31 August 2018

UK Car Manufacturing (Top 9 Makes) 2015-17

Car manufacturing in the UK is fairly consistent with little chance of much growth with no new companies arriving and JLR now outsourcing all production growth. The best outcome would be holding its own. In 2015 !,587,700 were made, 1,722,700 for 2016 and 1,671,200 in 2017.

Nissan holds top spot thanks mainly to the Qashqai SUV with 347,000 out of the 468,000 made. The Nissan brand accounted for 28% of the total.


Land Rover spreads itself around the various models more evenly. The Evoque (81,000)  Discovery Sport (79,000) and Discovery (75,000 approx) all close together. 23.7% of all cars made in the UK.

MINI does the Hatch, Clubman and soft top models but I only have the total figure of 219,000 and 13.1% of the total. Honda does Two models, the Civic (123,000) and the CR-V. Combined it's 164,200 and 9.8%. The rest is self explanatory.


Brand 2017 2016 2015



Nissan 468,300 474,900 474,800


28.0 27.6 29.9

Land Rover 395,500 371,900 387,300


23.7 21.6 24.4

MINI 218,900 211,000 201,200


13.1 12.2 12.7

Honda 164,200 134,100 119,400


9.8 7.8 7.5

Toyota 144,100 180,400 190,200


8.6 10.5 12.0

Jaguar 136,700 172,600 102,300


8.2 10.0 6.5

Vauxhall 92,200 118,200 85,200


5.5 6.9 5.4

Infiniti 27,000 33,000 2,000


1.6 1.9 0.1

Bentley 10,500 11,700 10,700

26 August 2018

UK Net Importing : 2016-17

The UK has been a net importer of cars for many decades. There are a number of brands that are contributors and we can see this below. It only compares the past two years but if you want to see earlier years, simply click in the dates 2014-15, 2013-14, 1990-2011.

Getting back to the present, we see the UK's net imports dropped from 970,000 to 870,000, from -36.0% to 34.2% when comparing prodution to sales. That is the lowest net negative since 2013. Nissan is the best of the brands with a export surplus of 317,000, closely followed by Land Rover with 312,000.

The new 2019 Auris to be made in the UK

Honda gained well thanks to the Civic, passing both Toyota and Jaguar that both had falls. The Avensis is to be dropped from the Toyota, with a new Auris (Corolla) becoming the sole model made (see above).

The chart below is in thousands so please add 000. ‘Prod’ equals numbers made, ‘UK’ shows sales within the country, and ‘Export’ is the difference of the first two, therefore the net difference.

2016 Prod UK Export
2017 Prod UK Export
Nissan 475 153 322
Nissan 468 151 317
Land Rover 372 80 292
Land Rover 395 83 312
Mini 211 69 142
Mini 219 68 151
Jaguar 173 35 138
Honda 164 54 110
Toyota 180 97 83
Jaguar 137 36 101
Honda 134 59 75
Toyota 144 102 42
Infiniti 33 3 30
Infiniti 27 4 23
Bentley 12 2 10
Bentley 10 2 8
Vauxhall 118 251 -133
Vauxhall 92 195 -103
Rest 15 1,944 -1,929
Rest 15 1,846 -1,831
Total 1,723 2,693 -970
Total 1,671 2,541 -870
Net Importer
-36.0
Net Importer
-34.2

Car manufacturing is complex and companies try to keep factories running as close to capacity as possible. Models that are close to being replaced inevitably drop off and decisions to move production from one factory to another has dramatic changes in volumes.

17 August 2018

Honda Canada/Mex Production (Plant) : 2016-17

Apparently it snows in Canada

Honda made 430,164 vehicles in Canada (+4.6%) and 213,449 in Mexico (-16.3%). Adding the two, it becomes a total of 643,613 (-3.4%). Mexico's issue was the end of the CR-V being made there, otherwise it was OK. However, recent flooding has stopped production at Honda's plant in Mexico (Celaya) for about three months. The other facility (El Salto) is still operational. Canada was very stable numerically.


