Category: Industry News

2008 will be another gloomy year for the Japanese automative market as the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association has forecasted a 1.2% decrease. The market will likely record its 26-year low with 5,383,700 vehicles.

Surprisingly, the Kei car market will suffer the most with a 2% decrease to 1,892,000 vehicles while bigger vehicles included trucks and buses will slow down by 0.8% to 3,427,000 vehicles.

The decrease is, of course, linked to the recent higher oil prices but also to the crisis that has lasted for the last sixteen years. Also young Japanese people are less interested in cars than their parents and don’t see a car as a sign of wealth, especially in larger cities.

Japanese car makers plan to fight the sluggish environment by releasing more new models, but there is a few chance it will reverse the current order.

While bidding for Jaguar and Land Rover, the Indian car maker is working hard to finish its low cost car. In the case of Tata, a normal model costs £5-6,000 so its budget car will be offered for less than £1,300.

The small car will be officially unveiled at the New Delhi Motor Show next year and Tata executives have released some details about the car. On the inside it will be roomy enough for a six foot person and Tata has used more plastics to reduce weight. Secrecy surrounds the engine spec but RA Mashelkar, a nonexecutive director on Tata Motors’ board, told the AP that “It’s an eco-car with a 25km-per-litre mileage on petrol” which “meets every international standard and specification, including Euro-4 norms”. He also said thatthe car would offer perfromabce similar to the ubiquitous Maruti 800.

Suzuki won’t directly answer Tata’s new car but will unveil its own low cost model at the same Motor Show.

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.

While October was a good month, sales have been sluggish in November especially in Germany which badly impacted the whole European statistics. Overall the European market recorded 1,25 million vehicles, a 1.1% decrease over the same period last year.

German market has been gloomy for month because of a tax increase in January and has decreased by -12.9% in November. Large markets which performed well like France with a 7.2% increase, United Kingdom with a 2.2% increase and Italy with a 1% increase haven’t had enough weight against the German market’s trend. Romania recorded an impressive 27% jump to 29,230 vehicles while Poland’s sales have increased by 15% to 24,546 units.

Among the car makers the winners are Dacia with a 63% increase followed by Mini with +54%. Nissan recorded a strong 18% increase. BMW’s sales have increased by 10.9% to 60,600 vehicles. Renault recorded a 5.1% increase, followed by Fiat with a 4% increase and Citroen with +2.7%. The biggest loser is Opel which recorded a 6.8% decrease. Peugeot is close behind Opel with -5.9% and Ford’s deliveries have decreased by 2.4%.

The troubled Pininfarina has announced it will release a concept car named Sintesi at the next Geneva Motor Show.

The Sintesi will be concept car sporting the coachbuilder’s values, sportiness and elegance first, innovation and craftsmanship. It will explore new typologies of mobility, active safety and packaging solutions.

One does hope it will also bring new contracts for the Italian icon.