+++ CHINA looks to have taken Japan’s crown as the world’s largest auto exporter in 2023 thanks not only to the burgeoning demand for its EVs but also for locally-made combustion-powered models. Data from the China Passenger Car Association states that the country is estimated to have exported 5.26 million vehicles last year, including not just passenger cars but also larger trucks and buses. By comparison: Japan is expected to have exported 4.3 million vehicles in 2023. Making the growth of China’s automotive exports particularly interesting is the fact that it has done it without selling in the U.S. Emerging markets including Russia and Mexico contributed to the growth of China’s vehicle exports, as did Europe. In China itself, light-vehicle sales rose 5.3% to 21.93 million. This represented the third consecutive year of growth and came amid dramatic price cuts made across much of the industry. While the sale of battery electric vehicles jumped by 21%, that was down on the 74% increase experienced in 2022 and well behind the 83% rise in the sale of plug-in hybrids. Of particular note is the fact that Chinese brands now account for 63% of the total market, a rise from 56% the year prior. One of the biggest successes of 2023 for China’s automotive industry was BYD. The car manufacturer sold a total of 3.024.417 vehicles last year, enough to see it crack into the top 10 of the world’s largest car manufacturers. Of the 3.02 million vehicles it sold, 1.57 million were BEVs while the remaining vehicles were all plug-in hybrids. It even managed to surpass Tesla’s BEV sales in the 4th quarter. +++
+++ While sales data recently confirmed that GENERAL MOTORS was the best-selling automaker in the United States last year, things aren’t looking too rosy for its sales in China. In fact, data reveals that the carmaker’s local sales have slumped by almost 50% since 2017. Sales figures released by GM reveal that it sold 2.1 million vehicles in China last year. While that trails its U.S. sales that jumped to 2.57 million, what’s more significant is the fact that sales declined 8.7% throughout 2023. Demand for Buick models fell by 20% in 2023 to roughly 517.000 units while Chevrolet sales declined by 16% to 169.000 units. Additionally, Cadillac sales in China declined by 5.7% to around 187.000 vehicles last year. Sales from GM’s joint venture partnership with GM and Liuzhou Wuling Automobile Industry Co. hit 1.2 million, approximately the same as 2022. While selling 2.1 million vehicles in any single market may seem impressive, GM’s sales in China peaked at 4 million units in 2017 and for more than a decade, China was its largest market. No doubt a contributor to GM’s declining Chinese sales is the fact that many local consumers are now buying vehicles from Chinese brands. Additionally, battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are selling in record numbers in the country and according to data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, accounted for 36% of all new vehicle sales in 2023. Electrified vehicles accounted for just over a quarter of GM’s sales in China last year. A suite of new EVs could help GM regain steam in China. SAIC-GM plans to introduce 8 new electrified products over the coming two years, including BEVs using GM’s Ultium platform and several plug-in hybrids. General Motors will also soon begin sales of the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon Denali in a bid to cater to the growing number of outdoor enthusiasts in China. +++
+++ NISSAN has announced the upcoming debut of a new and “electrified” Nismo model which is scheduled for January 12, just in time for the Tokyo Auto Salon. While the automaker doesn’t mention the name of the model, the teaser suggests it will be based on the Ariya. At the same time, a new report from Japan reveals the Nismo-specific features of the electric SUV thanks to a bunch of allegedly leaked presentation slides. The official preview on Nissan’s YouTube channel depicts a portion of the model’s silhouette, which looks identical to the Ariya. This is not surprising, as prototypes of the EV have been spotted testing at the Nurburgring on various occasions last year. These featured a sportier bodykit, larger-diameter wheels, and lowered suspension, hinting at a new Nismo-branded product. The latest report from Japanese media Mag X confirms the rumors about the Nissan Ariya Nismo, with what looks like official presentation slides revealing the upcoming upgrades. Starting with the exterior, the Nismo-specific bodykit includes a redesigned front bumper with a pronounced splitter, joined by similar extensions for the side sills and