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Category: Automotive

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Auto and Car news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Hyundai Motor plans to join Gwangju-run factory

    Hyundai Motor plans to join Gwangju-run factory

    Hyundai Motor on Friday announced plans to join Gwangju’s city-owned automobile factory project, and the automaker’s labor union is putting up a fight over the plan’s potential effect on employees’ wages.

    Korea’s largest automaker said that it submitted a letter of intent to invest in the construction of the factory, along with other companies, in response to Gwangju’s request.

    “In regard to Gwangju’s business, which will be built inside the Bitgreen National Industrial Complex and aims to foster the local economy and jobs, [Hyundai Motor] proposed a consultation to review the business’ validity and investment possibility,” Hyundai Motor wrote in its letter of intent.

    The carmaker will not participate in the joint venture’s management and will only invest in a certain amount of the project. The workers will be employed by the city of Gwangju.

    The amount of production from the Gwangju plant will depend on the market demand for the car that Hyundai plans to produce there, according to the automaker.

    Gwangju’s auto factory project is slated to be completed by 2020. It is part of the city’s initiative to expand employment, though the salaries at the plant will be half of the Korean auto industry’s average. The plant will be the first automobile factory built in Korea since Renault Samsung Motors’ Busan factory in 1998.

    Hyundai Motor’s participation is likely to send a jolt to the labor market, as employees at the plant will receive an average of 40 million won ($37,233) in annual pay. This is less than half of the wages of unionized Hyundai Motor employees, which are estimated to be around 90 million won a year.

    Hyundai Motor’s labor union on Friday requested the carmaker withdraw the proposal, claiming that its participation in the project would cause a drop in the average wages of Hyundai Motor workers.

    It warned Hyundai Motor that it would stage a protest if the company doesn’t withdraw the letter of intent.

    “The Gwangju employment [project] will standardize full-time workers’ annual salary at around 40 million won,” the labor union said in a statement Friday. “The employees are neither contract workers nor full-time workers, but somewhere in the middle.”

    Although the city government would be employing the workers at the new factory, if Hyundai Motor becomes the biggest shareholder in the joint venture, the lower wages at the Gwangju factory could have an effect on the automaker’s unionized employees.

    Hyundai Motor’s unionized employees’ high wages have been a big headache for the carmaker, which is why the company hasn’t invested much in domestic plants recently and has been steering its capital toward its overseas manufacturing facilities.

    According to industry data, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors’ Korean production fell to 44 percent of total production in 2017, compared to 73.3 percent in 2006.

    Gwangju’s new auto plant is likely to receive about 500 billion won in investment and will be able to produce about 100,000 cars a year. It will provide jobs to around 12,000 people through direct or indirect employment. Hyundai Motor’s stake in the new factory will likely stay below 20 percent.

    “The plant will not be operated by Hyundai Motor,” an official from the Gwangju city government said.

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  • Hyundai, Kia jump ahead in the U.S. hybrid market

    Hyundai, Kia jump ahead in the U.S. hybrid market

    Sales of hybrid vehicles made by Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors in the United States rose 7 percent in the first four months of this year from a year earlier, industry data showed Sunday.

    The two Korean carmakers sold a combined 15,930 hybrid models in the January-April period, including 7,927 units of Kia’s Niro crossover and 4,836 units of Hyundai’s Ioniq, according to numbers released by hybridcars.com, a U.S. website.

    The robust sales of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors came as total sales of hybrid vehicles in the U.S. fell 11.6 percent on-year to 100,456 units.

    Hyundai and Kia trailed Japanese auto giant Toyota and Ford in hybrid sales, which took the first and second places in terms of sales with 56,791 units and 19,583 units, respectively.

    The brisk sales of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors boosted their combined market share in hybrid vehicles to 15.9 percent in the January-April period, compared with 7.5 percent for the whole of 2011.

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  • New US tariffs a headache for foreign automakers

    New US tariffs a headache for foreign automakers

    US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on auto imports will hit foreign automakers that export a large number of vehicles to the US market, but many also manufacture cars domestically.

    Most of these brands, such as Mercedes and BMW as well as Nissan, Honda and Volkswagen, have at least one auto plant on US soil, where they employ tens of thousands of workers.

