The Renault plant in Oran has not produced vehicles since 2023
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The Renault plant in Oran has not produced vehicles since 2023
The Renault plant in Oran (Algeria) has been at a standstill since 2023, and several factors explain this situation:
1. New local requirements : The Algerian government now requires a local integration rate equal to or greater than 30% of parts in produced vehicles. Renault, which used semi-assembled kits (SKD) from Turkey, with a local integration rate of less than 10%, struggled to adapt to this constraint. Between 2020 and 2023, the Oran plant therefore operated at a reduced capacity.
2. Administrative blockage : Renault has been waiting for several years for official approval from the Algerian Ministry of Industry to restart its activities. Despite investments to comply with the new regulations, authorization has been slow in coming.
3. Diplomatic tensions : relations between France and Algeria have been experiencing a new period of tension for several months (the Western Sahara affair), which is hampering bilateral industrial projects, such as that of Renault.
4. Increased competition : other carmakers such as Stellantis have established themselves in compliance with the new rules (local integration rate equal to or greater than 30%), which has put Renault in difficulty on the local market.
Despite rumors of the permanent closure of its Oran plant, Renault has submitted a new application for approval and implemented a redundancy plan to preserve jobs in preparation for a possible restart. The carmaker hopes to restart production with new models and an adequate integration rate, but everything will depend on the decision of the Algerian authorities. Positive signals seem to be emerging: recent meetings between Algerian and French officials have revived hopes of a restart. The Algerian Minister of Industry even mentioned an imminent resumption of the plant. Renault therefore hopes to be able to resume production by the end of 2025.
Current plans for Chinese factories to set up in Europe
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Current plans for Chinese factories to set up in Europe
Even before the introduction of surcharges on imported electric cars from China, several Chinese automakers announced plans to expand into the European market through assembly plants to be built or acquired. Here are the confirmed or ongoing projects:
1. BYD is completing construction of its Hungarian plant in Szeged , which is expected to roll out its first models next fall. Four different models for the European market could be assembled at this plant in 2026-2027, including the Dolphin Surf (B segment). A second plant is planned in Turkey, and a third is reportedly under consideration in Italy.
2. Chery has been using the former Nissan plant in Barcelona (Spain) since the end of 2024. Several models for the European market are assembled there, under the Ebro and Omoda brands.
3. MG of the SAIC group is the leading Chinese seller in Europe . This carmaker therefore plans to manufacture its models for the European market in Europe. It is actively looking for a production site, and Spain is apparently the favorite.
4. Geely plans to assemble its Smart and Polestar models in Europe for the European market. Its choice could fall on Hungary, the Czech Republic, or Slovakia. According to the latest news, Slovakia has been chosen. The plant is expected to open in 2028.
5. Dongfeng has still not abandoned its plan to produce cars in Italy . And Nissan is opening the doors of its British plant to it.
6. Xpeng plans to assemble its models in Europe . This carmaker could take advantage of its ties with VW to use some of its factories, particularly those that VW plans to close (Osnabrück and Dresden).
BEV market share in Europe (30 countries) over 7 months 2025
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BEV market share in Europe (30 countries) over 7 months 2025
Russian car market has been falling again since November 2024
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Russian car market has been falling again since November 2024
- During the first five months of 2025, the Russian car market continues to sink into a deep crisis , marked by a drop in sales observed since November 2024 and a growing dominance of Chinese brands. Only 521,652 cars were registered in Russia between the beginning of January and the end of June 2025 (including 307,000 Chinese cars), which represents an annual rate of just over one million units over the whole year compared to 1.55 million in 2024 and 1.05 million in 2023. In conclusion, the Russian market has missed its restart after a very bad year in 2022 (0.7 million units) due to the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war and a year 2024 full of promise. The Russian market had experienced much better years between 2017 and 2021, hovering around 1.6/1.8 million units per year during this period.
- Russia has increased its military spending significantly, thus reducing the resources dedicated to civilian development. Furthermore, the introduction of a new recycling tax by the Russian government on automobile purchases has added to high inflation and rising interest rates, which are slowing down purchases. Many customers are waiting for the return of foreign brands, which is further slowing sales. It is in this gloomy context that Chinese carmakers are capturing the largest part of the Russian market, with 59% of sales in the first six months of 2025. Four Chinese groups ( Chery , Great Wall, Geely , Changan) alone hold 51% of the Russian market. BYD is not among them because the electrification of the Russian market is still in its infancy.
- In summary, the Russian market is in a downward spiral, torn between its military spending and economic and geopolitical uncertainties, but it does not appear that economic sanctions have played a major role in this decline.
Volvo has chosen to manufacture part of the XC60 in the United States
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Volvo has chosen to manufacture part of the XC60 in the United States
- In response to the threat of US tariffs on car imports from Europe, Volvo announced several months ago that it was considering increasing production in the United States, at its American plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina. This plant currently manufactures the all-electric Volvo EX90 (E-segment) and Polestar 3 (E-segment) SUVs, but with demand lower than expected, due to a sluggish electric market in the United States and the positioning of the two models being a bit too high-end, only 16,000 vehicles were produced at this plant for a capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year. Inovev had estimated that the best-selling Volvo models in North America could be produced at the Ridgeville site, such as the XC90 SUVs (39,492 units), XC60 (38,892 units), and XC40 (26,557 units).
- Finally, Volvo has just announced that an additional model produced at the Ridgeville site will indeed be the XC60 SUV for North American markets. The transfer of production of approximately 50,000 XC60s per year from Sweden to the USA will take place in the fall of 2026, that is, at the time of the launch of the new generation of the XC60 (which will be available in an all-electric version called EX60). It is possible that a second Volvo SUV will be added to the Ridgeville plant in 2028, and this could be the XC90 currently produced at the Swedish carmaker's site in Gothenburg.
- The consequence of this or these transfers is that the Swedish site in Gothenburg, the current production site for the XC60 and XC90, will lose between 50,000 and 100,000 vehicles per year, which will have an impact on the volume of vehicle production in Europe.