Kia Announces 2030 Lineup Electrification Strategy
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Kia Announces 2030 Lineup Electrification Strategy
- Kia, Hyundai's partner in the Korean group Hyundai-Kia, has announced its strategy for the electrification of its range for 2030. Of four million vehicles of its own brand sold worldwide by this deadline, Kia estimates that 30% will have to be (BEV), i.e. 1,200,000 units, and 22% must be hybrid (HEV) or rechargeable hybrid PHEV), i.e. 900,000 units. In total, 2,100,000 brand vehicles will be electrified in 2030. To achieve this result, the Korean brand plans to launch 14 electric vehicles by 2028, i.e. two new models per year over the next seven years.
- Kia is counting on a gradual growth in sales of these 100% electric vehicles over the next few years, counting on 160,000 sales in 2022, 800,000 in 2026 and 1,200,000 in 2030. The new 100% electric models will be under the EV designation, such as EV6, EV7, EV8 and EV9. The EV9 model will be launched in 2023. Electric vans and pick-ups will complete the range, as well as an entry-level model not listed under the term EV.
- Kia has confirmed that mid-size BEVs will be produced in Europe from 2025, small-size ones in India from 2025, and full-size pickups in the United States from 2024.
- In 2021, Kia sold 2.78 million vehicles worldwide in 2021 and expects to sell 3.15 million in 2022, 6.5% more than the previous year, despite the semiconductor crisis and the consequences of the war in Ukraine. The manufacturer's target of 4 million sales in 2030 would correspond to a growth of 27% compared to 2022.
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Volkswagen suspends production in Russia
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Volkswagen suspends production in Russia
- The Volkswagen group has announced that it will suspend its automobile production in Russia, pending the end of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. In addition, the German manufacturer has decided to suspend its exports to Russia with immediate effect. Currently, the German manufacturer, which locally produces Volkswagens and Skodas (in comparable proportions), has two factories in Russia: Kaluga and Nijni-Novgorod.
- In 2021, the Volkswagen group produced 173,000 cars (including 121,000 in Kaluga and 52,000 in Nizhny Novgorod) compared to 185,000 in 2020 and 216,000 in 2019. This production volume represents 14% of automotive production in Russia in 2021 , the German manufacturer being supplanted by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group (40% of production in Russia) which owns the Lada brand and by the Hyundai-Kia group (30% of production in Russia).
- As for the Volkswagen group's exports to Russia, they remain low, not exceeding 31,000 units in 2021 (including 16,000 Audis and 6,000 Porsches) compared to 36,000 in 2020 and 37,000 in 2019.
- In conclusion, the Volkswagen group after establishing itself on the Russian market between 2008 and 2014, going from sales close to zero to a volume of 200,000 units per year, stabilized at this level in 2018 and 2019, before decline from 2020. It is surprising that the group has not planned to manufacture Audi brand Premium models there, while BMW and Mercedes have had production plants in Russia for several years.
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The situation of Renault in Russia
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The situation of Renault in Russia
- Renault announced that it was suspending industrial activity at its Moscow plant in Russia, shortly after Stellantis announced for Kaluga plant and Volkswagen for Kaluga and Nizhni-Novgorod ones. The Renault group is very present in Russia, as it produced and sold nearly 500,000 vehicles there in 2021, including 358,000 Lada branded cars (brand of Avtovaz in which Renault holds 67.7% of the shares) and 135,000 Renault branded cars (mainly derived from Dacia). Ladas are produced in two factories that have been completely renovated by Renault: Togliatti (historic site of the Lada brand) and Izhevsk (formerly linked to Hyundai). Renaults models are produced in two factories: Togliatti and Moscow (formerly Avtoframos, a distant descendant of the Moskvitch brand).
- These factories (Togliatti, Izhevsk, Moscow) therefore produced nearly 500,000 vehicles last year, including nearly 300,000 in Togliatti, 100,000 in Izhevsk and 100,000 in Moscow.
- For Renault, Russia represents its second largest global market and its second global industrial location. This represents almost 20% of its sales and production volume worldwide. The idea of a complete shutdown of Renault's activities in Russia therefore seems very hypothetical.