    These automakers have invested billions of dollars in their US facilities. Toyota and Mazda announced at the start of the year plans to build a US$1.6 billion joint facility in Alabama that will be capable of producing 300,000 vehicles a year.

    Volvo Cars, which plans to open a plant in South Carolina by the end of the year, has warned that new import duties would affect its investment plans.

    US auto market

    In 2017, about 17.2 million vehicles were sold in the United States, according to AutoData, which compiles figures from manufacturers and dealers.

    Nearly 8.7 million of these were imports, according to the Center for Automotive Research, mostly from Mexico and Canada — partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement — as well as from Japan, Germany and South Korea.

    Since the start of this year, the share of domestically-manufactured autos sold in the US has fallen to 50.1%, down from 51.1% over the same period in 2017, according to Edmunds.com.

    At least 82% of Volkswagens sold in the US were imports, according to Edmunds, as well as 55% of Toyotas, 57% of Hyundais, 70% of Mercedes-Benz and 68% for BMW.

    On the other hand, more than half the cars sold in the US by the “Big Three” in Detroit were made locally: 80% for Ford, 60% for General Motors and 55% for Fiat Chrysler.

    Honda is the sole foreign automaker manufacturing a large majority of its locally-sold cars in the United States.

    Major exporter

    The US auto industry is the largest US manufacturing sector which employs about eight million workers, directly or indirectly through related industries.

    It also is one of the largest export sectors, according to the American Automotive Policy Council, an industry body representing the major US manufacturers, General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, and foreign automakers.

    Auto exports virtually doubled between 2009 and 2015 to US$137.7 billion from US$74.1 billion, according to AAPC, supporting 771,000 US jobs.

    BMW and Daimler, maker of the Mercedes-Benz, notably send US-built cars to the European Union and China.

    BMW, which says its Spartanburg, South Carolina plant is the world’s largest, exported 70% of the 371,284 autos manufactured at the site last year, or about 272,346, representing about US$10 billion in total exports.

    Domestic manufacturing

    Toyota, which employs more than 36,000 people, has 10 factories at locations in Alabama, California, Mississippi and Texas. It produces 1.2 million cars and sells 2.4 million, according to 2017 figures, with the difference made up by imports.

    Honda, which employs 4,000, has factories in Alabama, George, Indiana and Ohio and produces 1.2 million, selling 1.6 million.

    German giant Volkswagen, which has a Tennessee factory with the capacity to produce 150,000 units annually, did not disclose production figures but sold 339,679 autos. It employs 2,444 workers.

    Daimler maintains auto plants in Alabama, Indiana, and South Carolina and has 4,900 local workers. In 2017, it produced more than 286,000 cars and sold 337,246.

    BMW, which employs nearly 9,0000 workers, produced 371,284 automobiles in 2017 in the US, and sold 305,685.

    Nissan maintains two factories in Mississippi in Tennessee and produced 930,000 autos, selling US$1.6 million. It employed 14,400 workers.

    Auto imports

    Volkswagen luxury brands Audi and Porsche have no US factories and as a result import all the vehicles sold in the US market. In 2017, Audi sold 226,511 units while Porsche brought 55,420 to market.

  • GM Korea to offer more Chevys on local market

    GM Korea to offer more Chevys on local market

    GM Korea, the Korean unit of General Motors, will bring in more Chevrolet models produced outside the country if local demand rises, a company executive said Wednesday.

    “Chevrolet is a global brand. We have a very diverse portfolio. We will make sure that customers in Korea will have access to Chevy models brought from around the world,” GM Korea President and Chief Executive Kaher Kazem said in a showcase for the face-lifted Spark.

    The upgraded Spark will go on sale next month in Korea after it is produced at the Changwon plant, 400 kilometers (248 miles) south of Seoul, for local and international markets.

    To select the right Chevrolet models for the Korean market, GM Korea conducted a consumer survey from May 8 to 20. The six models posted on the Chevrolet webpage were the Equinox, Traverse, Tahoe and Suburban sport utility vehicles and the Corvette sports car and Colorado pickup.

    The company didn’t provide the survey results as the poll was for its own reference.

    The Equinox SUV will be displayed at the Busan motor show next month and is expected to hit dealerships within this year, the CEO said, adding that the introduction of Chevy cars fully depends on domestic demand.

