Author: yoann besnard

Rupert Stadler has revealed Audi plans

After the product plan, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has revealed in an interview given to Auto Zeitung how the brand will jump from less than 1 million cars this year to 1.5 million in 2015.
Audi will focus on the Chinese market on which it’s leader on the executive and luxury segments. Despite a fierce struggle with BMW, the company wants to double its sales to top 200,000 vehicles. The US market will also be carefully taken into account as Audi also wants to double its sales there. The brand will focus on increasing its dealer network.
The spearhead will first rely on a larger lineup. From 22 vehicles this year, Audi plans to sell 40 models in 2015. By covering almost all market niches, the German manufacturer hopes it will take sales from general competitors like Renault or Ford but also from specialist like Saab or BMW. The abundance of new models will be possible thanks to the new modular platform that Audi will generalise on all models within the next three years.
December 19, 2007
Opel Corsa reached the 500,000 milestone

Compared to the former generation, it was very easy to do better in term of sales and the Corsa fourth generation reached the 500,000 milestone 14 months after hitting the showrooms. The former Corsa took 24 months to achieve the same performance.
If Clio and 207 are top sellers on the European markets, the Opel Corsa is leader on two major markets, United Kingdom and Germany and its two historical competitors, Ford and VW are far behind with 45,000 less sold vehicles from January to November of this year.
The 10 millionth Corsa will be built during next January.
December 19, 2007
Chery A1 to head to Mexico

Chery will sell the A1 in Mexico next year under the Dodge label following the agreement signed by Chysler and Chery this year. The exact price remains unknown but for Chery it’s an access to the American market where the small Chinese car will be sold by 2009.
2009 is rather a wish than a definite date as the A1 will have to comply with US regulations in terms of emissions and safety. The A1 has been especially developed for export markets. At 3700mm long, 1578mm wide and 1527 high, the A1 is roomy enough for four people and offers an appealing exterior design thanks to Giugiaro. On the inside, the dashboard’s styling can match western standards, but quality looks really poor on pictures.
The car is expected to cost $10,000/£4,962 in the US. Sales in Europe is unplanned at this moment, but for £6,955 you can have a basic Fiat Panda. It’s £2,000 more expensive, but re-sale value will also be higher.
December 19, 2007
Saturn Astra has helped GM to save millions

In a recent interview, Bob Lutz said that the re-badged Opel/Vauxhall Astra has allowed GM to save $900 million/£447 million. “Its adaptation to American requirements cost less than $100 million,“ said GM vice chairman.
Due to go on sale form next January, the Saturn Astra will likely meet success thanks to an aggressive price and strong qualities when compared with the outgoing Ion. Despite a predictable success, Saturn expects to sell only 45,000 cars while the Ion model has been sold at 100,000 units last year.
The savings generated by the cheap development will enable GM to make a small profit despite a weak dollar. Indeed, the Saturn Astra will be built in GM’s Antwerp, Belgium plant.
Bob Lutz also said that “In the future, Opel and Saturn will share about 90 percent of their model portfolios.“
December 19, 2007
Hyundai Sonata to reach one million US Sales

It may not be obvious but the Hyundai will have sold more than one million Sonata in the US at the end of the year and will become the third company’s model to reach the million milestone on the American market.
The first model to reach the iconic milestone was the Excel which topped 1.14 million vehicles before being discontinued in 1996 while the Elantra saloon sold 1.22 million vehicles up to last month.
First launched in South Korea in 1987, the Sonata was exported in the US in 1989 as an attempt to reinforce the lineup after the success encountered by the Excel model there. Sold at only $4,995 and voted Best Product #10′ by Fortune magazine, it set records for a first-year import by selling 168,882 units.
The Hyundai Sonata has been sold worldwide at 4.12 million vehicles and if you go to South Korea you will be surprised to see the saloon everywhere as it is the top seller there. Hyundai will launch a face-lifted Sonata in our countries next year which has been on sale since November in South Korea.
December 19, 2007
A cake for the Prius’ tenth anniversary

Our country loves the Prius which became a green icon in the last few years. Since its introduction in November 2000, it has been sold at more than 16,000 units. The figure is low but keep in mind that it took almost nine years to reach the 500,000 milestone and almost ten years to reach the million mark. Growth is exponential. Toyota celebrated the tenth anniversary with a cake at the Motor Heritage Museum.
December 19, 2007
Next-generation A-Class to get its own platform

