Toyota
What do Toyoda, Fehrenbach and Vettel have in common? The good sense!
In recent weeks, the statements of three people considered – rightly – serious and followed have gone almost unnoticed.
Akyo Toyoda is President of Toyota and also President of the Association of Japanese Automobile Manufacturers
Franz Fehrenbach is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bosch, one of the leading manufacturers of automotive components.
Sebastian Vettel needs no introduction
It...
What do I have to expect if I choose a hydrogen-powered car?
We have come to the end of my overview of alternative fuels, compared to the “classic” petrol and diesel, which we can currently find available in the lists of the main OEMs.
Today I would like to talk about hydrogen as fuel, which has only recently hit the headlines as the most ecological fuel ever!
You will find, at the end of this post, the links to the other posts concerning the other...
What do I have to expect if I choose a hybrid car? (Parallel hybrid)
After the posts about the CNG and LPG engines, let’s focus on the hybrid cars and their advantages.
Hybrid vehicles use multiple traction energy generation systems (they normally combine a thermal and an electric power unit), combined with a system to recover energy during slowing down and braking.
Hybrid cars can be classified into three types:
PARALLEL HYBRID
Thermal engine and electric motor...
FCA: the future after Marchionne
It has been no more than 8 months, even if it seems more, from when the Market value of FCA with Ferrari and CNH has reached the value of 73 billion dollars compared with the 63 billion of GM; which once was THE colossus of the automotive industry.
The capitalization of FCA was close to $ 29.5 billion; after the spin-off of Ferrari that alone had a value of about 18 billion.
With the death of Sergio...
Automotive factories, back to the roots?
We must get over it: the automobile, as we lived it, will disappear.
Today we look with curiousness at former cars, which actually were carriages to which had been applied an engine, in a few years we will look at recent cars as something incredibly old.
We have grown – we who are not so young anymore – with the myth of the horse power and the sportsmanship, then we knew the qualities of...
Electric hybrid vehicles and their consumptions
For all of us, the electric hybrid vehicles and the electric pure ones by now mean reduction in consumption and therefore less CO2 emissions and more environmental protection, even if there are conflicting opinions because of the damages caused from the extraction of metals needed to build electric motors (see the post ‘Interview to professor Ivan Maio of the Polytechnic in Turin‘).
Electric...
Time stays, carmakers go.
In Italy, in five years, carmakers have lost more than 1,600 dealers, while the dealers of trucks (550 in 2009), today are only 110.
Also in the ultra-efficient US there was a die-off: NADA-data shows that more than 6,500 dealers have disappeared. Whilst of the remaining 17,665 dealerships, 5,000 of them sell less than 10 new cars per month, and 7,000 fewer than 30 per month.
These numbers in Europe...
QNX: the future and the present of the infotainment
QNX Software Systems Ltd is released by BlackBerry leading provider of operating systems, middleware, development tools and professional services for integrated systems.
Audi, Siemens, General Electric, Cisco and Lockheed Martin use QNX technology for their on-board systems, medical device, industrial automation, router and more.
QNX announced at the CES 2015 in Las Vegas, the last January 5th, that...
Car colors: freedom of choice?
The Mass Customization should satisfy the desires of each individual client, preserving the typical efficiencies of the mass production, as low costs of production and sale.
To complicate matters, it often happens that customers and Companies do not speak the same language, also the excess of supply is confusing to the buyers.
In the age of mass customization, the color of a new car can accelerate...
2014: First quarter Sales for FCA
Waiting the launch of the new business plan FCA by Marchionne about the near future, planned for 6th,May in Detroit and that in addition to confirmations and new directions for the Group’s brands, it should finally clarify the expected developments of “Alfa Romeo”, meanwhile we comment the results referring to car registrations of Chrysler Fiat Group Automobiles in the first quarter of 2014.
We...
Downsizing inside the automotive: another hoax that vanishes
More than two years ago I instilled the doubt about the Downsizing “trend”, which was all the rage inside the automotive, and about the Economics of decline.
My argument, with all humility towards leaders and excelled speakers’ opinion (who benefit JUST in saying certain declarations and not thanks the truthfulness, NOW ready to change the repertory of their interventions) was very...
Fiat World: Anno Domini 2013
Let me spend a few words about “the news” which ends the 2013 – the strategic importance of the acquisition by Fiat of the entire Chrysler block of shares.
Marchionne will launch soon, no later than May, the new plane of release for the the Group with the timetable of presentation of new models, at least, as well as the list of establishments involved.
Meanwhile you can already hear voices alluding...
There is newness and newness: but what if we were talking about technology and contents?
«That’s nice, a new model of car!»
Given that the time is far distant from those in which a new four-wheels product aroused emotions, today one wonders what the industry intends for “new product”. The innovation has evolved over the years through really useful devices, from ABS to the Common-Rail, from ESP to robotized gearboxes. In short, real progress in the field of technology that have...
