auto alert
requirements, but will this situation
prevail going forward? A larger, less
retro Mini must, inevitably, come closer
to direct competition with the parent
brand’s new models, and maintaining
the marketplace momentum of both
products may prove to be a challenging
task.
Are Global Car Sales
Approaching their Zenith?
There is a body of opinion in the United
States that the Global market for motor
vehicles may reach its upper limit within
the next decade. The total market in
2013 ended at 82 million, but some
observers think that the turnaround may
come somewhere around the 100 million
mark, despite industry expectations of a
120 million market by 2016. The reasons
for the expected topping out are given
as follows:
•
•
•
•
Young people are driving less.
All people are driving less.
Cars are lasting longer.
Urban populations are growing.
Urban congestion is an important
factor to take into account. In spite
of the fact that private car ownership
in countries like China and India
is a relatively recent development,
congestion and urban pollution is
already causing problems, and limiting
the demand for vehicles. While personal
mobility is still an important aspiration,
practical considerations may well weigh
increasingly in favour of alternative
solutions such as motorcycles, Segways
and public transportation. There are
also car-sharing initiatives, which will
increase individual vehicle utilisation, and
reduce the need for individual vehicle
ownership. Makes you think!
Jeep’s International
Renegade
With Fiat Chrysler Automobiles now an
established fact (see last month’s Auto
Alert for the full story of the merger),
the automotive world has been looking
on with great interest for early signs of
just how the two partners would work
together, now that all the structural
impediments have been removed.
They didn’t have to wait long, as a most
significant new model was to make its
global debut at the Geneva Auto Show,
and a closer examination of its technical
make up, and circumstances around its
development and production, provided
early signs of important strategic boxes
that were ticked by the new global entity.
The Jeep Renegade is an all-new entrylevel Cross-over Utility Vehicle. It is to be
produced for the global market at FCA’s
facility at Melfi, in Italy, using a modified
version of Fiat’s 500L platform, which
has been suitably reworked by Jeep
engineers. Power will be provided by a
host of Fiat-designed engines, including
four MultiAir petrol units, a 1,6-litre E.torQ
diesel, or three MultiJet diesels, covering
the power spectrum from 108 to 168 hp.
Transmission options include two manual
gearboxes, a dual-clutch unit, or a
conventional 9-speed automatic, while
both two- and four-wheel-drive versions
will be available. Other features include
electric power steering, Koni frequency
selective damping, some aluminium body
components, heated steering wheel, and
telematics/WiFi capability, and the model
is to be built in left- and right-hand-drive
versions. Production is due to commence
at mid-year, and the Renegade will be on
sale in Europe and the US by the end of
the year.
The Renegade is reportedly intended
to compete with the likes of the Nissan
Juke, Mini Clubman, Kia Soul and Ford
EcoSport, in a market segment estimated
to total 2,7 million units globally. It is,
therefore, an extremely important factor
in the Jeep brand’s ambitions to increase
its sales from the current level of around
730 000 units to more than one million
per annum through globalisation.
The choice of an Italian
production location for a global
model is also pivotal in Fiat’s
priority to keep its home-based
workforce employed and
happy, against a background
of concerns that the FCA
merger would lead to wholesale
migration of vehicle production
away from Italy, and the loss of
jobs as a result. The exchange
of development efforts across
the Atlantic is also a positive
indication of how the group
will function in future, although
there has already been some
co-operation in this area
between Alfa &