Nissan Worldwide Production: 2012/13

Nissan  Juke-R; aren't we all glad they make it?

Unlike some Japanese brands, Nissan makes many of its cars in the markets they are selling them in. For that  they deserve to be applauded. The home market now makes less than a quarter of Nissan cars. That was very helpful while the Yen has been more fairly valued and making Japanese car making a marginal proposition. Now the currency is being driven down by government intervention, making cars in the land of the rising sun is more profitable again. Still, producing them in many regions minimises the ups and downs of monetary fluctuations.

Nissan Leaf  production commences in the UK

Production data being slightly down understandably mirrored sales. The interesting thing about this list is that the two largest car making nations for Nissan went down (below highlighted in yellow) and all the others are up (blue).

	Region	12-13	% Tot	% +/-	11-12	% Tot
	China	1,114,712	23%	-12.6%	1,275,551	26%
	Japan	1,060,157	22%	-11.6%	1,198,826	25%
	Mexico	672,679	14%	4.6%	643,372	13%
	USA	671,748	14%	16.3%	577,618	12%
	UK	505,042	11%	2.7%	491,551	10%
	Others	764,948	16%	18.1%	647,570	13%
	Total	4,789,286		-0.9%	4,834,488

New Nissan Pathfinder

Data source: Nissan.

Nissan Worldwide Sales: 2012/13

Nissan had a flat 2012/13 year (April-March), with a marginal decrease. China and Europe were the trouble spots for the brand, with NAFTA* and 'Others' were the bright spots. I am surprised how important NAFTA is for Nissan. Mexico of course is a very good market for the make, easily being top there.

In the chart below, pale blue is up and yellow down:

	Region	12-13	% Tot	% +/-	11-12	% Tot
	Nafta	1,466,489	30%	4.5%	1,403,503	29%
	China	1,131,042	23%	-11.9%	1,283,679	26%
	Europe	659,722	14%	-7.5%	713,283	15%
	Japan	646,937	13%	-1.3%	655,364	13%
	Others	957,018	20%	16.0%	824,935	17%
	Total	4,861,208		-0.4%	4,880,764

China could be an issue for this Japanese make due to hostility over the Senaku Island's ownership. Europe will be problematic for all car makers of non-premium cars. 'Others' are very important as it encompasses Asia/Pacific nations that are growing well for car sales.

*US, Canada & Mexico.

Data source: Nissan.

Fracking

It sounds like a swear word, but what it means is the causing of fractures in a rock layer by pressurised fluid. This then releases - among other things - petroleum, that we then can burn to run our cars. Yay. Well maybe. There are those for and those against. What I hate about anything like this is objectivity goes out the window as vested interests defend their cause. So is it good or bad?

Positive: Cheaper petrol and an extended use of this fuel type. This reduces the dependence on present oil producers which make up OPEC.

Negative: Risk of underground water supplies being contaminated. Possible increase in earthquakes.

Summary: Apparently with adequate precautions and care, risk of pollution can be minimised. As for increased earthquake activity, it is unfortunately impossible to know.

The facts are: 1) Our cars will increasingly be burning fuel from fracking. 2) The need to find new pertol sources will drive fracking forward whether there are risks or not. 3) R & D spent by car makers on other forms of fuel will be reduced as the urgency for alternative ways to power our vehicles is put back.

If fracking is only done in low risk ways, there could be a place for it. Push the envelope and the results almost certainly will be very damaging. All we can do is watch with interest.

Where Car Brands Do Best/Worst In England

How strong or weak a brand of car is in a country can vary greatly within the boundaries of a country. Which brands do best and worst in the UK by region? Only major brands are considered. First a map of the regions in case you need geographical assistance.

Each area below has total sales for 2012 in brackets.

The North East (68,700) has Nissan, Mazda and Suzuki as their strongest areas, with Audi and Mercedes their worst.

The North West (193,700) has no best ratings but is Volvo's worst area.

Yorkshire/Humberside (158,100) has BMW, MINI and Land Rover as those brands top areas, but none as a worst region.

The East Midlands (170,300) is best for Vauxhall, Toyota and Skoda, with Ford, BMW, Nissan, MINI, Land Rover, Renault, Honda, Jaguar and Fiat as their poorest region. Wow!

