Automotive News Europe - December 2019 - 3

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS

Nissan reloads
N

issan has arguably the strongest
roots of any Japanese automaker
in Europe and it also has a history of
brilliant innovation. Despite these
strengths, Nissan recorded the biggest
sales drop for any mass-market automaker operating in the region in the
first 10 months. Its market share has
fallen from a high of 3.9 percent in 2012
to 2.5 percent this year. The brand has
only recorded a single profitable year in
its European operating region, including
Russia, since 2013. Nissan also has the
worst exposure to the UK of any volume manufacturer operating in Europe,
which leaves it vulnerable to potential
Brexit fallout. The good news for Nissan
is that its model pipeline is stuffed with
new product aimed at Europe's fastestgrowing segments: SUVs and EVs. We
look at what's next for Nissan in Europe
in our cover story (Pages 6-10).

In search of
Rising Stars
Automotive News Europe needs
❯
your help to find the Rising Stars
in the European automotive indus-

try. Entering its 10th year, the Automotive News Europe Rising Stars
award honors automotive executives
with a pan-European profile who
have driven change, fostered innovation and made courageous decisions. To qualify, candidates should
have a minimum of 10 years of work
experience, have multiple language
skills and be 45 years or younger
as of Jan. 1, 2020. We accept nominations from automakers, suppliers, automotive service providers
and retail/aftersales businesses.
Visit www.anerisingstars.com for
more information.

DECEMBER 2019

Skoda is a star performer in the Volkswagen Group, consistently delivering
margins of about 8 percent. Its biggest
issue is a lack of capacity, something
that will get worse next year when it
launches the replacement for its topseller, the Octavia. CEO Bernhard Maier
fears that without more capacity Skoda
will miss out on more than 100,000 additional sales again next year. He explains why on Pages 12-13.
When seeking insight on the industry's
transformation, it helps to speak with
Thomas Schmall. The head of VW Group
Components is methodically restructuring the company's 35-billion-euro parts
business, which is at the epicenter of
the massive shift to electrified and selfdriving cars (Page 14).
Last year Bentley suffered what CEO
Adrian Hallmark called a "perfect
storm," resulting in a 55 million euro
loss. The down swing is about to change,
Hallmark told us. Through nine months
Bentley has posted a 65 million euro
profit and it expects a significantly better fourth quarter than in 2018. Things
look even more promising for 2020.
"Next year, it would be hard not to have
a record year," Hallmark said. Find out
why on Pages 16-17.
Backing out of a tight parking space is
something BMW 1-series drivers can
hand over to the vehicle as the automaker's reversing assistant makes its debut
in the premium compact class. It's one
of the high-tech features we tested in the
BMW entry model (Page 18). Another
car reviewed in our Latest Launches section was the Mercedes-Benz GLB, which
the automaker has positioned as an allrounder that is at home on and off paved
roads (Page 19).
Rick Dauch is helping to guide Delphi
Technologies through two major changes: the decline of diesel engines in favor
of gasoline powertrains, especially in
Europe, and the shift toward electrification to meet increasingly tough global
emissions standards. Dauch shared his
views on both challenges on Page 20.
Battery giant CATL has started construction of its first cell plant outside of China
and its fourth overall in Erfurt, eastern
Germany. Europe boss Matthias Zent-

Straight talk

hat do Aston Martin's Andy
Palmer, Citroen's Linda Jackson and Lamborghini's Stefano Domenicali have in common with PSA's
Carlos Tavares, Toyota Europe's Johan van Zyl and Volvo's Hakan Samuelsson besides being auto industry
power players? They all appear in
the 2019 Automotive News Europe
Talk From The Top supplement.
The special issue has interviews
with 20 top automotive bosses. The
executives discuss the future of autonomous cars and share how they
are electrifying their lineups to comply with the EU's tougher CO2 rules
and avoid costly fines. The supplement, which is made possible by a
partnership with PwC, can be downloaded at:
www.autonews.com/TFTT2019

graf spoke about the mix of battery solutions CATL plans to offer (Page 21).
In our Final Word column, we look at
whether PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares
might be the person who finally turns
around Alfa Romeo (Page 38).
Enjoy the issue!

Luca Ciferri,
Associate Publisher and Editor

www.autonewseurope.com

http://www.autonews.com/TFTT2019 http://www.anerisingstars.com http://www.autonewseurope.com

Automotive News Europe - December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Europe - December 2019