Car sales enter the decline of the recession



[ad_1]

Remember 2009? Here is what 2009 looked like.
Photo: Getty Images
The morningAll your daily news on the car in a convenient place. Is your time not more important?

Car sales appear to have reached a receding recession, China is taking a look at hydrogen fuel cell technology, oil tanker attacks are pushing up oil prices and Infiniti seems to be benefiting from the help essential. All this and more in The Morning Shift of Thursday, June 13, 2019.

1st speed: the demand in the United States and China is rather bad

May was another bad month for automakers, as demand in the United States and China – the world's two largest auto markets – continued to decline. An analysis said the auto industry's steady decline was at a record high since the recession, which is not a good word for anyone unless you all have Geo Metros reservations.

Here are more of Bloomberg:

Global light vehicle sales dropped 7% in May, driven by a 16% decline in the Chinese market and stagnation in the US and Europe, LMC Automotive research firm said in a report. "The global auto industry is experiencing an unprecedented slowdown since the Great Recession," the report says.

Many builders who have been concentrating for a few years on the Chinese growth market are now hoping things will magically turn around in the second half of the year, but that does not seem likely:

The pace of sales declines in China is "still quite shocking, and what is just as shocking is that many companies simply think that it will stabilize in the second half of the year. "said Murphy. This type of optimistic assessment "is a bit of a concern for companies that are making large capital commitments and we all know that it takes them more than five years," he said. .

Although the Chinese market is large enough that companies investing in the country are likely to continue to grow, it seems less and less likely that they will grow as much as expected. Remember that this recent decline is the first time it has declined in 20 years.

And as companies like Jaguar and Tesla rely heavily on their presence in China, if that fails, they would have no other growing market, as demand in Europe and the United States also continues to fall.

It looks like the years to come will be very expensive.

2nd gear: China could already focus on hydrogen

Speaking of Tesla in China, one of the Chinese government officials responsible for the rapid growth of electric vehicles in this country is now interested in hydrogen. If the government followed its advice, it could mean a massive transfer of investment to the country. the whole of the industry.

Here is more information about Wan Gang, former Chinese Minister of Science and Technology and currently Vice Chairman of China's National Policy Advisory Body, via Bloomberg:

"We should consider creating a hydrogen society," said Wan, 66, vice chairman of China's national advisory body responsible for policymaking. This role is more important than a minister and allows him to participate in the planning of the country's future. "We need to go further to fuel cells."

This means that the government will commit resources to develop such vehicles, he said. While China plans to phase out the long-term subsidy program for the mature electric vehicle industry next year, public funding for fuel cell vehicles could remain in place in some measure, said Wan.

Hydrogen powertrain technology has also been a common attempt to turn away from fossil fuels over the last two decades, with most government incentives and business investment focused on electric battery technology . And to a large extent, the purely electric battery movement has been very successful.

Preview of the miniature article
Surprise! Lack of hydrogen refueling infrastructure hinders sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars

Toyota has spent a lot of money on behalf of hydrogen, most recently with a project to …

Read more Lily

However, the demand for battery resources is already sufficiently solicited to meet current global demand. With companies as large as the Volkswagen Group moving from strategy to battery-powered vehicles to hundreds of companies in China, we may have an emergency resource for electric vehicles sooner than ever.

This suggests that hydrogen is still the future, as promised for a long time. And if the Chinese government uses the same resources as millions of electric vehicles on the road in just 20 years for hydrogen technology, we may be exchanging all of our VW electric microbus for a fuel cell car in the next twenty years. road.

For what is worth it, Wan also stated that he did not think that people would ever completely give up control of the car to an autonomous driving system. Maybe he has something to say.

3rd gear: the guy behind the FCA-Renault deal is sad

The brief merger proposal between Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles and the Renault-Nissan alliance has failed in record time, and Renault must now recover the pieces of its contract with the French government and Nissan, all of which are two seems even more upset now.

It seems that Nissan, in its alliance with Renault, did not like the idea of ​​more cooks in the kitchen. The relationship was not really healthy before the FCA proposal, and it apparently only got worse afterwards, which caused a complete failure in just one week.

The Renault president, Jean-Dominique Senard, who was summoned to make sure none of this happens, has his finger on his finger, and he points the French government, via Automotive News Europe:

"It was the first time we could create a European champion at a time when people were constantly complaining that it did not exist," he said. "It was a perfect example for France, for Renault and for Europe, to prove that we can do something together."

