Beyond the polished press conference smiles and equally polished paintwork at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show there is much to concern many European OEMs, not least General Motors, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault. Declining sales, financial losses, rising fuel prices and concerns about the euro zone are the major concerns for several companies. For the Japanese OEMs, there is also the not-inconsiderable matter of the strength of the yen.
GM got off to a flyer by announcing a platform-sharing deal with PSA in the build-up to the show and then picked up the European Car of the Year 2012 award for the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera and Chevrolet Volt. But the spectre of GM Europe’s latest losses (US$747m), described by GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson as “unacceptable”, would not go away. Which plant would have to close to ease over-capacity? GM executives at the show remained tight-lipped.
Beyond the polished press conference smiles and equally polished paintwork at the Geneva Motor Show there is much to concern many European OEMs.
These are difficult times for the French OEMs, too. Renault and Peugeot have a lot riding on their next B-segment models, the Clio and 208 respectively. The 208 was the centrepiece of the Peugeot stand at Geneva, but the Clio remained out of view, even though it is due to be launched in July. Instead, Renault showed the latest addition to its electric car range, a B-segment model named ZOE. Unfortunately, EVs are unlikely to be major sellers in many of Renault’s strongest markets – Spain, Germany, Italy, Russia and Brazil.
Renault’s Alliance partner, Nissan, has issues of its own, mostly caused by the uncompetitive value of the yen. At Tokyo a few months ago, Carlos Ghosn warned that if things did not change, more production would have to be taken out of Japan. At Geneva, the company announced that its next B-segment offering, based on the Invitation concept, would be built at Sunderland, even though it is underpinned by the V-platform (March/Micra etc) manufactured in India, Thailand and Mexico. Much will need to be done to European-ise the dynamics of the production Invitation, which executive vice-president Andy Palmer freely admitted.
Desirable new product is there at every turn, there’s no doubt about that. It’s the economics that need sorting out.
But at least it meant there was some good news for the UK motor industry, beset by rumours that Ellesmere Port could be the GM plant to get the chop. And there was more at Jaguar Land Rover, basking in a £1bn profit in 2010-11 and a £559m surplus Q4 2011. At Geneva, JLR announced a four-point product and quality offensive and expansion programme to keep the momentum going, which will almost certainly mean more jobs.
And for those who needed their spirits lifting, there was plenty of stunning new metal and technology on view at Geneva – everything from further potential additions to the VW Up! range to a 740bhp V12 Ferrari, plus advances in connectivity solutions across the board. Highlights included a radically different new Mercedes A-Class, Kia‘s smart but inevitably more expensive second-generation Cee’d range, and Ford‘s compact B-Max with its unusual door arrangement. Desirable new product is there at every turn, there’s no doubt about that. It’s the economics that need sorting out.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Automotive World Ltd.
Roger Stansfield is a freelance automotive industry journalist based in London. He covers all aspects of the automotive industry, with a particular focus on future technology.
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