Desde 2015 que a Utilcorte tem vindo a registar um crescimento histórico, tendo atingido em 2018 o seu expoente máximo, com um aumento de 34% face a 2017. Agora em 2019, regista uma estabilidade com um ligeiro crescimento de 1% face ao ano anterior.
in Utilcorte, 09-01-2019
Conforme referiu Pedro Miguel Silva, diretor da Utilcorte, “Os últimos 4 anos tiveram um ritmo muito acelerado, investimos em praticamente todas as áreas da empresa, desde máquinas a novos recursos humanos, para poder responder não só às encomendas, como também às exigências do mercado, como foi o caso da certificação ISO9001:2015. Em 2019 prevíamos uma estabilidade e acabamos até por ter um ligeiro crescimento, o que nos deixa muito satisfeitos.”
Alguns números sobre a produção de 2019:
Produziram-se cerca de 7 milhões de peças em Aço, Alumínio, Inox, Poliéster e Borracha, num total superior a 3.500Km de tubos cortados;
Foram assembladas mais de 2 milhões de peças.
Para 2020 prevê-se um ligeiro crescimento da produção com a entrada de novos projetos e uma continuação dos investimentos em novas máquinas e recursos humanos.
“Uncertainty” was the watchword for European sales going into 2019, and that will again be the case in 2020, executives and analysts say.
in Automotive News Europe, by Peter Sigal, 09-01-2020
Last year, caution centered on Brexit, tariffs and the lingering effects of the Worldwide harmonized Light vehicle Testing Procedure (WLTP).
None of those factors have completely disappeared, but the big unknown is how buyers will react to a wave of electrified vehicles needed to meet new EU emissions rules.
“I think that 2020 will be a very interesting year, because we will see if the consumers are ready to buy [electric vehicles], if the infrastructure that’s needed is in place, if the different use cases are working,” Faurecia CEO Patrick Koller said. “We will see.”
Peugeot CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato warned of turbulence at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, as automakers go from average fleet CO2 emissions of about 120 gram per kilometer at the start of 2019 to 95g/km, the new EU standard, on Jan. 1. To count as a 2019 sale, cars had to have been registered before that date.
Overall sales will be “stable” in 2020, Imparato told Automotive News Europe, but he expects there to be a “seasonal effect” on first-quarter demand because of the tougher emissions regulations.
“I’m not sure all the automakers are ready for them,” he said of the new targets, which will apply to 95 percent of all vehicles sold in 2020 and 100 percent of those sold next year. “If you are not ready now in terms of product, production and stock management, you will be dead in January.”
Decline expected
A four-year post-recession run of sales growth slowed to a halt in 2018, with the European market slipping into negative territory, down by 0.04 percent, and the Western European market down by 0.7 percent. Final figures for 2019 were not available at press time, but the overall market is expected to be flat.
For next year, analysts are predicting that European sales will fall somewhat. LMC Automotive is forecasting a decline of 1 percent in Western Europe in 2020.
Jonathon Poskitt of LMC said in a note: “We are now a little more cautious on 2020, with overall volumes expected to be lower than this year. Economic challenges remain, particularly in light of the external trade environment and Brexit uncertainty.” He said that there is a risk that automakers may have to take action that could have an effect on total market volumes because of forthcoming CO2 targets.
Moody’s is more bearish, predicting that Western European sales will drop by 3 percent in 2020, revising downward an earlier forecast. Factors in the slowdown include uncertainty around Brexit, and a weakening macroeconomic environment, especially in Italy and Spain. However, Moody’s noted that the European market has been at a high level of sales for several years, and that a slowdown in 2020 would return the market to 2017 volumes.
Separately, IHS Markit is forecasting a 2 percent decline in EU plus EFTA sales (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland). “We are seeing a slight decline,” said IHS Markit analyst Martin Benecke, noting that formerly strong growth markets in Central and Eastern Europe are now more closely tracking Western European countries.
“On the economic side, the ongoing Brexit uncertainty is holding back investment, not only in the UK but in other nations,” he said. On trade issues involving China and the U.S, “It’s not clear what’s going to happen,” he added.
Emissions question
But emissions compliance remains the main question around sales this year, Benecke said, for a number of reasons. Model portfolios will change as higher-polluting cars with older technology are pulled in favor of full-electric cars, plug-in and regular hybrids, and mild hybrids. This in turn will increase prices overall, possibly affecting demand, he said.
