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Automotive Industry

The mixed scene in Europe - Auto by the Numbers - 2001 - Statistical Data Included

Automotive Design & Production, Feb, 2002 by Michael Robinet

Western European car sales for 2001 will likely outstrip the 14.7 million units recorded in 2000. The U.K. and France have led the pace with support from Spain. However, it is the return of consumers in Germany and Italy that is most welcome in Q4. Through November the market was +0.6% ahead of last year. Light commercial returns for Western Europe however are down 4.0% through Q3 hinting at the weakness in business sector spending that has so far escaped many private buyers.

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Many OEMs are planning for a slower 2002. Fiat and General Motors have announced the most wide-ranging cuts so far. Fiat will have taken nearly 160,000 units out of its schedule by year-end. In Italy, Mirafiori, Melfi, Pomigliano and Termini are all affected, as is Rivalta, which is scheduled to cease operations in early 2002. Polish and Turkish facilities facing severe domestic conditions will contribute around 60,000 units. GM has wrestled both aging product and overcapacity for the last 12 months and actions taken in late-2000 are built upon in the "Project Olympia" revival plan. Antwerp, Bochum and Eisenach will be most affected with the renewed Russelsheim facility operating at about 60% of previous capacity.

Ford, which undertook a similar review of its European operations in early 2000, is still expected to slow line rates at Genk, where two of its freshest models, Mondeo (CD132) and the Transit commercial van, are built.

Renault took days from the French facilities of Douai, Flins, Sandouville and Maubeuge through October and November with further down time expected to impact Palencia and Valladolid in Spain though December into January. While PSA is bolstered by continued strong demand for compact passenger cars, some light van output was lost in October. Volkswagen could not escape the trend, taking a week out from Emden arid Wolfsburg; even the star in the VW line-up, Skoda, will reduce the number of three-shift operations in December and the first week of 2002.

The diversity of the European sector suggests there is still an upside potential. BMW recently began recruiting for a 3rd shift at its Oxford plant, where it recently launched the Mini. Toyota's Yaris plant in Valenciennes will increase output through 2002 by 20%. PSA is seeking an additional shift at Sochaux, the P307 lead plant, and new working practices adopted at Ryton, (in lieu of investment for the upcoming P206 wagon) will seethe facility running for 49 weeks in 2002. In addition, expanded output will be used to meet export demand, most noticeably at Jaguar, Land Rover, Honda and Toyota.

Automotive Industry

The mixed scene in Europe - Auto by the Numbers - 2001 - Statistical Data Included

Automotive Design & Production, Feb, 2002 by Michael Robinet

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