The suicide of the car industry
After the old news that Europe’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, might need to close factories, cut thousands of jobs, and diminish wages, I stumbled upon a newer one:
Ford said it would cut around 14% of its European workforce on Wednesday, blaming losses in recent years due to weak electric vehicle demand, poor government support for the EV shift and competition from subsidized Chinese rivals.
Ford said the 4,000 job cuts, which represent around 2.3% of its total workforce of 174,000, would be primarily in Germany and Britain. The U.S. automaker is the latest — after Nissan, Stellantis and GM — to cut costs as the sector faces challenges that include EVs that are too expensive for consumers to buy.
This continent is committing seppuku.
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“Poor government support for the EV shift,” sure. The European Commission of Assassins is the one to have adopted the stupid ukase requiring all new cars to have zero CO2 emissions from 2035, and 55% lower CO2 emissions from 2030. This is meant to kill the ICE (internal combustion engine) cars. The protests were minimal; who can expect corporate shitheads to act in a rebellious, revolutionary way? Stellantis’ CEO Carlos Tavares even rebuked the protests of Renault’s CEO Luca de Meo, which is the President of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA)–see this comment for details. Stellantis is no longer a member of ACEA; it’s in bed with the Chinese.
Governments across the EU have poured billions in subsidies for those who purchased EVs (BEVs, not PHEVs). From taxpayers’ money. How much more should we all pay for this EV madness?
So the automotive industry has accepted to be killed by the European Commission. Unless they expected the EU to provide limitless subsidies!
But even before 2030, the 55% off desideratum, as dictatorial as it is, could be achieved by continuing to sell a mix of EV, hybrid and ICE cars. The public has to be persuaded to buy more EVs, or public bids should be won (shouldn’t the police be driving EVs if the EU mandates EVs?), but the reality is different.
Most automotive manufacturers have severely reduced their range of ICE cars in Europe. Furthermore, they have almost suppressed “normal” cars. Most cars are crossover SUVs.
This is because most cars sold in Europe today are crossover SUVs. Medium or large, none is a true SUV, so I guess that “crossover SUV” is the proper classification. Also, huge pickup trucks are more and more present on the streets–you see, RAM also belongs to Stellantis.
How the fuck on Earth wants Ford to avoid bankruptcy and death if they stopped manufacturing Mondeo years ago, and Fiesta more recently?
There are very few new “normal” cars that can be purchased in 2024/2025 in Europe.
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The “poor man’s choice” is almost the only decent choice. Discard Bigster and Duster, and keep: Logan (not sold on some Western markets), Sandero, Sandero Stepway, Jogger. (At some point, there was a Logan Stepway; not anymore.)
Renault still has the Clio, but Megane was killed. The new Megane E-Tech Electric has absolutely nothing to do with the old Megane. It’s a shitty crossover, and electric at that. Plenty of ugly, stupid crossover SUVs of various sizes: Arkana, Austral, Captur, Symbioz, and an Espace that has nothing to do with the original Espace. So Renault has only one “normal” car (not counting Dacia).
Stellantis still sells the Peugeot 208 and the Open Corsa, but in their latest versions, they use the most horrendous engine whose plastic transmission belt literally dissolves in oil. PSA’s old trusty engines are no more. The hybrid Peugeot 308 (because it also sells as an EV) uses a new platform, and it starts at about €33k. No Peugeot or Citroën car uses the same platform as a couple of years before; they’re all uglier, questionable, and expensive.
As part of Stellantis, Fiat seems to still sell the caricature of Panda, and, on some markets, the Tipo Made in Türkye.
VW still has the Polo, but it starts at €20k, and the Golf, which starts at more than €25k. This is ridiculous.
Volvo doesn’t have any B-segment or C-segment car anymore; V40 stopped being produced in 2019.
Why would anyone buy a new European car these days?
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Not that the Asians were much better.
Toyota Aygo X sucks big time. The latest Yaris sucks. As “normal” cars, there are still Corola and Camry, but for how long?
Mazda 2 Hybrid is a rebadged Yaris.
Hyundai still sells i10, i20, i30, and Elantra. KIA Picanto is a joke, so Ceed is the only “normal” car.
Mitsubishi only sells SUVs, and for a long time. After they replaced a decent Colt with a fucked-up Colt, now they have a new Colt that is a rebadged 100% Renault Clio 5 with a number of cosmetic customizations. As a matter of fact, Renault also makes for Mitsubishi a few crossover SUVs, with the obvious rebadging.
