per year. The total capacity of Honda in China will hence increase from 960 000 to 1 080 000 vehicles per year, while in 2015, Honda sold 960 000 vehicles in China, resulting in a saturation of its existing plants.
- Honda expects more than one million sales in China in 2016 and therefore needed new capacity to meet this objective. On the other hand, the Japanese carmaker expects a slowdown in the Chinese auto market in the coming years. It therefore decided to postpone to 2017 the construction of a sixth assembly plant in China (Wuhan), this time with the Chinese assembler Dongfeng with whom Honda also collaborates, while the construction of this sixth plant was planned for 2016.
- It is evident from this decision that Honda no longer expects to sell 1 200 000 vehicles in China in 2017 but to reach this objective in 2018. First, because the Chinese market will not be so euphoric in the future than it was in the past and secondly because production overcapacity are still ubiquitous in China at present (especially for 100% Chinese manufacturers ), although Honda is not specifically affected by this problem. Inovev notes that in 2015 only two manufacturers have announced the construction of new plants: Changan in Chongqing and Toyota in Guangzhou.
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Inovev expects 150 000 units per year for the new Buick LaCrosse
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Inovev expects 150 000 units per year for the new Buick LaCrosse
- The high-end model of the Buick brand (part of the GM group), the LaCrosse, needed to be revived. So it has just been renewed. This sedan (segment E) succeeds to the Buick LeSabre and Lucerne based on the new platform E2xx, already used on the recent Chevrolet Malibu, which will be reused next year by the new Opel Insignia and Buick Regal (segment D). A new base that allows to announce a reduction of 150 kg of the weight of the LaCrosse.
- The engine is the new generation of V6 3.6 petrol with direct injection, developing 300 hp. It is associated with an 8 gear automatic box, and is now also available with AWD. This LaCrosse is designed for the US market, but also for the Chinese market. Of the 140 000 copies sold in 2014, 80 000 have been in China and 50 000 in the United States. In 2015, 90 000 units will be sold in China and 30 000 in the United States.
- It will be produced both in the USA (on the Detroit-Hamtramcksite) and China (on the SAIC site of Shanghai). The Detroit-Hamtramck plant already produces the Chevrolet Volt and Impala and the Cadillac ELR and CT6. Previously, the LaCrosse was produced in Fairfax (Kansas). Let us recall that the Impala and CT6 are high-end models of Chevrolet and Cadillac brands, while the Volt and ELR are electric models. The high-end models of the three GM Group brands in the US market will therefore be grouped together on one site, namely, Detroit-Hamtramck.
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Read more... Inovev expects 150 000 units per year for the new Buick LaCrosse
Kia to produce the Forte (C segment) in its new Mexican plant
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Kia to produce the Forte (C segment) in its new Mexican plant
- Kia has announced the start of production of its new plant located in Mexico, at Pesquería. It is not only the first plant that this carmaker will have located in Mexico, but also its first plant in all of Latin America (Kia now has 10 assembly plants in total in the world).
- Kia will launch the mass production of its compact sedan the Forte (known as K3 in Korea) based on the Hyundai Elantra produced in the United States. It will be a competitor of the Ford Focus, Chevrolet Cruze, Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. These C segment sedans account for 30% of the US market for PC, which reached about 2.5 million cars in 2015, the best selling five of last year were the Toyota Corolla (339 000 units), Honda Civic (326 000 units), Chevrolet Cruze (273 000 units), Hyundai Elantra (222 000 units) and Ford Focus (220 000 units).
- With a production capacity of 300 000 units per year, the Kia plant of Pesquería will attempt to sell according to Inovev between 150 000 and 180 000 Forte in the US and Canadian markets each year, plus an amount of between 100 000 and 120 000 units in Latin American markets, including Mexico. The manufacturer has indicated that in fact 60% of the plant's output should be exported to the US and Canada, while 20% should be sold on the Mexican market and 20% on other Latin American markets .
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Read more... Kia to produce the Forte (C segment) in its new Mexican plant
Production by group in South America in 2015
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Production by group in South America in 2015
- Mercosur (Mercado Comun del Sur in Spanish) is an economic community which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. Mercosur represents over 80% of total GDP of South America and is established as the most dynamic and competitive economic zone of the southern hemisphere. It is considered the fourth largest economic bloc in the world in terms of trading volume, behind the European Union, the NAFTA region and China.
- Two countries account for almost all automobile production in South America: Brazil and Argentina. Colombia and Venezuela also produce but together account for only 3% of the production of that area. With this observation in mind, how is distributed automobile production in Brazil and Argentina in terms of manufacturers?
- Three manufacturers accounted for nearly half of the production of this region in 2015: Fiat-Chrysler (19%), Volkswagen (17%) and General-Motors (13%). This presence is historic as these three manufacturers started to manufacture automobiles in the region as early as the 50s. Other carmakers arrived later, including Ford (11%), Renault-Nissan (11%), Toyota (8%) Hyundai-Kia (7%), Honda (5%) and PSA (4%).
- There hasn't been a 100% local carmaker in the region for a long time, since all the manufacturers present here are subsidiaries of major European, American, Japanese and Korean groups. Chinese automakers recently arrived and their presence is still extremely marginal. Indian manufacturers (Tata) is currently building a plant in Brazil which will start in 2016.
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Renault will launch the Kwid in Europe from 2018
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Renault will launch the Kwid in Europe from 2018
- The Renault Kwid (segment A) is experiencing success in India , given the state of current orders. The manufacturer expects to sell 100 000 units annually in this country, all out of the the Renault-Nissan plant of Chennai. While this model has only been available since September 2015, the manufacturer sold 20 000 of them in 2015.
- According to Renault, the Kwid should also be launched at the end of 2016 in Brazil, where it will arrive in the coveted niche "Carro Popular" tax-favored. Therefore, it is very likely that it is then to be marketed in Argentina and throughout South America.
- It should also be produced in Iran from 2017 (probably with the SAIPA assembler who works with Renault) and arrive in Europe under the Dacia brand in 2018.
- This entry-level model (3 500 euros in India) will be offered at a necessarily higher price in Europe, because the car will be equipped with airbags, antilock brakes, stability control, while meeting European standards for reduced pollution. The price of Kwid should, however, be below that of the Logan or Sandero (less than 8000 euros)
- Industrialization is already envisaged in the Mediterranean. The giant and underused plant of Tangier (Morocco) would be the most appropriate. Production in Russia is also under consideration (in Moscow and Togliatti). For now, the vehicle is in the unique shape of an elevated five-door hatchback near a small SUV. But Renault is considering a Kwid family, which would include the current version and a more conventional four-door sedan with a separate trunk.
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Read more... Renault will launch the Kwid in Europe from 2018
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