A Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi group would become the world's third largest carmaker
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A Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi group would become the world's third largest carmaker
- The Nissan group, which had approached the Honda group at the beginning of 2024 to collaborate in the electric vehicle, in order to compete more efficiently with the Chinese carmakers who are very advanced in this market, has decided to go further in this collaboration with a view to a merger of the two carmakers that would allow the creation of the third largest carmaker in the world (by integrating Mitsubishi, of which Nissan holds 24% of the capital) behind the Toyota and Volkswagen groups.
- The negotiations currently underway to achieve this merger follow only a few weeks after Nissan's announcement concerning the cutting of 9,000 positions in its global workforce and the reduction of 20% of its production capacity. This is the reason why this merger project between Honda and Nissan seems to be an act of rescue of Nissan by Honda, which the president of Honda denies. The fact remains that this merger project could put a definitive end to the partnership that still exists between Nissan and Renault.
- The two Japanese carmakers are not complementary in that their vehicle range is relatively similar and their main markets are the same (Japan, USA, China). It seems obvious that neither Honda nor Nissan will abandon one of these markets in favour of its partner. But we also observe that both carmakers are losing ground on the Chinese market, as on the European market. It is therefore time to join forces to negotiate the shift to electric, an area in which they are still almost absent and which is dominated today by the American Tesla (16th largest carmaker in the world) and the Chinese BYD (8th largest carmaker in the world), not to mention the other Chinese carmakers that are progressing rapidly. Honda and Nissan wish to conclude a definitive agreement by June 2025 with a view to creating a single holding company that would be joined by Mitsubishi.
Will the Jaguar brand enter a new era?
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Will the Jaguar brand enter a new era?
- For four years, the British luxury brand Jaguar (owned by the Indian Tata Motors) has been put on hold since no new models have been presented during this period. This pause was voluntarily decided by the company's management to prepare the transition to a new era for the brand, characterized by a new, more upscale positioning, between the German Premium Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and the British Super Premium Aston-Martin, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, i.e. in a price range between 150,000 and 200,000 euros. In addition, this new positioning is accompanied by a generalization of fully electric motorization.
- Finally, the style of future Jaguars wants to differentiate itself from everything that currently exists, just as the old XJ6 launched in 1968 differentiated itself from its competitors by its innovative lines. Let's remember that Jaguar's first market is China and that this country attaches a lot of importance to the style of automobiles in general. In December 2024, Jaguar gave a first glimpse of its new style by unveiling its 00 concept, a battery electric two-door coupe whose square lines with a low roof and removed rear window are unlike anything known. A battery electric sports sedan inspired by this concept should be unveiled in 2025 and marketed in 2026.
- The sales figures announced by the brand for the years 2026-2030 will no longer have anything to do with those of the years 2005-2025, given its new positioning and should be around 10,000 units per year.
- Until 2026, the current Jaguar range, reduced to the E-Pace, F-Pace, I-Pace SUVs, will continue to be marketed to the public with no doubt heavy discounts to be able to sell off stocks more easily since their production will cease at the end of December. The British factory in Solihull, which is being reconfigured, will be the production site for the future battery electric Jaguars, the first one being a 4-door GT.
Renault Kardian begins production in Morocco
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Renault Kardian begins production in Morocco
- Founded in 1959, the Renault Group plant in Casablanca (Morocco), SOMACA, has been entirely owned by Renault since 2019. This plant, which should not be confused with the one in Tangier, has just started assembling the Renault Kardian compact SUV already produced in Brazil. This B-segment model with a low-cost modular platform intended for non-European markets is, let us recall, derived from the Dacia SanderoStepway.
- Today, the Renault plant in Casablanca produces the Dacia Logan and Sandero, at a rate of 95,000 units in 2022 and as many in 2023, compared to 74,000 in 2021 and 68,000 in 2020. These quantities are in addition to the 288,000 cars produced in Tangier in 2023 (mainly Dacia Sandero and Renault Express vans).
- Renault and Dacia remain the sales leaders in the Moroccan passenger car market (39% market share in 2023), which represented 145,000 units in 2023, 143,000 in 2022, 154,000 in 2021 and 117,000 in 2020. It is therefore a stable market that is not challenging for Renault or Dacia. However, Renault thought it was wise to diversify its offering on the Moroccan market with a more SUV-type model, the Kardian, cheaper than a Captur (the Kardian should not be exported to Europe).
