Brands From China In France : 2025 (Jan -Nov)

The chart to the right shows sales of brands that are based in China. Rk is where they rank compared to all brands, MS is market share and +/- shows increases over 12 months of 2024. 

There have been some impressive gains plus some new ones, n/a showing that. Saying that, compared to many other markets, the 3.1% overall penetration is low. 

MG is well established (since 2020) and BYD has wasted no time in moving up the rankings, 2024 is its first full year here. Leapmotor and Xpeng have done well in a short time as well. 

It will be interesting to see what develops from here. The EU have set tariffs based on what they have determined are unfair subsidies. These are not imposed as a blanket figure but vary according to the calculated amount of the subsidy. 

This will have impacted the numbers compared to the UK, where they haven't acted on this issue so far. I would like to do an article on Norway, which has like the UK, does not impose tariffs. I just don't get enough data to do that. 

For others in the series: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore. The UK.

Data source: AAADATA. 

Photo source: MG (EHS - top) and Xpeng (G6 -bottom) France. 

JLR's Gerry McGovern Leaves The Company

Anyone who reads articles here will know my affection for the Jaguar marque but also my disquiet about the direction it is being taken. Bold decisions were needed with Jaguar, but bold needs to be executed sensibly. I cannot think of one decision that would describe Jaguar's treatment in recent times as sensible. 

The design of the new range of Jaguar EVs looked appalling in my opinion. One could tell that designers of the quality of Ian McCallum were not part of the process. The new CEO has shown JLR design boss Gerry McGovern the door. There could be various reasons as to why his departure happened, but I won't speculate. 

The new designs and the premium/electric direction Jaguar is being taken cause me to fear for its future because I am not sure it will work. Can JLR afford to recalibrate Jaguar again, or are they committed to continuing their current trajectory? I would say the latter, unfortunately.

PS. For more on Jaguar, simply click on 'Brand - Jaguar' in the Labels column. 

An Entitled Workforce

My grandfather worked his way up in a company to management level in the UK. Having been a worker and in management, he had a perspective on both sides, yet he would often say "The working man's enemy is the working man himself". 

JLR has recently had to contend with tariffs put in place in its largest market. It was more recently hit by a cyber attack that really hurt the company financially. You would think common sense would prevail and the current situation JLR is facing would temper wage increase expectations. 

A pay offer has just been submitted by the company and the trade unions recommended its acceptance. 7,724 workers rejected the offer, with 2,129 accepting it. This is a short sighted, self centred reaction from the majority of the workers. 

I recently wrote an article on the subject generally, which can be read by clicking here. So back to the negotiating table. I would have thought the best thing for JLR would now be to start planning to move all its production off shore. They could make vehicles just about anywhere else at a lower cost. 

The industry is facing increased competition and JLR is under pressure like many other car makers. A shout out to the trade unions for showing some common sense, and the 2,129 workers who are seeing the bigger picture. As for the rest, you are your own worst enemy.