Automakers could also push diesel sales, even though the future of the powertrain has been in doubt because of fallout from the Volkswagen Group cheating scandal. After several years of sharp declines, tied to a loss of consumer confidence, increasing cost of emissions compliance and the effects of current and future diesel bans, sales have stabilized somewhat.
Benecke said IHS forecasts that the diesel market share in 2020 will be 31 percent, just one percentage point below 2019’s figure. Nevertheless, the powerplant’s long-term future is in doubt, he said, because it is increasingly difficult to find further gains in CO2 emissions.
Another unknown is how automakers will ensure that enough low-emissions vehicles are sold to meet fleet emissions targets. Benecke noted that manufacturers have many levers to pull because relatively few cars are sold to private buyers. Those tools include self-registrations, favorable lease terms for employees, and sales to short-term (car-sharing) and traditional rental fleets. Said Benecke: “They have a lot of power to bring these vehicles to market.”
AFIA acompañó a CR Molds, PTC Group, Socem y Rangel en la misión a Marruecos. // FOTO: AFIA
in AutoRevista, 08-01-2020
La agencia portuguesa de promoción exterior e inversiones AICEP organizó una misión comercial a Marruecos, los días 11 y 12 de diciembre en Casablanca, con el objetivo de profundizar en las relaciones comerciales bilaterales. Esta misión consistió en un foro de negocios y misiones de negocios sectoriales en las áreas de automoción y moldes, materiales de construcción, TIC y educación superior. AFIA, asociación de fabricantes de componentes y CEFAMOL, entidad que aglutina a los moldistas, a través de sus secretarios generales, acompañaron a las empresas en la misión.
La delegación portuguesa en las áreas de moldes y automoción estaba compuesta por 4 empresas: CR Molds, PTC Group, Socem y Rangel. Todas ellas mostraron su capacidad para responder a las necesidades del mercado de automoción marroquí. La promoción de la oferta nacional y la identificación de nuevas oportunidades se vuelven más importantes a medida que se presta más atención al desarrollo significativo de la industria del automóvil en el país norteafricano. Se observa un crecimiento acelerado en la cantidad de automóviles ensamblados, que ha multiplicado por diez sus cifras en ocho años: de 40.000 en 2010 a más de 400.000 automóviles producidos en 2018.
Aprovechado en el plan de aceleración industrial 2014-2020, Marruecos apunta a alcanzar el año 2022 con una capacidad de producción anual de un millón de vehículos, como consecuencia de los planes de crecimiento industrial de Renault (dos fábricas en Tánger y Casablanca) y Grupo PSA (una en Kenitra).
Marruecos ya es un importante socio comercial para empresas de la industria de automoción portuguesa que, en 2018, exportó allí 85 millones de euros, convirtiendo a Marruecos en el decimoctavo destino de sus exportaciones.
A unidade nacional do grupo francês PSA atingiu um máximo de produção no ano passado, com os novos modelos, incluindo o regresso da produção da Opel em Portugal, 13 anos depois do encerramento da fábrica da Azambuja.
in Jornal Económico, por André Cabrita-Mendes, 08-01-2020
No ano passado, a fábrica da PSA produziu um total de 77.607 unidades, mais 23% face a 2018 quando foram produzidos 63.073 unidades, segundo a fabricante automóvel.
“Este valor de produção permitiu à empresa atingir o maior volume anual da sua história, ao ultrapassar a marca de 64.000 carros produzidos no ano de 2007”, revelou fonte oficial do grupo PSA ao Jornal Económico.
Analisando por modelos, a maioria da produção foi da marca Citroën Berlingo/Berlingo Van (52,6%), seguido dos Peugeot Rifter/Partner (45,3%) e dos Opel Combo Life/Combo Van (2,1%).
Os novos modelos da Citröen e da Peugeot começaram a ser produzidos nesta fábrica – que emprega mil trabalhadores repartidos por três turnos – em 2018, enquanto a produção em série dos modelos da Opel arrancaram em outubro de 2019.
Em julho de 2019, o diretor-geral da PSA em Mangualde anunciou que o grupo pretende investir até 25 milhões nesta unidade para produzir um novo automóvel a partir de 2023.