- Due to a production capacity limited to 120,000 vehicles per year, the Renault plant in Casablanca could produce between 25,000 and 30,000 Kardians per year, provided that this model does not take too much on Sandero sales.
- In 2025, Morocco should produce 520,000 cars, including 280,000 in Tangier (Renault), 120,000 in Casablanca (Renault) and 120,000 in Kenitra (Stellantis).
The new battery electric Toyota Urban Cruiser will be produced in India
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The new battery electric Toyota Urban Cruiser will be produced in India
- The Japanese carmaker Toyota, following the agreements signed with Suzuki, has just presented its own version derived from the Suzuki e-Vitara unveiled last month. It is called Urban Cruiser, a traditional name at Toyota. Its engine is battery electric, like the Suzuki e-Vitara. This 4.29 m long SUV (1 cm more than the e-Vitara) is thus a competitor to the Kia EV3, Renault 4 E-Tech, Peugeot e-2008, Citroën e-C3 Aircross and Opel e-Frontera. It is located in the B segment, but at the limits of the C segment, as a Toyota Yaris Cross hybrid in the same segment is 14 centimeters shorter. Its wheelbase is 2.70 m like the Suzuki e-Vitara. Its weight is of the same order as that of its twin brother and competitor, namely 1,700 kg in front-wheel drive and 1,900 kg in all-wheel drive (incorporating a second electric motor and a larger battery).
- The entry-level Urban Cruiser model uses a 49 kWh LFP battery and a front-mounted electric motor delivering 144 hp. This version will offer nearly 320 km of autonomy according to the WLTP cycle. The mid-range Toyota Urban Cruiser uses a 61 kWh LFP battery, as well as a 174 hp electric motor that drives the front wheels. The top-of-the-range Toyota Urban Cruiser, meanwhile, combines the same 61 kWh battery with two electric motors (one on each axle) delivering 184 hp that drive all four wheels. This version would offer 400 km of autonomy according to the WLTP cycle. These are nearly the same characteristics as the Suzuki.
- The Toyota Urban Cruiser – which is the brand's fourth battery electric vehicle after the BZ4X, ProAce and ProAce City – will be produced in India from spring 2025, in the same factory as the Suzuki e-Vitara. It is in fact a Suzuki factory, the one located in Gujarat, which assembles the Baleno, Ignis, Jimny, Vitara and whose production capacity reaches 750,000 units per year.
- Like the Suzuki e-Vitara, the Toyota Urban Cruiser is intended for international markets, including Europe.
Fiat plant in Kragujevac (Serbia) starts production of the Fiat Grande Panda
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Fiat plant in Kragujevac (Serbia) starts production of the Fiat Grande Panda
- While the launches of the Citroën C3, Citroën C3 Aircross and Opel Frontera had to be postponed by several months due to technical problems encountered on these models based on the new "Small Car" platform closely derived from the Stellantis models assembled in India, the launch of the Fiat Grande Panda (unveiled in July 2024 and based on this same "Small Car" platform) will take place as planned, in January 2025. This model will begin production at the Fiat site in Kragujevac (Serbia), which had temporarily ceased production after the Fiat 500 L production was stopped. Inovev is forecasting 150,000 units per year of the new Fiat Grande Panda, 40% of which will be electric versions over the next few years.
- The Fiat Grande Panda will first be marketed in a battery electric version (the most expensive version) and then an MHEV version should appear during the summer of 2025. This second version, cheaper than the battery electric version, will certainly be the best-selling.
- Remember that the Grande Panda (B-segment sedan) will not put an end to the original Fiat Panda (A-segment sedan), which should continue its career until 2030 according to information from Stellantis. The Fiat Panda, powered only by petrol engines, will still be produced at the Italian site in Pomigliano, near Naples, and will represent Fiat's entry-level model in Europe since the Fiat 500 with a combustion engine was stopped this fall.
- As for the electric Fiat 500, its production temporarily stopped in October 2024 - due to a lack of orders - should not resume until January 2025, according to information from Stellantis. The future hybrid version of the Fiat 500 is eagerly awaited by the network because the discontinuation of the thermal and electric Fiat 500s is creating a major loss of revenue for the brand.