Inovev plans 40,000 units per year of the new Mercedes T Class

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Inovev plans 40,000 units per year of the new Mercedes T Class
- Mercedes had reached an agreement ten years ago with the Renault-Nissan group to market a light commercial vehicle derived from the Renault Kangoo and positioned in the Mercedes range under the Vito (segment N1-2) and Sprinter (segment N1- 3). This utility vehicle called Citan (segment N1-1) which succeeded the Vaneo was launched in 2012 and its production was carried out at the Maubeuge site (France) alongside the Renault Kangoo. The sales of the Mercedes Citan have never been very high as its production stabilized around 25,000 units per year before collapsing in 2020 due to falling markets.

- Due to this low sales level (Kangoo sales are about 150,000 units per year), the collaboration between Mercedes and Renault-Nissan on this type of vehicle could have been stopped, but the German manufacturer did not want to invest in the replacement. of the Citan and asked Renault-Nissan to continue its collaboration on this type of vehicle.

- The Mercedes Citan will therefore be replaced in 2021 by a rebadged version of the all-new Renault Kangoo which has just been presented. Its new name is T Class, a name which fits better into the Mercedes lineup. It will be a rival to the new Volkswagen Caddy and will take over the CMF-C / D platform from the Renault Kangoo and Mégane. Its engines will be the 1.3 liter petrol and 1.5 diesel Renault origin already known and fitted to the Renault Kangoo. But, unlike the old Citan, the new T Class will also be offered in a 100% electric version called EQT. This engine will be shared with the Renault Kangoo Z.E. The Mercedes T Class will be manufactured at the Maubeuge site, at a rate of 40,000 units per year in the long term according to Inovev.



    
 

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German premium manufacturers limit their Chinese production to their most accessible models

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German premium manufacturers limit their Chinese production to their most accessible models
- The production of German manufacturers in China remains high, accounting for a quarter of the country's production in 2020, in the passenger car category, mainly with the Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes brands.

- However, German premium manufacturers have been careful to produce their most affordable models locally, as the more expensive models are always imported from Europe and the United States.

- For example, at BMW, only the 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series and X1, X2, X3 (including the electric iX3) are made in China. The 7 Series, 8 Series, X4, X5, X6 and X7 are imported.

- At Mercedes, Class A, Class C, Class E, Class V, GLA, GLB, GLC, EQC are made in China. S-Class, GLE, GLS, SL and AMG GT are imported.

- At Audi, the A3, A4, A6, Q2, Q3, Q5 are made in China while the A7, A8, E-Tron, Q7 and Q8 are imported.

- It does not appear that these manufacturers plan to manufacture their most expensive models in China any time soon. The total imports of these vehicles represent nearly 400,000 units each year (395,000 in 2018, 370,000 in 2019), i.e. a volume equivalent to one-fifth of what they produce locally.

- The case of Volkswagen is more complicated because the range of this manufacturer in China is very different (and larger) than that offered in Europe. However, Volkswagen imports nearly 40,000 vehicles into China each year.



    
 

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Tesla begins exporting its Model 3s from China to Europe

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Tesla begins exporting its Model 3s from China to Europe

- Tesla begins exporting its 100% electric Model 3 sedans to Europe. Until recently, these models came from the US factory in Fremont (California) and in the future, they might be manufactured in the plant in Berlin (Germany) under construction. For a while, the Model 3s sold in Europe will therefore come from the Chinese plant in Shanghai, perhaps to avoid sporadic deliveries. Tesla is not the first (nor the last) to export electric cars to Europe from China. MG has already been doing this for three years (its sales will exceed 25,000 units in Europe in 2020). Polestar has been doing this since last year. BMW has been doing it since this year (iX3). In 2021, Renault will export the Dacia Spring to Europe and new players have indicated that they will do the same, not to mention Smart, which will export its future Fortwos from China in 2022. MG stated that it will market four new electrified models in Europe as early as 2021. Dongfeng has announced its arrival in Europe with two electric SUVs (Seres 3 and Seres 5) and a van (EC35). Lynk & Co has announced its arrival in Europe with the SUV 01 with a plug-in hybrid engine.


- Is this the start of the dreaded invasion of Chinese brands in Europe? In any case, this is a return of Chinese brands in Europe, after a first failure observed in the early 2000s. This coming back will be achieved through  electricity and also Western brands producing in China (Tesla, BMW, Renault). But the announced tsunami will not materialize during the 2020s, because the traditional brands already present in Europe still have many strengths.




    
 

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Toyota to launch all-electric SUV in 2021

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Toyota to launch all-electric SUV in 2021
- The manufacturer Toyota was the pioneer of the hybrid vehicle (gasoline-electricity), since in 1997 the Japanese started production of the first generation Prius, with a success that has grown over the years to represent a million and a half of hybrid car sales per year, under the Toyota and Lexus brands. The Prius plug-in hybrid is more recent.

- As for the 100% electric vehicle, Toyota has never really taken an interest in it until recently, as the demand for this type of vehicle has grown to be significant, mainly in Europe and China. In 2019, the Toyota Group launched for the first time a 100% electric vehicle in-series (if we put aside the few fuel cell cars running on hydrogen), it is the C-segment CHR EV SUV. But this model was restricted to the Chinese market. Lexus, the Toyota's luxury branch, has extrapolated the UX 300e SUV that is available on the European market, in addition to the Chinese market.

- Toyota is therefore continuing on this path by announcing the launch in 2021 of a brand new 100% electric SUV for global sales, based on the new e-TNGA platform. This vehicle is the first to be based on this platform. It will be produced at Toyota's ZEV plant in Japan. It will take place between the CHR and the RAV4, so it will be a competitor to the recently presented Nissan Ariya. The Nissan Ariya is, let's remember, Nissan's first 100% electric SUV.

- Note that Subaru, Daihatsu and Suzuki are partners of Toyota's ZEV plant. There will therefore soon be new 100% electric cars based on the e-TNGA platform marketed under these different brands.



    
 

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England could become a home for Chinese vehicles

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England could become a home for Chinese vehicles
- Several countries have announced that they will suspend the sale of cars with combustion engines between 2025 and 2040. These are the following countries, mainly European: 1 / By 2025: Norway. 2 / By 2030: Ireland, Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Slovenia and the United Kingdom (except hybrids). 3 / By 2032: Scotland. 4 / By 2035: United Kingdom (excluding Scotland) and California. 5 / By 2040: France, Spain and Canada. More countries will most likely be added to this list in the coming years. It remains to be seen whether these announcements will be scrupulously respected.

- Let us take a look at the United Kingdom: this country, which had recently been detached from the European Union, saw its national automobile production sink in the 1980s, before calling on Japanese manufacturers to revive an automobile activity in the country. Brexit will see these manufacturers desert the country (Honda, Nissan, Toyota). There is therefore still the possibility for England to call on new manufacturers to relaunch an automobile activity in the country, if the automobile industry remains a strategic industry for the United Kingdom. And who else than Chinese manufacturers could meet this potential demand from UK?
Chinese carmakers will export their electric vehicles to Europe throughout the 2020s, and it will be relevant - once the volume of these exports is large enough - to transfer the production of these vehicles to Europe. England could therefore eventually become a welcoming land for Chinese vehicles and thus offset the amount of customs duties with traditionally low prices for Chinese vehicles, even electric ones, which England could sell throughout Europe.



    
 

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