Hyundai is launching the second generation of its compact i30
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Hyundai is launching the second generation of its compact i30
- Launched in September 2011, the first generation of the compact hatchback Hyundai i30 is stopped at the end of 2016.
Its replacement, designed by Peter Schreyer (formerly at Audi) in a more consensual style than the old model, was unveiled this week and will be presented at the next Paris Motor Show in October.
Its replacement, designed by Peter Schreyer (formerly at Audi) in a more consensual style than the old model, was unveiled this week and will be presented at the next Paris Motor Show in October.
- Still produced in the Czech Republic (Nosovice) to be sold in Europe, the new i30 will be available in sedan and station wagon versions as the old generation. However, it has a new platform whose weight was decreased by around 30 kg. This new platform will be also used next year on the third-generation Kia Cee'd which will be still produced in Slovakia (Zilina). The new Hyundai i30 will be equipped with three petrol engines (three-cylinder 1.0 turbo 120hp; 4-cylinder 1.4 100 hp and 1.4 turbo 140hp) and three diesel engines (4-cylinder 1.6 95hp, 110hp and 136hp).
- The new Hyundai i30 addresses the C segment generalist sedans like the VW Golf, Opel Astra, Ford Focus, Renault Megane, Peugeot 308, Citroen C4, Toyota Auris, Nissan Pulsar, Honda Civic, Kia and Fiat Tipo ... Cee'd.
- The C segment sedans represent 20% of the European market in 2015, i.e. less than the B segment sedans (32%) but as much as all SUVs (20%) and more than all the minivans (8%) or the totaled sedans of segment A (8%), D (8%) and E (3%).
- Inovev forecasts a yearly production of 130,000 Hyundai i30 in Europe.
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Peugeot unveils the new generation of 5008
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Peugeot unveils the new generation of 5008
- After the presentation of 3008 in the first half 2016, Peugeot unveils its version extended to 7 places labelled 5008 (465cm against 445cm) that replaces the current 5008 of which 350,000 units were manufactured since 2009 in Sochaux (France).
- The new generation of 5008 will be manufactured at the PSA Rennes site (France), alongside the Peugeot 508 and Citroen C5 which at end of life. PSA has set a target of 75,000 annual sales for the new 5008, twice less than the target set for 3008 (150 000 annual sales).
- The new 5008 will be available from March 2017. It will be equipped with the same engines as the 3008: two gasoline engines (3-cylinder 1.2 turbo 130hp and 4-cylinder 1.6 THP 165ch), and four diesel engines (1.6 HDI 100hp and 120hp, 2.0 HDI 150hp and 180hp). Like the Peugeot 308 and 3008 and the Citroën C4 Picasso and Grand Picasso, the new 5008 is based on the modular platform EMP2 of the PSA group. The vehicle is announced as lighter at that time by a hundred kilos compared to the previous generation.
- The new 5008 will compete with the Renault Grand Scénic and Koleos, Citroen C4 Grand Picasso, Skoda Kodiaq, VW lengthened Tiguan and Nissan X-Trail. While 3008 will be produced in China (under the 4008 label), it is unclear whether the 5008 will follow the same path. But PSA would have advantage to offer this model in China.
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Skoda complements its range by an SUV bigger than the Yeti: the Kodiaq
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Skoda complements its range by an SUV bigger than the Yeti: the Kodiaq
- After Seat, which launched its SUV Ateca in the first half of 2016, the Czech carmaker Skoda, another branch of the German group Volkswagen, launches in turn an SUV derivative of the VW Tiguan, the Kodiaq. While Seat Ateca is shorter than Tiguan by 13cm, the Kodiaq is longer than Tiguan by 2020. It can carry up to 7 people, unlike the two other models. All three models share the same MQB-B platform. It is to note that Volkswagen will offer in a few months a stretched version of the Tiguan which will also carry up to 7 people, as Kodiaq.
- Using the size as segmentation criterion, Inovev positions the Tiguan and the Ateca in the C segment, the lengthened Tiguan and the Kodiaq in the D segment. The VW Touareg (longer than he Kodiaq by 10cm) is positioned in the E segment.
- At Skoda, the Kodiaq is positioned above the Yeti which will be replaced in 2017 by a C segment SUV, also based on the MQB-B platform.
- The Kodiaq is equipped with three petrol engines (1.4 TSI 125hp and 150hp, 2.0 TSI 180hp) and two diesel engines (2.0 TDI 150hp and 190ch). This SUV is produced in Kvasiny (Czech Republic), alongside the Seat Ateca, Skoda Superb and Skoda Yeti.
- Inovev forecasts 50,000 Kodiaq produced each year in Europe.
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The Dodge Dart is deleted without any successor
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The Dodge Dart is deleted without any successor
- After announcing that it will terminate the Chrysler 200 (sedan D segment) in December 2016 without any successor, thus casting doubt about the future of the Chrysler brand, FCA Group also announced the end of Dodge Dart (sedan C segment) in September 2016 .
- Albeit positioned in different segments, the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart were based on the same platform, that of the Alfa-Romeo Giulietta. It seems that this platform will gradually disappear from American models, leaving the FCA group without any model in the C and D sedan segment .
- The Dodge Dart was launched on the US market in 2012 to replace the Caliber. It had to compete with the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. Although the Dart has reached 100,000 sales in 2015 (its highest score), FCA Group decided to remove it from its catalog two years before the planned term and its 2016-2020 product plan does not mention any new sedan in C or D segment neither in Dodge nor in Chrysler.
- The range is therefore now composed of the Dodge Charger and the coupes sedans Challenger (E segment) as well as the Journey SUV (D segment) and Durango (E segment). The future of the minivan Caravan remains uncertain. As for pickups and vans formerly offered under the Dodge brand, they have been grouped under the Ram brand.
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Mercedes built its second US assembly plant
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Mercedes built its second US assembly plant
- Mercedes operates since 1997 an assembly plant in North America. This plant, located in Tuscalooosa (Alabama), has a capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year and manufactures:
- for the whole world: the SUVs GLE (ex-ML) and GLS (ex GL).
- For the North American markets: the sedan C-Class since 2014, the Sprinter and the Vito (called Metris USA.
- Due to the saturation of the Tuscaloosa plant (Inovev estimates the output of the plant to reach 350 000 vehicles in 2016), Mercedes has decided to shortly transfer the 40,000 Sprinter and Vito made each year in the new plant that is currently under construction in Charleston (South Carolina). This new plant will produce up to 40,000 trucks a year, but its capacity can be doubled if demand requires it or the carmaker would decide to add a mid-range pick-up.
- North American pickups and vans markets are indeed growing. Regarding trucks, the range offered in North America by manufacturers is increasingly composed of European models. Nissan produces in USA the NV200 since 2011, Ford the Transit since 2014, FCA the Fiat Ducato since 2014, Mercedes the Sprinter since 2010 and the Vito since 2016.
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