Latest news with #Inovev
Daily Tribune
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Tribune
Auto Shanghai to showcase electric competition
The world's biggest auto show opens today in Shanghai, with foreign carmakers raring to show they can compete against the ultra-competitive Chinese firms that dominate the sector's new electric frontier. As the petrol engine's primacy stutters, traditional industry expos like Paris and Detroit are scrambling to re-invent themselves -- but in Shanghai the era of cleaner engines and AI-powered operating systems will be very much on display already. The government's historic backing of EV and hybrid development means China is now leading the charge in the sector. In 2024 EVs and hybrids made up 26 and 19 percent respectively of total car sales in the country, according to Inovev. "It's the only country that manages to get the automobile sector's industrial giants cohabiting with the innovation of a multitude of startups -- operational excellence and (production) volume with innovation and daring," Deloitte analyst Guillaume Crunelle told AFP. Auto Shanghai, which runs until May 2, will see a flurry of launches for electric, high-tech new models -- luxury SUVs, saloons and multi-purpose vehicles -- all designed and built in record time. Dozens of brands will take part, from state-owned behemoths to start-ups such as Li Auto and Xpeng, tech giants with skin in the game like Huawei, and consumer electronics-turned-car company Xiaomi. Analysts consider the Chinese market, the world's largest, younger-leaning and more open to novelty. But it is also fiercely cutthroat. Some start-ups have already gone bust, while brands including SAIC Motor, BYD and Geely are engaged in a brutal price war. Reports that two of China's largest state-owned auto enterprises are planning to merge, meanwhile, suggest the government is pushing companies to consolidate, eliminating inefficiencies to create new global leaders, analysts say. "They are in a phase of rationalisation and simplification directed by the state," Crunelle said. Many companies are also looking to expand overseas, in the hope increased sales in markets including Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America will safeguard their future.
Int'l Business Times
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- Int'l Business Times
Auto Shanghai To Showcase Electric Competition At Sector's New Frontier
The world's biggest auto show opens Wednesday in Shanghai, with foreign carmakers raring to show they can compete against the ultra-competitive Chinese firms that dominate the sector's new electric frontier. As the petrol engine's primacy stutters, traditional industry expos like Paris and Detroit are scrambling to re-invent themselves -- but in Shanghai the era of cleaner engines and AI-powered operating systems will be very much on display already. The government's historic backing of EV and hybrid development means China is now leading the charge in the sector. In 2024 EVs and hybrids made up 26 and 19 percent respectively of total car sales in the country, according to Inovev. "It's the only country that manages to get the automobile sector's industrial giants cohabiting with the innovation of a multitude of startups -- operational excellence and (production) volume with innovation and daring," Deloitte analyst Guillaume Crunelle told AFP. Auto Shanghai, which runs until May 2, will see a flurry of launches for electric, high-tech new models -- luxury SUVs, saloons and multi-purpose vehicles -- all designed and built in record time. Dozens of brands will take part, from state-owned behemoths to start-ups such as Li Auto and Xpeng, tech giants with skin in the game like Huawei, and consumer electronics-turned-car company Xiaomi. Analysts consider the Chinese market, the world's largest, younger-leaning and more open to novelty. But it is also fiercely cutthroat. Some start-ups have already gone bust, while brands including SAIC Motor, BYD and Geely are engaged in a brutal price war. Reports that two of China's largest state-owned auto enterprises are planning to merge, meanwhile, suggest the government is pushing companies to consolidate, eliminating inefficiencies to create new global leaders, analysts say. "They are in a phase of rationalisation and simplification directed by the state," Crunelle said. Many companies are also looking to expand overseas, in the hope increased sales in markets including Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America will safeguard their future. Foreign carmakers have also found themselves caught out by the new market conditions, none more so than the Germans. After years of market domination in China, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes have seen sales fall as domestic brands' stars have risen. Volkswagen is hoping to bounce back at this year's show with three vehicles developed in and