Roger Atkins’ Post

🚗 European automakers are feeling the heat from low-cost Chinese #EVs but are gearing up to defend their market share. Sales of Chinese-made cars, including those from Tesla and BMW Group, doubled in Europe last year. As the #EU investigates potential tariff hikes on Chinese EVs, local companies are strategizing to compete. Renault Group plans to sell its new EV for under €25,000, while Volkswagen urges regulatory support to level the playing field. Partnerships and tech advancements are seen as key strategies. Hyundai Motor Company (현대자동차)’s focus? Strengthen their unique strengths. With speed now more crucial than size, the race is getting more intense! 🚀⚡ Read more at https://lnkd.in/e6HtAY3W #ElectricVehicles #EVs #AutomotiveIndustry #EuropeanAutomakers #TechInnovation #BusinessStrategy #Sustainability #FutureOfMobility

Imported electric vehicle (EV) registrations in Korea fell by 40.1% during August-September, driven by safety concerns. The Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association reported 6,868 new registrations, a decrease from 11,462 the previous year. August saw 4,115 registrations, dropping to 2,753 in September, marking the first combined total below 10,000 since 2021. This decline is attributed to increased safety fears following a significant fire involving a Mercedes-Benz EV that damaged over 100 cars and a parking garage in Incheon. Consequently, some parking facilities have enacted full or partial bans on EVs. In brand popularity for September, Tesla dominated with 1,349 registrations, followed by BMW with 454 and Audi with 348. Other brands included Volkswagen, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz, with registrations at 267, 166, and 105, respectively. #MotiveAsia #SouthKorea https://lnkd.in/ghugz27V

Similar to its Japanese multinational fellow Toyota (See my post one week ago: https://lnkd.in/gGdTHbre), Honda is betting big on the Chinese market (Q1, Q2, Q3), actively or reactively. Q1: "Japan's Honda Motor plans to launch six next-generation electric vehicle (EV) models branded Ye in China by 2027, the automaker said on Tuesday." Q2: "It added that it also planned to roll out a total of 10 Honda-brand EV models in China by 2027 in the race to ensure EVs make up 100% of its automobile sales in the country by 2035." Q3: "And faced with increasing competition from Chinese EV makers, Honda and rival Nissan Motor said last month they were considering a partnership on key components and software." https://lnkd.in/gJyM7ZfV

The un-doing of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance continues... After the initial assault on #Renault's control over the alliance by targetting its CEO #CarlosGhosn in 2018, #Nissan has managed to force a favourable balance of power leading to new Renault CEO Luca De Meo to accept lowering its stake into the Japanese car maker from 43% to 15%, granting Nissan full voting rights in the alliance and begging for a 50% investment into Ampere, Renault's #EV offshoot. Nissan obtained through force much more than they had asked for through years of negotiation... I have been arguing for years that the ultimate objective of Nissan since the "Carlos Ghosn case" is to engineer a divorce with Renault and pursue consolidation with other Japanese car manufacturers, to face up to Chinese rising champions in the EV space. Month after month, this scenario is proving true, and now #Honda is emerging as a potential suitor. Let us not forget that this consolidation of the Japanese car industry could involve non-car players, such as electronics companies, as most of the value in next generation self-driving vehicles will lie in software, not hardware. A reminder: Honda is already in a JV with Sony 👉 Sony Honda Mobility... #economicwarfare #automobile #electricalvehicles

🚀Is #Europe Still in the Race to Win Electric Mobility?⚡ ➡️Stellantis - "Smart Car Platform" ➡️Volkswagen Group - "Electric Urban Car Family" ➡️Renault Group - Renault 5, 4, Twingo and Legend. The European automotive industry is stepping up its efforts to accelerate the development and deployment of affordable 100% #electricvehicles (BEVs), a move crucial for maintaining competitiveness in the global market. It's important to consider that mass-market Customers want "Good & Affordable BEVs". While #China is ahead in the race, Europe's strategy should focus on innovation and rapid development of competitive products rather than relying on protectionist measures like anti-competitive tariffs, which could backfire on European manufacturers operating in China. 🚀Is #Europe Still in the Race to Win Electric Mobility?⚡ What's your opinion? Ricardo Oliveira World Shopper | #GetReadyForTheFuture James Carter Pedro Pacheco Rustam Kocher Lukas Neckermann Roger Atkins Pedro Nuno Ferreira Raúl González Martín

Two major #European automakers consider a joint production plan to head off the threat of inexpensive #Chinese #BEV imports. #Volkswagen is thought to be exploring a commercial tie-up with #Renault in a bid to produce inexpensive battery-electric vehicles #BEV to compete against a wave of low-cost Chinese cars expected to flood into #Europe. The rumors have been cited in the #German #Handelsblatt newspaper whose sources claim the automakers want to cooperate on a shared vehicle platform to bring a sub-€20,000 ($21,476) BEV to market. While that paper’s sources are quoted as saying negotiations with Renault are “at a very early stage,” the move makes sense considering the #French automaker’s production advantage since the establishment of its #Ampere BEV business. Renault carved out the stand-alone company from the rest of the group earlier this year to provide platforms for its own BEV offerings, but with the implication the company also could work as a Tier 1 supplier for other automakers. The businesses’ platforms have been used in several Renault products including the Megane E-Tech, Scenic E-Tech, Renault 5, Renault 4 and the Twingo Legend concept to replace the current electric Twingo and expected to sell at the targeted €20,000 threshold before any government subsidies. Renault’s Alliance partners, #Nissan and #Mitsubishi, also recently confirmed they are investing up to €600 million ($647 million) and €200 million ($215 million), respectively, in Ampere. A spokesperson for Renault tells the Reuters news agency cooperation is necessary to be competitive with small, entry-level electric vehicles, adding: “We are in different discussions but nothing has been finalised.”