“Estamos a tentar adaptar o produto atual, o carro que temos, às normativas do CO2. Haverá uma versão que irá emitir menos CO2 e estamos a tentar convencer a direção-geral e, trabalhando já com o Governo português e com os trabalhadores da fábrica para, entre todos, conseguirmos ter um projeto a médio prazo e num contexto automóvel , que não é nada simples neste momento, há muitas dificuldades ligadas às emissões, para que tenha um futuro também para Mangualde”, disse José Maria Castro à Lusa em meados do ano passado.
Recorde-se que a Opel integrou o grupo PSA, presidida pelo português Carlos Tavares, em 2017. A marca alemã pertencia anteriormente à norte-americana General Motors.
A produção dos modelos da Opel em Mangualde representou o regresso da marca alemã a um chão de fábrica em Portugal, 13 anos depois da fábrica da Azambuja ter fechado as portas ao fim de 42 anos em produção.
Nesta unidade do distrito de Lisboa era então produzido, precisamente, o Opel Combo, que passou a ser fabricado em Saragoça, Espanha. O encerramento desta unidade deixou no desemprego mais de 1.100 trabalhadores.
A fábrica de Mangualde produz automóveis desde 1964, com o fabrico do mítico Citroen 2CV (Dois Cavalos). Desde o arranque da produção da primeira geração de Peugeot Partner e Citroën Berlingo em 1998 que esta unidade da PSA já produziu quase 900 mil unidades, mais de metade da produção total registada desde 1964, num valor próximo dos 1,5 milhões de veículos.
José Couto a convite da CCILM – Câmara de Comércio e Indústria Luso-Mexicana participou, 8 de Janeiro, no almoço comemorativo do 15º aniversário desta câmara de comércio e indústria.
in AFIA, 08-01-2020
A cerimónia foi presidida pelo Ministro da Economia e da Transição Digital, Pedro Siza Vieira. O evento contou ainda com a presença de representantes do Corpo Diplomático, de Entidades do Estado, de Associações Sectoriais e Empresários de vários sectores.
No ano de 2018 a indústria portuguesa de componentes automóveis exportou para o México cerca de 56 milhões de euros, o que posiciona o México como o 20º país cliente dos componentes automóveis.
Acresce ainda o facto que dentro da sua estratégia de internacionalização vários Associados da AFIA têm já unidades fabris em solo mexicano.
* Foto da Câmara de Comércio e Indústria Luso-Mexicana
Interior de un vehículo con el sistema Nivel 2+ de ZF incorporado.// FOTO: ZF
in AutoRevista, 07-01-2020
El proveedor de primer nivel ha lanzado el sistema ZF coASSIT, que ofrece conducción parcialmente automatizada para modelos de volumen por menos de 1.000 dólares. Fabricantes de automóviles asiáticos instalarán el sistema Nivel 2+ en vehículos de serie a partir de finales de 2020, ampliando los sistemas de asistencia al conductor, adaptándose a distintas funcionalidades y distintos rangos de precio. A partir de 2020, un conocido fabricante de automóviles asiático equipará sus vehículos de serie con este nuevo sistema.
Según expresa la compañía, los sistemas de Nivel 2+ se caracterizan por “un enfoque pragmático y factible para contribuir a una mayor seguridad y comodidad en el sector del automóvil”. Las funciones de asistencia al conductor existentes se combinan mediante una unidad de control adicional para formar un sistema holístico y potente. Basado en los datos de la cámara y el radar, el sistema de Nivel 2+ habilita funciones como control de crucero, reconocimiento de señales de tráfico, cambio de carril, mantenimiento de carril y asistencia para atascos. El conductor mantiene el control del vehículo en todo momento, lo cual ayuda a reducir las reservas sobre automatización, ya que el controlador puede acostumbrarse a funciones parcialmente automatizadas.
“Los sistemas de nivel 2+ no solo cumplen con los próximos requisitos de seguridad, sino que ayudan a mejorar la comodidad del conductor y, por lo tanto, le brindan un valor agregado real”, asegura Christophe Marnat, jefe de la división Electronics and Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) de ZF, “Además, las soluciones de Nivel 2+ nos dan la oportunidad de recopilar datos sobre una amplia variedad de escenarios de tráfico y, por lo tanto, desarrollar aún más nuestros productos” concluye.
German car production fell to its lowest level in almost a quarter of a century as Europe’s biggest economy suffers from the fallout of a global trade war.
in Automotive News Europe, by Stefan Nicola | Reuters, 07-01-2020
Automakers including Volkswagen Group, BMW and Daimler produced 4.66 million vehicles in German factories last year, the lowest output since 1996.
