US Car Production By Make : 2000-09

The Sonata assembled in Alabama, USA from 2005


Times were tough for US car production. The big economic downturn late in the decade sent volumes plummeting. Out of that sudden shift in 2009, Toyota became the largest car maker in the US, passing GM while Honda moved into third at the expense of Ford. Nissan and Hyundai were now ahead of Chrysler.

The three US car companies accounted for just

The Tesla X Is Finally Here

Tesla is a company with patient investors. This model's release has been put back a few times, apparently to get it as good as they could Owner Elon Musk now suggests maybe that was a mistake. He said often those last little gains are difficult and time consuming. I guess it depends if the extra time spent will enhance the product sufficiently to justify the hold up. The sooner it hits the

UK Car Industry: GM Vauxhall #6

Ellesmere Port plant 2002


Vauxhall is the oldest of the major brands made in the UK. It was named after a district in London where it was founded. It started making cars in 1903 and moved the bulk of production to Luton, Bedfordshire in 1905. In 1925 the company was bought by GM and Bedford trucks were made from 1931. Another car making plant was added in 1964 at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

A United Front

Is this how we want it? 


One thing the automobile industry doesn't see before it is a pathway forward. As with all human endeavour, decisions are hamstrung by self interest and a lack of meaningful cooperation. Los Angeles takes it's own road trying to reduce pollution. It is a city with a serious smog situation as with many others. Some cities in Europe such as London and Paris also have an

US Car Production By Make : 1990-99

The first US assembled Subaru, the Legacy


The 1990's were a continuation of the previous decade, with US car makers losing production volume as the Japanese companies moved in. The truck/SUV side of the industry was roaring ahead and profits were better there too. That is where the US automakers were heading, increasingly leaving the car side to foreign brands. So production numbers are not

UK Car Industry: Honda #5

Swindon is in Wiltshire, in South West England and where Honda has a car plant. It came about due to a collaboration with BL (MG Rover) and the two got involved with various projects of mutual benefit. Honda started making the Accord in 1992, after the Concerto had been made for them by Rover. UK production from 1989 to 2011 can be found by clicking here.

In 2014 122,00 cars were made down on

US Car Production By Make : 1980-89

The Honda Accord was the first US made car for the company


Things were changing in the 1980's. Trucks were making a mark (which are not included here) and the Japanese manufacturing invasion was underway. Total car sales were declining and AMC had gone, leaving just the three local car makers. While Ford and Chrysler actually managed small increases, GM's production volume was much lower.

Škoda Worldwide Production Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

Škoda is a brand that is going well. At 21st for worldwide production, there is plenty of scope. Volumes are not helped by the fact that it is only strong in Europe and China. I think parent VW has missed an opportunity by not using it more. Renault has benefited immensely with Dacia and while Škoda isn't the same sort of budget brand, it still is more low cost than VW.

With over 60% of

Am I Einstein, Or Do Car Makers Get Their Way?

I read in a New Zealand car magazine once that some premium car makers fly journalists to exotic locations and give a them a very pleasant few days looking after them. They drive cars around and go home to write nice things. It was stated that if you came back and were not positive in what you wrote, you didn't get an invite for the next model release. Car maker gets its way.

When it comes to

Daihatsu Worldwide Prod Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

Coming in at 20th is Daihatsu, part of the Toyota Group. It was a world player years ago but has steadily been pulled back to the point it is now only sold in Asia. I guess that it overlaps with Toyota cars anyway to a large degree and marketing small vehicles profitably is a challenge.

Daihatsu cars are also made by a Malaysian firm Perodua and are very popular in that nation. Just under

Mitsubishi Worldwide Prod Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

A lot rides on the Outlander's shoulders


The 19th largest car producer is very much a made in Asia brand. It used to share a plant in the Netherlands with Volvo but found going it alone too much and closed that. It also had a plant in common with Chrysler in the US but now that it tries to keep it going without a partner is again not cost effective, so the US plant is to go as well.

That

Ethics & Legislation

Ethics:



Many years ago my uncle worked for a car parts developer in the UK. A Japanese car maker (I won't mention the name)  wanted to use a patented car part they had and agreed to pay for it. They modified the part in some way and for that reason refused to pay anything for it. It went to court and the ruling was for the car maker to pay half the agreed value. They did so and got the part

UK Car Industry: Toyota #4

Toyota Derbyshire


For a car giant like Toyota, I'm surprised they haven't tried harder in Europe. One could argue that they do not want to get into the discounting that blights the EU market. However, when one looks at the products they have then that would be the telling factor for me. Nissan makes money in Europe and is now outselling Toyota in the region as well. Product is the difference.

Mazda Global Production Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

Mazda is a small fry in the big Japanese car making pool. 70% of production is in the homeland, fine when the Japanese government manages to under value the Yen - which is most of the time. At least the Chinese market isn't too important to Mazda as it seems to have peaked. Mexico (Mazda 3) has replaced the USA (Mazda 6) as a source of cars.

