WHat will be the next big automotive merger??

WHat will be the next big automotive merger??

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hairyben

8,516 posts

184 months

Sunday 12th March 2017
quotequote all
DukeDickson said:
hairyben said:
DukeDickson said:
Will never happen, but BMW & Honda (one way or another) is the obvious choice. !
They kind of both pitch to the same market IMO though, fairly premium, driver focused, quite individual image.

Suprised BMW haven't been seduced by the VW model of buying a cheaper brand and creating a tech/platform sharing tier of market-segment focused cars.

There are several missing links in the chart too.. VW and merc commercial vehicles (sprinter/crafter) for one...
Didn't they try that & fail with 'the English patient'?


The thing that stands out is that as is often the way, what works for one, doesn't work for another.
The automotive world is a better place for having BMW and Honda outside of the nastiest norms of big business and if they need to combine to be outside of that in the future, sounds OK to me.
If they'd built new austins and rovers that were bmw-tech at lower price points, that everyone from cabbies to someone not wanting a "flash" car could access then yes but they didn't. Shame it could have been a successful model. Austin as a value brand, poss platform shares with mini, rover playing up a bit more luxury and britishness. Anyway rover had many problems, I've seen longbridge in the day and OMG.

Realise I'm replying to an old response here but it's relevent insomuch as psa/opel have no clear brand heirachy or distinction.

DonkeyApple

55,378 posts

170 months

Sunday 12th March 2017
quotequote all
jamoor said:
Well I doubt they have pulled out of Europe, just plan to reintroduce their product range after the market changes in the next 10 odd years esp with electric cars and cars as a service.

They are pushing ahead with electric cars, same with ford.
Well, they have pulled out of Europe. Whether they return in ten years with EVs is really a separate question to be honest.

Ford, on the same their hand, began investing in small, more compliant engines a long time ago so are more likely to remain invested as they have immediate revenue uplift in existing investment as the EU further tighten restrictions.

caelite

4,274 posts

113 months

Sunday 12th March 2017
quotequote all
There have been a few big Chinese conglomerates waving absolute silly amounts of money around trying to break into western markets (mainly eastern Europe). I can see one of them buying a European front in order to shift their stuff. Similar to the way Tata bought Landrover/Jag to break into western markets. They have been doing it with bikes brands for years, it's only a matter of time until one buys an old name and starts hocking it successfully. A bit like SAIC and MG (although that appears to be somewhat of a flop)

Edited by caelite on Sunday 12th March 17:24

Willy Nilly

12,511 posts

168 months

Sunday 12th March 2017
quotequote all
caelite said:
There have been a few big Chinese conglomerates waving absolute silly amounts of money around trying to break into western markets (mainly eastern Europe). I can see one of them buying a European front in order to shift their stuff. Similar to the way Tata bought Landrover/Jag to break into western markets. They have been doing it with bikes brands for years, it's only a matter of time until one buys an old name and starts hocking it successfully. A bit like SAIC and MG (although that appears to be somewhat of a flop)

Edited by caelite on Sunday 12th March 17:24
There may well be issues with access to the European market if the company has been plagiarising European designs.

The Chinese could sell cars here is the product was right, but I can't see them having much success with knock off old designs in a mature and fairly sophisticated market. Cheapo scooters are one thing, selling cars is another

Jazzy Jag

3,428 posts

92 months

Sunday 12th March 2017
quotequote all
Slightly OT but Luton has another problem

Luton builds vans in a JV with Renault Nissan while SPA have a vans JV with Fiat.

How happy are Renault Nissan that their French competitor has control over their Assembly plant and free access to their business?

scratchchin

DonkeyApple

55,378 posts

170 months

Sunday 12th March 2017
quotequote all
Willy Nilly said:
There may well be issues with access to the European market if the company has been plagiarising European designs.

The Chinese could sell cars here is the product was right, but I can't see them having much success with knock off old designs in a mature and fairly sophisticated market. Cheapo scooters are one thing, selling cars is another
A merger would more likely be about being able to build and sell in China as a local firm than a Western one while using the tech to advance your current models ahead of your domestic competition while also enabling those to be exported to higher labour cost markets.