The country’s VDA car lobby, which published the figures on Monday, said the 9 percent decrease was a result of falling demand from international markets.
The industry is set for more tough times this year. The VDA predicted global car deliveries will drop to 78.9 million vehicles from 80.1 million in 2019.
Germany’s status as a global manufacturing powerhouse has been built on the automaking industry, but pollution concerns — intensified by Volkswagen’s 2015 diesel-cheating scandal — trade conflicts, and slowing economies have all weighed on demand.
Daimler, Volkswagen and supplier Continental are slashing jobs to cut costs.
At the same time, the industry has to spend billions of euros to develop cleaner vehicles, self-driving features and counter the emergence of ride-sharing services like Uber, which has a market value equivalent to Daimler.
Germany is particularly exposed to regulatory demands for cleaner vehicles because brands such as BMW, Porsche and Audi focus on power and performance. That prods the country’s automakers to explore unusual projects.
At the CES electronics show in Las Vegas, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz unveiled a concept car inspired by the film Avatar. The electric-powered vehicle features lateral crab-like movement and biometric controls to allow “human and machine to merge.”
Domestic demand
Germany’s domestic autos market grew 5 percent last year after buyers registered 3.6 million new cars, the VDA said, the most since 2009. However, the industry body has said the market is likely to contract this year and has predicted that job losses will accelerate amid the transition to electric cars, which require fewer parts and less labor to assemble.
The country cemented its recently acquired lead over Norway as Europe’s biggest electric-vehicle market after selling 63,281 full-electric cars last year, according to latest data from the country’s Federal Motor Transport Authority, or KBA.
Responsável por 1,6% do PIB em 2018 e 5% do volume de exportações, a Autoeuropa é uma unidade produtiva de automóveis, parceira do grupo Volkswagen. A unidade, que produz 900 carros por dia, está localizada perto do Porto de Setúbal, permitindo o fácil escoamento do produto para os mercados internacionais.
in Dinheiro Vivo, 06-02-2020
”A qualidade dos nossos colaboradores é fundamental para a nossa operação e é um fator diferenciador”, afirma Miguel Sanches, diretor-geral e presidente do Conselho de Gerência da Volkswagen Autoeuropa.
”São pessoas com formação tanto em Portugal como nas várias unidades do grupo e cujo trabalho é reconhecido não só dentro da marca Volkswagen, como em unidades de marcas do grupo.
Miguel Sanches reconhece ainda a importância dos fornecedores, afirmando que “sozinhos não seríamos nada”.
Pode também saber mais sobre o modelo do momento: o Volkswagen T-Roc.
When we think of a choreography we might imagine a performance by the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet or the London Royal Ballet School. But there are many other less-known choreographies; for example, the one which is performed 2,300 times every day in the SEAT Martorell factory with each vehicle made just in time to customer specifications. This is how the movements are arranged in the factory’s choreography.
in Automotive Purchasing and Supply Chain, 06-01-2020
Everything begins when a customer configures the car they want to buy and places an order at a dealership in the more than 80 countries where SEAT operates. From the model, engine specs, colour, assistant package and trim level to upholstery, thousands of custom orders arrive every day at the Martorell factory.
“Taking into account the capabilities of suppliers and the factory, a schedule is made of the cars that will be assembled in the following four weeks and the necessary parts are procured. This planning goes into the tiniest of details as the date approaches, making sure that we have all the necessary parts and that production is balanced,” explained Juan Vivas, the Head of the Inbound department.
When it leaves the press shop, the vehicle’s chassis is assembled in the bodyshop and a chip is inserted. It contains the car’s DNA, including information about model, trim level and all the parts that will go into it. From then on all the components are sequenced so they arrive just in time.
Assembly proceeds in the paint and assembly shops, where the cars travel over 2 kilometres at different levels. The parts arrive at the section where they have to be attached or introduced in the car at the precise moment they are needed. This way they can consecutively put together, for example, first a red right-hand drive Leon FR followed by a blue left-hand drive Leon ST equipped with a sunroof.
“One of the things that people who visit the factory find most surprising is that we don’t produce series of the same car, but that each one is different than the last and the next. The just in time system and our flexibility enable us to adapt to customer needs at all times,” Juan pointed out.