rear bumper. There is also an additional lip spoiler on the tailgate, and a new set of 20-inch Enkei alloy wheels shod in Michelin Pilot Sport rubber. According to the leaked documents the Ariya Nismo will be available in 6 colors, including single-tone (Prism White, Dark Metal Gray, Midnight Black) and bi-tone (Prism White, Deep Ocean Blue, Stealth Gray) options with a Midnight Black roof. Inside, the model will reportedly feature a set of bucket seats, a sportier steering wheel, a black roofliner, and a generous amount of red accents. Besides the new shoes, the Nismo-branded Ariya will benefit from a stiffer suspension setup featuring revised spring/damper rates, alongside stronger stabilizer bars. Nismo engineers will improve the braking and steering systems while tweaking the settings of the electronics for maximum performance. Furthermore, a new Nismo driving mode will reportedly add Formula E sound effects in a quest to improve the overall experience. Special tuning is also planned for the e-4Orce powertrain, resulting in improved performance. According to the leaks, the 0-120 km/h acceleration will be completed a full second faster compared to the standard model. Note that the most potent version of the Airya is fitted with dual electric motors producing a combined 395 hp and 600 Nm of torque. Mag X suggests that the Nismo version will be available with both the 63 kWh and the 87 kWh battery options. We will learn more on January 12, when Nissan will unveil the performance-focused version of its electric SUV. The Ariya won’t be the only Nismo-badged model at the Tokyo Auto Salon, where it will be joined by the hot version of the GT-R. +++
+++ STELLANTIS has announced a new tool called “virtual cockpit” that allegedly speeds up development cycles of infotainment technology by up to 100 times. The technology uses BlackBerry’s QNX Hypervisor software through the Amazon Web Services cloud, virtually replicating car controls and infotainment systems for easier evaluation. Thanks to the new tool, Stellantis designers and engineers can replicate the “cockpit experience of a particular brand and vehicle” with “minimal effort”. More importantly, they can make changes in real time based on customer feedback, improving the user experience. According to the automaker, the virtual representations of graphics, audio, touchscreen, mouse, and keyboard inputs behave “just like they would in a real car, but without needing to change the main software that runs them”. As a result, the development process is significantly accelerated, achieving something that used to take months in a single day. Yves Bonnefont, Chief Software Officer at Stellantis said: “Software is becoming increasingly crucial in vehicles, leading us to innovate in how we develop and validate it. With our virtual cockpit, we’re revolutionizing not just our approach, but also that of our suppliers and partners in the industry. Essentially, we’re able to get closer to our customer’s needs through this technology with faster development cycles, faster feedback loops, and quicker delivery of the technology they use and love. It’s a leap towards customer-first innovation and efficiency in the automotive world”. Blackberry QNX announced that a non-branded demonstration of the QNX Hypervisor will be available at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas between January 9-12. The software platform is already available on the cloud as an early access release, with details for its general availability set to be announced later in 2024. As a refresher, Stellantis’ collaboration with the Amazon Web Services cloud provider was announced in 2022. The company believes that software is a “key building block” for the future of mobility and the realization of the Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan. +++
+++ I still really dig the styling of the TOYOTA BZ4X , but between recalls to stop the wheels falling off, poor range figures, unimpressive power outputs and a generally dull driving experience, it has never really lived up to those looks. Toyota hasn’t done anything to address those gripes for the 2024 model year, but we can expect faster cold-weather charging improvements. Also, all the versions, for instance, now get a revised information Multi-Information Display that will let you know the charge percentage while charging, the estimated charge time to 80 percent and the estimated vehicle range. Older models can also benefit from the same change via a dealer-installed software update. Another small win for the available luxury grades is the inclusion of a dual-voltage charging cable. The BZ4X Dynamic, meanwhile, gains an 8-way power adjustable driver’s seat and a power-operated rear lift gate; 2 items that the plusher Premium version already delivers. So to maintain the Premium’s superiority it now comes with Advanced Park, a tech package that allows you to slot the bZ4X into spaces without using your hands. Other than that, it’s business as usual. The base front-wheel drive, single-motor still has 204 hp while the 4WD version delivers a barely any more impressive 217 hp. One reason to go for the front-driver over the all-wheel drive version is range. The lighter FWD model is rated at 513 km, whereas WLTP says the all-paw can only manage 461 km. +++