Honda Civic is sporty and uglier than it used to be. It doesn’t look like your everyday car.
The Jazz (US: Fit), which I liked in the past, first became larger, then they almost discontinued it, and now it sells again (slightly uglier), but it’s more hybrid than ever:
The petrol engine acts as a generator for the battery, which supplies power for the electrics that ultimately drive the wheels. The petrol engine can also drive the propulsion motor directly in certain circumstances, but it never drives the wheels.
How is this a normal car?! The ICE usually acts as a generator (like in the diesel-electric locomotives, but with gasoline), but when maximum power is needed, it can engage the electric motor. The car essentially has an electric powertrain, which is completely different from the old Jazz/Fit.
I once liked Honda Accord. Well, it still sells in the States ($25k + taxes). Honda stopped offering an Accord version for Europe in 2015. This is their justification: “The Europeans buy too few cars in this segment, as they now focus on crossovers and SUVs.” But the North Americans purchase more SUVs, and even more pickup trucks, yet Honda Accord is still a thing there!
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Europe is fucking dying.
As I said, I see more and more RAM trucks on streets in Europe. We never really had a culture of US-style pickup trucks. Our pickups were much smaller, and they got replaced by sedan delivery vans, but the choice for such panel vans is increasingly pathetic.
Dacia Dokker died (not to mention Dokker Stepway), because Renault want to sell its new Express, which is not the old Express. Surprisingly, Kangoo still exists, but the new one is bulkier than the original one. I don’t find it practical. From Stellantis, Citroën Berlingo aka Peugeot Partner seem to still exist, but what I saw brand-new was electric.
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Practicality is another issue. You don’t have many “normal” cars anymore, but once you get used to the ugliness of the new crossover SUVs, maybe they’re usable, right?
I disagree. They’re too large on the outside and too small on the inside, not to mention that they’re completely unpractical. They are not spacious, and they’re not comfortable!
And they can topple extremely easy when hit from a side! That’s because their center of gravity is too high. Ironically, EVs are heavier and more stable (with a lower center of gravity), so people will probably prefer 3-ton electric SUVs. What a complete madness!
Nothing is as comfortable as the classic VW Sharan and Ford Galaxy were! When you think that this concept of family car was pioneered by Renault with the original Espace, and now the new Espace is a complete crap…
The latest RAV4 and C-HR are ugly like shit, plasticky like shit, and uncomfortable. Yet they sell like hotcakes!
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I suppose that people increasingly opt for huge ugly stupid boxy SUVs for several reasons:
- Compact cars have become more and more expensive, and buying a larger car feels like “more value for the buck.”
- Most people lack common sense and aesthetic taste, because the quality of education is decreasing. So they just buy shit, especially when it’s marketed as “only €119/month” and how much you pay in all is not obvious.
- Hollywood movies made people want huge shit as they see in America.
- Even the few reasonable and reasoning people think: “if more and more vehicles are huge, how could I be able to survive being hit by a such a monster when I’m in a B-segment or or C-segment car?” So they buy a crossover.
It’s too late to do anything to fix that. People cannot be educated anymore. Stupid lemmings. Car manufacturers can’t be made to produce smaller cars. Cars should be taxed annually based on their weight, which will never happen, because they want to force EVs on us!
But these huge cars are extraordinarily dangerous and lethal. Dead angles (huge dead zones, actually) aren’t the only reason. The point of impact is higher, so a normal sedan has no chance of survival.
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Today’s “good” automotive news are as follows: Stellantis’ electric STLA Frame gives vehicles 690 miles of range with an extender.
STLA Frame will give trucks like the Ram 1500 Ramcharger up to 690 miles of range with the help of a gas-powered range extender, or 500 miles purely on battery for the Ram 1500 REV. The platform can also handle 14,000 pounds of towing capacity and can hold a 2,700-pound payload.
The STLA Frame platform is designed for big vehicles like full-sized pickup trucks, SUVs, and commercial vehicles. Stellantis plans to use it for big Jeep SUVs and Ram trucks, including the Ram 1500 Rev, which is now being delayed from the end of 2024 to the first half of 2025. Meanwhile, the company’s STLA Large platform will underpin upcoming EVs like the Jeep Wagoneer S and Dodge Charger Daytona.
There’s also an STLA Medium for some European vehicles and will likely underpin an upcoming smaller Jeep vehicle in the US. The automaker also has a fourth STLA Small platform intended for Fiats and Peugeots, but it hasn’t been fully fleshed out yet.
The automotive industry must die and it will die. I don’t know how are we going to move around except for mass transit, but I suspect we’ll be using Chinese tin cans with batteries and electric motors.
