The very disappointing debut of the new Lancia Ypsilon
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The very disappointing debut of the new Lancia Ypsilon
- The new generation of the Lancia Ypsilon (which replaces the older model of the same name, even though it is larger) was presented in February 2024 for a launch in June 2024. Production of the model began in February 2024 (in Zaragoza, Spain), while the old Ypsilon (produced in Tichy, Poland) continued until November 2024. The first months of sales of the new Ypsilon showed that demand for this new model was well below the old model. Over the whole of 2024, 3,900 new Ypsilons were sold out of 4,000 produced, while this figure practically corresponds to the monthly volume of the old Ypsilon.
- It is true that at the beginning of its career, only the battery electric version was available for sale. The micro-hybrid thermal version (MHEV) was added to the battery electric version, which was in low demand from autumn 2024. The battery electric version has only represented a thousand sales since its launch, due to an elitist price (34,800 euros to 37,800 euros depending on the trim) compared to the competition and especially compared to the old thermal Ypsilon. The micro-hybrid thermal version (MHEV), powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine developing 100 hp, is cheaper (from 24,500 euros to 27,500 euros depending on the trim) but still too expensive for owners of the old Ypsilon.
- In January and February 2025, the 1,000 monthly sales mark was exceeded, but at this rate, between 15,000 and 25,000 units will be sold over the whole year, compared to 50,000 old Ypsilon sold each year between 2020 and 2023.
- This poor performance could have an impact on the sustainability of the Lancia brand, which only exists on one model.
Stellantis Luton plant closed on March 31, 2025
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Stellantis Luton plant closed on March 31, 2025
- As was seriously considered since last year, the Stellantis group announced the closure of its British plant in Luton, which had only produced vans (thermal and battery electric) in the N1-2 segment since 2002, i.e. since the end of production of the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra sedan. This plant was one of the two Opel/Vauxhall factories present on British soil, along with the one in Ellesmere Port, which continues to assemble battery electric vans in the N1-1 segment (Opel/Vauxhall e-Combo, Citroën e- Berlingo , Peugeot e-Partner) since the end of the Opel/Vauxhall Astra sedan in 2022, transferred to the German site in Rüsselsheim.
- The production volume of the Luton plant had not exceeded 86,671 vehicles in 2024. The models produced were the Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro, Citroën Jumpy, Peugeot Expert and Fiat Scudo. These models, also produced at the French plant of Hordain, will be transferred to two different sites, Hordain which produced 157,689 vehicles in 2024 and which will take over the thermal versions of the vans produced in Luton (74,671 units in 2024), and Ellesmere Port in the United Kingdom which produced 17,911 vehicles in 2024 and which will take over the battery electric versions of the vans produced in Luton (12,000 units in 2024), the Stellantis group wishing to group together the electric versions of its N1-1 and N1-2 vans on the same site, that of Ellesmere Port.
- This decision was also taken considering that the production capacity of the Hordain site (180,000 vehicles per year) was insufficient to receive all of Luton's production.
Chery has started vehicle production at its Barcelona site
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Chery has started vehicle production at its Barcelona site
- Chinese carmaker Chery has started vehicle production at the Barcelona plant, a former Ebro and then Nissan plant (until 2021). The plant had started producing electric motorcycles under the Silence brand, but the current owner of the Plant, EV Motors, looking for a new partner to produce electric vehicles, signed an agreement with Chery in April 2024 for the establishment of a joint venture allowing the production of Chery models at the Barcelona plant by EV Motors.
- The first models came out of the plant in December 2024 under the Ebro brand, known in Spain for many decades. These are the S700 and S800 SUVs, simply Chery Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 rebranded models. The Ebro S700 SUV is 4.52 m long and its engine is a 147 hp 1.6 petrol engine. The Ebro S800 SUV has a family resemblance to the S700 but is 4.72 m long while its engine is the same as the S700. Both models can, however, be delivered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. These two models are starting to be sold in Spain before being sold throughout Europe. Ebro expects to sell 25,000 units of these two models by 2025.