The West Midlands (276,100) is Peugeot's, Citroen's and Jaguar's top spot, but no good for Kia, Suzuki and Porsche.

East (174,000) England is best for both Ford and Volvo, but the region is not good for VW, Peugeot and Skoda.

London (127,400) is tops for VW, Mercedes, Kia, Renault, Fiat and Porsche but a flop for Vauxhall, Citroen, Hyundai and Mazda.

The South East (409,000) is best for Audi and Seat, but not worst for any brand.

The South West (178,400) is a nice place for dealers of Hyundai and Honda, but not Toyota or Seat.

There were no surprises with Nissan, Jaguar, Honda and Ford being strongest where they have factories. Yorkshire is quite affluent with premium brands doing well. The South East is the biggest area for new car sales. Perhaps a more even distribution of wealth would help the North East, with the lowest new car sales by some margin.

Car Sales Wales By Make: 2012

Car sales were up a solid 7% in the Principality, and although Ford lost market share it retained a healthy lead. Ford has a large engine plant in Bridgend, so how much that assists the brand I'm not sure. It's nice to support a company that adds employment to the nation.

Yellow represents brands that lost share, even if sales were up. Premium brands are not strong in Wales but they did well in 2012. Renault was the big loser, dropping nine ranking places to 16th!

	11	12	Brand	Sales	Share	Inc/Dec
	1	1	Ford	14,048	19.4%	+4%
	2	2	Vauxhall	8,058	11.1%	+6%
	3	3	VW	5,438	7.5%	+9%
	4	4	Citroen	4,000	5.5%	0%
	5	5	Nissan	3,397	4.7%	+6%
	6	6	Peugeot	3,381	4.7%	+7%
	8	7	Toyota	3,320	4.6%	+39%
	11	8	Hyundai	2,782	3.8%	+30%
	9	9	Audi	2,735	3.8%	+15%
	10	10	BMW	2,698	3.7%	+15%
	12	11	Kia	2,502	3.5%	+26%
	17	12	Suzuki	2,137	3.0%	+44%
	14	13	Mercedes	2,103	2.9%	+21%
	15	14	Skoda	1,931	2.7%	+15%
	13	15	Fiat	1,861	2.6%	-2%
	7	16	Renault	1,590	2.2%	-43%
	20	17	Land Rover	1,558	2.2%	+27%
	18	18	MINI	1,530	2.1%	+7%
	16	19	Honda	1,464	2.0%	-10%
	19	20	Mazda	1,157	1.6%	-6%
	22	21	Seat	1,110	1.5%	+17%
	21	22	Volvo	1,016	1.4%	-9%
	23	24	Mitsubishi	431	0.6%	-40%
	25	25	Jaguar	306	0.4%	-10%
	24	23	Chevrolet	747	1.0%	+48%
			Others	1,059	1.5%
			Total	72,438		+7%

Source:  Thanks to DFT.

For other years, please click on the year: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015,

Car Sales Peugeot By Model: 2011/12

The Peugeot 3008 

Some car makers have a simple way of doing business and handling model replacements. Then there is PSA.  Nothing is simple about following how models are replaced and named. I have tries to rationalise the many models being made by Peugeot but it is complicated. I will start with a run down of what I found:

The 206 was replaced by the 207, which in turn has been replaced by the 208... except they haven't. They are all still made, which which is a very French way of doing things. The 405 started life in 1987 and is still made in Iran. I have grouped it with the 407, its modern day counterpart.

The 4007 (Mitsubishi Outlander) is now replaced by the 4008 (Mitsubishi ASX). Different sizes I know, but it is considered by Peugeot as a replacement model. The Ion is a Mitsubishi i-Miev electric car made for Peugeot.

Below are sales for 2011 and 2012, courtesy of PSA. Yellow means minus and blue plus sales:

	Model	2012	2011	+/- %
	206/07/08	568,643	742,334	-23%
	307/08	287,248	275,497	4%
	508	121,662	124,150	-2%
	405/407	110,698	273,156	-59%
	3008	108,263	134,951	-20%
	408	79,954	74,603	7%
	107	76,354	92,093	-17%
	807/5008	56,963	78,659	-28%
	4007/08	11,994	7,387	62%
	RCZ	11,118	18,828	-41%
	301	4,813		n/a
	Ion	2,905	2,392	21%
	Total	1,440,615	1,824,050	-21%

A 21% decrease is a reflection of European and French sales. Too much reliance on one region comes unstuck if that area declines. Even so, it is losing market share in Europe too. A once proud and successful brand struggles in the modern day arena. Greater co-operation with other car makers, along with tough business (not political) decisions need to be made. Sounds similar to Citroen.

