年度归档 2025年1月10日

Image source: Du Ge

On December 18th, some media reported that Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. planned to negotiate on the merger to better compete in the rapidly changing global automobile industry. It is reported that Honda and Nissan are considering setting up a holding company to operate, and plan to include Mitsubishi Motors under the holding company. At present, Nissan holds 24% of the shares of Mitsubishi Motors and is its largest shareholder.

Subsequently, it was reported that Hon Hai Precision, Foxconn’s parent company, had approached Nissan about the shareholding. In view of the precedent of Foxconn’s acquisition of Sharp in 2016, its shareholding intention may stimulate Honda and Nissan’s anxiety about the acquisition, thus accelerating the merger process of the two.

However, both Honda and Nissan responded in official website that, as announced in March and August this year, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi have combined their respective advantages and are considering various possibilities for future cooperation, but no decision has been made.

If the merger takes place, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi will become the third largest automobile manufacturer in the world after the merger, second only to Toyota and Volkswagen. The merger will also be the biggest deal in the automotive industry since the formation of Stellantis by FCA Group and PSA Group in January 2021.

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The situation is not optimistic.●

At the end of last month, some media reported that Nissan was facing a bankruptcy crisis and its cash flow could only last for 12-14 months.

In the first half of fiscal year 2025 (April-September 2024), Nissan’s operating income was 5.98 trillion yen, down 1.3% year-on-year; Operating profit was 32.908 billion yen, down 90.2% year-on-year; The net profit was 19.223 billion yen, down 93.5% year-on-year; The operating profit margin was only 0.5%, compared with 5.6% in the same period last year.

China is an important single market for Nissan, which is facing the decline of sales. According to the data of Nissan China, from January to November, 2024, the cumulative sales volume of Nissan China, including passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, was 621,700 units. In the same period of last year, it was 694,900 units, a year-on-year decrease of 10.53%.

On November 7th, Nissan Motor Co. announced that it would cut its annual profit forecast, and it would lay off 9,000 people worldwide and cut its global production capacity by 20%. In addition to lowering the annual profit forecast and layoffs, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. is taking measures including reducing sales, comprehensive and administrative expenses, reducing costs and optimizing asset mix, hoping to reverse its performance. At the same time, President and CEO Makoto Uchida of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. will voluntarily give up 50% of his monthly salary from November this year, and other members of the Executive Committee will also voluntarily reduce their salary accordingly.

At the same time, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. also announced that it will reduce its shareholding in Mitsubishi Motors from 34% to 24%.

In addition, in June this year, Nissan closed its passenger car factory in Changzhou, Jiangsu. Dongfeng Nissan officially responded that this decision is based on the company’s overall development strategy and changes in the market environment, aiming to better adapt to the development needs of enterprises in the direction of new energy by optimizing and adjusting internal production capacity and resource allocation. While ensuring the production capacity of current models, Dongfeng Nissan is stepping up efforts to lay out production lines of new energy models and increase investment in related fields to meet future market demand.

Honda’s life is relatively better.In the first half of fiscal year 2025 (April-September, 2024), Honda’s consolidated operating income was 10.79 trillion yen, a year-on-year increase of 12.4%; Operating profit was 742.6 billion yen, an increase of 6.6%; Pre-tax profit decreased by 15.6% year-on-year to 741.9 billion yen. Its global car sales decreased by 8.0% year-on-year to 1.779 million units.

According to the data of Honda China official website, from January to November 2024, the cumulative sales volume of Honda’s terminal cars in China was 740,400, compared with 1,068,400 in the same period of last year, a decrease of 30.7%.

In July, 2024, Honda China announced the optimization of production capacity, and confirmed that two of the seven vehicle production lines in China will be closed this year. After adjustment, Honda’s total vehicle production capacity in China will be reduced from 1.49 million to 1.2 million.

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Cooperation to reduce costs●

Facing the impact of new energy vehicles in China, Nissan and Honda have strengthened cooperation this year.On March 15th, Nissan and Honda announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in electric vehicle business, such as joint procurement, joint development of power platforms, and generalization of spare parts. The two sides hope to reduce costs and enhance their competitiveness in electric vehicle products through resource integration.At that time, Toshihiro Mibe, CEO of Honda, proposed the possibility of capital cooperation with Nissan.