Brazil and the Fiat, a 2012 record
The Brazilian car market ended 2012 as the best year in its history, with a volume of 3,634,510 units sold (cars + LCVs), an increase of 6.1% compared to 2011.
Fiat sold 838,219 vehicles, establishing the best result in its history in 36 years of presence in Brazil and once again confirming Market leader with 23.1% share (it is the eleventh in a row!), an increase of 11.1% on 2011; ahead of VW with...
CRM: the “Waterloo” of the dealers
2012 has been succesfull for carmakers: they all made money selling cars!
GM is back # 1 in the world, followed by Toyota and Ford.
Ferrari had the best result of 66 years of history.
Martin Winkertorn celebrated the records in sales and profits at VW Group with a personal superbonus of 14,000,000.
Fiat-Chrysler sold 4.209 million cars, with a net profit of 1.4 billion. In January 2013 has further...
Toyota Prius III, the dismissed chain
The main difference between the second generation Prius and the present one (third generation), is shown in the picture above. Toyota managed to eliminate the chain that led motion from planetary gear, positioned between the two electric motors, to the differential one. Japanese engineers have adopted a single pair of helical gears, considerably reducing transmission losses.
The results of these changes...
Toyota Prius: world’s best selling model is hybrid!
For the first time in the automotive history an Hybrid vehicle is the world’s best selling model, as reported by focus2move.com research team, with over 256.000 vehicles sold in the first quarter 2012, ahead of former leader, Toyota Corolla (253.000) and Ford Focus (231.000).
Toyota Prius is a full hybrid electric vehicles introduced in the 1997 in the Japanese market and progressivelly launched...
British Renaissance
Months ago I signed a subscription to Automotive News, digital magazine that keeps me informed in what’s going on in the automotive world in Europe and the States, and I read that in Europe despite the divestiture of brands such as Dahiatsu there are Japanese who continue to believe and invest, with prospects of double-digit growth in the coming years.
In particular, I was amazed at how the United...
Facts and figures unmask the 3 digit growth of the EVs theorem! Only Audi speaks clearly!
Jato Dynamics presented the data of the EV’s registrations in Europe. Hooray: compared to 2010, the sales grew by 938%! Nine-hundred-thirty-eight percent!! A successful market, despite the controversies. I feel the bad smell of lies. Over 7 million registrations, 5,222 were electric cars, less than 0.001% of the total market. Last year were 507. In Germany 1,020, France 953, Norway 850,...
Internet car sales: who know nothing, speaks. Who know things, silents…
We are used to the bombastic communication with which OEM and NSC floods the media when launching new industrial plans, programs, products or processes. Remember Saturn? The Opel Difference? The ‘new deal’ of the electric car? The new sales processes at FGA?
Even in these days with ‘blasts of trumpets and drum rolls’, the spokesmen of Renault Italy informs the European markets...
Automotive communication: different roles between OEM and dealers.
Advertising and the art to manage the emotions of clients. Advertising is considered the most powerful tool of marketing, has no limits or borders and has become an integral part of the economy in the world. Dorothy Miller the 2011 Nada Convention has analyzed this argument, noting that in the United States today, nearly 40% of car buyers do not trust most of the traditional media such as press,...
Cadillac Man: fantasy or reality? Some interesting data collected in Italy, useful… everywhere!
What can happen when two very famous persons, known and loved by all becomes car salesmen? I know many car dealers and many salesmen who are ashamed to say the work they do, fearing of being compared to the ‘Cadillac man‘ of Robin Williams or to the‘Italian Car salesman’ of Robert de Niro.
In Italy from a few weeks two famous character actors, Paolo Kessisoglu and Luca Bizzarri, are...
NADA Convention 2011 and XXI Congresso Fenabrave: the revolution of Social Media make obsolete the CSI
As the GDP can’t be the benchmark of the economy because it does not take into account all the variables of real life but only the consumption, so the CSI can’t be the index with which to judge dealers, because it measures the satisfaction of “just one moment” and nothing else.
Few manufacturers – more attentive to the evolution of consumers – does not measure satisfaction an end...
The Chinese army is attacking from the East
I would like to talk about an argument “frivolous”, so trivial that nobody was able to see it, at least in Europe.
In the last ten days of March it was announced that Chery’s Chineses will supply 15 A3 Sedan and 2 Tiggo (SUV) to the police in Belgrade . The news might not appear so interesting but there is something unrevealed to say.
Browsing the company website of Chery we...
Toyota Yaris 2012 HYBRID…The Cosmetic Excellence!
May 2012 will be a memorable year for the Japanese Style Center with the new Hybrid Toyota Yaris in which tradition, technology, environment and above all aesthetic style come together in a winning mix and explosion of curves and engaging technology from very small details.
Therefore an applause to the Japanese Style that in the middle of this timing was able to overcome himself by accepting...