+++ In 2023, the auto industry of the UNITED STATES saw a revival in sales, reaching levels not seen since the pandemic. Nonetheless, this didn’t signal a return to normalcy and predictability. The year also brought with it a number of strange and unexpected results. Starting with the trend that will likely bring enthusiasts the most joy, sales of the Mazda MX-5 were up 50 percent in 2023, as compared to the previous year. In all, the automaker sold 8.973 of its legendary nameplate to drivers last year, and sales were split almost evenly between the soft top and the RF. This aligns with a post-pandemic trend where buyers are leaning towards more enjoyable and exciting cars. Furthermore, Mazda’s overall sales saw significant growth, with the automaker delivering a total of 363,354 vehicles in the U.S. last year. This marked a 23 percent increase compared to the previous year, giving Mazda plenty of reasons to celebrate. A bad fourth quarter has taken the wind out of Rivian’s sails, but that doesn’t mean that 2023 was a total dud for the automaker. Although its sales fell far short of a competitor like, say, Tesla (which sold 670.000 vehicles last year), its total of 47.200 was a 200 percent increase of the previous year, and meant that it outsold every Italian brand we could find figures for. Alfa Romeo sold 10.898 (-15 percent) vehicles in 2023, Fiat shifted 605 (-33 percent), Maserati handed off 6.580 (+2.6 percent), and Lamborghini delivered 3.670 (+17 percent) vehicles in 2023, which amounts to just 21.844 in all. Although Ferrari’s figures haven’t been shared yet, I doubt they’ll have sold the 25.000 vehicles or so that would bring the nation of Italy’s tally up to a similar number of American sales as Rivian. Kia introduced the EV9 late last year, but it only had one full month of sales to count on. Despite that, it managed to sell 1.113 of them in December. While that’s not a staggering number, Kia may still have reason to celebrate. That’s because the Korean brand’s new electric SUV is already outperforming Toyota’s electric SUV. In its first month of sales, Kia sold 444 more examples of the EV9s than Toyota managed to sell of the BZ4X. It should hardly come as a surprise, then, that Kia is calling the EV a wake-up call to the industry, and expects it to “jumpstart the brand’s momentum”. Buick is something of an unassuming brand, but it’s doing better than you might think. By no means GM’s best-performing brand (that honor goes to Chevrolet, with 1.7 million sales), Buick did pretty well in 2023. In all, the old school brand sold 167.030 vehicles, which made it GM’s third-best-performer for the year and put it nearly 20.000 units ahead of Cadillac. Thanks to strong sales of the Encore GX and the Envision, the automaker’s sales grew by a whopping 61 percent, as compared to 2022. When it introduced the new Accord, Honda said it was expecting the hybrid variant to make up a large proportion of its sales. And it was right. In fact, the Accord Hybrid and the CR-V hybrid accounted for a quarter of all Honda’s sales in the U.S. last year. That was good news for the brand, whose sales were up nearly 32 percent in 2023. Of the 1.1 million vehicles it sold last year, 361.457 were CR-Vs and 197.947 were Accords. Of those, 293.640 were hybrids. +++
+++ VOLKSWAGEN found itself in a tough spot. On one hand, it wasn’t prepared to unveil the updated Golf entirely, but on the other, it aimed to showcase the model’s enhanced infotainment system. This tension seemingly resulted in an unintentional early leak of the hatchback’s design, and surprisingly, it came directly from VW itself. Although the refreshed Golf is on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, it is still wearing funky purple camouflage. However, inside the car, an undisguised representation of it can be seen in the infotainment’s “Vehicle Status” menu. Showing the GTI variant of the Golf, the screen reveals that the refinements we’ve long expected to see will combine to make a handsome hatchback after all.
