News: Passenger Cars, Minivans, and SUVs

2021-05-24

Vinfast Begins Taking Orders for EVs

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Vinfast, an emerging Vietnamese automaker, has started taking orders for its first EV, the VFe34. The VFe34, a C-segment SUV crossover type, uses a 42kWh battery and can travel 300km on a full charge. The domestic sales price is VND 690 million(about 3.31 million yen). The battery will be provided on a subscription basis (fixed fee service). The monthly fee is set at VND 1.45 million, the same level as the cost of running on gasoline. When the battery’s charge performance drops below 70%, it can be replaced with a new one. This is said to reduce the initial cost for customers and at the same time guarantee the quality risk of the battery.

As a promotion until the end of June, the company will offer a discount of VND100 million and a free battery subscription service for one year. In addition, customers who replace their gasoline-powered cars will receive VND30 million per car from the Vin Group’s Green Future Fund. If they cancel the purchase, the deposit of 10 million dong will be fully refunded. According to Vinfast, 3,692 orders were recorded in 12 hours after the start of orders on the 24th.

Read More»

2021-04-25

Rosatom Eyes Battery Production for Electric Cars in 2025

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

OOO Renera, subsidiary of Rosatom, has purchased Enertech International, a South Korean company.

According to the signed agreement, Li-Ion accumulator batteries and related power systems will be produced in Russia. It’s expected that production will be started in 2025, and in 2030 the plant capacity will be increased to minimum 2 GWt*hr

The batteries will be installed in trucks, buses and special machines.

Read The Article

PSR Analysis: It’s important to notice that there are no passenger car batteries among the planned production. So, electric passenger cars are still not considered as having significant market potential in Russia.   PSR

Maxim Sakov is Market Consultant – Russia Operations for Power Systems Research

China-led Proton Is Revitalized

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Sales of Malaysia’s national carmaker Proton are booming, with its market share in the country reaching 27.3 % in February, hot on the heels of another national carmaker, Produa’s 38.8 %. This is not a single month irregularity; for the full year 2020, the rate is 20.5%. For the full year 2020, the share is 20.5%, almost doubling in just two years from a record low of 10.8% in 2018. This is the first time in seven years that the market share has recovered to the 20% level.

The turning point of the turnaround offensive was a capital/business alliance with a Chinese manufacturer: in September 2017, the company accepted a 49.9% stake from Geely Automobile’s parent company and began importing the right-hand drive version of the X70 SUV, which it produces and sells in China, at the end of 2018. As soon as this became a hit, the company switched to domestic assembly in Malaysia at the end of 2019, and introduced an additional small SUV, the X50, in September 2020.

Read More»

2021-03-20

Semiconductor Shortage Restricts Growth of Indian Auto Industry

Aditya Kondejkar

As the industry is coming out from the COVID impact, its growth is hurt by a shortage of semiconductors. Many OEMs have revised the production plans downward due to this shortage. We anticipate the shortage of semiconductors will exist for the next 4-5 months. Though it will hamper monthly production, it will have only a moderate impact on the total year’s production. But If the chip shortage lasts, production cuts could reduce the inventory of vehicles for sale in India and overseas markets.

The issue started in the Q2 2020. Due to COVID-19, auto OEMs worldwide drastically reduced their production and component orders. Concurrently, chipmakers were improving the supply chain, which had been disrupted by COVID-19. They witnessed a spurt in orders from electronics companies for items such as phones, laptops, gaming console makers and witnessed a spike in sales volume during the pandemic caused by changing work and school patterns.

Read More»

Corolla Cross Produced in Brazil To Be Exported to 22 Countries

Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

The new medium Toyota SUV produced in Indaiatuba-SP started production in March. Sales in Brazil were expected to start by March 25, but exports have already started. Currently, the Corolla sedan is exported to only five countries, but the new SUV will be sent to 22 countries across Latin America. However, exporting overseas seems unlikely due to logistics cost restrictions.

Source: Automotive Business     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: The indexes of vehicles per capita in Latin America are still behind other regions and developed countries which provides an opportunity to grow sales. The SUV continues to grow in popularity in this region and the combination seems to be the right bet for a production hub in Brazil, leveraging on the higher volumes to assure competitiveness and a wining cycle for the new product.   PSR

Fabio Ferraresi is Director, Business Development-South America, for Power Systems Research

2021-02-26

PowerTALK™ News, February 2021

Chris Fisher, senior commercial vehicle analyst at Power Systems Research, provides a forecast in the February 2021 issue of PowerTALK™ News for MHV. 

Here are more articles in this issue:

  • North America: Electric Motorcycles
  • DataPoint: Global Snowmobiles
  • Europe: Volvo Penta Plans Zero Emissions
  • South America: Brazil Vehicle Exports Up 22%
  • Taiwan: Innovation Powers Gorgoro Network
  • Japan: Honda Launches Electric Bike
  • South Korea: Hyundai Offers Custom EVs
  • Indonesia: New Tesla Investment?
  • India: Union 2021 Budget Misses Mark
  • Russia: KAMAZ Plans EV Buses

Union Budget 2021 Misses Mark for Autos

Aditya Kondejkar

The Union Budget 2021 is very important since it comes during an unprecedented pandemic. The most significant pain points of the economy are the lack of demand and liquidity. The shrinking market’s impact and the weak demand is evident after the Economic Survey said that the country would experience a current account surplus for the first time in 17 years.

The automotive industry is the key stakeholder of the country’s economy. It suffered extensive sluggishness in the past 10-12 quarters after introducing GST, the new safety norms, insurance regulations, axle, and emission norms. These led to a hefty increase in purchase costs. The industry was waiting for direct announcements to reduce purchase cost and improve customer sentiment

Read More»

Tesla Proposes Investment in Indonesia to Promote EV Industry

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

The Indonesian government announced on Feb. 5 that it had received an investment proposal from Tesla. The country is the world’s largest producer of nickel, which is essential for the production of batteries for EVs. In order to promote the EV and battery related industries, Indonesia had invited Tesla to invest in the country.

Details of the talks between Indonesia and Tesla cannot be disclosed due to confidentiality agreements, but it is said that they have mainly discussed battery and energy storage solutions. The Indonesian vice-minister said, “If Tesla only wants to buy raw materials, we are not interested. The proposal is more than the procurement of raw materials and extends to energy storage systems such as MegaPack, PowerPack and Powerwall,” he said.

Read More»

Hyundai To Custom Design EVs for each Customer

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group is launching a new business to produce EVs to order, according to customer preferences. It is designed to be used for corporate purposes such as delivery and car sharing, and the body design and loading capacity can be flexibly changed to suit the intended use.

The company will take advantage of the characteristics of EVs, which have a higher degree of freedom in design than gasoline vehicles. The company will also introduce a business model that does not involve mass production to accelerate the growth of its EV business.

Read More»