In order to facilitate the assembly of all the parts, the doors are removed from the body and move along a separate raised track for 1.4 kilometres. Step by step the cars begin to take shape: 2 kilometres of wiring, the instrument panel, steering wheel, gear lever, engine. 6,000 parts go into each car, which adds up to over 16 million for all the cars that are made.
6,600 employees are tasked with ensuring that the cars move smoothly along the assembly line in perfect synchronisation. These skilled workers do their job in a facility which is increasingly ergonomic and efficient.
“The workers aren’t always at the same workstation. They switch over every two hours so as not to constantly repeat the same movements. Furthermore, their job is made easier as each workstation is studied at the SEAT Biomechanics Lab to make them more ergonomic,” said Workshop 10 assembly line supervisor Luis Ródenas.
For Europe’s automakers, a great leap into the unknown began on New Year’s Day, when European Union emissions standards that require a fleet average of 95 grams per kilometer of CO2 took effect. The numbers are stark. According to the EU, fleet emissions in 2018 were 120g/km, which means automakers need a 21 percent reduction overall to avoid fines that could total as much as 33 billion euros this year, according to some estimates. Each gram over the limit, per vehicle, will cost automakers 95 euros.
Each automaker has a different target, based on the average mass of the vehicles they sell, and only 95 percent of sales are measured in 2020, meaning that some high-polluting cars won’t count. Even so, analyst ISI Evercore has warned that the “2020-21 CO2 regulation poses the biggest risk to the auto industry in recent memory.”
To reach their targets, every brand has turned to electrification, from 48-volt mild hybrids all the way up to full-electric cars. Cars with emissions of 50g/km or less, generally either battery-electric cars or plug-in hybrids, are eligible for so-called “supercredits,” a benefit that will be phased out in two years. It’s unclear how consumers will react, given higher prices and worries about range and charging station availability.
According to the European Alternative Fuels Observatory, an EU statistical service, battery-electric vehicles made up about 1.7 percent of total European registrations through October 2019. Plug-in hybrids fared even worse with just 1 percent of registrations — the same as in 2018. The ‘CO2 cliff’
The emissions gap has not changed in the last year, analysts said. “Given the CO2 cliff the industry is facing, and as we have written before, one would have hoped for a smooth transition toward improved fuel efficiency,” ISI’s Arndt Ellinghorst said in a note in December. “Instead, we continue to observe very little improvement.”
Ellinghorst and his colleagues at ISI say the risks of fines are very real. “The current CO2 performance is simply not good enough and we continue to flag that carmakers run the risk of facing considerable fines if more is not done,” he said.
But the lack of progress on CO2 emissions might be strategic, argued Al Bedwell, who is director of global powertrain forecasting at LMC Automotive. “We shouldn’t be surprised that the CO2 trend has not yet started to move in a positive direction for many automakers,” he said in a note. “There is no incentive for automakers to start selling their most fuel-efficient products before January,” especially those that may be less profitable, such as plug-in hybrids, than conventional internal combustion cars.
For automakers operating in Europe, convincing consumers to buy cars that they have shunned in the past is a bit like playing chess in three dimensions: There are many moves they can make, whether in sales, marketing, production and even registration. On top of that are national incentive programs that vary widely from country to country.
Cautiously confident
In interviews with Automotive News Europe this autumn, top executives at brands that are sold in Europe were mostly confident that they would not be paying any emissions fines. But they expressed a bit of uncertainty as to how the overall market would reach its target.
“We are preparing to supply electric vehicles in sufficient volume and to deliver them without long delivery times to our customers,” said Thomas Schmidt, the head of Hyundai’s European operations. “However, everyone has to sell many more battery-electric vehicles. That raises some questions: Does the European market have that many customers who want to buy a full-electric car? How long will it take for the national governments to put in place a strategy to roll out a sufficient number of charging stations?” Hyundai’s low-emissions lineup includes the Ioniq compact sedan, in electric or plug-in versions and the Kona small SUV in an electric version.
PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares has been adamant that none of his company’s brands, including Peugeot, Citroen, Opel and DS, will be liable for any emissions fines. “For us, it’s an ethical and not just a financial matter” to meet CO2 targets, he told ANE. He did not offer any details, however, on how the brands would meet a target of 7 percent of sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
“We have a very precise process — I can’t say a lot about it because it’s highly competitive — that involves our production, our order book, and making our dealers actors in what we are doing, not just followers,” Tavares said. PSA has just started a big push into electrification, with electric versions of the Peugeot 208 small hatchback and 2008 small SUV, the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa small hatchback and the DS 3 Crossback small SUV about to go on sale. Plug-in models include the Peugeot 3008, Opel/Vauxhall Grandland and DS 7 Crossback compact SUVs, and the Peugeot 508 midsize sedan and station wagon.