He blamed the French government for the derailment and ironically noted that it was the Minister of Finance, Bruno Le Maire, who had "suggested" that Renault approach the FCA "a few months ago".

The agreement collapsed when Nissan announced that it would abstain on the board of directors of Renault to decide on the proposed merger, which led the Mayor to ask the Renault board to postpone the vote at five days. "We simply asked for five more days. Five extra days seem perfectly reasonable, "said Le Maire. "Fiat withdrew its offer, as it was entitled to do. But believe me, the state will never react under pressure. "

For me, it seems to me that FCA seriously made the proposal, then immediately opened the door to all the messy baggage of Renault and Nissan, and saw it offer the first opportunity to reevaluate its decision with the request. five-day extension. . Honestly, you have to respect the FCA for seemingly making a smart move.

4th gear: Oil prices climb after the oil tankers attack

The price of oil has been rather low this year so far due to concerns about slowing demand, but a recent round of what the United States calls Iranian attacks on oil tankers (and what Iran is calling, I do not know what you are talking about) is now causing a slight rise in prices.

From Bloomberg:

Brent crude climbed 4.5% as a result of reports of an assault on ships near the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for shipments from the Middle East. The Japanese owner of one of the ships told the local press that he had been hit by a "shell". The second oil tanker, owned by the Norwegian company Frontline, has suffered three detonations, announced the Norwegian Maritime Authority. Both ships were evacuated.

The incident comes just a month after four ships, including two Saudi oilers, were sabotaged in what the US has described as an Iranian attack using naval mines. Tehran denied the accusation and no one claimed responsibility for the latest assault.

"In recent weeks, the market has been panicked by the apparent weakness in oil demand," said Eugen Weinberg, Head of Commerzbank AG Commodity Research. "We were wondering what information would break the dam and lead to higher prices."

It's a little weird for me that damage to the supply lines is good news for the oil market, but it's a completely messed up world in which we live, I guess. But in the end, cargo attacks are not a sustainable increase in demand and hopefully will be avoided in the future, so price increases could be very temporary.

5th gear: Lincoln-based designer moves to Nissan

David Woodhouse, designer for 20 years under Ford's roof and who contributed to the design revolution that is currently boosting Lincoln's crossover sales, suddenly took the boat to work for Nissan and Infinti, the automaker announced. Japanese.

Here is more of engine1:

At the time of his departure, he was the Director of Global Design for the automaker. He has played a significant role in recent Lincoln projects, including the Continental and Aviator concept vehicles, both of which have resulted in production releases acclaimed by the automotive press.

"As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Nissan Design America, I am delighted that David Woodhouse is leading and inspiring our talented team in San Diego," said Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan's senior vice president of global design. "David's talent, leadership and vision will ensure NOA a bright future for Infiniti and Nissan brands, as well as innovative user experience concepts for our customers for years to come."

I imagine that Nissan bosses are going to meet Woodhouse with two photos (one of the new Aviator and the other of the Navigator), then point a series of annoying Nissan crossovers in one corner, and then let Woodhouse locked in this lock. place with a pen and paper until Infiniti begins to show signs of life.

Reverse: The French have a car race

First car race held from Paris-Bordeaux-Paris

On this day of 1895, Emile Levassor drove a Panhard and Levassor car with a two-cylinder engine …

Read more Lily

Neutral: Are you ready for a future fuel cell?

The last time we seemed to talk about fuel cell vehicles in detail, it was in 2015, when Elon Musk, known to be in the pocket of Big Electricity, was shitting on technology.

But the current problem with fuel cell technology is that you have to spend too much energy on the product, which makes it inefficient and, as the market suggests, it makes more sense to use this energy to charge batteries instead. .

On the other hand, if you're doing well, hydrogen fuel cells would be easier to integrate into our existing gasoline and diesel infrastructure and better integrate into the life of internal combustion engines. , and the idea of ​​a faster refueling remains attractive. current waiting times associated with charging the electric car. Infrastructure, on the side of the FCV, has not been so fantastic lately.

Preview of the miniature article
The explosion of a hydrogen station stops sales of fuel cells in Norway

A hydrogen refueling station in Sandvika, Norway, exploded Monday, sending two …

Read more Lily

If they can find a way to better synthesize hydrogen and operate fuel cells, do you see yourself overtaking electric vehicles in the next 20 years?

[ad_2]

Source link