In August, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi jointly signed a memorandum of understanding on deepening the strategic partnership framework, cooperating in the basic technology field of the next generation software-defined vehicle (SDV) platform, and accelerating the realization of carbon neutrality.

It is worth mentioning that in March this year, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. released the "The Arc Nissan Arc Plan", focusing on all-round new product planning, promoting electric drive, innovative R&D and production methods, applying digital new technologies and deepening strategic partnerships to increase global sales and improve profitability. At the same time,Nissan also plans to launch 30 new models in the next three years, including 16 electric vehicles and 14 internal combustion engines, to meet the diversified customer needs of different markets in the process of electrification transformation.

In May, Honda also said that it would start a new plan and promised to double its investment in electrification and software to about $65 billion in fiscal year 2030. Honda also plans to reduce the manufacturing cost of electric vehicles by more than 30% and the procurement cost of batteries in North America by 20%. Min Hong, CEO of Honda, said,The company’s goal is to launch a total of seven new electric vehicles worldwide by 2030, and realize that the sales of electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles will account for 40% of the global sales.

Under the transformation of Honda and Nissan, if they are combined, they will also have synergistic effects in resources and products.

In the history of automobile development, cooperation between automobile enterprises has also occurred frequently. In May 1999, Renault acquired 36.8% equity of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. for US$ 5.4 billion, and became the major shareholder of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Since then, Nissan has also held 15% equity of Renault, forming a cross-shareholding alliance. In 2016, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors, and since then, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance has been formed, and its cumulative sales volume once ranked first in the world.

In 2023, Renault and Nissan reached an alliance restructuring framework agreement, and Renault Group transferred 28.4% of Nissan’s shares to a French trust, and Nissan and Renault Group will maintain 15% cross-shareholding. Both parties will have equal voting rights, and both parties can freely exercise the voting rights attached to the 15% direct shareholding.

Toyota also frequently cooperates with other car companies. In August 2017, Toyota and Mazda formed a capital alliance through cross-shareholding; In August 2019, Toyota Motor and Suzuki Motor reached a cooperation through cross-shareholding; In addition, Toyota also holds shares in Subaru, Daihatsu and other car companies.

In 2021, the merger of Citroen Group (PSA) and Fiat Chrysler Automobile Company (FCA) was officially completed. The two parties merged at 50: 50 to form a brand-new group Stellantis, which became the fourth largest automobile group in the world after the merger.

Since the beginning of this year, with the intensification of competition, domestic car companies are also merging their brands to strengthen resource coordination. Under the Taizhou Declaration, Geely promoted the integration of Krypton and Linke, and the geometric brand was merged into the Galaxy brand. SAIC Passenger Car announced the integration of Roewe and Feifan Automobile; In October this year, APP announced that it would migrate to Great Wall Motor APP. From the second half of this year, Euler began to share sales and after-sales channels with other brands of Great Wall.

Obviously, strategic cooperation and resource focus have become the choices of many car companies.

It is worth noting that in China, the market share of Japanese cars has dropped significantly. According to the data of the Federation, in the first 11 months of this year, the cumulative sales volume of Japanese cars was 2,782,500, a year-on-year decrease of 15.6%, and the market share was also reduced from 22.6% in 2021 to 13.7%. This is not optimistic for Nissan and Honda. If we can improve the market competitiveness through merger, we may be able to save the downward trend. But whether they will cooperate through merger or not will take time to wait for the result.

Author Wei Weihe

Source: CarVisibility.

Now people’s understanding of cars has already surpassed the stage of "four wheels and two rows of sofas", and people will consider many factors when buying a car. The level of configuration determines the competitiveness of a car to a certain extent, as we said in this article. So whether this car is a mule or a horse, let’s take a look at its actual performance.

First of all, from the appearance, the overall appearance of the MG ONE front looks simple and very dynamic. Coupled with headlights, it is a bit more fashionable. The car is equipped with LED daytime running lights, automatic opening and closing, delayed closing and so on. Come to the side of the car, the car body size is 4579MM*1866MM*1617MM, the car uses young lines, the side gives a very young feeling, with large-sized thick-walled tires, eye-catching shape. In terms of the rear end, the rear end echoes the front face, and the taillights present a sharp design style, creating a good gas field.

