Tag Archives: European market

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Ford’s future in the European market is not good

The European market is increasingly becoming the main market for major car manufacturers, but it seems that one of them is slowly losing the battle with the competition. According to experts, the shutdown of Focus next year, one of the two remaining essential models, could put Ford’s future in serious trouble and an even lower position on the European market, where it currently records a drop in sales of 17.5 percent.

For years, driven by bad estimates from market analysts, Ford has been trying to become a fully electric brand, but without success. Guided by the European Union’s decision on the new Euro 7, Ford, unlike most others, too quickly decided to stop the production of some models (Galaxy, S-Maxa, Mondeo, C-Max and Fiesta). However, since the European Union decided to delay the entry into force of the new Euro 7, a large number of manufacturers were forced to change their strategy, but Ford did it too soon.

Next year, Focus will go into the past, and that is what worries experts the most. Of the conventional vehicles, in which the market currently has great interest, only Kuga and Puma remain. This is not enough for a large manufacturer, such as Ford, to stand up to increasingly strong competition. Thus, for the next year, the offer will include only a few models with an internal combustion engine (Puma, Kuga, Bronco, Mustang and Tourneo) and the new EcoSport version, while the electric offer will include the Mustang Mach-E and Explorer Electric, and from 2025, electric Puma and Capri versions. When it comes to plug-in hybrids, apart from the Kuga PHEV, which manages to keep up with the competition, Ford has no other model on offer.

Many believe that Ford should consider postponing the withdrawal of the Focus model, at least for some time, until the American company finds a better solution and stabilizes its position on the European market.

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Chinese manufacturer Aiways is moving to Europe

China has been the leader in the production of electric cars for years, and now it has become an overcrowded market with a large number of manufacturers who are finding it increasingly difficult to survive. One of them is Aiways, which in the battle of giants like BYD, Tesla or VW, decided to leave the domestic market.

Aiways Automobiles was founded in 2017, and from the very beginning, the goal was to develop a range of SUVs with electric drive. Now the company has announced that it has no plans to stay in the Chinese market due to the intense price pressure and competition that exists in this market, and that the center of global sales operations is moving to Europe (Germany).

After financial problems that forced the company to suspend car production at the Shangrao plant, Aiways still managed to find a way out and continue operations. They are currently working on a new crossover that, according to the company’s plans, should attract a larger number of customers with a low price and ensure better days for the manufacturer. According to Autocar, for now Aiways does not intend to transfer production to European soil, so the U5 and U6 models will continue to be produced in China.

Source: Autocar

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Chinese manufacturer Aiways is moving to Europe
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Chery is considering building a plant in Italy

European manufacturers are still struggling with Chinese car manufacturers, who are trying to conquer the European market in different ways, so the European Union introduced additional tariffs on vehicles from China. However, Chinese companies seem to have a “plan B”, building plants in Europe. After the Chinese car manufacturer BYD announced that it is building its plant in Hungary, another Chinese company (Chery) could follow the same path, but in Italy.

Currently, Stellantis is the only major car manufacturer in Italy and the new Italian government is trying to increase production by introducing another manufacturer, the Chinese company Chery. According to official information, the government is considering offering the Chinese manufacturer to build a plant in Italy, in order to increase the annual production of cars to over one million. Italy currently produces 800,000 cars a year.

Building a plant in Europe would be a good strategic decision that would allow Chinese companies to avoid obstacles when it comes to additional taxes or potential quotas that the EU could impose on vehicles imported from China. Obviously, Italy is the ideal place for that. According to Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso, over the past year the government has been talking to several manufacturers, including Tesla. The government’s goal is to increase production by an additional 300,000 cars per year.

Chery is the fifth largest Chinese car manufacturer with 1,881,316 vehicles sold in 2023. In the next two years, the company will launch three new SUV models with different power options, primarily intended for European customers. “Expectations are high and sales in Europe should be high enough to support the construction of the plant,” said Chery Europe Managing Director Jochen Tueting.

Source: Reuters