AUTO FILE-Retro gamble
By Nick Carey
Oct 13 (Reuters) - Greetings from Paris! This week’s Auto File comes to you from the Paris car show, which this year has the vibe of European car shows of yesteryear.
Aside from a record number of Chinese automakers in attendance, we’ve also seen several new models from European automakers, above all Stellantis (more on that below).
Though smaller than the colossal car shows that China puts on every year in Shanghai or Beijing, this year’s show is large, vibrant and showcases the growing battle for market share in Europe – with local automakers defending their home turf from Chinese rivals eager for growth outside their own declining market.
Before we go any further, don’t forget we’re still interested in your perspective: Which issues are going to shape the future of the automotive industry? What questions are on your mind? Write to me at autofile@thomsonreuters.com and we’ll try to tackle these issues in upcoming editions.
Which brings us to today’s Auto File…
Turn back time in Europe
Tesla acknowledges reality
Porsche dials back its ambitions
EUROPE'S NOSTALGIA PLAY
Among the roughly 60 new models unveiled at the Paris car show, all eyes were on Stellantis with its six new car launches and nine concept cars on display.
The world’s No. 4 automaker by sales is in turnaround mode under CEO Antonio Filosa and has a lot riding on the show as it works to regain lost market share in Europe.
Stellantis showed off a bunch of small EVs at the show, banking on affordable models to help fend off growing competition from Chinese automakers.
As Reuters colleagues Giulio Piovaccari and Gilles Guillaume report, the clutch of new models is a test of European consumers’ appetite for a new class of small e-cars with scaled-back technology.
You can read about it here.
After years in which Stellantis cut costs aggressively under former CEO Carlos Tavares — which dealers argued hurt its model lineup — it was clear that the automaker has decided to invest heavily in growth.
RETURN OF THE 2CV
Stellantis also unveiled the most hotly anticipated model at the show — an electric retro revival version of Citroen’s 2CV.
The company has worked hard to recreate some of the vibes of the iconic car, though presumably minus a driving experience that felt like rolling around in a tin can — or at least that’s how it felt to me on a driving trip around Berlin a few decades ago.
In attempting to turn back time on Europe’s car buyers, Stellantis wants to emulate the success of Renault’s retro electric Renault 5.
As Reuters colleagues Gilles Guillaume and Rachel More report, alongside Volkswagen with its new electric Polo, Europe’s carmakers are betting on nostalgia as a secret weapon against new Chinese rivals who lack that heritage with local car buyers.
You can read all about it here.
The pressure is on Stellantis and Volkswagen in particular to show they’re still in the game against the Chinese.
If the 2CV is a hit, watch as Europe’s carmakers go back through their old model portfolios to see which cars would resonate with consumers and deserve resurrection.
CHINESE HYBRIDS ON DISPLAY
While Europe’s carmakers were tapping into old models, several Chinese carmakers proudly touted a range of hybrid cars and SUVs.
Just days before the show, the EU had announced a deal with China that would more than halve hybrid imports into the bloc.
Some of the details of the deal are unclear, but it will mean China’s carmakers will be fighting over fewer sales in Europe and losing out on a sack of cash.
No doubt keenly aware of the heightened competitive pressure that creates, Chinese automakers — in need of sales outside China, where new car sales fell 20% in the first half — aggressively pitched their hybrids at the show.
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TESLA DITCHES FSD
Tesla has been quietly changing the controversial name of its “Full Self Driving” feature to “Tesla Assisted Driving” across Europe.
You can read all about it here.
On the surface this switch from FSD to TAD could appear an innocuous change — after all, Teslas on the roads in Europe are not fully self-driving.
But this is nothing short of a big shift for Tesla, which has shrugged off criticism of its marketing going all the way back to Autopilot — which was nothing remotely like the autopilot feature found on aeroplanes.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk had resisted calls for change, perplexing critics.
Tesla has not said why it suddenly changed the name. The automaker is seeking approval for FSD, or TAD, in the European Union where some regulators have said the original name is misleading.
PORSCHE'S SMALLER FUTURE
It’s been obvious for a while now that Porsche’s declining sales, above all in China where its business has plummeted, would force the German premium automaker to scale back its ambitions.
As Reuters colleagues Rachel More and Ilona Wissenbach report, Porsche has done just that.
You can read all about it here.
In Porsche’s turnaround plan, the company said it will lower its breakeven point to annual sales of 200,000 cars, versus last year’s deliveries of just under 280,000 vehicles.
This is a remarkable change of fortunes for a company that had Europe’s most-watched IPO in 2022.
Porsche looked invincible then and vulnerable now.
To boost profits, the automaker says it will now fall back on high-end models like its iconic 911 sports car.
It makes sense, but Porsche faces a long road to recovery as a smaller car company.
FAST LAPS
BYD's executive vice president Stella Li said geopolitics is the leading obstacle to expansion for China’s largest automaker, just months after the Chinese company's chair said it aims to become the world's largest automaker within five years.
Polestar is close to selling out its remaining model year 2026 cars in the US, CEO Michael Lohscheller told Reuters, as the Swedish automaker faces a US ban on selling new vehicles from the next model year.
Mexico's auto exports posted their biggest slump so far this year, data from statistics office INEGI showed, a decline analysts attributed to tariff policies from the US, the biggest market for the Latin American country's top industrial sector.
European automakers urged policymakers to do more to help them cope with Chinese competition and the shift to electric vehicles, as a drop in third-quarter deliveries at BMW and Stellantis underscored the pressure on the industry.
The US auto market will eventually embrace EVs despite a slow uptake of electric vehicles so far, Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said, predicting the shift will happen more slowly than in other regions.
German automaker Volkswagen reported a 14.3% decline in global deliveries in the third quarter, its sharpest drop in more than four years, as weakness in China, its largest market, continued to weigh on sales.
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