What China is looking to do with many sectors is cut out the middle man which is using China's vast resources to manufacture goods.

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

127 months

Sunday 12th March 2017
quotequote all
caelite said:
There have been a few big Chinese conglomerates waving absolute silly amounts of money around trying to break into western markets (mainly eastern Europe). I can see one of them buying a European front in order to shift their stuff. Similar to the way Tata bought Landrover/Jag to break into western markets. They have been doing it with bikes brands for years, it's only a matter of time until one buys an old name and starts hocking it successfully. A bit like SAIC and MG (although that appears to be somewhat of a flop)
Umm - you do know that Geely have 100% owned Volvo for nearly a decade (and also 100% own LTI, the taxi makers), right?
And that what's left of Saab is 100% owned by a consortium of Chinese companies?

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

127 months

Sunday 12th March 2017
quotequote all
Jazzy Jag said:
Slightly OT but Luton has another problem

Luton builds vans in a JV with Renault Nissan while SPA have a vans JV with Fiat.

How happy are Renault Nissan that their French competitor has control over their Assembly plant and free access to their business?

scratchchin
Definitely not that simple.

Fiat are out of the PSA van JV - and Toyota are in.
Fiat are in with Mercedes, as (separately) are Renault-Nissan.
Fiat are also in a van JV with PSA for smaller vans, built in Turkey by the same people as the Transit Connect, on the same floorpan as used under cars by both Fiat and Opel...

Jazzy Jag

3,428 posts

92 months

Sunday 12th March 2017
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
Jazzy Jag said:
Slightly OT but Luton has another problem

Luton builds vans in a JV with Renault Nissan while SPA have a vans JV with Fiat.

How happy are Renault Nissan that their French competitor has control over their Assembly plant and free access to their business?

scratchchin
Definitely not that simple.

Fiat are out of the PSA van JV - and Toyota are in.
Fiat are in with Mercedes, as (separately) are Renault-Nissan.
Fiat are also in a van JV with PSA for smaller vans, built in Turkey by the same people as the Transit Connect, on the same floorpan as used under cars by both Fiat and Opel...
So who needs Luton?

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

127 months

Sunday 12th March 2017
quotequote all
Jazzy Jag said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Jazzy Jag said:
Slightly OT but Luton has another problem

Luton builds vans in a JV with Renault Nissan while SPA have a vans JV with Fiat.

How happy are Renault Nissan that their French competitor has control over their Assembly plant and free access to their business?

scratchchin
Definitely not that simple.

Fiat are out of the PSA van JV - and Toyota are in.
Fiat are in with Mercedes, as (separately) are Renault-Nissan.
Fiat are also in a van JV with PSA for smaller vans, built in Turkey by the same people as the Transit Connect, on the same floorpan as used under cars by both Fiat and Opel...
So who needs Luton?
My prediction is Luton closing, Ellesmere staying open.

Fast Bug

11,707 posts

162 months

Sunday 12th March 2017
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
Jazzy Jag said:
Slightly OT but Luton has another problem

Luton builds vans in a JV with Renault Nissan while SPA have a vans JV with Fiat.

How happy are Renault Nissan that their French competitor has control over their Assembly plant and free access to their business?

scratchchin
Definitely not that simple.

Fiat are out of the PSA van JV - and Toyota are in.
Fiat are in with Mercedes, as (separately) are Renault-Nissan.
Fiat are also in a van JV with PSA for smaller vans, built in Turkey by the same people as the Transit Connect, on the same floorpan as used under cars by both Fiat and Opel...
Fiat also take the Trafic and rebadge it which has replaced the Scudo on the PSA agreement. Fiat make the Doblo which is rebadged as the Vauxhall/Opel Combo. Fiat also make the Ducato that PSA take as the Relay/Boxer. I'm not sure how much longer they'll be tied up with this one, it's an old product now.

The factory in Turkey doesn't make any Ford based products, it makes the Fiorino/Qubo and the Linea which is a Punto saloon. Or at least it did when I visited it when I work for FIAT UK in the commercial side of things, although this was going back 7 years or so!