    As the demand for SUVs has been on the rise in global markets, carmakers have beefed up their lineups with SUV models in recent years.

    The New Spark is the first model of 15 new and upgraded vehicles GM vowed to launch in the Korean market in the next five years as part of its commitment to bolster its operations in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

    “We start today with the Chevrolet Spark to open a new chapter together in Korea. The Spark is an extremely important vehicle not only for domestic customers but also for international customers,” Kazem said.

    The Spark comes with eight air bags and other safety features, such as forward collision alert, side blind spot alert, lane departure warning and low-speed collision mitigation braking systems.

    The Spark is available in 48 markets and is the best-selling mini car in the United States, with sales of 176,627 units in the six years through 2017, the company said.

    The 1.0-liter gasoline model with a manual transmission sells at the starting price of 9.8 million won ($9,100), and prices go up to 13 million won depending on options. The price for the Spark with an automatic transmission is higher than the manual model by 1.8 million won, it said.

    GM and the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), the two biggest shareholders in GM Korea, recently signed the binding agreement that will permit a combined 7.7 trillion-won lifeline – 6.9 trillion won from GM and 810 billion won from the KDB – to keep the loss-making Korean unit afloat.

    Under the deal, the Detroit carmaker is banned from selling any of its stake in GM Korea before 2023 and is required to keep its holding in the unit above 35 percent until 2028.

    In February, GM announced its plan to shut down one of its four car assembly plants in Korea by May and asked the KDB to extend a financial helping hand to GM Korea. The Korean unit has continued to post net losses worth an accumulated 3.134 trillion won over the past four years through 2017 due to lower demand for its models.

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  • Malaysia vehicle sales up 10% in April from a year ago

    Malaysia vehicle sales up 10% in April from a year ago

    Total vehicle sales in April 2018 increased 10.2% or 4,343 units to 47,089 units, compared with 42,746 units a year ago, according to the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

    On a month-on-month basis, April saw a decline of 5.8% or 2,896 units as consumers adopted a wait-and-see attitude due to the general elections.

    Meanwhile, the association said vehicle sales in May are expected to increase, with many car companies announcing zero-rated Goods and Services Tax (GST) prices following the government’s move to abolish the tax on June 1. This will be boosted by promotional campaigns for Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

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  • Ex-Ford exec Nair named president of Canadian racing firm

    Ex-Ford exec Nair named president of Canadian racing firm

    Raj Nair, the Ford Motor Co. executive ousted earlier this year over unspecified “inappropriate behavior,” has been named president and COO of Multimatic Inc., the Canadian supplier, on Friday. The appointment was effective May 7.

    Multimatic works extensively with Ford, building the GT supercar — which was created while Nair was Ford’s head of product development — near Toronto.

    “Raj brings an extensive amount of experience in the auto industry both in product development and manufacturing,” Michael Guttilla, the company’s head of sales and marketing, said in an interview. “He is a real good fit for extending what Multimatic’s purpose is.”

    Nair will split time between Canada and the company’s offices in Southfield, Mich., among its other global locations, Guttilla said. He’ll be responsible for each of the company’s business units, including manufacturing and engineering.

    Nair, 53, abruptly left Ford in February after an internal investigation found that “certain behavior by Nair was inconsistent with the company’s code of conduct,” the automaker said.

    Ford has not divulged the nature of the complaint, which a spokesman said was submitted anonymously through a 24-hour company hotline. Ford said it had not previously received any such allegations against Nair.

    “The situation was thoroughly vetted,” Guttilla said. “Multimatic has the highest standards for all of our employees. We expect everybody to live up to and honor those high ethical standards. We have no concern that it will be an issue.”

    Before being named head of North America in May 2017, Nair was Ford’s head of product development and chief technical officer. In addition to the GT in 2016, he oversaw the launch of the the aluminum-bodied F-150, the 50th-anniversary Mustang and a plethora of other prominent vehicles. Nair took delivery of his own GT less than two weeks before leaving Ford.

    Nair started at Ford in 1987 as a body and assembly operations launch engineer and held various positions on more than 11 vehicle programs in 13 assembly plants, according to Ford’s media website. He also worked on assignments in Europe, South America and Asia Pacific.