Some of the numbers are so low that one wonders if

VW Emissions Update

Anyone for a new VW car? I hope not


A few days ago I posted about alleged falsified emissions for VW Group diesel engines (it can be seen by clicking here), but under the broader subject matter of honesty. It's now clear to anyone not living under a rock that VW did indeed do wrong. They have admitted it and apologised. Anyone who loves cars must be disturbed. Anyone who loves VW products

US Car Production By Make : 1970-79

1979 Chevrolet Malibu 


US car production rose from 7.9m to 9.4m in this ten year period. However, this was the decade of GM as share rose from 46.5% to 57.4% and units made went from 3.7m to 5.4m. Ford only just grew numerically but the Ford nameplate fell. It relied on Mercury and Lincoln for the increase.

Chrysler and AMC went backwards. For the Chrysler Group Dodge and especially Plymouth

Fiat Brand Global Production Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

I'm not sure I get this photo, but it is fascinating and it does feature a Fiat


Fiat production dropped from 2.1 to 2.0% of worldwide volume, so not that much. But in a growing market, that meant dropping from 12th to 15th. Being so reliant on Brazil seemed the problem as that nation has had a mini implosion of sales.

Fiat was once a leading car maker in Europe, but gradually slipped as

Car Industry Honesty

A while back I reported on inaccurate fuel claims made by Hyundai and Kia in the US, and widespread disparity in Europe on fuel use claims which can be seen by clicking here. GM USA has just admitted that a flawed ignition switch was not reported or acted upon for years, resulting in deaths!


Now VW has been accused of deliberately evading federal emissions requirements in nearly a

UK Car Industry: BMW MINI #3

Mini was an iconic model that survived for over twenty years and ended in the year 2000. How do you follow that. Like Land Rover trying to reinvent the Defender, it was no easy task. In 1998, BMW started on a replacement and rather than try keep it mainstream, they took it into the premium sector. The car above was the result.

As for 2014, squeezing in at number three in UK production numbers

Honda Aims High With The 2016 Civic

Honda knows that while they are having success in Asia and North America, it could be doing much, much better in Europe. I spoke to someone at Honda NZ HQ and he assured me Honda were a cut above the mainstream segment, hence their higher price tag. An interesting suggestion.

I think Honda cars are well engineered and are safe, practical transport. However, those who love driving may be

Audi Brand Worldwide Production Car By Nation : 2011-14

At 14th is Audi, with production up from 1.9 to 2.1% of global output in 2014 from 2013. About half of all units made are in Germany and by adding China, something like over three quarters of all Audi production is covered. Apart from domestic plants in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (which make most models), overseas plants are as follows:


Belgium (A1), China (A4L, A6L, Q5), Hungary (TT, A3

The Premium Kitchen Hotting Up

Premium car sales are hotting up. Profits are sweet and volumes just keep climbing. How are the car making companies doing in this important sector? Let's look, going by nation or region but focusing on the volume area of premium.

Germany: The country with the most success. Audi, BMW, Mecedes Benz and Porsche are all doing well. They have had it too easy and others are going to start chipping

Important New Premium Cars At Frankfurt 2015

Making premium cars is a good place to be. Plenty of buyers are paying enough to make reasonable margins in an industry that overall doesn't make enough money to cover the steep costs associated with it. Four new premium cars are highlighted below, all of which will soon be in showrooms.




Alfa Romeo Guilia: FCA is putting a lot of money into the four leaf clover marque. This compact executive

US Car Production By Make : 1960-69

This must be Mustang Sally! 


The number of brands making cars Stateside were down. GM ruled the roost by some margin, and would have done so by more but for one model. The Ford Mustang. In 1966 for example just over 600,000 Mustangs were made. That was 28% of all Ford brand cars, 23% for the figure below that includes Mercury and Lincoln!

Chrysler made a real effort to catch up, with both

Lorry (Truck) Drivers

I was just talking to a lorry driver who goes between Picton and Christchurch, NZ. That is nearly 350 kms (just over 200 miles). North Island drivers deliver their load to the ferry in Wellington, it crosses the strait and another driver takes it south. In this way the driver stays on his home island and time isn't wasted on a ferry.

If you have ever driven in New Zealand you will know the

UK Car Industry: Land Rover #2

Land Rover is the second major car producer in the UK, with just over 374,000 cars and 11,400 LCVs made in 2014. Vehicles are made in Solihull, Birmingham and Halewood, Merseyside. Production history by model can be found by simply clicking here. It certainly is a British success story, now being ably assisted by Tata Motors.

After WWII, steel was hard to obtain while aluminium wasn't. Therefore

Mercedes Brand Grobal Prod Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

Mercedes production data for 2011 was not provided so I sourced what I could as best I could. Therefore gaps in 2012 do not represent nothing doing, but that I don't know for certain. Like BMW, production went up from 2.0% to 2.2%, coming in 13th and one behind the arch rival premium marque.