As can be seen in a German video posted by The Car Crash Review YouTube channel, the changes include thinner headlights, a chunkier lower grille, and reshaped air intakes at the front. Interestingly, the grille on the vehicle in the infotainment system, and the one on the real car are different, which some have speculated may have to do with one of them being the Clubsport model. However, it is also possible that VW is throwing us a curveball here. s. While it’s conceivable that the company couldn’t alter the depiction of the car in its infotainment system, it’s worth noting that VW was at CES to showcase the system, so it must have been aware that people would be closely scrutinizing it. Whatever’s going on, the car in the infotainment system also sports some attractive wheels, that are vaguely reminiscent of the popular 19-inch “Detroit” wheels found on the sixth-generation GTI. Overall, though the changes are relatively mild, they combine to make a good-looking car. While the design updates will likely be welcome, it’s the changes to the infotainment system that will really make a difference for buyers. As we’ve covered, the Golf will get an improved virtual assistant powered by ChatGPT that allows drivers to ask for stuff more naturally. The car will also get real buttons on the steering wheel instead of the touch capacitive ones that critics, customers, and everyone else complained about when the 8th-generation Golf launched. The heater controls will also now light up, so that they can be operated at night. Although there’s a lot of good news from this update, there will be one piece of bad news for enthusiasts. Autocar reports that VW has ditched the manual transmission for the model. Kai Grunitz, the head of technical development, said that it “didn’t make sense” to continue on with the manual because of the lack of clarity on Euro 7 emissions when the car was being planned. To be on the safe side, the company decided to focus only on the DSG gearbox. That’s unlikely to anger too many people, since 95 percent of buyers chose the two-pedal option, per Grunitz. We’ll know more details, including whether North America will also forgo the manual gearbox, when VW officially unveils the new Golf before the end of January. +++
+++ The pandemic took a serious toll on the VOLKSWAGEN GROUP ’s output, but the automaker’s 2023 sales figures prove it has bounced back in style. Group deliveries were up 12 percent to 9.24 million last year as VW recovered from supply chain holdups, that number not quite matching a pre-pandemic total of 9.3 million units, but comfortably cruising past the 8.3 million cars churned out in 2022 when VW was struggling to cope with the chip crisis and fallout from the war in Ukraine. VW won’t release full details of each brand’s performance until the end of this week, but it has revealed that sales at the VW brand hit 4.87 million. Again, that’s still lower than pre-pandemic levels, but an increase of 6.7 percent on the 4.56 million cars it shifted in 2022 is ample excuse for Wolfsburg execs to be popping some champagne corks this week. SUVs accounted for more than half of those cars in Europe and an incredible 81 percent in the U.S. And there was more good news on the EV front. VW appeared to be struggling with lower-than-expected demand for its electric cars during 2023 and was even forced to temporarily pause production of the ID.3 in Germany to prevent unsold cars from piling up. But the 2023 data reveals that sales of VW-branded electric cars still climbed by 21.1 percent to 394.000, while demand for EVs across the VW Group grew by 35 percent to 770.000 units. The picture looks less rosy when you consider VW’s China activities. Sales there climbed by 1.6 percent, but the market as a whole grew by 5.6 percent confirming that VW is losing ground to both Tesla and increasingly strong local competition from the likes of BYD. And while VW’s global figures speak of a successful year, it won’t be good enough to prevent Toyota from retaining its position as the world’s biggest automaker. VW wore that crown from 2016-2019, but Toyota (which is still to declare final 2023 figures) stole it back in 2020, has kept a tight hold on it since, and doesn’t look like it’s about to let go, judging by interim 2023 figures. +++
+++ VOLVO is working on an all-electric replacement for the S90 sedan, which could arrive as soon as 2025. The new model could be dubbed the ES90 and will be built at one of Geely’s factories in China. Development of the new model is well underway and a photograph recently emerged on Volvo’s employee intranet portal showing a team of Volvo employees huddled around an early verification prototype. The car will serve as a rival to the likes of the Audi A6, BMW i5 and Mercedes-Benz EQE and should be based on the firm’s SPA2 platform, already used by the Volvo EX90 as well as the forthcoming Polestar 4. Volvo will sell the ES90 with a large 111 kWh battery pack and offer the new sedan in single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor, all-wheel drive configurations. It should be capable of driving up to 600 km on a single charge. The Volvo ES90 will be quite spacious, too. Leaked information from Volvo reveals that it will be 4.990 mm long, 1.547 mm tall and 1.945 mm wide, making it slightly shorter but higher and wider than the BMW i5. Of more importance is the fact that the ES90 will have a massive 3.102 mm wheelbase, longer than not only the i5 but also the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. The design of the new model remains a mystery but it is reasonable to assume that it will share design traits with the EX30, including similar LED headlights and the lack of a traditional front grille. Volvo could commence series production as soon as May. +++