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  • Nissan’s 54-year old CFO retires

    Nissan’s 54-year old CFO retires

    Joe Peter, who spent most of his career at General Motors, has retired as CFO of Nissan Motor Co. in Yokohama, Japan.

    Peter, 54, was recruited from GM’s senior finance ranks to Nissan during the 2009 financial crisis as Nissan struggled to stem losses and conserve cash amid crashing world markets.

    His replacement as CFO, effective immediately, is Hiroshi Karube, 62. Karube was previously senior vice president, global controller, accounting and global asset management.

    Efforts to reach Peter were unsuccessful.

    Peter was responsible for Nissan’s worldwide financial planning, control, accounting, treasury, tax, investor relations and merger and acquisition support. He also was a member of Nissan’s executive committee and chairman of the board of directors of the sales finance companies in Japan, United States and Mexico.

    A Detroit native and son of an assembly line worker, Peter rose at GM to the position of CFO of the automaker’s international operations in Shanghai before being recruited to Nissan.

    Karube went to work at Nissan in 1980 and has held several key roles in finance, including global responsibility for accounting and asset management.

  • Tesla plans 6-day stoppage at factory for assembly line fixes

    Tesla plans 6-day stoppage at factory for assembly line fixes

    Tesla will pause production at its California factory for six days at the end of the May to work on fixes to its assembly line for its new Model 3 sedan, sources inside the company told Reuters.

    The Silicon Valley luxury electric car maker previously warned of 10 days of temporary shutdowns this quarter as the company addresses manufacturing problems that have delayed volume production of the Model 3 sedan, which is seen as crucial to Tesla’s long-term profitability.

    Two sources confirmed to Reuters that the next stoppage on the general assembly line at the Fremont, Calif., plant was scheduled for May 26-31.

    A Tesla spokesperson declined to comment.

    Tesla has been struggling to find solutions to manufacturing bottlenecks on the new assembly line that produces the Model 3, a sedan intended for volume production. An over-reliance on robots has complicated that task, CEO Elon Musk has acknowledged.

    Musk, Tesla’s billionaire founder, told employees it was “quite likely” the company would reach a rate of 500 Model 3s per day this week, or 3,500 a week, automotive news website Electrek reported on Tuesday, citing an internal email. Musk also told staff to alert him of “any specific bottlenecks” on the production line.

    The company shut down the Fremont assembly line last month, and also in February, for a few days to rework. The April shutdown, combined with the upcoming one, would add up to the planned 10 days of stoppages.

    Musk has said the planned stoppages are intended to give the company time to perform upgrades that will help it reach a goal of building 6,000 vehicles per week by the end of June. Musk last month said the company was producing 2,000 Model 3 cars a week.

    In order to meet the goal, Musk said last month that all Model 3 production would begin working around the clock. Reuters learned that the teams working on general assembly have already switched to three shifts, a schedule that helps maximize capacity and flexibility.

    Teams working on the body of the vehicle — where the external shell of the car is assembled — are working in two 12-hour shifts.

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  • Porsche SE execs, board are safe to travel to U.S.

    Porsche SE execs, board are safe to travel to U.S.

    Top managers and supervisory board members at Porsche SE, Volkswagen Group’s majority shareholder, can still travel to the United States without risk or fear of prosecution, the company’s head of legal affairs said.

    “Porsche SE is convinced that no board member can be accused of offenses, and that the members of the management and supervisory boards can still travel to the United States without restrictions and risk,” Manfred Doess, the holding firm’s legal chief, said on Tuesday at Porsche SE’s annual shareholder meeting.

    U.S. authorities earlier this month issued an arrest warrant against VW Group’s former CEO, Martin Winterkorn, after indicting him on four felony charges in the automaker’s diesel-emissions scandal.

    Porsche SE CEO Hans Dieter Poetsch, VW’s former finance chief who is being investigated by prosecutors in Brunswick, Germany, for suspected market manipulation related to the scandal, told shareholders that he regularly travels to the U.S.

    Doess said Porsche SE has no knowledge of an international arrest warrant against Wolfgang Porsche, the firm’s chairman and a member of VW’s supervisory board.