The popular Peugeot 208

Data source: Thank to PSA.

Jaguar Sales By Model: 2012/13 Year

The Jaguar XJ AWD seen in it's natural habitat

The year for these sales figures is based on April to March. Therefore, Q1 is April to June 2012, Q2 July to September 2012 etc. Below we can see that Jaguar had a great Jan - Mar 2013 with a 31% increase. The new XF Sports Brake and AWD models must have been the reason for that.

	Model	Q1 13	Q2 13	Q3 13	Q4 13	FY 13
	XF	8,236	8,352	8,118	13,928	38,634
	XJ	4,462	3,382	2,965	5,191	16,000
	XK	940	1,064	897	979	3,880
	F Type	-	-	-	112	112
	Total	13,638	12,798	11,980	20,210	58,626
	Difference	8.6%	-3.3%	-7.9%	31.0%	8.1%
	Model	Q1 12	Q2 12	Q3 12	Q4 12	FY 12
	XF	6,732	8,350	8,397	9,987	33,466
	XJ	4,367	3,636	3,606	4,179	15,788
	XK	1,454	1,247	1,003	1,265	4,969
	Others	4	-	-	-	4
	Total	12,557	13,233	13,006	15,431	54,227

Looking forward, the 2014 year is promising. Continued success for the XF and XJ seems assured, while the new F-Type will add some sales too. The 'F' is a specialist model though so numbers will be not that great. Apparently, Jaguar only has the ability to make 15,000 F-Type and XK cars per annum. So that looks like only 12,000 F-Types each year. Order books are already swelling, so if you want one, as soon as possible would be a good time to act.

It's good that JLR is open with sales data, which is both good for investor confidence and PR generally.

The XF Sport Brake

Car Sales Scotland By Make: 2012

Vauxhall Corsa 

Scotland has its own unique differences to the UK as a whole. North of the border, GM's Vauxhall is the top brand, not Ford as for the UK as a whole. Renault has been a popular brand for the Scots in years gone by, but slipping down in 2012 to 9th. Luxury brands have been growing lately.

The market as a whole was up 9% for the year. In the chart below listing the top 25, yellow means reduced market share and blue improved. For 2011 sales, please click here.

	11	12	Brand	Sales	Share	Inc/Dec
	1	1	Vauxhall	26,677	14.6%	+7%
	2	2	Ford	22,726	12.5%	+11%
	3	3	VW	13,720	7.5%	+8%
	4	4	Nissan	9,919	5.4%	0%
	8	5	BMW	9,401	5.2%	+30%
	6	6	Audi	8,693	4.8%	+12%
	7	7	Peugeot	8,158	4.5%	+7%
	9	8	Kia	8,011	4.4%	+25%
	5	9	Renault	7,158	3.9%	-24%
	10	10	Toyota	6,977	3.8%	+14%
	12	11	Citroen	6,359	3.5%	+11%
	13	12	Fiat	6,279	3.4%	+36%
	11	13	Honda	5,921	3.2%	-2%
	14	14	Hyundai	5,427	3.0%	+20%
	17	15	Mercedes	4,737	2.6%	+15%
	18	16	Skoda	4,589	2.5%	+27%
	15	17	MINI	4,349	2.4%	0%
	19	18	Land Rover	3,977	2.2%	+26%
	16	19	Mazda	3,757	2.1%	-10%
	20	20	Seat	3,501	1.9%	+27%
	22	21	Suzuki	2,717	1.5%	+12%
	21	22	Volvo	2,386	1.3%	-8%
	23	23	Chevrolet	1,209	0.7%	-17%
	?	24	Chrysler	1,012	0.6%	?
	26	25	Jaguar	742	0.4%	+10%
			Others	4,123	2.3%
			Total	182,525		+9%

Data source: Thanks to the DFT.

For other Scotland sales posts just click on the years: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 2014 and 2015.