Tremendous breakthrough of SUVs in Europe
- Details
Tremendous breakthrough of SUVs in Europe
- European production of cars (EU + Norway + Switzerland + Turkey) changed gradually since 2005. The SUV segment (including crossovers) has become over the years the second segment in terms of volume, just behind the segment B (vehicles such as Renault Clio) and to the C segment (vehicles such as VW Golf).
- All carmakers offer one or more SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicle) in its range. Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan groups lead the market, with respectively the VW Tiguan, Audi Q3, Audi and the Dacia Duster, Nissan Juke and Nissan Qashqai.
- Premium carmakers are also well established in the SUV market. Audi (whose production data are included into Volkswagen Group data), Land Rover, BMW, Daimler and Volvo occupy the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th places in terms of production.
- This SUV market might continue to grow under the push of a developing offer (Renault will launch the Captur and Peugeot the 3008, both manufactured in Europe ) or have peaked.
- In terms of sales, SUV segment occupied 15% of the European market in 2012 (against 12.5% in 2011 and 10.3% in 2010), driven by the success of the Nissan Qashqai (1.7% market share), VW Tiguan (1.2%), Dacia Duster (0.9%) and Nissan Juke (0.8%).
- Note: in the United States, the SUV market represents 30% of sales in 2012.
Nissan will produce a new compact sedan in Barcelona
- Details
Nissan will produce a new compact sedan in Barcelona
- Nissan will produce a new compact sedan at its plant in Barcelona Spain, allowing the creation of about a thousand direct jobs on site, but at lower wages than today (which will add 3,000 indirect jobs ). The plant management and the unions have indeed reached an competitiveness agreement that plansl ower wages and more flexible working hours.
- The Japanese automaker will invest 130 million euros for the manufacture of this model whose 80 000 units per year are planned from July 2014. The vehicle will compete with the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus and Renault Megane. It is there a come back to a model positioning like the former Nissan Almera which had been removed from the range to launch the Qashqai crossover.
- Nissan believes there is a market within its model range not only for compact crossovers but also for a compact sedan . The Barcelona plant currently employs 3300 people and produces models Navara, NV200, Pathfinder and Primastar. Production of Pathfinder and Primastar is planned to be stopped in 2014. The plant produced 65,000 vehicles in 2012, representing 65% of its capacity (Note: the Nissan plant in Sunderland operates more than 100% of its capacity).
Read more... Nissan will produce a new compact sedan in Barcelona
Hyundai targets the high range segment
- Details
Hyundai targets the high range segment
- Many interesting concepts were unveiled at Detroit motorshow in January 2013 Hyundai, which continuously takes market share from U.S. and Japanese automakers, unveiled a concept sedan car Genesis which foreshadows the future high range model of the Korean brand.
Carmaker’s press release:
- Fluidic precision finds exciting new form in the liquid-metal design language of the HCD-14. From the side-view silhouette, this Genesis conceptual exploration features classic rear-wheel-drive proportions with an extended cabin, sharply tapered greenhouse, and short rear deck. Its craftsmanship displays laser-cut precision, with design surfaces exhibiting a faceted, gemstone-like character. This is an expressive premium-sport 4-door coupe infused with an undeniable road presence.
- Inside, a driver-centric cockpit prioritizes dramatic sculpture over infotainment button overload. Ergonomics engineers used state-of-the-art driver eye-tracking and hand-gesture recognition, so that the HCD-14 is able to recognize driver commands free from the distractions associated with manual controls. The result is an intuitive, windshield heads-up display (HUD) that offers minimal driving distraction and sets a new benchmark for active driver safety technology. An award-winning Hyundai Tau® V8 engine, displacing 5.0 liters, powers this advanced idea concept.
Renault-Nissan sold 8,1 millions vehicles in 2012
- Details
Renault-Nissan sold 8,1 millions vehicles in 2012
- The Renault-Nissan group sold 8.1 million vehicles worldwide in 2012, up by 1% (compared to 2011) due to the rebound in the U.S. market and strong growth in emerging markets,
- Renault-Nissan is the fourth global automaker behind Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen. The Alliance has 10% of global market share. Out of the total 8.1 million vehicles sold worldwide in 2012, Renault sold 2.55 million vehicles (- 6.3%), Nissan 4.94 million (+ 5.8%) and AutoVAZ 0, 61 million (- 5.5%).
- Renault and Nissan plan to strengthen their ties in the industrial sector (in particular platforms sharing )and R & D by 2016.
Data source: File #55 - Registrations in the World by makes
Read more... Renault-Nissan sold 8,1 millions vehicles in 2012
Ford Group sold 5.67 million vehicles in 2012
- Details
Ford Group sold 5.67 million vehicles in 2012
- Global sales of U.S. carmaker Ford totaled 5.67 million vehicles (cars + light trucks – classified also as light utility vehicles in Inovev’s segmentation-) in 2012 against 5.70 million in 2011. This manufacturer occupies now the 6th position in terms of sales, behind Hyundai-Kia.
- Ford’s group sales in North America totaled 2.78 million vehicles in 2012, against 2,69 millions in 2011.
- In South America, Ford sold 498,000 vehicles, against 506,000 vehicles in 2011.
- In Asia Pacific Africa, Ford sold 1,033,000 vehicles against 901,000 vehicles in 2011 (including 420 000 in China against 320 000 in 2011).
- In Europe, Ford Europe sold 1,353,000 vehicles in 2012 against 1,602,000 in 2011. Last year, 306,500 Ford Fiesta were registered in Europe. This model was the B-segment car which was the most sold in Europe in 2012. It was also the second best-selling model (behind Volkswagen), all segments included.
- With 172,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide, the Ford group manufactures and distributes vehicles on six continents. The company has only two automobile brands left: Ford and Lincoln.
Data source: File #55 - Registrations in the World by makes
Inovev platforms >