Aston-Martin has a new assembly plant in Wales
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Aston-Martin has a new assembly plant in Wales
- The English sports car brand Aston-Martin has had up to now only one factory, located in Gaydon in Warwickshire (England). Scheduled before the Brexit vote, the construction of a new Aston Martin plant in St. Athan, Wales, is almost finished. It should open in 2019.
- This new plant will be the production pole for the electric vehicles that will be proposed by the British manufacturer in the coming years. The all-new Rapide E sedan will be put into production next year.
- Starting 2021, the site will also produce the future electric models that will be marketed under the Aston-Martin and Lagonda brands.
- In 2017, Aston-Martin has delivered more than 5,000 cars worldwide (+ 58% compared to 2016). This success is due to rising demand in Europe (2,376 units including 1,471 in the United Kingdom, 380 in Germany and 215 in Switzerland), the United States (684 units), Japan (321 units) and China (205 units).
- The current lineup includes Vantage, DB11, Vanquish coupes, DB11 and Vanquish cabriolets and the Rapide sedan. The Vantage have V8 engines, while the DB11, Vanquish and Rapide have V12 engines. The V12-powered Valkyrie supercar has just been unveiled. There will be only about one hundred Valkyries produced yearly.
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Russia has a new luxury brand: Aurus
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Russia has a new luxury brand: Aurus
- In the past, Russia had a luxury automobile brand (ZIL) which sold its models mainly to the political dignitaries and the higher administration of the Soviet regime. This brand, which was also a manufacturer of trucks, ceased the manufacture of its limousines in 2012. Since that date, the Russian top administration makes do with cars imported from Europe, such as Mercedes S-Class, Audi A8 or BMW 7 Series.
- President Vladimir Putin, who wants to restore the Russian automobile industry's luster, encouraged manufacturers to design a new national luxury sedan. The Aurus is manufactured by the Russian company Sollers, previously specialized in the assembly of Ford and Mazda vehicles, as well as in the production of UAZ utilities.
- The Aurus is positioned as a competitor of luxury brands such as Bentley or Rolls-Royce. But the car’s first objective is to be a national symbol, showcasing the know-how of Russia.
- Aurus hopes to persuade wealthy Russian consumers to turn away from Western brands. Russian Minister of Commerce Denis Mantourov unveiled the first two models in the range at the Moscow Motor Show : the Senat limousine and a sedan also named Senat. An SUV should follow next year.
- Prices for Aurus models should be positioned between those of Mercedes and Rolls-Royce.
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Inovev forecasts 15,000 new BMW X7 a year
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Inovev forecasts 15,000 new BMW X7 a year
- Shortly after the closing of the 2018 Paris Motor Show, BMW unveiled its new high-end SUV, the X7, which crowns the Bavarian manufacturer's SUV range.
- The X7 is built on the CLAR platform of the BMW 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series, 8 Series, X3, X4, X5, X6 and uses the embedded technology of the recent Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV. It intends to compete with the Range Rover, Mercedes GLS, Audi Q7, Bentley Bentayga, Lexus RX-L, as well as the large Cadillac and Lincoln SUV s in the United States.
- The X7 is the largest BMW SUV ever built. It is attached to the Series 7 sedan in terms of size, luxury and price. It is therefore a segment F SUV. At 5.15m long, 2.00m wide and 1.80m high, the X7 can accommodate up to seven passengers in three rows.
- The BMW X7 has a 3.0-cylinder 6-cylinder diesel engine developing 262 hp or 381 hp, a 3.0-hp 3.0-liter gasoline engine developing 335 hp or 395 hp and a 4.4-hp 4.4-liter petrol engine developing 456 hp. The latter will not be available in Europe.
- The X7 will be manufactured in the US plant in Spartanburg (South Carolina) alongside the X3, X4, X5, X6. Inovev expects 15,000 X7 per year. Its main markets should be the United States and China.
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The European LCV market increased by 3.4% over the first nine months of 2018
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The European LCV market increased by 3.4% over the first nine months of 2018
- Despite a 6% drop in September, the European LCV market (29 countries) increased by 3.4% over the first nine months of 2018. Registrations reached 1,581,276 units over this period, compared to 1,528,933 units the year before.
- If we compare this growth with that of sales of passenger cars, we observe that the European market for LCVs has increased more than that of passenger cars (+ 2.3% to 12 288 961 units).
- At this rate, the European LCV market could reach a volume of around 2 135 000 units for the whole of 2018 (compared to 2 061 000 in 2017), which is the best figure since 2008, but still below pre-crisis (2005-2007). The peak was reached in 2007, with 2,300,000 registrations.
- The countries that register the most LCVs remain France (thanks to the high proportion of PCs converted into company vehicles), ahead of the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Italy. These five countries account for 70% of LCV sales throughout Europe.
- The countries with the highest growth in LCV sales are Slovakia (+ 16.6%), Sweden (+ 16.2%), Spain (+ 9.5%), Austria ( + 8.7%) and Bulgaria (+ 6.1%). The countries with the largest declines in LCV sales are Italy (-3.2%) and the United Kingdom (-3.0%).
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Skoda launches Kodiaq Coupe on the Chinese market
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Skoda launches Kodiaq Coupe on the Chinese market
- Skoda has unveiled the new Kodiaq-derived (D-segment) SUV coupe, but it will be sold on the Chinese market only, according to the manufacturer.
- The Kodiaq coupe is the second SUV coupe launched by a general manufacturer, the first having been the recent Renault Arkana which is sold only on the Russian market.
- General manufacturers are starting to take an interest in this type of body, since until the last few months, only Premium manufacturers (Audi, BMW, Mercedes) were offering SUV coupes.
- But curiously, general manufacturers limit this type of body to specific markets, such as Russia and China, while these models would certainly be successful in Europe and other major markets.
- Skoda's argument is that the Czech firm does not have sufficient capacity on the European continent to produce new models like the Kodiaq coupe, but that they have four factories in China. However, Skoda will sell only 350,000 vehicles in China in 2018. The Czech firm therefore has unused capacity in this country.
- The Kodiaq coupe will be Skoda's fourth SUV on the Chinese market, alongside Kamiq (B-segment), Karoq (C-segment) and Kodiaq (D-segment). These three models currently account for one-third of Skoda's sales in China.
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