for China, a first for the German group, as well as an advanced autonomous driving system. Volkswagen's China chief Ralf Brandstatter told a German newspaper that foreign manufacturers still had a card to play in China, as Beijing is betting "once again more on foreign investment" as its economy slows. Faced with "an extreme price war", the group had decided to "remain profitable" at the expense of sales and market share, he said Saturday. The group aims to revitalise itself through cost-cutting, helped by a partnership with China's Xpeng. In Shanghai, German manufacturers will have to prove "they are at the cutting edge of innovation... if they want to even retain their current market share", analyst Stefan Bratzel told AFP. It is already too late to regain their past market supremacy, he added, echoing comments made by former Porsche CFO Lutz Metschke. German carmakers cannot give up entirely on China, though, especially with looming uncertainty caused by Donald Trump's threatened tariff rises on European countries. The US president's policy has wreaked even more havoc on US-China trade, with the countries at an impasse over staggeringly high reciprocal duties. One of the biggest US companies active in China, Tesla, will not be attending Auto Shanghai, despite its two massive factories in the city. Elon Musk's EV giant has not exhibited at a major car show in China since 2021, when a one-woman protest over an alleged brake failure went viral on social media. However, US brands including Cadillac, Buick and Lincoln will still present at the show, with most models on display produced and sold locally. China's car market is fiercely competitive, with top brands including SAIC Motor, Geely and BYD involved in a brutal price war AFP
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
U.S. Tariffs Might Slash European Auto Sales By 20%
Mercedes-Benz GLC (Photo by Sjoerd van) Europe's auto exports to the U.S. could fall by just over 20% or 200,000 vehicles in 2025 if the new 25% tariff lasts for the whole year, French automotive consultancy Inovev said. The new tariff started April 3. It replaces the previous tariff of 2.5%. Inovev estimated total exports last year were just over 900,000, led by the Mercedes GLC, and Volvos XC90 and XC60. Volvo is owned by Geely of China. The U.S. is Europe's biggest auto export market, followed by Turkey with just over 600,000 and China's close to 500,000. European sales to the U.S. – the EU plus the U.K., were around 970,000 in 2018, slid to just over 700,000 in 2022, and have climbed steadily since then, according to Inovev. 'The leading exporting automakers are the Germans, with 26% from Volkswagen brands, 24% from Mercedes and 10% from BMW. This is followed by the Geely Group's Volvo and Tata Group's Jaguar Land Rover with 12%,' Inovev said in a report. Land Rover Defender The X1 is BMW's top seller in the U.S., followed by the 4 Series. The new Land Rover Defender is JLR's top seller, followed by the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. JLR announced last week it will pause shipments to the U.S. for a month, as it considers how to handle the cost of the 25% tariff. "As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions, including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid-to longer-term plans," JLR said in a statement. JLR sells about 100,000 vehicles a year in the U.S., its largest market. Total JLR sales are around 400,000. JLR reportedly has about two months of supply already in the U.S, which wouldn't be subject to the new tariff. Audi has also suspended U.S. shipments. In the report, Inovev pointed to the uncertain nature of the situation. 'What impact could this new additional tariff have on European exports to the USA? It will initially depend on the duration of this measure: 1 month? 1 year? More? The duration of this measure could depend on the pressure that could be exerted both by carmakers on American soil and supply chains, but also by the distributor network which risks seeing a drop in sales in the short term, in the event that there is no buying transfer to models produced on American soil,' Inovev said. BMW iX1 electric SUV (Photo by Sjoerd van) "In addition, the rate of this surcharge could also vary over time if negotiations open between the USA and Europe. If this additional tariff were to run throughout 2025 at a constant rate of 25%, Inovev estimates that exports could decrease by 200,000 compared to 2024.' If the tariff continued through 2025 or into 2026 automakers might open new factories in the U.S. or transfer European production to existing U.S. factories. VW subsidiaries Porsche and Audi could move some production to its U.S. factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Mercedes has a U.S. factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, BMW in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Volvo in Charleston, South Carolina.