  • BMW is Recalling some of their cars

    BMW is Recalling some of their cars

    BMW started the company in the opinion of their own cars. This is the second necessary measure from the German automaker. Last year was recalled about 36,000 of the cars, including the BMW 1 Series, 3 Series, Z4.

    The reason have a problem with the electrical part of the machine during the movement of the car. As a result, there is a risk not only stop the machine but also the fire.

    The case was investigated by the British authorities. It identified 19 cases of failures of electronics.

    BMW say that the current problem cars were not covered by initial opinion. Therefore, to increase the security of the owners made an additional request of car.

    At the moment, BMW is conducting additional testing 417 machines. This level of sampling on statistics helps to understand the essence of the problem and corresponds to the code of business ethics prevailing in the automotive industry.

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  • BMW Contract Assembler to Make Engines in Malaysia

    BMW Contract Assembler to Make Engines in Malaysia

    Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby Motors and BMW Group Malaysia open a 132 million ringgit ($33.5 million) engine plant for locally assembled vehicles and to support exports to regional markets including Vietnam and the Philippines.

    Sime Darby Managing Director Dennis Ho tells reporters the plant will produce 10,000 units a year in a single shift.

    The 91,493-sq.-ft. (8,500-sq.-m) engine plant is the first of its kind for contract manufacturer Sime Darby. Until now, locally assembled BMW and Mini models have used engines imported from Germany or Austria.

    The new facility will assemble 3- and 4-cyl. gasoline engines, 4-cyl. diesel engines and 3- and 4-cyl. gasoline engines for plug-in hybrid vehicles. It is the second BMW engine plant in the region after Rayong, Thailand.

    The new engine operation is alongside the assembly plant and regional parts-distribution center.

    Ho says there is no compromise in the quality of engines being built at the plant in Padang Meha 233 miles (375 km) north of Kuala Lumpur. “The standards of the quality checks are similar to those used in Germany,” he says. “The parts and components are imported from Germany.”

    BMW Group Malaysia CEO Harald Hoelzl says Malaysia plays a major role in BMW’s plans for Southeast Asia.

    “In Malaysia, BMW has already successfully achieved a 15% increase in the deliveries of BMW, Mini and BMW Motorrad vehicles, with 3,000 vehicles in the first quarter,” he says.

    Malaysian motoring analyst Paul Tan says the inclusion of diesel engines is interesting because BMW Malaysia no longer has diesel models in its lineup. “This means that the company is likely looking to introduce new oil-burning models soon,” Tan says on his website.

    Sime Darby Chairman Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah says the company aims to be the preferred contract-assembly partner for the most dynamic automakers in the region.

    “We aim to produce more than 50,000 vehicles (including Mazda and Hyundai vehicles produced at the company’s Inokom plant), as well as the engine parts and components for the vehicles by the year 2020,” he says in a statement.

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  • Vietnam’s April car sales fall 4 pct on-year

    Vietnam’s April car sales fall 4 pct on-year

    Toyota remained the leading brand last month, with sales rising 3 percent from a year earlier to 4,234 units. Vietnam’s car sales fell slightly in April, declining 4 percent from a year earlier to 20,557 units, according to data released by the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association (VAMA).

    Sales in April were 2 percent lower than in March, VAMA said in a statement.

    Toyota remained the leading brand last month, with sales rising 3 percent from a year earlier to 4,234 units.

    Truong Hai (Thaco) group, the local assembler and distributor of brands such as Kia, Mazda, Peugeot and Hyundai and a significant player in the commercial vehicle segment, reported a 0.5 percent rise in group sales to 8,679 units in April.

    Ford’s sales were 47 percent lower at 1,359 units in April while Honda sales rose four-fold to 2,815 units.

    For the first four months of this year, total car sales in the country fell 2 percent from a year earlier to 79,115 units, VAMA said.

  • Vietnamese willing to Spend huge Amounts of Money on Super Cars

    Vietnamese willing to Spend huge Amounts of Money on Super Cars

    As many as  8,670 luxury cars of different kinds were sold in Vietnam in 2017, a decrease of 15 percent from 2016, according to one report. However, the amount of money spent on the cars was VND20 trillion.

    According to Choi Duk June, CEO of Mercedes Benz Vietnam, 150 Maybachs were delivered to Vietnamese buyers in 2017. The sales of Maybach in Vietnam are the highest in Southeast Asia.

