VW Brand Global Model Production : 2019-20

Like most companies, VW had a rough 2020 with the pandemic. In addition, they are still fighting class actions regarding dieselgate. Mind you, if they reached settlements with these outstanding claims as they did in the US, they could then just move on. It's not a good look.

Total production was 4,966,000, -19% on 2019. SUVs now make up 37.5% of the tally, beating the previous year's 31.9%. Back in 2016, it was just under 10% so while late for the SUV party, VW is making up ground with haste. 

I combined some models into categories as the proliferation of similarly sized vehicles can be confusing. China, in particular, is where much of this takes place. Some of the names will be unfamiliar too. That arrangement puts the medium car grouping at the top, from the Tiguan/Tharu SUVs and large cars in third place. 

Further down is JETTA, last year combined with Jetta figures by VW but this year they have separated them. The reason is JETTA is a new China-only brand, with the VA3 car along with the VS5 and VS7 SUVs making up the range. 

However, VW didn't break down production numbers by model for JETTA. As they still have a listing for the Jetta model along with the Sagitar, I found this a grey area. Is there still some Jetta car production under the VW brand and also under the JETTA logo until the separation is completed? Either way, having a car in the JETTA range will slightly inflate the SUV figure I have at the bottom of the chart.  

What has been confirmed is that VW is heavily reliant on the Chinese market. A profitable situation no doubt but the old saying of too many eggs in one basket is something VW will be only too well aware of.  

Renault Model Production : 2016-20

In the last instalment of the Renault production series, all Renault, Dacia and Samsung models are listed below. In addition, MOB's or models for other brands are listed at the bottom. They are included in the total. Clearly, 2020 was a trying twelve months and the next twelve may be just as trying. The 2.6 million units were -27% compared to 2019. 

The Clio is the most popular model, with 400,000 manufactured. That represented 16% of the total or nearly one in six. It was 9% lower than the year before. The Sandero and Duster followed but lost ground to the Clio.

Renault Production Partner Plants : 2016-20

Partner plants are an excellent way of getting around import duties. Here are a host of them below which will briefly touch on each one. Nissan Mexico makes a few Alaskan pickup trucks but not worth a chart, just a mention. 

India: The factory is a joint Renault-Nissan plant in Chennai. The Renault side of the business centred mainly around two models in 2020, the Triber and Kwid. The compact Kiger model (above) will play an important role too as volume is increased.   

China: The Shengyang LCVs and Nanching (electric cars) will continue to be made but all Renault models are being withdrawn from China completely. 

Russia: These two models are made at the huge Lada Togliatti facility.