Ford could stop production of several models in Europe by 2020
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Ford could stop production of several models in Europe by 2020
- Ford could cease production of several models in Europe, as part of efforts to make its activities in this region profitable. Inovev has already stated in previous AutoAnalyses that the US manufacturer could eventually leave the European continent to focus on more profitable markets such as North America and China.
- The cooperation announced this summer between the Volkswagen Group and Ford Europe goes in this direction. The next step would be to eliminate the unprofitable models currently produced in Europe, such as the Ford Mondeo, Ford Galaxy and Ford S-Max, by 2020. These three D segment models are built on the same platform, in low quantities, at the factory in Valencia, Spain, which also manufactures Ford Kuga and Ford Transit Connect.
- In 2017, 53,000 Ford Mondeo were produced in Valencia, and 49,000 Ford Galaxy / S-Max , while the Ford Kuga has exceeded 155,000 units and Transit Connect the 90,000 units.
- Valencia could therefore lose 30% of its volume in 2021, with the removal of the Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max, unless the future Kuga was even more successful than the current Kuga. It could notably be available in an unprecedented 7-seater version that could take S-Max ‘s place at in the Ford Europe range.
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FAW-Dongfeng-Changan Merger Encouraged by Chinese Government
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FAW-Dongfeng-Changan Merger Encouraged by Chinese Government
- The Chinese government is encouraging partnership or even a merger between FAW, Dongfeng and Changan. Negotiations have already taken place between the three manufacturers.
- In 2017, FAW, Dongfeng and Changan manufactured a total of 9 million vehicles, which would put this group (if it was created) at the top spot in China ahead of SAIC (6.6 million) and especially among the very first manufacturers worldwide, alongside the Volkswagen, Renault-Nissan and Toyota groups.
- FAW, Dongfeng and Changan produce mostly foreign licensed cars, as FAW manufactures Audi, Volkswagen and Toyota, Dongfeng manufactures Nissan, Infiniti, Honda, Kia, Citroen, Peugeot and Renault, Changan manufactures Ford, Mazda, DS and Suzuki, so in all 7 million vehicles out of the total 9 million in 2017.
- Indeed FAW, Dongfeng and Changan also have their own brands, which account for the other 2 million vehicles in 2017. Changan alone accounts for half of this volume, or 1 million units.
- The aim of a partnership between the three Chinese manufacturers would be notably to set up common platforms, common electric motors, common logistics and joint R & D policy, in short to share the costs to obtain very significant economies of scale.
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Renault-Nissan ahead of the Volkswagen Group in the first half of 2018
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Renault-Nissan ahead of the Volkswagen Group in the first half of 2018
- The Renault-Nissan group has announced that it sold 5,539,000 vehicles worldwide in the first half of 2018, a 5.1% increase in sales compared to the first half of 2017. Like last year at the same time, the Renault-Nissan group is ahead of the Volkswagen group, which has announced that it sold 5,519,000 vehicles in the first half of 2018 (thus recording a 7.1% increase in sales compared to the first half of 2017).
- We must remember that the Volkswagen group had managed to outperform the Renault-Nissan group in the second half of 2017, and this is likely to be repeated in the second half of 2018. We can also observe that the dieselgate does not ultimately impact sales of the Volkswagen group, which was at the root of the scandal, while it impacts all sales of diesel cars of all brands in Europe and North America.
- The Renault-Nissan group's sales in the first half of 2018 are divided into Renault (2.1 million vehicles), Nissan (2.8 million units) and Mitsubishi (0.6 million units).
- The Volkswagen Group's sales in the first half of 2018 are as follows: VW (3.12 million vehicles), Audi (0.95 million units), Skoda (0.65 million units), Seat (0.29 million units) million units), Porsche (0.13 million units), Traton (0.11 million units), plus Volkswagen LCVs, Bentley and Lamborghini (0.27 million units).
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Inovev expects 50,000 Mercedes A-Class Sedan sales /year in Europe
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Inovev expects 50,000 Mercedes A-Class Sedan sales /year in Europe
- Mercedes has announced that the new A Class Sedan would be produced not only in China (Beijing), for the local market, but also in Germany (Rastatt) for the European market and Mexico (Aguascalientes) for the North American market.
- The start of production of this new model will be effective in the fall of 2018.
- Regarding the Aguascalientes plant, this is the first implementation of the agreement between Nissan and Daimler which stipulated the launch of a Mercedes C-segment model in this 50% Nissan 50% Daimler joint plant which was planned for a production capacity of 230,000 vehicles per year (with two assembly lines).
- The Infiniti Q30 that was supposed to be manufactured on this site as of 2016 has still not started, and will not start production. The Nissan-Daimler plant in Aguascalientes will only work with one assembly line instead of two because Nissan has decided to stop the technical collaboration between C-segment Mercedes and Infiniti.
- The plant will therefore operate with a capacity reduced to 115,000 vehicles per year. This is the annual sales volume Daimler expects for the A Class Sedan in North America, C-segment hatchback models not being popular with customers. For Europe, Inovev expects 50,000 units per year, because unlike the US market, C-segment trunk sedans are not very successful. The A Class Sedan is 4.55m long, 1.80m wide and 1.45m high.
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Inovev expects a production of 150,000 Audi Q3 per year
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Inovev expects a production of 150,000 Audi Q3 per year
- Audi (a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group) unveiled the new generation of its C-segment SUV, the Q3, which competes directly with the BMW X1, Mercedes GLA, Jaguar E-Pace, Volvo XC40 and DS 7 Crossback.
- The current generation of the Audi Q3, which was launched in 2011, has therefore had a seven-year life cycle. The new generation takes the style of more recent Audi SUVs, such as Q2 or Q5. It is 10cm longer than the old generation of Q3, peaking at 4.49m against 4.39m previously, thanks to an extension of the wheelbase of 8cm. The new Q3 is 4.5cm longer than its rival the BMW X1.
- Now based on the MQB platform used by many Volkswagen Group models, such as the VW Golf, Audi A3 or Audi Q2, the new Q3 is powered by two petrol engines or a diesel engine. These are the 4-cylinder 1.5 TFSI petrol 150hp , 2.0 petrol TFSI 190hp and 230hp and 2.0 diesel TDI 150hp.
- The new Q3 will now be produced on the Hungarian site of Gyor, alongside the Audi A3 Sedan and Audi TT / TTS, and no longer on the Spanish site of Martorell, as previously. The transfer of the Audi Q3 from Martorell to Gyor will be offset by the transfer of the Audi Q1 from Brussels-Forest to Martorell. It remains to be seen what will become of the Audi site of Bruxelles-Forest ...
Inovev expects production of 150,000 units per year in Gyor and 100,000 units in Changchun, China.
Inovev expects production of 150,000 units per year in Gyor and 100,000 units in Changchun, China.
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