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I've been told that the just-auto daily newsletters many people are signed up to have been going out a little inconsistently in recent weeks. We're sorry about any disruption to our service experienced. Techie colleagues tell me that a problem has been identified and dealt with. Normal service, they say, has now been resumed.
Lexus Announces Pricing for All-New LS 600h L Luxury Hybrid Sedan
Lexus Announces Pricing for All-New LS 600h L Luxury Hybrid Sedan
Small cars equal small margins
I see Hyundai is underlining its Indian capacity's status as a small car hub with Indian-made exports of the Getz now bound for Europe. Small cars have small margins, so grouping their production in a low-cost place makes a lot of sense. The idea is to keep unit costs as low as possible. But small margins also mean sensitivity to costs. Shipping costs, in particular, could seriously dent margins on small cars. India to Europe by sea is quite a long journey. Add to that the opportunity cost of using the Indian capacity for European exports when it could be supplying the high-growth domestic market, or other nearer export markets, and we can perhaps see why Hyundai is keen on building more European capacity for the supply of volume models.
Low-cost cars
If you are financially challenged, what sort of wheels do you go for? For many people, the obvious first step is to take a look at the used car market. Get yourself a 2-3-year-old Golf if you want the default used car of choice for many people in Europe. But if money s really too tight to mention, the choice is vast. Where do low-cost cars like the Renault/Dacia Logan fit in? Well, mainly they are for developing markets where there is a latent appetite for a robust and low-cost new car that is carrying design and engineering appropriate to local market needs (maybe not exactly a EuroNCAP star performer ). They can be made locally to keep cost down and simple design means low costs of maintenance. They ll stay on the road a while further helping to bring motorisation to people for whom it was previously out of reach. Curiously, another market seems to have been identified selling these cut-price cars in developed markets where they can perhaps open up a new entry-level segment. This is where it gets a little potentially strange in my mind. If the cars have to be specced up for more mature markets, then is it really worth going to all the trouble to ship em and distribute/market them? Why not just do a cheap n cheerful base Astra/Focus/Megane? Or is that not so easy any longer? How much can you de-content (love that mangled English of a verb), say, an Astra? But is the price difference between the brand spanking new low-cost car and a decent spec used car all that different? And if they are not specced up much who wants to pay for something perceived as new but rough as hell ? Volkswagen Fox didn t fly out of the showroom and why would it when there s a perfectly fine Polo for not all that many more spondoolies. Or am I being unfair? Will a Dacia Logan be no different in the eyes of a commodity/value driven consumer in Western Europe from a Chevrolet Lacetti/Nubira? And can Renault do it cheaper on the back of huge global volume and ultra-low labour rates in Romania or India? Look at the sticker price on that baby.
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AutoTrader.com Refutes Relationship with CompleteAuto
AutoTrader.com Refutes Relationship with CompleteAuto