Category Blog

Details: Published: 06 August 2019

BMW presents its new electrified car product plan

- The Bavarian manufacturer BMW has announced its new product plan for electrified vehicles (plug-in hybrids and 100% electric vehicles). This new product plan implements BEVs and PHEVs two years earlier than the initial product plan presented last year, probably due to recent announcements from other manufacturers and perhaps also to the accelerated decline in diesel car sales in Europe. Like all its competitors, BMW can no longer rely on a significant proportion of diesel vehicles to meet the CO2 targets imposed by the European Parliament.

- By 2023, instead of 2025, the BMW range will have twenty-five 100% electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, more than half of which will be 100% electric.

- The Bavarian manufacturer now markets six models in plug-in hybrid versions (Series 2, Series 3, Series 5, Series 7, X5, Mini Countryman) as well as three 100% electric models (i3, i8, iX3).

- This means that 16 new BEV and PHEV models are expected to be added by 2023. The BMW i4 (2021) and Mini E (2020) have already been announced . We are now also talking about a rechargeable hybrid X1 (2020) and an i-NEXT (2021). There will therefore be a dozen models left to launch in 2022 and 2023, which is a fairly tight deadline.

- Inovev believes that BMW could launch models in the 2020-2029 to complement the i3, i4, i8 (probably i1, i2, i5, i6, i7) and iX3 ranges (iX1, iX2, iX4, iX5, iX6, iX7).

Contact us: info@inovev.com

Details: Published: 06 August 2019

PSA Group confirms that the future Opel Astra will be produced in Rüsselsheim

- The PSA group has confirmed that the future Opel Astra (which will be built on the EMP2 platform with Peugeot 308 engines for the first time) will be produced at the German site in Russelsheim, alongside the Insignia, which will also be on the same EMP2 platform when it is replaced around 2023. The Russelsheim site will thus be entirely dedicated to Opel sedans based on the EMP2 platform.

- The new Opel Astra is scheduled for 2021. By that time, the compact Zafira minivan, which is still manufactured this year at the Russelsheim site alongside the Insignia, will have completely disappeared.

- This decision to transfer the production of the Opel Astra to Germany will have two important consequences:

1. The Polish site in Gliwice will no longer manufacture Opel Astra from 2021. This site will be dedicated to the PSA group's large utilities, such as the future Opel Movano.

2. The British Ellesmere Port site will no longer manufacture Opel Astra from 2021. Inovev had already anticipated the closure of this plant a year and a half ago.

- Only an agreement on Brexit between the European Union and Great Britain could have deferred closure the Ellesmere Port plant (in particular by focusing on right-hand drive versions), but the Brexit scenario without an agreement would in fact condemn production in this plant.

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Details: Published: 06 August 2019

With its withdrawal from Europe, Infiniti will sell less than 200,000 cars in 2020

- Infiniti, Nissan's Premium brand, will exit the European market in 2020. Its late entry into this market in the early 2010's, its lack of notoriety and originality compared to long-established competitors, and the flagrant failure of the Q30/QX30 to double the manufacturer's sales, all contributed to prevent Infiniti from establishing itself on the European market. Nissan's Premium Division has never been able to exceed 13,000 annual sales, while Lexus has exceeded 40,000 annual units since 2016, not to mention Mercedes, BMW, Audi which exceeds 700,000 annual units or Volvo which exceeds 250,000 annual units. Even Tesla managed to outperform Infiniti in terms of sales in 2017.

- In the American market, Infiniti is far behind Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Cadillac or Tesla. Nissan's luxury brand is at the same level as Acura, Honda's Premium brand (not present in Europe). It is only ahead of Volvo.

- In the Chinese market, Infiniti is well behind Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Cadillac or Volvo. It is only ahead of Acura and Tesla.

- In the global market, Infiniti sold 218,000 vehicles in 2018, down slightly from its peak in 2017 and 2016. Nissan's Premium brand is ahead of Acura and Lincoln, simply because these two brands are not distributed everywhere. With the withdrawal from Europe in January 2020, Infiniti is expected to continue to decline and sell less than 200,000 vehicles worldwide next year. Its future will depend in particular on the adaptation of its models to electric motorization.

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Details: Published: 06 August 2019

Brexit without an agreement would condemn British car factories

- Brexit without an agreement would trigger an increase in taxes on cars and car parts, particularly those from the European Union and exported to Great Britain and those from Great Britain and exported to the European Union. The price of cars sold in Great Britain would increase, particularly those imported from the European Union. As for cars produced in Great Britain, they would become almost unsellable in the European Union, due to cheaper competition, except for high-end models (Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston-Martin, Mc Laren) whose price increase could be easier to accept by wealthy customers.

- In 2018, 80% of the cars produced in Great Britain were exported, of which 53% to the European Union, 18% to the United States, 6% to China, 3% to Japan, 2% to Turkey and 2% to Australia.

- Of the 1.52 million passenger cars produced in Great Britain in 2018, 1.24 million were exported, including 652,000 to the European Union. There is therefore a significant risk that exports to the European Union will collapse if Brexit is not agreed, and consequently that British car production will collapse.

- Already, Honda has decided to close its Swindon plant, PSA will close its Ellesmere Port plant in the event of Brexit without agreement, Toyota and BMW (Mini) are threatening to close theirs as well, and Ford will close its last British engine plant. The future looks bleak for the once flourishing British automotive industry.

Contact us: info@inovev.com

Details: Published: 06 August 2019

Registrations

The European market 2018 by body-type and segment

- Inovev has previously studied the evolution of the European passenger car market by segment and by body-type since 2000. Today, Inovev analyses the evolution of vehicle categories by crossing segments and body-type.

- Thus, in B segment, sedans still make up the major part of sales (3.15 million units), but SUVs are growing strongly (1.75 million units) and could sell as much as sedans in the early 2020s.

- In the C segment, SUVs are now selling as well as sedans (2.5 million units). As for minivans, they continue to lose ground (500,000 units compared to 1.5 million in 2007).

- In D segment, SUVs are at 750,000 units while sedans are still above one million units, but their steady decline (1.5 million units in 2012, 2.5 million units in 2000) suggests a future balance between sedan and SUV sales in the early 2020s.

- In E segment, SUVs have some difficulties to progress. They are capped at 250,000 units, slightly ahead of minivans (125,000 units), while sedans are once again approaching 500,000 units, after having lost a lot of ground until 2015 (600,000 units in 2006, 900,000 units in 2000).

- In the F segment, SUVs are now on a par with sedans (50,000 units).

- It should be noted that in the A segment, sedans account for almost all sales (1.25 million units).