Mercedes has a broader spread of manufacturing facilities than its Bavarian competitor. That said 63%

BMW Brand Worldwide Production Car By Nation : 2011-14

BMW production went from 2.0% to 2.2% of global sales, 12th on the list of car makers. Premium sales are taking an increasing slice of the pie so it's a good area to be selling in. Production in Germany was about 70% in 2011 and 61% in 2014.

One thing BMW has not done is make cars at another location in Europe. There is an assembly plant that opened in Brazil late 2014 but as it isn't here I

US Car Production By Make : 1950-59

Hudson Sedan from 1952


Car making isn't that big in the US these days, truck and SUV types becoming more popular. Back in the 1950's it was a different story. The car was king. While Europe was getting back on its feet, US citizens were out buying cars by the truck load. The figures below are in thousands so you have to add three zeros. For example GM in 1950 was 3,040,000. Which brands made

UK Car Industry: Nissan #1

Nissan was a popular brand in Britain way back in the 1970's, reaching 4th best selling make in 1977. By 1984, Nissan agreed to build a plant at Sunderland, the deal sealed with an assurance of tax-free purchase of industrial machinery which would soften the high initial set up costs. However, a 1984 budget proposal would stop that and put the venture at risk. Mrs Thatcher stepped in and the deal

Is Britain's Car Industry Any Good?

Off to the Frankfurt International Motor Show. Just don't tell the locals


For a country that has for years consistently imported more than it has exported, borrowing is the only thing that keeps things going. Of course, maintain that record and you end up like Greece, broke (no offence to anyone from Greece but this is where the UK is slowly heading). The UK’s deficit on trade in goods and

Chrysler Group Global Prod Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

Now part of FCA (Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles), the US wing of the company has taken flight. Without Fiat, it is 11th on the list of car makers, a 15% volume rise in 2014 and global market sharer up from 2.9 to 3.3%. 82% of Chrysler Group production is for light commercials and that is an amazing percentage. Jeep is especially benefiting with very healthy expansion outside of North America. It

Renault Group Global Prod Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

Renault Group is moving forward


The Renault Group discussed here is comprised of Renault, Dacia and Samsung, but excludes Lada. It made 3.3% of all car/LCVs made in the world in 2014, down from 3.7% in 2012 but up slightly on 2013's 3.2%. Renault Gp has been rationalising itself so as to be a stronger player and for a while volume suffered. It is 10th on the list of car makers according to

Kia Worldwide Production Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

The Optima/K5 model 


Coming in at 9th is Kia, with 3.5% of worldwide production. Korea still accounts for 54% of that but it is down from 62% in 2011. Making over three quarters of your cars in Asia hardly sounds like a global car maker although a new plant will open in Mexico during 2016, with a capacity of 300,000 cars p.a.

Kia makes cars in four facilities in Korea, two in China and one

Peugeot Car Production By Model : 2000-09

Production increased 20% from 1999 to 2009 but a dip in 2009 due to economic woes distorts that percentage. From 1998 to 2008 the figure was +47%. No fewer than 12 models debuted in this decade and that explains much of the increase.

The 206 hit some impressive numbers but the downturn hurt its successor, the 207. The 405 enjoyed a revival, mainly in Iran while the new 307 went well. Below the

GM Europe Production Car/LCV By Plant : 2014

The Opel/Vauxhall Mokka is proving popular


GM Europe made just under 1,000,000 cars and light commercial vehicles in 2014. It also sourced nearly 150,000 from elsewhere, basically Korea. For that amount of vehicles, that is too many plants but rationalising takes time. There is also an improvement in sales for 2015 so better utilisation of capacity will be achieved that way at least.

The

Suzuki Global Production Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

The SX4 is about as big as Suzuki gets


Suzuki is 8th in the world and has 3.6% of total production. As you can see below, it is about Asia. Most Asian nations have tariffs on imported cars so it makes sense to make them in those countries if you wish to have any volume. Because of the focus on Asia, may may be surprised at how many cars Suzuki make.

India is the main market for Suzuki, where

Peugeot Car Production By Model : 1990-99

Peugeot production grew 6.75% from 1989 to 1999 but actually dropped slightly from 1990 to '99, the period covered here. The reason was the range had settled and new niches were not being sort. That isn't necessarily a bad thing but get a main model fail and suddenly profit can evaporate.

Six models arrived this decade, mostly replacing existing cars. They are briefly highlighted underneath the

Honda Global Production Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

The new HR-V gets people dreaming


Honda is an independently minded company, with few - if any - collaborations. It is very successful in Asia and North America but is floundering in Europe. It has a conservative corporate culture, although it wants to shake off that image with its cars. It was considered innovative and interesting before, so why not be that way now?

Honda has 5.4% of the

Like a BRIC Through a Tissue Ceiling

I recall reading not long back that the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) were the future of the car industry. I was skeptical as it's hard to predict the weather tomorrow, let alone this sort of thing. So how are the BRIC nations going?

Brazil: It's now on a real downer. Latin economies are like the movement of a yo-yo, up and down quickly. Brazil have really fallen away and it