Did we say that Japanese brands have to do something to stop the erosion of market share in China? Nissan took the advice and said today that they started construction of their second factory in China’s southern Guangdong Province. According to The Nikkei [sub], the factory will open in 2012 with an annual capacity of 240,000 vehicles. (Read More…)
There is a major shift underway in the Chinese auto market. Cars are morphing from something exclusively owned by the rich to an everyday item. Sure, luxury cars are big in China. But the volume growth is in low cost cars. As a result, the market share of sino-foreign joint ventures is eroding. Local players, such as BYD are gaining fast. The foreigners are getting worried. (Read More…)
AutoblogGreen‘s Sam Abuelsamid earns a tip of the blogger’s hat today for making sense of a fascinating nugget in a Times of London piece on the Nissan Leaf. The revelation by Nissan EV honcho Andy Palmer to the British paper that Leaf battery packs cost £6,000 (about $9k) to produce could have been missed, buried as it was near the bottom of the story. Not only did Abuelsamid catch it, he calculated that the Leaf’s 24 kWh lithium-ion battery costs break down to a staggeringly cheap $375 per kWh. How cheap is that, relatively speaking? Apparently cheap enough to send Li-ion startup A123 Systems’ stock to record lows according to the WSJ [sub]. More price-comparison context and some insight into how Nissan might have beaten those costs down after the jump.
Since GM Chairman/CEO Ed Whitacre began firing holdover executives, starting with former CEO Fritz Henderson, TTAC has argued that VP for Marketing Susan Docherty is a prime example of a GM lifer who “owes her career to GM’s timid and inept culture.” Having already lost the Sales VP position to GM’s rising star Mark Reuss, “leaving Docherty time to focus on the marketing side and polish up her resumé,” we figured she was on her way out. And sure enough, several embarrassments later, the announcement came today. What we didn’t expect: that former Hyundai “Marketer of the year” Joel Ewanick would replace her.
Within the Renault-Nissan alliance, Carlos Ghosn must have felt like he was the king. He and Louis Schweitzer were the architects of the fourth largest car making entity in the world. Then the Board of Directors chopped his legs out by vetoing his deal with Roger Penske to supply Saturn with Renault cars and, suddenly, Carlos Ghosn had a very sharp lesson. In the Renault-Nissan alliance, no-one is too big to fail. So when it came to his re-election as CEO, no-one thought it was a cut and dried affair. Well, on Thursday the 29/04/2010, Mr Ghosn received his second term at Renault. And he set out some targets to show the BoD he means business.
Reuters reports that over his next 4 year term, Ghosn envisions the following: (Read More…)
Nissan does not condone the comments made by this particular employee. While seemingly well-intentioned, many of the remarks are regrettable and do not represent the company’s views. Nissan’s policy regarding internet commentary is that an employee’s personal opinion must be preceded by a disclaimer that identifies their remarks as such and not necessarily the views of the company.
Ruh Roh!
With over 8,000 pre-orders already logged, Reuters reports that Nissan is well on its way to selling out its capacity-constrained, 25,000-unit first-year production run of Leaf EVs. Better yet, Nissan’s North America director of product planning and strategy Mark Perry says that, with those sales volumes, the Leaf will actually turn a profit for Nissan. He tells Reuters:
We are making money at the price that we announced. We priced the car to be affordable. We priced it for mass adoption
China’s is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most exciting markets in the world (Especially for Bertel, it keeps him in Lederhosen and Japanese bar trips). Many companies are throwing their efforts into the Middle Kingdom. Buick is, to all intents and purposes, a China-only brand. Volkswagen declared China to be “Volkswagen’s second home” and Ford’s sales are rocketing there. However, while all eyes are on the fastest growing economy in the world, something fundamental in happening just across the border. (Read More…)
Move over! A Tokyo taxi.
Forget about the crafty Japanese starving off any attempt of honest American companies to penetrate the Japanese market. A true blue American company, founded by true blue American venture capital, goes right for the heart of Japan: Tokyo’s taxi market. (Read More…)
Well, it’s been nearly 20 years since Nissan offered its vision of a Future Electric Vehicle, but the dream seems to be coming true. According to Automotive News [sub], Nissan has already booked 3,754 (deposit-free) pre-orders for its Leaf EV in Japan, launching the nameplate over half of the way to its first-year JDM sales goal of 6,000 units. In the US, Nissan already has 115,000 potential buyers on its pubic reservation list, which gives buyers priority for pre-orders. Interestingly, only 15 percent of Japanese Leaf private pre-orders are from people under the age of 40, while a full 61 percent of pre-orderers are over 50 (though this could be more indicative of Japanese demography than anything to do with the car). 36 percent of all Japanese pre-orders so far are from fleets, though given the apparently strong demand for the little EV, this shouldn’t hurt resale too much. After all, that’s what long-term battery degradation is for. [Photo Hat Tip: TTAC Commenter Mercennarius]
Nissan has released this teaser of the forthcoming 2012 Quest minivan at a company microsite aimed at drumming up interest until the model goes on sale in “early 2011.” And boy, does it ever have its work cut out.
While all eyes are on the Beijing Auto Show, which starts by the end of this week, manufacturers are looking at plots of land and architect plans for new plants. According to The Nikkei [sub], carmakers are adding capacity to keep up with the ravenous appetite of the world’s largest car market.
Foreign carmakers don’t seem to be in a mood to exit, or to be squeezed out of this market anytime soon. According to the Nikkei, their building plans are “in response to the growing prominence of Chinese automakers.” (Read More…)
The emerging car market in India isn’t emerging fast enough to keep some car companies alive. Three years after Renault started to build its low-cost Logan in India, Renault is pulling out. The ho-hum sales come as no surprise to the attentive TTAC reader. As previously noted, India sells in a year what China consumes in a month in terms of cars. (Read More…)
The volcano on Iceland spews trouble for auto manufacturers. Ever since most of Europe has been declared a no-fly zone, just-in-time bit the dust. Literally.
Today, the lines stopped at the BMW factory in Dingolfing, writes Automobilwoche [sub]. On Wednesday, the lines will stop moving in Regensburg and on Thursday in Munich. More than 7000 bimmers are affected. The reason: Electronic parts that usually get flown in. Icelandic ash brings production lines all over the globe to a grinding halt … (Read More…)
Dr. Z. is glad that yesterday’s annual stockholders meeting in Berlin is behind him. To fend of criticism, Zetsche had to set ambitious goals: Daimler’s sales will grow twice as fast as the industry average. Good luck with that. (Read More…)
Recent Comments