Mercedes have been in talks with a few carmakers for its future A-Class but all ended in. Daimler CEO has revealed in an article that Mercedes will build its own platform but will use engines built by BMW and PSA.
Zietsche said Daimler was in talks with Fiat but the planned solution brought more problems than really solved the cost problem. It is rumoured that Fiat small platform’s production cost is higher than Mercedes A-Class’. The talks with BMW didn’t get better and Mercedes finally decided to go on its own.
How will the German manufacturer cut cost? The future small Mercedes won’t be built in Germany anymore but in China or in the future Russian plant.
Mercedes has strong ambitions with the future A-Class as it wants to fight with the BMW Mini and the future Audi A1. Besides Ziestche has been caught seating in the Audi A1 at the last Tokyo Motor Show. The next-generation A-Class will be more coupé-biased while the B-Class derived from the C-Class will still be a small MPV. Along the two cars, there will be a small SUV set to compete with the future Mini Crossman.
December 19, 2007
Audi and BMW to snob BIMS

Last week I wrote that the British International Motor Show wants to grow next year and European carmakers will likely make some big announcements. Unfortunately, Audi and BMW have decided to snob the show according to Autocar.
Both manufacturers join Volkswagen and Rolls Royce. For the Motor Show, this is a major blow as both car makers have a strong brand image. British won’t have the opportunity to see the future R8 Spider before 2009 unless they go to Paris Motor Show. This new blow raises the question of the opportunity of a the British International Motor Show.
Actually, the British Motor Show is too close to the Paris Motor Show. While the British show got less than 500,000 visitors, Paris welcomed 1.5 million visitors. The press coverage is also bigger in Paris where car makers unveil their latest creation expecting to make a big impact.
It is true that the 2006 British International Motor Show was a good opportunity for Opel/Vauxhall to unveil the latest Corsa, but disappointing sales of the outgoing models have pushed it at the bottom of the sales charts and everybody had forgotten it. It was a bet made by Vauxhall and it worked well. But British market is Opel’s largest market and Opel/Vauxhall has a special status in our country. Other car makers aren’t in the same situation and Paris is a much better location to tap into the European market.
Once again, the British International Motor Show will likely become a regional show that national press coverage will try to make us to forget and believe in a better future for British car aficionados.
December 19, 2007
Chang’an Automobile has unveiled the first Chinese hybrid car

Chang’an Automobile has unveiled the first Chinese hybrid car, the Jie Xun or CV11. Like all Chinese car makers, the announcement must be considered with precaution as it is quite often a great deal of effort leading to nothing much. Indeed, Chang’an hasn’t given any technical details yet.
Derived from the Landwind Fashion seen at the 2006 Paris Motor Show and sold in France at a cheap price, the CV11 is expected to be complaint with Euro 4 regulations and consumes 20% less than the normal version. Chang’an CEO Xu Liuping also said that the company will provide 10 hybrid Jie Xun to the Chinese Olympic games next year.

The hybrid Jie Xun is par of an ambitious plan imagined by Xu Liuping who wants the company to release 36 new models and 12 new engines within the next three years.
If the hybrid Jie Xun proves to be a real hybrid which can run in real conditions like the Toyota Prius does, China might become a hybrid vehicles leader in the future. At least this is what Chinese government wnats, but Chinese consumers are not ready to pay a higher price to buy an environmentally-friendly car. The Prius is a failure there and Honda plans to sell 400 hybrid Civc in 2008 while analysts think Honda’s figure to be too optimistic.
The Chang’an announcement appears to be more a will to get the good grace from the Chinese government which wants the country to be a clean country for the next Olympic games next year than a serious attempt to build a hybrid car.
December 19, 2007
Ford Focus RS teaser

Ford has released a teaser picture of the eagerly-awaited Focus RS version which will hit the showrooms in 2009. The teaser reveals a car with an aggressive look and strong ambitions.
The RS version has been rumoured for quite a long time and Ford finally confirmed the project. The car is expected to offer a bold design as teaser suggests with an aggressive front bumper with unusually large air intakes and large wheel arches. The press release also mentioned that the RS will be based on the current Focus ST model. Under the hood The nippy Focus hosts the Volvo-sourced 2.5-litre 5 cylinder petrol engine which has an output of 222bhp. It is said that the RS version will get at least 300bhp with the help of a twin-turbocharger architecture.
Technically, the RS might receive a special semi-active limited slip differential between the front wheels as the car won’t feature a four-wheel drive transmission. There will be upgraded springs and dampers, and bigger 19” wheels.
December 19, 2007