When I came to the MG ONE car, the interior design was very stable and the overall design was full. The steering wheel of the car is well designed, equipped with functions such as manual adjustment of the steering wheel up and down, and the grip is full and delicate. Let’s take a look at the central control. The car is equipped with a touch-sensitive LCD central control screen, which makes the interior style impressive and looks quite cold. The dashboard and seats are equally eye-catching. The car is equipped with a stylish and simple dashboard, which is very eye-catching. The car uses a leather-like seat, which is wide and thick, and the overall ride feels soft and comfortable.

MG ONE is matched with CVT gearbox, with an acceleration time of 8.1s per 100 kilometers, which has good power performance and is completely OK for daily use.

MG ONE is equipped with driving mode selection, remote control key, rear wiper, traction control (ASR/TCS, etc.), Bluetooth /WIFI connection and other configurations, which is worthy of praise.

I wonder if you are excited about this car introduced today? Xiaobian thinks that if you really want to buy this car, you still have to go offline to actually experience it.

　　On Monday, local time, US stocks were closed for Labor Day. However, the European market is a little nervous. The energy crisis has been transmitted to the financial market. In Europe, only British stocks closed up, while German stocks fell more than 2%. For the first time in 20 years, the euro fell below 0.99, while the pound approached its lowest point since 1985. Yields on 10-year and 2-year British bonds hit new highs in eight years and fourteen years respectively.

　　At the same time, it is reported that the Russian government accused the western sanctions against Russia of being the chief culprit of the complete gas cut-off of Beixi No.1 natural gas pipeline. If the western sanctions against Russia are not lifted, the maintenance of the pipeline will be difficult to complete, and the natural gas supplied to Europe through the pipeline will not be fully recovered. This means that the European energy crisis may intensify. Big bounce, the European natural gas, soared by 35% overnight.

　　In addition, there was another big event in Europe overnight. The new British Prime Minister officially announced that the 47-year-old Foreign Secretary Liz Trass defeated the former Finance Minister Sunak in the internal election of the Conservative Party and became the new leader of the Conservative Party. At the same time, she will also take over the post of British Prime Minister from Boris Johnson. Trass is also the third female prime minister in British history after Margaret Thatcher and Teresa May. However, Trass will inherit a mess from Johnson, and Britain is facing a series of problems such as energy crisis, financial difficulties and diplomatic deadlock.

　　In addition, the OPEC+ meeting on Monday decided to reduce oil production by 100,000 barrels per day in October compared with that in September, reversing the previous plan of increasing oil production by 100,000 barrels per day in September, bringing the output in October back to the level in August, and the international oil price rose by over 2%.

　　[global index]

　　[global goods]

　　The main contract of WTI crude oil closed at $88.83 per barrel, up 2.26%; The main contract of Brent crude oil closed at $95.23 per barrel, up 2.38%; The main contract of crude oil in the previous period closed at 707.20 yuan per barrel overnight, up 1.62%.

　　Overnight, the Shanghai gold main contract closed up 0.26% to 386.34 yuan per gram; Shanghai Bank’s main contract closed up 0.19% to 4,191.00 yuan per kilogram.

　　[overnight news]

　　Britain welcomes its third female prime minister.

　　Trass, the current British foreign secretary, defeated Sunak, the former chancellor of the exchequer, and was elected as the new leader of the ruling Conservative Party in Britain. Trass will become the third and youngest female prime minister in British history. The first two female prime ministers are Margaret Thatcher, who is known as the "Iron Lady", and Theresa May, who experienced the Brexit chaos.

　　Russia: It will last until the Western "sanctions" end.

　　The Russian government accused the western sanctions against Russia of being the chief culprit of the complete gas cut-off of Beixi No.1 natural gas pipeline. If the western sanctions against Russia are not lifted, the maintenance of the pipeline will be difficult to complete, and the natural gas supplied to Europe through the pipeline will not be fully recovered.

　　OPEC+ reversed the agreement to increase production and agreed to "symbolically" reduce production by 100,000 barrels per day to stabilize oil prices.

　　OPEC+ this Monday decided to reduce oil production by 100,000 barrels per day in October compared with that in September, reversing the previous plan to increase oil production by 100,000 barrels per day in September, and returning the output in October to the level in August. OPEC+ decided to "symbolically" cut production in October, trying to stabilize oil prices at a time when the market is worried about economic weakness and slowing demand, which is equivalent to Biden’s diplomatic achievements in crude oil in the Middle East reaching zero. After the release of the resolution, the international oil price rose further, rising by over 4% in intraday trading.