Honda Canada – Model


2017 % +/-
2016 % +/-

Total 430,164
4.6 411,162
6.8

CR-V 219,966 34.2 7.1 205,400 30.8 -0.4

Civic 210,198 32.7 2.2 205,762 30.9 15.1

Honda Mexico – Model

Total 213,449
-16.3
254,982
22.7

HR-V 157,418 24.5 -8.5 172,090 25.8 71.4

Fit 56,031 8.7 137 23,604 3.5 -46.6

CR-V -
n/a 59,288 8.9 -6.1




Grand Total 643,613
-3.4 666,144
12.4

Data source: Honda.

The HR-V

Honda/Acura US Production (Plant) : 2016-17

The Honda Pilot SUV

The Honda brand produced 1,038,024 vehicles in the US and 169,794 of the Acura. Production volume was - 5.6% for Honda and -11.1% for Acura, with a combined -6.4%. The Accord and Civic models were down, while the CR-V and Pilot were up.

The Civic is made in Greensburg, Indiana and it took on the CR-V to compensate for loss of Civic volume. The Lincoln, Alabama plant lost a bit with Acura but gained with Honda. The reverse took place with the East Liberty, Ohio facility. Balancing these things is important in keeping plants productive. The Acura NSX is made in a special, high tech facility which such a model requires.


Honda USA – Plant


2017 % +/-
2016 % +/-

Total 1,038,024
-5.6 1,099,115
3.5

Marysville - 327,425 31.5 -13.5 378,393 34.4 -0.3

Accord 327,425

378,393


Lincoln - 321,582 31.0 5.3 305,276 27.8 7.7

Odyssey 118,888

130,586


Pilot 163,412

140,091


Ridgeline 39,282

34,599


Greensburg - 239,721 23.1 -3.7 248,820 22.6 14.0

Civic 146,580

248,820


CR-V 93,085





Insight 56





East Liberty - 149,296 14.4 -10.4 166,626 15.2 -8.0

CR-V 149,296

166,626


Acura USA – Plant


2017 % +/-
2016 % +/-

Total 169,794
-11.1 190,937
-8.0

East Liberty - 81,222 7.8 20.4 67,472 6.1 12.4

RDX 56,979

67,472


RDX 24,243





Marysville - 51,888 5.0 -11.2 58,453 5.3 -28.0

TL/TLX 42,080

43,156


ILX 9,808

15,297


Lincoln - 35,759 3.4 -44.4 64,300 5.9 -2.9

MDX 35,759

64,300


PMC Ohio - 925 0.1 29.9 712 0.1

NSX 925

712


Now for a summary of both brands by model. I have to say that the company seems to have a laissez-faire attitude to Acura. There is little effort to push the marque beyond it present boundaries in sales markets nor product.

As for the Honda brand, it is very strong in the US although cars sales are in decline and that is where much reliance is currently placed. The Pilot and CR-V are two SUVs but maybe another would be useful. The Ridgeline pickup truck is a solid effort but lacks variants and options. The move away from cars has to be something Honda is watching.


Honda USA – Model


2017 % +/-
2016 % +/-

Accord 327,425 27.1 -13.5 378,393 29.3 -0.3

CR-V 242,381 20.1 45.5 166,626 12.9 -5.3

Pilot 163,412 13.5 16.6 140,091 10.9 5.6

Civic 146,580 12.1 -41.1 248,820 19.3 14.0

Odyssey 118,888 9.8 -9.0 130,586 10.1 -13.3

Ridgeline 39,282 3.3 13.5 34,599 2.7

Total Honda 1,037,968
-5.6 1,099,115
3.5

Acura USA – Model


2017 % +/-
2016 % +/-

MDX 60,002 5.8 -6.7 64,300 5.9 -2.9

RDX 56,979 5.5 -15.6 67,472 6.1 12.4

TL/TLX 42,080 4.1 -2.5 43,156 3.9 -18.9

ILX 9,808 0.9 -35.9 15,297 1.4 -45.4

NSX 925 0.1
712 0.1

Total Acura 169,794 -11.1 190,937 -8.0




Grand Total 1,207,762
-6.4 1,290,052
1.6

Data source: Honda.

The Acura CDX doing a narcissus impression