Daimler is considering building a third production site in North America
 

Daimler plans to build a third production site in North America after the Tuscaloosa plant built in the late 90s and the one being built in Mexico with Nissan. The carmaker will start the production of future C-Class at its U.S. plant in Tuscaloosa next year, which therefore will draw near to its maximum capacity (250 000 vehicles per year).


To increase its production in North America, Daimler therefore needs an additional factory. However, according to the direction of the German carmaker, the share of cars produced abroad must increase as 50% of Daimler vehicles (Passenger cars and light commercial vehicles) are sold outside Europe, while the group produces 90% of its models in Europe.


- So the manufacturer wants to bring the production of its models closer to regions of sales. The two main areas of exports of Mercedes cars are currently in North America and China. So these are two areas that will accommodate new production capacities, which will further strengthen the brand's presence.


Regarding the future plant common to Daimler and Nissan, the German carmaker said that its Japanese partner would produce compact Mercedes (segment C), but not Mercedes upper segments (segments E and F).

 
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Comparision between PSA / Dongfeng
 

What is Dongfeng compared to PSA today? PSA fell below the 3 million vehicles worldwide in 2012, due to lower sales in the European market and forced to stop its activities in Iran (which still accounted for 460 000 vehicles in 2010 ).


The year 2013 will be even worse because of the continued decline of sales in Europe (-12.3% over 8 months). Thus, PSA production will fall below one million vehicles in France in 2013 (Inovev forecast: between 900 000 and 930 000 units), and under 2.8 million worldwide


For its part, the Chinese carmaker Dongfeng benefits from a continuous growth since the early 2000s, largely due to its JV (production license) with Nissan, Kia, Honda and ... PSA. 500 000 units produced in 2005, the production of Dongfeng will probably reach 3 million PV in 2013 (including 400 000 under the Dongfeng brand) that is more than PSA. Note, however, that among these 3 million cars produced by Dongfeng they include 500 000 PSA vehicles that the French manufacturer also recognizes in its numbers.


PSA and Dongfeng have similar profiles: closely linked to their local markets (European and Chinese) which represent the bulk of their sales, production curves follow the dynamics of these markets: they intersect.

 
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The next Mini will be available in ten different variants
 

The next Mini generation will be available in ten different variants (sedan, estate, coupe, convertible, roadster, SUV, SUV coupe, minivan, plug-in hybrid, electric). These will be based on the new compact front-wheel drive UKL platform (UnterKlasse) of the BMW Group.The future Mini models share this architecture with the entry range of the BMW brand such as the future 1 Series models.


BMW said it planned to produce Mini models in the old Mitsubishi plant located in Born in the Netherlands. The latter, now managed by a Dutch company (VDL), Mini allow for additional capacity when the capacity of the Oxford plant (UK) will saturate. The maximum production capacity of Oxford plant now stands at 250 000 vehicles per year. SUVs will continue to be manufactured in Graz, Austria. The minivan could be manufactured in Born, the Netherlands.


However, the brand has not planned to produce vehicles in China, although this market has great potential for Mini.


The main competitor of the Mini, the Fiat 500, whose production has surpassed that of the Mini in 2013, The Fiat 500 is also available in several body variants: sedan 500, 500C (convertible), 500L (break), 500L Living (extended break).

 
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Korean carmakers are introducing themselves  on the Russian market
 
Korean manufacturers are introducing themselves  on the Russian market. In the first nine months of 2013, sales of Hyundai and Kia are increased by 3% (to 135 609 units) and 4% (to 146 986 units), respectively, while the overall market was down 6, 4% over this period.

These brands are among those who made the most progress on the Russian market since 2005. In 2013, they certainly progress slower than Renault, but overtake their direct competitors Toyota, Volkswagen, Lada, Nissan and Chevrolet.

The Hyundai brand is in fourth place on the Russian market and the Kia brand in third place, just behind Lada and Renault. In 2012, the Hyundai brand stood in sixth place and the Kia brand in fourth place.

The success of Korean brands in the Russian market is illustrated by the fact that the Hyundai Solaris (local version of the Hyundai Accent) is the second best-selling car in Russia in 2013 and the Kia Rio the third best-selling car in the market. These two cars are also manufactured locally (in Saint Petersburg).

In 2012, the Hyundai Solaris was fourth and the Kia Rio sixth. Both models do not compete as the Hyundai Solaris is C-segment while the Kia Rio is B-segment.
 
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The VW Golf is the best selling car in Europe in 2013
 
The Volkswagen Golf is the best selling car in Europe in 2013 (first 8 months) in front of the Renault Clio (seventh place in 2012) and Ford Fiesta (fourth in 2012). The B-segment cars occupy five places in the top ten of 2013 (results for the first eight months of the year) among the top six of the ranking.

C segment cars occupy 3 places (VW Golf, Ford Focus, Opel Astra), against 4 in 2012, the Renault Megane has been forced out of the top ten this year (end of life of the  model).

German brands are well represented with pairs such as Golf-Polo, Fiesta-Focus and Astra-Corsa.

French brands are only represented by the Clio & the 208. The start of the Peugeot 308 II (2014) and Renault Megane IV (2015) is expected to rebalance the rankings in favor of the French.

A D-segment car is in the top ten in 2013, it is the BMW 3 Series, while in 2012 it was the VW Passat. But we know that the Passat is at the end of its life cycle   (replacement in 2014).

Finally, an SUV is for the first time in the top ten, it is the Nissan Qashqai. The SUV category (all segments) has made significant progress in Europe for ten years, from 3% to 15% of the market between 2000 and 2012.
 
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