Production of passenger cars in Spain is the second in Europe since 2010
- 说明
Production of passenger cars in Spain is the second in Europe since 2010
- The Spanish auto industry started much later than French, German, British or Italian ones. Spain was in fact until the beginning of the 1960s an extremely poor country compared to other large European countries, furthermore still very affected by the civil war which left a million dead between 1936 and 1939.
- The first major automobile carmakers (Fiat, Renault, Citroën) established themselves in Spain between 1953 and 1958, but it was not until the country entered the Common Market on January 1, 1986 (renamed the European Union in 1993) that Spain become a country comparable to other large European countries. This accession allowed Spain to fully participate in the European common market, promoting trade and contributing to raising the standard of living thanks to cohesion funds.
- Spanish automobile production thus increased from 1 million passenger cars in 1980 to 2 million in 1995 and 2.5 million in the year 2000. This spectacular growth is due not only to domestic demand but also and above all to exports, supported by the relocation of production from France and Germany to Spain, a country which then benefited from much lower labor costs.
- Spain gradually became the second largest European automobile producer in 2010, behind Germany and ahead of France. In 2023, Spain will produce twice as many passenger cars as France (1.85 million units compared to 950 000) but half as many as Germany.
Production of passenger cars in UK collapsed after Brexit
- 说明
Production of passenger cars in UK collapsed after Brexit
- British automobile production was the first in Europe in volume between 1945 and 1955, thanks to the large number of local brands and the vast Commonwealth market for which the models produced in Great Britain were sold, imports then being very low, as in all other European countries which did not have such a large market.
- The creation of the BMC group in 1952 (born from the merger of Austin and Morris) then the BLMC group in 1968 (born from the merger of BMC with Leyland Rover-Triumph) helped the British automobile industry to remain competitive for several years, until 1972, the year of peak production (1,921,000 passenger cars).
- Unfortunately, the poor management of the BLMC group and the development of social movements in its factories led to a fall in production of the first British carmaker, forced to be nationalized in 1975 in order to avoid outright bankruptcy. British car production fell to 900,000 units per year in the early 1980s.
- It recovered thanks to the arrival of Japanese carmakers (Honda, Nissan, Toyota) in the second part of the 1980s and a relaunch of the Austin-Rover group, heir to the former BLMC group. British production reached 1.8 million passenger cars again in 1999. It fell again in 2009, to 900 000 units before returning to its normal rate from 2010 to 2016, when it reached 1.7 million units. After 2016, the year of the vote in favor of Brexit, British production gradually fell to 900 000 units in 2020. It remains stable at this low level from 2020 to 2023. Honda closed its factory in 2021.
France produced as many passenger cars in 2023 as in 1960
- 说明
France produced as many passenger cars in 2023 as in 1960
- We recently talked about the evolution of Italian automobile production (production carried out on Italian soil) between 1950 and 2023. It seems interesting to analyse the production volumes in the other major European automobile producing countries.
- France has long remained one of the two largest automobile producers in Europe, behind Germany and ahead of Spain and the United Kingdom. While Italy has never exceeded 2 million cars produced in a year, France came close to 3.5 million units produced in 1989.
- Growth in passenger car production was continuous from 1950 to 1973, increasing from 300,000 to 2,900,000 units. The oil crisis of 1973 caused French production to decrease from 2,900,000 to 2,500,000 passenger cars. Peak production was reached in 1989, with nearly 3,500,000 units. The following years were mediocre, with the production volume falling to 2,000,000 units in 1995. The relaunch of production took place between 1996 and 2004, notably thanks to the success of new models such as the Renault Scénic compact MPV.
- After 2004, we unfortunately witnessed a continued decline in French automobile production, mainly due to the failure of new models in the higher segments (D and E) and the decision to relocate many models outside of France. In 2023, France produced less than 1 million passenger cars, placing itself in fourth position on the European continent, behind Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic, but ahead of Slovakia and the United Kingdom.
Production of passenger cars in Germany remains the first in Europe
- 说明
Production of passenger cars in Germany remains the first in Europe
- German production of passenger cars (sedans, station wagons, coupes, convertibles, SUVs, minivans) became the largest on the continent in 1956 and has continued to be so until today. The German auto industry miracle was mainly based in the 1950s on the success of the Volkswagen Beetle sold in large quantities in its native country but also in the United States where it remained for a long time the most imported model.
- The growth of the German automobile industry was also the result of other brands which continued to progress in Europe or the United States such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Porsche. Aside from the oil crisis of 1973-1974, the growth of German production was practically uninterrupted until 2011, much later than in France or Italy. The production peak was reached in 2011 with 5.7 million units and stabilized until 2014.
- This uninterrupted growth can be attributed to the success of Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Porsche models, but also to the success of Volkswagen which moved from the Beetle to a wide range of new front-wheel drive models (Polo, Golf, Passat).
- The drop in production observed between 2015 and 2021 is all the more striking and spectacular, with the volume of passenger cars produced falling from 5.6 million to 3 million units in six years.
- The explanation for this sudden drop lies in the failure of certain new models and the relocation of models to North America, China, Eastern and Southern Europe. We can add the gradual withdrawal of Opel and Ford from Germany.
- In 2023, the volume of German automobile production will increase to 4 million passenger cars.
France: Sales collapse of BEVs imported from China in the first 4 months of 2024
- 说明
France: Sales collapse of BEVs imported from China in the first 4 months of 2024
- Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) imported from China (Chinese brands and European brands) represented around 25% of the BEV market in France during the first half of 2023 and around 30% during the second half of 2023 until October. Then the announcement of additional criteria to benefit from the ecological bonus for Battery Electric Vehicles produced outside Europe created an opportunistic effect in November and December 2023. Indeed, the French market share of BEVs imported from China suddenly increased to 37% in November and 36% in December. After this period, we should therefore expect a compensatory effect at the time of application of the new criteria of the ecological bonus during the last weeks of December, i.e. a significant drop in sales of BEVs imported from China in 2024, or at least during the first half of 2024.
- This is exactly what happened. The French market share of BEVs imported from China thus fell to 28% in January 2024, then 17% in February 2024, 11% in March 2024 and 7% in April 2024. The new ecological bonus has therefore had a real impact on sales of BEVs imported from China in 2024 in France. But we see that it is the Dacia Spring, a French car, which has suffered the most from this new ecological bonus, undoubtedly because the 5,000 euros of bonus removed represents 25% of its price (20,000 euros), i.e. much more than for an MG or a Tesla.
- In terms of volume, BEVs imported from China which were around 6,000-7,000 units per month in August-September-October 2023 increased to 11,000-13,000 units per month in November-December 2023 before collapsing to 5,500 units in January 2024, 4,300 in February 2024, 3,800 in March 2024 and 1,660 in April 2024. At the same time, sales of BEVs produced in European countries increased, as Chinese BEVs customers shifted to other BEVs available on the market, in an overall French market remaining stable.