I’m both furious and depressed. I might die without ever having owned a car. Yup, that’s how much of a Luddite I am.
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Electric cars are not cars. They’re mobile objects, or moving boxes.
In full fairness, “modern” ICE cars are not cars anymore. They’re megacomputers prone to fail (either the software, or some sensor) that happen to have an engine.
Real cars were those you were able to repair yourself. (The same stands for electronics.) Those times are gone.
You forgot Skoda, which still makes decent cars. They still have 2 decent sedans – Octavia and Superb with petrol and diesel + PHEV versions. Also have Scala and Fabia as decent hatch. Scala is sort of larger Sandero.
I hate Škoda. Škoda and Seat are using VW’s platforms (MQB in this case), except that Škoda is too expensive for something manufactured “in the wild East” 🙂 I always hated “the new Škoda” that’s actually VW.
Sure thing, Škoda had some models that seemed (or looked) unique in the VAG Group (Roomster was based on PQ34 from Golf Mk4; 1st-Gen. Superb was based on PL45 from Passat B5; Yeti was based on PQ35 used in Tiguan). But this doesn’t change the fact that Škoda is, to me, an uglier and too expensive sibling of VW, albeit quite reliable, sometimes more reliable than VW.
I wouldn’t buy a Škoda, unless my life depended on it.
But indeed, I forgot about Škoda because I literally hate it.
Not familiar with European cars since I use to work for the production of Citroen ZX. Forget the Chinese vehicle, what amazes me is that the Subaru Outback, a much larger vehicle and with more horse power than the equivalent Volkswagen Golf Alltrack has substantially less gas consumption… and it is not like the Golf’s engine is a new one. And by the way, who in VW decided to bring to the US a stationwagon based on the Golf instead of the one based on the Passat…That is mental! Of course, it stopped selling them.
By the way, the VW emissions fiasco, was well operated in the US to penalize European cars. All manufacturers cheat on the emissions, the US just found a way to target only the European one and that let theirs intact from the courts.
Agree, vehicles should be taxed on weight, and not just symbolically. Now, the heavy taxes on gas partially does that too. Ideally electricity for cars and households (till a point) should be taxed differently but that is a can of worms. What mesmerizes me is that apples and potatoes are taxed there 20% VAT while here non-processed food is 0%. That should make Europeans think.
I’m sure you didn’t mean stationwagon. Stationwagon = break = Kombi is a version of a car derived from a sedan; many car models had such a variant, since forever (after WW2).
I’m pretty sure you meant crossover. In VW’s case, T-Roc is based on Golf, T-Cross is based on Polo, and they both suck. I don’t know the US names for them, and I couldn’t be bothered to check.
Subaru is a brand with somewhat rustic (less computerized) vehicles that are very trustworthy. But they don’t make anything in the B and C segments. Screw Subaru! (Also, screw Mitsubishi!)
Where do you have apples and potatoes at 20% VAT? That’s not the case in Germany! But if groceries are taxed 7% in Germany, bottled water is taxed at the full 19% VAT!
AFAIK, food at 0% VAT can only found in Ireland. The UK is a mixed bag, with a more restricted range of VAT-exempted foodstuff (cover a biscuit in chocolate and it will bear a 20% VAT). Prescription medicines and printed books and newspapers are VAT-free in Europe. (Not so for e-books, because they are “services.”)
Don’t you dare criticize my Subaru Outback! Now it is considered both a station wagon (as it was in late 90s and early 2000s) but in the last 8 years became much larger and now is also considered also a crossover too. For me, in the US, it is unparalleled… much larger cargo capacity than any crossover yet much better consumption than a Golf and the durability of a Toyota.
Did not know vegetables is taxed 7% there, I take it back so… some 65% back.
The 1994 Legacy Outback aka Outback, based on the 1989 Legacy, was a station wagon.
The 2019+ Outback is a crossover. It doesn’t have the same body structure; it actually doesn’t have anything in common with the 1994 Outback, not even in spirit. (Actually, starting with 2014, it stopped being a proper station wagon, although the “degeneration” started in 2003.)
The old one was good. The new one is the common ugly fuck-up of these days, even if the powertrain might worth it.
I had 3 Outbacks since early 1994! Completely agree, not just the vehicle, the community… we used to flash the lights at each other on the road!
Business Insider: Auto worker wipeout: Why car companies are cutting thousands of jobs: “This is due to unprofitable EV investments, Chinese market losses, and more domestic competition.”