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Published: 19 October 2020

• France
• Production
• Renault-Nissan-Avtovaz
• Europe

Renault’s new management redefines the future of Alpine

- A few months ago, the future of the Alpine brand, relaunched by the former management of Renault in 2018 (after 23 years of non-activity), seemed threatened since the carmaker had announced the upcoming closure of the Dieppe plant which could let suppose that the production of the Alpine would be stopped there.

- Since then, the new management of Renault has completely changed these plans, considering that the Alpine brand had great potential and that it could become a Premium brand of the same size as a brand like Porsche in the Volkswagen group.

- Firstly, Formula 1 cars will no longer be named Renault but Alpine, as in the 1960s and 1970s, in order to promote the brand especially abroad. The sportiness of the Alpine brand (acquired in the 1960s and 1970s) gives it legitimacy to compete with brands such as Ferrari, Mercedes or Porsche.

- Secondly, a new product plan will be implemented, with new products announced, as an SUV and an electric sedan. The Alpine A110 should follow the same path as the Porsche 911, meaning to be the first step of a range with the objective to be an attractive brand competing with international premium carmakers.

    

 

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Published: 19 October 2020

• Registrations
• Germany

Germany is the 1st European market for electrified cars in 2020

- Germany is first European market for electrified vehicles (HEV, PHEV, BEV). In the first half of 2020, this market purchased 135,678 vehicles of this type, which can be broken down into 25,647 non-rechargeable hybrid vehicles (HEV), 67,197 plug-in hybrid cars (PHEV) and 42,834 100% battery electric vehicles (BEV).

- Germany therefore represents 19% of European sales of electrified cars, while this country represents 18% of European sales, all engines combined.

- France is the second largest market of this type of vehicle, with 97,772 units sold (32,394 HEV + 46,131 BEV + 19,247 PHEV), followed by UK, with 90,820 units (41,864 HEV + 32,277 BEV + 16 679 PHEV). Italy has registered 39,297 units (22,499 HEV + 9,912 BEV + 6,886 PHEV) and Spain 35,351 units (23,882 HEV + 5,440 BEV + 6,029 PHEV). These figures do not include “mild-hybrids" for vehicles equipped with 48V batteries.

- The European countries which bought the most BEVs are France, Germany, Great Britain and Norway. The other countries have very low BEV sales, except the Netherlands for which these vehicles represent almost 10% of the market in 2020. Tesla and Renault occupy 35% of this BEV market in equal parts (17.5% each ) in the first half of 2020.

- The European countries which have bought the most PHEVs are Germany, Sweden, France and Great Britain. German carmakers and Volvo are highly involved in the design and marketing of PHEV.

- Finally, HEVs are very popular in Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

    

 

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Published: 19 October 2020

• Registrations

Comparison of BEVs and PHEVs bonuses in Europe in 2020

- In order to push part of the customers to buy low-emission cars, such as 100% electric cars (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) or even fuel cell cars (FCEV), the European country governments have put in place several incentives to achieve this goal.

- There are incentives to reduce taxes at the purchase or on the vehicle registration, exemptions concerning car park or access to cities centersor on highways. But the most visible and effective incentive is the one consisting in setting up bonuses on the purchase price of vehicles.

- This analysis focuses on plug-in electric vehicles (BEV and PHEV) purchase bonuses for private owners. Thus in 2020, in the European Union, out of the 27 member countries (including Great Britain), 12 countries have both BEV and PHEV purchase bonuses. 20 countries offer bonuses for the purchase of BEVs and 12 for the purchase of PHEVs.

- 8 countries do not propose any bonus (but can however offer other incentives, such as tax reduction or other): Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta. Lithuania being the only member state to propose any support of any kind.

- The minimum bonus granted in the EU for the purchase of a BEV is 2,000 Euros (Finland) and the maximum is 10,000 Euros (Greece). For the purchase of a PHEV, the minimum bonus is 965 Euros (Sweden) and the maximum is 6,750 Euros (Germany); these two countries being the two leading markets for PHEVs in Europe.

    

 

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Published: 19 October 2020

• France
• China
• Production
• Registrations
• Daimler AG
• Europe
• Slovenia

All-electric strategy impacted Smart sales

- The Daimler group decided last year that all Smart cars produced from October 2019 would only be 100% electric (BEV) and no longer thermal and 100% electric. This decision was valid both for the Smart Fortwo produced at the French plant of Hambach and for the Smart Forfour produced at the Slovenian plant of Novo Mesto.

- It was expected that the transition to all-electric would result in a drop in sales of Smart, as customers of traditional thermal Smart would not automatically switch to the electric motor version which is much more expensive to purchase. This fall was therefore felt from October 2019.

- Consequently, over the first eight months of 2020, Smart sales in Europe fell to 11,015 units, compared to 72,870 units in the first eight months of 2019 and 66,740 units in the first eight months of 2018.

- In these totals, sales of BEVs smart represented 10,951 units in the first eight months of 2020, compared to 8,982 units in the first eight months of 2019 and 8,190 units in the first eight months of 2018.

- Sales of BEVs increased slightly, however, Smart's strategy to switch from thermal to electric ultimately resulted partly in an 85% loss in sales, as the lock down amplified the phenomenon. Recent sales of thermal versions have been made only from stock.

- The Hambach plant will therefore only produce 20,000 vehicles in 2020 against 78,000 in 2019 and 83,000 in 2018. This represents a 75% drop in production. Daimler has announced, however, that it could extend the operation of the Hambach plant in 2021 and 2022, while it is time to finalize the replacement project for the Fortwo which will now be produced in China.

    

 

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