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This is where we come in 200,000 + sales this year just waiting to pounce yummy yummy surley we must get lower APs?
The massive global effects of the coronavirus pandemic have had an equally seismic impact on the car industry.
Factories have been shuttered around the world, dramatic stock market falls have hit the value of virtually every car firm, vehicle sales have plummeted and most major motorsport events have been cancelled.
This is Autocar’s round-up of how the car world is being impacted. It will be updated regularly with information and links to more in-depth stories.
Tuesday 21 April: PSA Group predicts European sales slump in 2020, Jaguar Land Rover confirms staff furloughs
● Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that it has furloughed around half of its workforce under the UK government’s Job Retention Scheme, with the firm’s major executives also agreeing to temporary pay cuts. It comes as the firm reported its sales for the first three months of 2020 declined 30.9% compared to the same period last year, largely due to the effects of the coronavirus lockdown. Read the full story here.
● The PSA Group, which includes Citroën, DS, Peugeot and Vauxhall/Opel, is predicting that European car sales will shrink by 25% in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus. The firm has issued a new market outlook as part of its first quarter results. As well as falling by a quarter in Europe, PSA is anticipating that the automotive market will decline by 10% in China, 25% in Latin America and 20% in Russia this year.
PSA does note that “the outlook is currently difficult to assess and will depend on the scale, duration and geographic extent of the Covid-19 crisis.”
The firm sold a total of 627,024 cars worldwide across all its brands during the first three months of the year, a fall of 29.2% compared to 2019. That included a 78.2% drop in sales in China and South East Asia, the first region to introduce major lockdown restrictions due to Covid-19. Sales in Europe, where restrictions were largely introduced in March, fell by 30.0%.
PSA’s various brands were all hit by differing amounts in Europe. Vauxhall/Opel sold 175,338 cars, a fall of 37.3%, Citroën sales dropped by 28.3% (146,288) and Peugeot by 25.7% (216,090). DS actually posted a 16.8% rise, with the far smaller brand selling 10,915 cars.
● Businesses in the Silverstone Technology Cluster, have joined forces to start production of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to aid healthcare workers in Northamptonshire. STC chair Roz Bird contacted 3000 businesses in the STC, all based at Silverstone Park or other locations close within an hour’s drive of the British Grand Prix venue, to investigate ways to produce 14 iteams of PPE or help source the materials needed. More than 50 businesses are now working together to produce the PPE. The STC is still looking for more raw materials to further increase production levels.
Monday 20 April: Major European factories restart production, Bentley extends Cheshire community help
● Volkwagen has today restarted car production, initially at relatively low capacity, at its facilities in Zwickau, Germany and Bratislava, Slovakia.
Notably, the Zwickau plant has been converted to produce electric cars on the VW Group MEB platform and is in the process of building the first ID 3 models – showing the importance to the firm of having that model on the market as close to the planned summer launch date as feasible.
● Volvo has also restarted production and opened its offices in Sweden – a country with a relatively low infection rate. Production output has been adjusted to reflect market demand.
● Seat has announced it intends to restart production at its facilities in near Barcelona on 27th April. As with other VW Group firms restarting production, strict social distancing measures will be adhered to, while extra disinfection and cleaning of the worker areas will be put in place.
● Bentley has extended its community support initiatives to help both its home town of Crewe and the wider Cheshire area. The firm’s Meal on Wheels service is rolling out more company vehicles and vans to deliver both food and medicine.
Seat covers are also being donated to Cheshire midwives, while 1000s of pairs of gloves have been given to the local community and Cheshire East council. Protective eyewear, normally used in the paintshop, has gone to the local hospital, while it has partnered with a company in Middlesborough to 3D print face shields.
Friday 17 April: European sales collapse due to lockdowns, Volvo begins to resume production
● The PSA Group preparing for the eventual resumption of production at its Ellesmere Port Vauxhall facility, although it has yet to specify a date when that will happen. PSA says the factory has remained ‘active’ since production was halted, and a series of new protocols to reinforce health measures have been developed. PSA has invited the Unite union to review the measures before production resumes.
PSA says the measures include more than 100 steps, including checking employees for symptoms in addition to them self-monitoring. Glasses must be worn on site along with a daily supply of masks, social distancing measures will be introduced, tools will be frequently cleaned and there will be enforced waiting time when unprepared parts are exchanged. There is no indication on when production might resume at Ellesmere Port, which produces the Astra, but it is likely to be after the new three-week extension to the UK lockdown.
MORE INFO IN THIS LINK.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/coronavirus-car-industry
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.
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“Volvo has also restarted production and opened its offices in Sweden – a country with a relatively low infection rate. ”
Why do we perpetuate this Myth that Sweden is miraculously unaffected by Covid 19? Other than having twice the population and the twice the unemployment rate, Sweden has very similar demographics to it’s ‘locked-down’ neighbour Norway, yet as of yesterday Sweden has had 1,765 Covid 19-related deaths (175/million) compared to Norway’s 182 Covid 19-related deaths (34/million). So far today Sweden has had 545 new cases of Covid 19 compared to 35 new cases in Norway.
So far today Sweden has reported 185 new C-19 related deaths; Norway has reported 1.
Georgie its a mystery and the experts reckon it will take two years to analyse the the data from around the world and come up with some results.
Could be good news in the longer term.
I am seriously considering the new Peugeot 208 GT Line as my next car at the end of this year (2020 Car of the Year btw). The AP before the outbreak was around £875 as I remember. Looks beautiful! Eight-speed dual clutch box too & pretty quick!
However…
If you want heated seats, more parking sensors and the bigger 10″ multi-function screen – that’s part of an upgrade package which costs a staggering £1,600 !!!!! As someone who must have heated seats no matter what – that is an eye-watering amount just to keep my lower back warm & prevent me driving any distance pain free.
My hope is that in a bid to sell cars & get themselves back on track after the lockdown, the PSA Group reduce the ridiculous cost of these so-called ‘luxury’ packs that every car maker appears to be following these days & lower them to a much more affordable level.
I won’t be holding my breath though – virus or no virus. But that’s okay. The new Ford Puma dual clutch auto will be out by then – as is the stunning new Toyota Corolla GR Sport. I shall simply take my money elsewhere.
Are you listening Peugeot?
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