    This is a luxury model of Mercedes-Benz with three versions in distribution in Vietnam, including Maybach S 400 priced at VND6.899 billion, Maybach S 500 VND10.999 billion and Maybach S 600 VND14.169 billion.

    When launching Maybach S 600 into the market in January 2015, Mercedes Benz then hoped it could sell 10 products a year. However, to its surprise, over 50 products were sold in the year.

    The figure was over 100 in 2016, and Vietnam remained the biggest buyer of Maybachs in 2017, leaving Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore far behind.

    It is estimated that over 300 Maybachs are rolling on Vietnam’s streets.

    The other luxury models also had very good sales. Over 500 S-Class products, priced at VND4-10 billion, were sold in 2017.

    However, the highest growth rate belonged to mid-end luxury models, priced at VND1.5-3 billion. A record number of 2,500 GLCs priced at VND1.939-2.209 billion was sold in 2017, placing GLC as one of the 15 best sellers in the market.

    The other luxury models which sold very well in 2017 included BMW’s Seri 3 and Seri 5, Audi’s A4 and Q5 and Lexus’ ES 250 and NX 200T.

    Car dealers in Vietnam say there is a switch in consumption from common products to mid-end products. A survey by Mercedes Benz found that car buyers tend to be younger.

    In 2014, the average age of car buyers was 42, while it was 39 in 2016 and 38 in 2017.

    Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) survey showed that Vietnam is getting wealthy thanks to the strong rise of the middle class which has been growing more quickly than any other place in South East Asia.

    Those who have monthly income of $714 and more are classified as middle class. Vietnam expects to have 33 million middle class people by 2020.

    According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA), a total of 272,750 automobile units were sold in 2017, down 10 percent yearly.

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  • Lotus Launches The New Exige Sport 410

    Lotus Launches The New Exige Sport 410

    With a stunning combination of raw speed and real-world ability, the Lotus Exige Sport 410 joins a line-up like no other to complete the Exige family of peerless sports cars.

    Starting with the revised Exige Sport 350, the comprehensive Exige range now includes the new Exige Sport 410 and culminates with the extreme Exige Cup 430: each at a distinct price point, performance level and degree of motorsport focus.

    Developed directly from the track focused Exige Cup 430, the Exige Sport 410 is designed to be the ultimate road drive, unrivalled in its class.

    This latest addition to the Exige range packs the advanced chassis, suspension and powertrain set-up from its more powerful stablemate, the track focused Exige Cup 430, with a recalibrated engine producing 410 hp (416 PS) at 7,000 rpm and 420 Nm (310 lbft) on tap from 3,000 rpm to 7000 rpm. The high-performance 3.5-litre, supercharged and charge cooled V6 engine combined with a dry weight of just 1,054 kg (lightest possible dry) delivers a class-leading power to weight ratio of 389 hp / tonne, and makes the Exige Sport 410 the lightest V6 Exige ever.

    Capable of 0-60 mph in just 3.3 seconds, it records fierce in-gear acceleration before reaching a top speed of 180 mph / 290 km/h (Coupe configuration) – equal to the range-topping Exige Cup 430.

    The Exige Sport 410 has been developed to generate 150 kg of downforce, sharing design cues from the Exige Cup 430, adopting a visually arresting revised lightweight front clam panel incorporating wider grilles and carbon fibre air curtains and front splitter.

    As with all Lotus cars, the Exige Sport 410 has outstanding handling and lightweight agility engineered into its very DNA. Conveying an extraordinary level of tactility and precision, it’s developed to perform at its very best with maximum enjoyment and driver feedback on the road.

    Jean-Marc Gales, CEO, Group Lotus plc said, “With every new Lotus we look to move the bar higher and apply technology and development ideas drawn from top-of-the-range models. Our agility as a company means that the lessons learnt today can quickly be incorporated into the cars of tomorrow and the Exige Sport 410 is a perfect example of this. We have taken the Exige Cup 430, the ultimate track-centric Exige, and developed it into the perfect road orientated sports car, ensuring that we stay ahead of rivals when it comes to cars that deliver a truly engaging analogue driving experience.”

