Category: Industry News

In an interview with Reuters, Iran_Khodro’s CEO Manouchehr Manteghi said that the car will be finance by Muslim countries and built in three countries, Iran of course, but also Malaysia and Turkey, the only two other Muslim markets to have decent automotive industries.

Proton CEO Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir had said in an interview in November that the future car would feature specific Islamic equipments but Iran_Khodro CEO said such features were not planned as the car is expected to be sold worldwide. However he added that each country will be able to add its own equipment.
At this stage, details remain scarce but the car will sold at a price tag between £4,300 and £5,700. and will target markets in Africa, the Middle East and southeast Asia.

The original idea might sound a bit ridiculous and too much political but with a market of 1.1-1.8 billion Muslims, the effort mustn’t be ignored and the case followed with interest.

The first British International Motor Show in 2006 was a milestone for the UK as it was the first time that a British show has had a worldwide stature for a long time. Thanks to the launch of the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, the show got a good press coverage and succeeded in attracting 415,000 visitors.

For the second opus, the organiser plans to attract 550,000 visitors thanks to a bunch of expected world premiere. At this stage, it is still difficult which car maker will take the opportunity to unveil new models although it is confirmed that GM Europe will come with the future Opel/Vauxhall Insignia and the eagerly awaited Saab 9-1 prototype.

Let’s hope that next year, Porsche and Volkswagen will have the decency to come as they ignored the 2006 show pretending it had a poor worldwide appeal. It’s true that 550,000 visitors don’t compare well with the 1.5 million figure recorded by the Paris Motor Show, but it’s the perfect show to be noticed.

Once again the 207 topped the French chart for November with 10,307 vehicles delivered. The Renault Clio III ranks second while the Citroen C4 Picasso finished third. Renault delivered 8,915 vehicles. The detailed statistics reveals that the 207 alone scored 7,858 but once the SW and the CC models added, the small French car’s sales increase by 31%. When the Renault Clio III estate hits the showroom, the overall range will likely overtake the 207. The third position is very good news for Citroen as the compact MPV overtakes the ubiquitous Renault Scenic for the first time with 8,577 vehicles for the former and 6,725 for the latter.

Among imported cars, the Volkswagen Golf ranks first and arrives at the ninth position in the market thanks to a 14.5% increase to 3,641 vehicles. Niche models performs well as the new Mini arrives thirty-second with 1,599 vehicles and the iconic Fiat 500 takes the forty-fifth rank with 1,189 vehicles just four months after its launch. Oddly, the former Clio II scores better than newer foreing rivals as the small car launched in 1998 has been sold at 2,089 units.

Among the new models, the Renault Laguna III doubled its sales over the previous month with 3,418 vehicles and is ahead of the Peugeot 407 whose sales decreased by 40%. The future C5 officially launched in next January will likely be a tough contender and might threaten the 407.

Despite hectic news, Tesla Motors is moving ahead as it will open soon its first showroom located on the Santa Monica Boulevard.

Known for getting one of the busiest traffic in the US, the address is also close to celebrities and environmentalists. Unlike Toyota who used a PR agency to promote the Prius among the celebrities, Tesla opened its first store where they live. Much clever and less expensive. Observers agree that the Tesla roadster is sexier than the Prius, of course.

We regularly talk about the booming Indian and Chinese markets, but without hype Europe might become the world’s largest car market by the end of the year. The first rank is traditionally taken by the US.

December sales will be crucial for the two markets as the US leads with 13,583,559 vehicles and Europe follows with 13,572,669 vehicles. Over the same period last year there was a gap of 740,000 vehicles.

The European sales have increased thanks to the dynamic countries in Eastern and Central Europe, but traditional markets have also performed well especially the British and Italian markets. In the meantime, the downturn caused by the rising fuel costs and the subprime crisis have slowed down car sales in the US.

Source: Automotive News

The American magazine Forbes unveiled the list of the Best- and Worst-Selling Vehicles of 2007 over the first ten months. Once again, the Ford F-150 tops despite a sales slump of 12.5% due to high gas prices. The Forbes list also emphasizes the hold of Japanese car makers which have six cars in the list. The humiliation is even stronger for the American car makers as five Japanese models increased their sales.

Among the worst sellers, you will find, of course, exclusive cars such as the Cadillac XLR but also cars at the end of their lifecycle like the Jaguar S-Type. Almost all listed cars recorded a sales slump due to the debt crisis occurring in the US.

10 best-sellers in the US
1. Ford F-Series: 588,952 units, -12.5%
2. Chevrolet Silverado: 526,575, -2.4%
3. Toyota Camry: 398,868, +6.4%
4. Honda Accord: 332,815, +10.2%
5. Toyota Corolla/Matrix: 317,796 -4.0%
6. Honda Civic: 278,764, +2.2%
7. Chevrolet Impala: 270,504, +12.6%
8. Nissan Altima: 239,800, +26.6%
9. Dodge Ram: 214,569, -9.3%
10. Honda CR-V: 184,003, +34.9%

10 worst-sellers in the US
1. Cadillac XLR: 1,525, -42.7%
2. Mazda B-Series: 2,363, -35.3%
3. Isuzu Ascender: 2,523, -40.3%
4. Jaguar X-Type: 2,599, -44.2%
5. Jaguar S-Type: 2,973, -44.3%
6. Audi A8/S8: 3,092, -27.2%
7. Porsche Boxster: 3,148, -21.5%
8. Lexus SC430: 3,311, -33.2%
9. Isuzu i-290/370: 3,575, +21.1%
10. Jaguar XJ: 3,637, -11.2%