Frankfurt 2019 becomes a primarily German exhibition
The Frankfurt Motor Show (every 2 years in September) is one of the top 3 European motor shows, next to Paris (every 2 years in October, next edition in October 2020) and Geneva (every year in March, next edition in March 2020). The other major motor shows in the world are: China, Beijing and Shanghai (every 2 years in April, alternating, next edition in Shanghai in April 2020), Guangzhou (next edition in November 2019); Japan: Tokyo (every year, next edition in October 2019); United States: Detroit (every year, next edition in June 2020).

In recent years, a new show has gained importance, even if it is not an automobile show: the CES – Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (every year, next edition in January 2020).

The Frankfurt Motor Show is increasingly becoming a German motor show. This had already been the case for some twenty years, as German manufacturers monopolized most of the exhibition, and moreover the part closest to the entrance to the exhibition, while foreign manufacturers were relegated  to much smaller surfaces, very far from the entrance of the exhibition. Similarly, the Paris Motor Show is increasingly becoming a French show again, as it was before the creation of the Common Market in 1957. The Geneva Motor Show remains the European show most open to manufacturers from all over the world, since Switzerland has not had any national manufacturers for a very long time.


    
 

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Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group from now on behind Volkswagen and Toyota
While the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group claimed first place worldwide among car manufacturers in 2018, it fell to third place in the first half of 2019, behind the Volkswagen and Toyota groups.

The Nissan division is the one that is falling the most, while the Mitsubishi division is the only one to improve over the six months.

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group sold 5.215 million vehicles in the first half of 2019 (-5.9% compared to the first half of 2018) while the Volkswagen group sold 5.37 million (-2.8%) and the Toyota group 5.31 million (+2%).

Even if we exclude heavy goods vehicles (trucks, buses and coaches), the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group remains in third place, behind the Volkswagen (5.25 million) and Toyota (5.22 million) groups. It should be noted that the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group does not produce heavy trucks.

Among the members of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group, the Nissan group (Nissan-Infiniti-Datsun) was the one that fell the most (-7.9%) to 2.628 million units, while the Renault group (Renault-Alpine-Samsung-Dacia-Lada-Jinbei-Huasong) lost 6.7% to 1.94 million units and Mitsubishi Motors gained 5% to 647 422 units.

The Renault group's sales breakdown is as follows:
Renault 1,229,658 units (-11.5%), Dacia 395,077 units (+4.5%), Lada 199,162 units (+6.8%), Alpine 2,848 units (+348%), Samsung 33,463 units (-13.3%), Jinbei-Huasong 78,371 units (-8.1%).


    
 

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Ford USA has not produced a single Focus since the beginning of the year
Ford has not produced a single Focus since the beginning of 2019, although this model  constituted a large part of the manufacturer's North American production during the years 2000-2015 (approximately 200,000 units per year with a peak of nearly 300,000 in 2012 and 2013). The Ford Focus, which was traditionally one of the top 10 best-selling sedans in the United States, dropped to 18th place in 2019 and its replacement has not been scheduled to date.

Ford no longer has a C-segment sedan on the North American market, which is a unbelievable, considering that this C-segment sedan market still represents 11% of the total market in the United States, all vehicles combined.

The Focus is undoubtedly a victim of the trade war between China and the United States, since Ford had planned to manufacture the new generation of the Focus presented in 2018 in China, and thus no longer at the American site in Wayne (Michigan).

However, the sharp increase in taxes on Chinese products sold in the United States made this operation very delicate, as the Focus would no longer have been competitive in terms of price. The transfer of the Focus to China was therefore simply postponed.

The few Focus cars sold in the USA in 2019 came from the 2018 production stock.

It should be noted that GM also stopped production of its C-segment sedan, the Chevrolet Cruze, in March 2019, leaving the way clear for Japanese and Korean brands, an un expected  bonus for them. Fiat-Chrysler was the first to discontinue its C-segment sedans (Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200) in 2017.


    
 

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Renault Product Plan (2020-2023)
The Renault 2020-2023 product plan has been made public. After a very successful year in 2019 in terms of innovations (Clio V, Zoé II, Captur II), the Billancourt manufacturer will carry out mid-life restyling of the Mégane(C segment sedan) and Talisman (D segment sedan) in 2020, with the Mégane to be replaced in 2023. As for the Talisman, it seems that it will have no follow-ons.

In 2020, there will also be the launch of the Kangoo III, which will at last succeed the previous one, whose origins date back to 2007. The new Kangoo should be built on the platform of the Dacia Dokker which shall be renewed in the same year. Renault will also launch the hybrid versions of the Clio, Captur and Mégane in 2020. Only the Captur and Megane will be rechargeable (Plug-In). At the end of the year, the restyled version of the Scenic should appear.

The year 2021 will be the year of the launch of the Kadjar II, which will have to do better than the Kadjar I in terms of sales, as it has remained well behind the Peugeot 3008.

The year 2022 will be the year of the launch of the Twingo IV, which should abandon the particular architecture of the Smart (transferred to China at the same time) and return to a front engine. Koleos III is expected to be launched in the same year.

In 2023, Renault plans to launch a small electric vehicle called Zandar, which would take over the platform of the K-ZE electric car recently introduced in China and derived from the Indian Kwid. This product plan does not mention the launch of the C-segment electric sedan that Renault has planned to launch in the early 2020s. Perhaps it will be postponed to 2024 or it has been deleted so as not to interfere with Nissan Leaf's sales.


    
 

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Indian passenger car production fell by 8.4% in the first half of 2019
Indian passenger car production fell by 8.4% in the first half of 2019 to 1.94 million units, compared with a steady increase since 2014. In 2018, it had increased by a further 1.7% (to 4.08 million units) compared to 9.5% in 2017 (to 4.01 million units). A slowdown was therefore noticeable already last year.

In fact, the growth in production volume in India went into negative territory as early as November 2018 (see graph below). Since then, this growth has continued to be negative, except in January 2019, which was slightly positive. The production volume for the whole of 2019 will therefore be well below 4 million units.

The future remains problematic because world markets are on a downward trend, even if the Indian market imports only a very small quantity of cars, due to very high taxes reserved for imported cars.

Exports account for about 17% of India's production of passenger cars. These vehicles are mainly exported to ASEAN countries by six manufacturers: Ford, Hyundai, Suzuki, GM, Nissan and VW. ASEAN countries are increasingly imposing import restrictions, favouring locally produced or assembled vehicles. In addition, in some markets, such as Sri Lanka, the growth of the second-hand market competes with the sale of new vehicles imported from India.

In the first six months of 2019, Indian automotive exports did not exceed 339,000 units (PC ) compared to 357,000 in the same period of 2018, a decrease of 5.0%.


    
 

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