- Another SUV has come out of the Barcelona plant under the Omoda brand (from the Chery group) which is already enjoying some success in Spain, with 7,781 sales in this country in 2024 and 1,819 units in the first two months of 2025 (a rate of 11,000 sales over one year). And this model is exported well outside of Spain since it has been sold (6,567 units in 2024 and 2,416 units in the first two months of 2025 (a rate of 14,000 sales over one year). We can therefore expect a production of 25,000 Omoda 5 in 2025 which will be added to the 25,000 Ebro S700/S800.
Stellantis stopped the assembly of the Leapmotor T03 in Europe
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Stellantis stopped the assembly of the Leapmotor T03 in Europe
- The Stellantis group got closer to the Chinese carmaker Leapmotor in October 2023. This carmaker had just produced 113,500 electric cars in 2022 compared to 45,000 in 2021, and was about to produce 145,000 in 2023. It was a small carmaker but whose sales growth could impress. This is the reason why Leapmotor was approached by Stellantis, which was considering collaborating with a Chinese carmaker with strong potential other than Dongfeng, with which it had already been working for many years (as PSA) for the production in China of European models under license.
- Stellantis has partnered with Leapmotor in a strategic partnership aimed at combining Leapmotor's technological expertise with Stellantis's global commercial presence to accelerate the transition to electric mobility. Key milestones include:
1. Strategic investment: in October 2023, Stellantis acquires a 20% stake in Leapmotor.
2. Creation of Leapmotor International: joint venture owned 51% by Stellantis and 49% by Leapmotor, to manage the production, export and sale of Leapmotor vehicles outside China.
3. Launch of international operations: In 2024 , Leapmotor International began operations in Europe, with models such as the T03 and C10, and planned expansion into other regions such as Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and South America.
4. First deliveries: In July 2024, Leapmotor shipped its first batch of T03 electric vehicles from China to Europe. Nearly 3,300 Leapmotor T03s were assembled in SKD at the Tichy plant (Poland) between July 2024 and March 2025 for the European market.
- In March 2025, Stellantis announced that it would stop assembling these models for economic reasons (the assembly of Chinese electric cars in Europe could not benefit from the exemption of European additional tariffs applied to electric cars imported from China or neither from the ecological bonus - in France). The Leapmotor T03s sold in Europe will now come from China.
MG to produce cars in Europe
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MG to produce cars in Europe
- MG (a legacy of the British MG brand) is one of the brands belonging to the Chinese group SAIC , just like Roewe (a legacy of the British Rover brand) or Maxus (a legacy of the British LDV brand). SAIC also assembles cars under license for Volkswagen and GM, an activity that has been declining for several years. Only the Wuling brand (of which SAIC holds 50.1% of the capital) is emerging thanks to the success of its small electric models (Hongguang Mini EV and Bingo).
- MG is a small carmaker in China (less than 2% of the local market) but it is the leading Chinese carmaker in Europe 30 countries (EU + United Kingdom + Norway + Switzerland), with 241,624 sales in 2024, far ahead of BYD (48,587 sales) and Chery (43,787 sales). This is the reason why MG announced two years ago that it was considering producing cars in Europe, and this becomes even more urgent today, with the new European additional tariffs (in addition to the existing tafiffs) applied to electric cars imported from China and in particular to MG (35.3% in addition to the 10% that existed previously).
- But while BYD is building an assembly plant in Hungary with a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year, and must seek new customers (around 100,000 per year) to produce that many cars, MG already has a customer base to produce 150,000 vehicles per year in Europe. It would even need two plants of 150,000 vehicles per year, given the expected growth of the European market and its own growth.
- However, in the first quarter of 2025, sales of electric MGs fell by 50% in Europe and now represent only 14% of the carmaker's sales, compared to 30% in 2024 and 47% in 2023. MG has no time to waste.