    Completing the update to the entire Exige range, the new front clam design also transitions across to the Exige Sport 350, giving a visual refresh to the entry-level model in the Exige line-up.

    Both the Exige Sport 410 and Exige Sport 350 are available in Coupe and Roadster configurations, with the Roadster having a lightweight black removable soft-top which can be easily stowed within the car for open-top driving. The Roadster configuration is not available for the Exige Cup 430.

    The Exige Sport 410 – forged through development

    Reflecting its Sport nomenclature, the new Exige Sport 410 treads the fine balance of cars that retain their focus on road driving yet remain supremely responsive and agile. Whilst Lotus’ Cup variants are developed with circuit driving at heart, the Sport models are tuned to provide the perfect balance of performance, agility and power delivery for the road.

    Working from Lotus’ standpoint as the leader in lightweight design, every gram has been justified, from the standard lightweight carbon front splitter and access panel at the front to the carbon side pods, tailgate and wing at the rear.

    Distinctive in its appearance, thanks to wider aperture grilles in the new front clam panel, the Exige Sport 410’s revised aero configuration provides total downforce of 150 kg (60 kg at the front and 90 kg at the rear); developed through extensive CFD modelling and wind tunnel testing in order to preserve the car’s handling balance and high-speed stability.

    The front splitter helps separate and speed airflow under the car, and the inclusion of air curtain elements into the front clam panel efficiently moves air through to the front wheel cavities to help reduce turbulence and drag created by the front wheels. In addition, the enlarged front clam panel openings, with wider radiator apertures, aid cooling. At the rear, the extended Aluminium diffuser, combined with the new high-mounted wing all contribute to the Exige Sport 410’s enhanced downforce.

    The Exige Sport 410 uses the Exige Cup 430’s 3.5-litre supercharged V6 engine with supercharger and water-to-air charge cooler, calibrated to generate 410 hp (416 PS) at 7,000 rpm and 420 Nm (310 lbft) of torque from 3,000 rpm to 7,000 rpm. The latest addition to the range also employs the oil cooler configuration and larger clutch from the Exige Cup 430, perfectly matched to the close-ratio, six-speed manual transmission with exposed-gear-change linkage.

    Befitting an industry benchmark, the Exige Sport 410 takes the chassis, suspension and dampers from the Exige Cup 430, re-tuning the three-way adjustable Nitron dampers for a road bias and to suit the car’s revised aerodynamic set-up. These can be customised to the driver’s precise requirements (rebound and low and high-speed compression) along with the Eibach adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars, fitted as standard, which complete the car’s class-leading chassis set-up.

    The Exige Sport 410 is fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres (285/30 ZR18 rear and 215/45 ZR17 front), 20 mm wider at the rear deliver improved traction and work in harmony with the car’s ultra-lightweight forged alloy wheels, which are available in either black or silver. Braking is courtesy of AP Racing, with forged, four-piston calipers and performance two-piece J-hook brake discs. With a higher thermal capacity and improved bite, these discs have better debris clearance and impart consistent pedal feel with greater stopping power.

    Performance options for the Exige Sport 410 include a full exhaust system in titanium, removing 10 kg from beyond the rear axle, and a number of high-gloss, visible weave carbon fibre components including instrument binnacle, sill covers, barge boards and roof. A host of motorsport-centric options are also available including electrical cut-off and fire extinguisher controls, airbag deletion, a non-airbag steering wheel, 4-point harnesses and a dealer fit FIA compliant roll cage.

    Centre of attention in the cabin is Lotus’ acclaimed open-gate manual gearshift design giving quick and precise changes. The fine detailing continues with an Alcantara® steering wheel and Lotus’ own carbon fibre sports seats trimmed with either a combination of Alcantara® and leather or optional full leather, both featuring contrast stitching.

    The optional Interior Colour Pack (in a choice of four colours) provides contrasting surrounds to the transmission console, HVAC surround, carbon seat eyelets and electric window bezels. As standard, the centre console and dashboard are trimmed in Alcantara® with the door cards, a combination of Alcantara® and leather. Air conditioning and an integrated entertainment system including iPod® connectivity and Bluetooth® functionality can also be specified.