　　EU foreign ministers lack confidence in the prospects of Iranian nuclear talks.

　　According to foreign media reports, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that it is waiting for the United States to respond to Iran’s proposal, and Iran is responsibly creating conditions for resolving the nuclear agreement. According to Russian media, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that if JCPOA(Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) signed it, Iran could meet the energy demand of Europe. Borrell, vice-chairman and "foreign minister" of the European Commission, said that the Iranian nuclear talks are diverging rather than converging, and he now lacks confidence in reaching the Iranian nuclear deal.

　　[company news]

　　Volkswagen seeks to overcome difficult market conditions and promote Porsche’s IPO plan this year.

　　Despite the difficult market conditions, Volkswagen has decided to push forward the plan of listing a minority stake in sports car brand Porsche this year, which is expected to become one of the largest IPO transactions in Europe. Volkswagen said in an announcement on Monday that it plans to launch a Porsche IPO in late September or early October, depending on the further development of the capital market.

　　Amazon will enter the Japanese prescription drug market next year: cooperate with pharmacies to sell drugs online.

　　People familiar with the matter said that Amazon is considering entering the prescription drug market in Japan. This may be a turning point for physical pharmacies in Japan. Amazon plans to cooperate with small and medium-sized pharmacies in Japan to create a prescription drug sales platform. After placing an order online, users can sit at home and wait for delivery. Through this platform, patients can also receive online guidance on how to take drugs.

　　Meta was fined $400 million for handling children’s data

　　Meta was fined about $400 million for violating EU data privacy laws by processing children’s data on Instagram. This is the latest measure taken by European and American authorities to crack down on companies collecting and sharing information about young people online.

　　[Aika car]　Test drive　Original]

　　The plane is divided into first class and economy class, and the high-speed rail is also divided into first class and second class seats. If you buy an economy class (second class seat) ticket and upgrade it to first class (first class seat) for free, you must be lucky with a smile. Today, our protagonist, Geely Xingrui, brings this luck to you, and you can enjoy it like a medium-sized car at a compact price.

　　It is reported that Geely Xingrui will be officially listed in mid-November, but the pre-sale price range exposed by some media recently is 119.8-148.8 million yuan, which should be very close to this price range. In addition, on October 11th, Geely launched a "Designer’s Recommended Model", with a limited edition of 3,000 units and a price of 137,700 yuan. This is the designer’s recommended model that we tested this time.

　　As the first car built by Geely brand using CMA architecture, Geely Xingrui vowed to be a subversive in the sedan market. Today, let’s take a look at its strength. The new car has been unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show before, and my colleagues have also done a very detailed static analysis, so let’s start with its dynamic performance. Users who want to know the static performance can click on the picture below to jump to see it.

　　The combination of 2.0T engine and 7-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox is already a very mature powertrain for Geely brand, but it will be surprising that it can be adjusted so close to perfection. The accelerator pedal is soft and friendly, the power output is stable and linear, especially the smooth performance of the gearbox is impressive. Both novice and old drivers will applaud the driving experience when they first get started.

　　Although the official acceleration time of 0-100km/h is 7.9 seconds, the power performance after switching to sports mode is obviously much stronger. After communicating with engineers, I learned that the best measured result of the new car can reach 7.5 seconds, which explains why there is still a certain sense of pushing back when accelerating rapidly.

　　There are a small number of mountain links in this test drive, and Geely Xingrui has demonstrated its sports talent. The chassis not only filters the road very well, but also supports the car body in the mountain road. The steering system also performed well. After adjusting to the sports mode, the steering force was more stable, the front of the car was very obedient, and the following state of the rear was also very good.

　　Summary:Generally speaking, Geely Xingrui is a very comfortable car. For both drivers and passengers, the power output is soft, the brakes are linear, the steering is gentle, the chassis is neat enough and the silence is good. For a family car, it is basically impossible to ask for more. After switching to sports mode, the improvement of power and steering can also meet a certain driving desire, and sports and comfort can be taken into account to such an extent. Geely Xingrui is really good.