Peugeot brand CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said his brand had been preparing for the changeover by “monitoring every high-emissions car that is in stock” or in the dealer network. “I don’t know how other automakers will manage their operations,” he told ANE, “but we will be compliant in January.”
But not every executive is so confident about avoiding fines. Michael Jost, chief strategist at Volkswagen Group — which faced issues in 2018 meeting deadlines for the new Worldwide harmonized Light vehicle Test Procedure, or WLTP — said, “Next year and 2021 might be challenging since we will be ramping up our EV models,” including the highly anticipated ID3 full-electric compact hatchback. “We will work hard to be CO2 compliant and we are pretty sure we will reach all the goals set for the passenger cars,” Jost said.
‘Pivotal’ model
Indeed, the ID3 is expected to be the bellwether for mass acceptance of full electric vehicles in Europe, as its development was supported by billions of investment from VW Group, and it is roughly the same size as the VW Golf, Europe’s best-selling car. “The ID3 is going to be kind of pivotal,” said Jonathon Poskitt, LMC’s head of global forecasting. “If it doesn’t hit the sales it’s supposed to, then maybe that’s a signal that the market is just not there yet.”
Yasuhiro Aoyama, the head of Mazda in Europe, which will start selling the MX-30 full-electric crossover this summer, said the Japanese company was in a “transition period between two generations of technology. When we have completed the transition, including the electrification of our product portfolio, our goal is to pay no fines for CO2 emissions.” He added, “We will have to sell as many battery-electric vehicles as possible so that we can reduce our potential of facing a CO2 penalty.”
Analysts said some of the tactics to increase sales could include self-registration of slow-selling electric or plug-in hybrids, favorable lease deals for employees, sales to short-term rental services and aiming for fleet sales, where running costs are often more important than the dealership price. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has agreed to pay Tesla hundreds of millions of euros to join an emissions pool to benefit from sales of the Silicon Valley company’s electric cars in Europe.
But those carry inherent risks, especially with ever-stricter targets looming in 2025 and 2030, said Martin Benecke, an analyst at IHS Markit. “What will you do next year, or the following years?” he said. “You can’t self-register a lot of vehicles if nobody will buy them.”
Surprise solution?
One solution, at least for 2020 and 2021, may be hiding in plain sight: diesels. After diesel’s market share fell sharply in the last several years following VW Group’s admission that it cheated diesel emissions tests, sales appear to be holding steady at about 30 percent to 32 percent of the European market. “We see a stabilizing in diesel share,” Benecke said. “It’s a good tool to reduce CO2 levels for now, and for company cars or larger SUVs, diesel remains the only option” for lower emissions. But, he warned, any future emissions gains for diesels will be marginal and expensive.
LMC’s Bedwell said diesel sales would be flat in 2020, which “in the context of a likely 600,000 unit decline in 2019 is very positive.” In fact, he said, “Already we are seeing signs of reversal in the declining diesel share of some models,” and some automakers are replacing high-emitting gasoline models with diesels, including Audi’s high-performance S range. In the long term, he said, cars such as the Audi SQ5 will be “prime candidates” for battery-electric power, “but right now diesel, or gasoline plug-in hybrid, makes a lot of sense.”
Last month LMC said the European market was already starting to see seasonal distortion as a result of impending regulatory hurdles. LMC said it expected automakers would take measures to move registrations of high-CO2 emitting cars from 2020 into the last quarter of 2019. “Our default position is that automakers will do everything in their power not to miss CO2 targets,” LMC said. Besides fines, automakers would not want to take the “potentially unquantifiable losses that would stem from image damage in these environmentally conscious times,” LMC said. “The pulling forward of sales from 2020, coming on top of other confidence-sapping factors, leads us to forecast a rather disappointing 2020 Western Europe car market just over one percentage point lower than that seen in 2019.”
Even bigger challenges loom as CO2 rules will get even tougher for automakers operating in Europe. The new European Commission said last month it will propose revising legislation on CO2 emissions standards for cars and vans “to ensure a clear pathway from 2025 onward toward zero-emissions mobility,” it said in a document called the European Green Deal. The revision is set to happen by mid-2021.