    Lotus Exclusive

    The new Exige Sport 410 can be personalised through the popular Lotus Exclusive programme. Combining traditional British craftsmanship with modern design, the service inspires customers to spend time tailoring the character of their Lotus with a comprehensive array of options.

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  • Increasing Chinese wealth helps drive luxury auto sales growth

    Increasing Chinese wealth helps drive luxury auto sales growth

    Almost half of the automotive sales growth in China this year has come from luxury brands, driven by consumers’ increasing household wealth and consumer confidence.

    According to a report from Scotiabank, in March global automotive sales were up 1.2 percent over the previous year, with China one of the key forces behind this growth. As the Asian market becomes increasingly important to luxury auto brands, OEMs are set to benefit from newly eased regulations in China.

    “China now accounts for close to 30 percent of global luxury auto sales, up from 20 percent in 2012,” said Carlos Gomes, senior economist and auto industry specialist at Scotiabank, Toronto. “As wealth continues to increase in China this share will advance further.”

    Accelerating sales
    Chinese auto sales grew 3 percent in January and February, and growth picked up in March, with a 5.1 percent increase.

    Luxury cars made up half of the year-to-date growth in China. Scotiabank notes that this rise in luxury sales is the greatest seen in China since the government began its anti-corruption campaign.

    Over the past few years, the government’s communist party has been working to curb conspicuous spending, in an attempt to fight corruption in politics.

    As part of the campaign, China’s Finance Ministry implemented a 10 percent import tax on the highest priced automobiles entering the country. The tax affects vehicles retailing for at least 1.3 million yuan, or $205,000 at current exchange.

    As of 2012, China represented 20 percent of the total volumes for the top six premium marques. Today, Chinese consumers make up 30 percent of these brands’ businesses.

    Whereas these brands saw an average volume growth of 15 percent in 2016 and 2017 in China, in the first three months of this year, their year-over-year volumes rose 25 percent.

    The top six marques are projected to have their sales exceed 2.7 million cars this year. This would more than double the number sold just five years ago.

    By 2020, the luxury car industry in China is likely to become the world’s largest. The country is leading the way in the breakaway from reliance on dealerships.

    According to L2, while ultra-luxury auto brands such as Ferrari have a better handle on exclusivity and high-end image, standard high-end automakers are more accessible and have a better grasp on digital performance in China.

    L2’s research in its “China: Luxury Auto” report shows that more than 50 percent of luxury auto brands are available on China’s top retail Web site Tmall. Their presence on the ecommerce site beats out luxury fashion and jewelry brands.

    Along with China, auto sales around the world picked up in March due to growth in emerging markets and a 6.5 percent volume increase in the United States. Scotiabank attributes this to growing wages and incomes.

    “Luxury sales in China are up about 23 percent so far this year, lifting global luxury volumes by about 7 percent year-over-year through March,” Mr. Gomes said. “The key driver of these gains is ongoing increases in household wealth, which is being driven by strengthening global economic growth.

    “As long as that trend persists, luxury volumes will  outperform,” he said. “We expect the global economy to expand 3.8 percent in 2018 and 3.7 percent in 2019. If global GDP slows significantly from our current forecast, luxury volumes would slow as well.”

    Auto outlook
    Foreign automakers are set to benefit from some recently announced regulation changes in China.

    One of the changes relates to the 50:50 rule, which prevented automakers from owning more than half of their Chinese operations. At the time the regulation was implemented in 1994, it was intended to help local businesses by forcing OEMs to enter joint ventures.

    China is rolling this back, allowing automakers to have more ownership over their Chinese sales.

    The nation is also lifting its 25 percent tariffs on foreign cars.

    Tesla’s Elon Musk had complained about the import duties on Twitter, saying that having a 25 percent tax compared to the import duty of 2.5 percent for the United States was similar to “competing in an Olympic race wearing lead shoes.”

    The United States is currently at risk of a trade war with China following President Trump’s announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminum in March. Since then, each side has imposed new tariffs on different goods, escalating the disagreement.

    “The announcement that China will reduce import tariffs from the current 25 percent ‘as soon as possible’ is likely to have most significant near-term impact for luxury automakers,” Scotiabank’s Mr. Gomes said. “For example, tariff reduction will improve the affordability of imported luxury models, spurring even stronger sales going forward.”

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