- As for Nissan and Mitsubishi, which are members of Renault-Nissan group in Russia and around the world, nothing has been announced until today. These two brands have been producing and selling in Russia less than 100,000 vehicles per year since 2020, which puts their position in this country in perspective compared to Renault. Any departure of European manufacturers from the Russian market represents an opportunity for players such as Chinese manufacturers, who could regain their market share.
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Honda and Sony team up to design electric cars
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Honda and Sony team up to design electric cars
- Japanese manufacturer Honda (the world's seventh-largest automaker) is teaming up with Japanese company Sony to jointly design electric vehicles. Honda, which is lagging behind in electrification compared to brands like Tesla, Volkswagen or Renault, is apparently in the process of completely reviewing its strategy in the field of electrification of its range. Today, only the Honda E represents the BEV segment at the manufacturer, but it is not a success, since the model has not exceeded 12,000 sales in its two years of existence and the fuel cell Clarity has been abandoned. Electrification at Honda mainly takes the form of hybrids on the Civic, Insight, CRV, HRV and Jazz mainly.
- Sony having introduced several electric models over the past two years seems to have interested Honda. Through the creation of a joint venture later this year, Honda seems set to produce and sell electric vehicles designed with the help of Sony. Honda announces the marketing of a first model resulting from this association in 2025. The objective of the Japanese manufacturer is to offer only 100% electric vehicles in 2040.
- The prototypes presented by Sony over the past two years were based on platforms supplied by the Austrian equipment manufacturer Magna, but future models designed with Honda will be equipped with Honda platforms. In the new joint venture, everyone will bring their own skills. Honda has mastery of the basic automotive trades (structure, chassis, comfort, safety, sales and after-sales) and Sony will bring its know-how in technologies which are becoming increasingly important in the automotive world (communication , network, sensors, information and entertainment).
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What could be the economic impacts of the war in Ukraine?
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What could be the economic impacts of the war in Ukraine?
- The automotive industry, which is currently trying to cope with the shortage of semiconductors, is now affected by a new disruption in the supply of automotive components, this time from Ukraine, following the invasion of this country by Russia. European car manufacturers are and will be the most affected by this supply disruption, as they are the ones who source the most from Ukraine.
- Ukraine produces in particular electrical wiring harnesses for several manufacturers including Volkswagen and BMW, aluminum as well as palladium and nickel essential in catalytic converters and batteries for electric vehicles. The embargo against Russia will also disrupt the supply of natural gas and oil to Europe, which will have serious consequences on the price of these products. Russia also supplies 40% of palladium globally.
- The manufacturers most affected today are the German manufacturers who produce in Germany and Central Europe, and source various components from Ukraine.
- The impacts of the war in Ukraine will be many and multiple, and may create a recession comparable to that which emerged after the first oil shock of 1973-1974. Even if the war ends quickly, the repercussions will continue for a long time, once again highlighting the need to relocate component production to Europe when possible. Soaring oil and commodity prices can only create a significant drop in vehicle sales in Europe. The risk of nationalization of foreign factories in Russia is also a fact to be taken into account.
- Contrary to the American manufacturers GM and Ford, which recently left Russia, the European manufacturers did not take into account the situation of tension which could exist between Ukraine and Russia, and therefore the risks involved, which poses in particular the problem of the viability of Renault's investment in Russia (with the takeover of Lada).
- The European automotive industry could also see its costs increase sharply, due to the rise in the price of raw materials and the change in certain sources of supply. The competitiveness of the European automotive industry could therefore decline, which will make the European market increasingly vulnerable to Chinese manufacturers who offer less expensive vehicles for the same service. China can take advantage of this situation, especially since the European automotive industry was already under attack from the forced reorientation towards electric motorization, the instability of regulations, traffic restrictions and tax pressure. The supply focused on high-priced vehicles does not meet the share of demand for more affordable vehicles.
- The European Commission and car manufacturers were on their way to turning the automobile into something less popular, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could make it even more exclusive, thus favoring the opportunity for a greater breakthrough and more fast from Chinese manufacturers. These – less impacted by supply disruptions than European manufacturers – are indeed able to meet demand that is difficult to satisfy in Europe, due to a lack of sufficient production volumes for affordable vehicles.
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