‘’Honda and Nissan will team up to develop electric cars, days after Volkswagen said it may collaborate with Renault, as traditional carmakers combine forces in the face of the threat from Chinese EVs.’’ These developments signal an increasing trend of regional consolidations, arguably fueled by the ‘China’ threat and the general geopolitical direction of decoupling in the West. That said, it is also the good old fashioned policy choices, market dynamics, customer preferences/value, and regulatory environment that are necessitating some of these decisions, in my humble opinion. The Volkswagen Group - Renault Group collaboration is clearly pursuing a low-cost sub-compact electric car for Europe, and in Europe (Dacia Spring from Renault’s portfolio is still the benchmark for pricing, as a CBU from China). Both groups have struggled to reduce costs on their own, and announcements from VW in particular (e.g. ID Life announcement in 2021) have been discredited by their recent admissions of difficulties in bringing out a sub EUR 20k car in Europe, locally. This would require the next level of mechanization and scale that is only possible with collaboration. The Nissan Motor Corporation - Honda (weak) partnership comes after both companies rejected earlier attempts by the Japanese government to forge a merger. That said, Nissan-Mitsubishi (Mitsubishi being a 100% owned subsidiary) and Honda are most threatened by the Chinese sub-compacts in their home market, where electric-KEI cars are a recent phenomenon. The Nissan offering is a promising solution for not just their internal market but also as a shared platform for their value markets like India and SEA. Moreover, next gen Nissan Leaf and Honda e for developed markets are another opportunity at co-discovering the uniquely Japanese offering for the world. Moreover, this re-formation may also solve the bigger problems of Renault in particular i.e. sufficient justification for getting a clean exit from, and finally sell, the non-voting share-holding in Nissan (that started with a 5% stake sale in end 2023) to generate cash for its EV division Ampere after its unsuccessful attempt at an IPO. Sources: https://lnkd.in/d6W2khmQ Volkswagen considers partnership to produce mass market electric vehicles https://on.ft.com/3PjzIYV

PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen has walked away from talks with Renault to jointly develop an affordable #electric version of the #Twingo car, four sources familiar with the situation said, in a setback for the 🇪🇺 EU carmakers’ efforts to fend off 🇨🇳 Chinese rivals. The collapse of negotiations could mean the 🇩🇪 German carmaker may have to go it alone in developing its own affordable electric vehicle (EV). Renault will continue designing its electric Twingo, scheduled to hit the market in 2026. Both had hoped that sharing the work would cut costs that represent a key hurdle for European carmakers in the face of cheaper cars from China... It is also a blow for Renault CEO Luca de Meo‘s hopes for greater cooperation between European carmakers against their Chinese competitors, akin to Airbus which has stakeholders and operations across European countries. The VW-Renault tie-up for the Twingo could have formed the “basis” of an Airbus for autos, the fourth source said. China’s automakers, the world’s top #EV producers, are making fast inroads in the European market, pressuring incumbents like Renault and VW to cut costs and speed up the time it takes to bring a new model to market. European automakers are aiming to produce smaller EVs that sell below 20,000 euros ($21,686) to help them compete with Chinese brands like BYD.

Chinese car plants in Italy could mean 'unpopular decisions,' Stellantis warns: Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing Continue reading Chinese car plants in Italy could mean 'unpopular decisions,' Stellantis warns Chinese car plants in Italy could mean 'unpopular decisions,' Stellantis warns originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 Apr 2024 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  Email this |  Comments #car #cars #awesome

𝗩𝗼𝗹𝗸𝘀𝘄𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝘃𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 Volkswagen has ended discussions with Renault to co-develop an affordable electric Twingo, according to four sources. This setback hampers the EU carmakers' strategy to counter Chinese EV competition. Renault will proceed with its electric Twingo, planned for a 2026 release, while Volkswagen may have to develop its own affordable EV independently. The partnership aimed to reduce costs, a significant challenge against cheaper Chinese cars. The talks faltered partly due to Volkswagen's works council and Renault's preference to manufacture the car in its plant, conflicting with VW's production plans. Despite nearing an agreement, VW opted out and will decide on its EV strategy soon, aiming to launch a low-cost EV by 2027, according to CEO Thomas Schaefer. Renault's EV division, Ampere, declined to comment but remains open to other partnerships, including within its alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi. The sources requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the talks. #Volkswagen #Renault #ElectricVehicles #EV #AffordableEV #Twingo #EuropeanCarmakers #AutoIndustry #EVDevelopment #SustainableTransport #ElectricTwingo #VW #RenaultEV #ChineseEVs #AutoPartnership #CarManufacturing #GreenMobility #FutureOfCars #EVInnovation #CarmakerCollaboration