Mercedes Benz : crossovers

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Friday, February 22, 2019

The People Want More GM Crossovers

Demand for Acadia and XT5 is pretty great.

General Motors is realizing huge sales gains from the new GMC Acadia and Cadillac XT5 crossovers. Increased demand for both of GM’s mid-sized crossovers has seen the automaker recently announce it would increase production for the pair at the company’s Spring Hill Manufacturing Plant in Tennessee. With the context of Ford’s decision to focus on crossovers almost exclusively in North America, along with the steady rise of the crossover–to the tune of 48.6 percent of the US auto market–the production ramp makes sense.

Just look at the numbers, the XT5 has emerged as Cadillac’s top-selling model in literally every market where the company sells it, plus, it’s the second-best selling vehicle in its class in the US. First quarter demand for the XT5 is already up 10 percent compared to last year, while the Acadia is up 15 percent compared to the same point last year. With the additional shift added to the production line, GM will add 700 jobs to the plant’s workforce. This announcement is in addition to a $294 million investment for another new Cadillac crossover and plant upgrades that were announced in late 2017. Spring Hill will also build the new Holden Acadia for export to Australia and New Zealand.

“This shift addition is not only an indication of the popularity of these GMC and Cadillac crossovers with customers but is testament to the great work being done by the Spring Hill Assembly team,” said plant director Ken Knight. “Their commitment to building quality vehicles is visible every day. It also demonstrates the strong spirit of teamwork between GM and our UAW partners, as we work together to satisfy our customers.” Spring Hill has had a long and complex history. It used to be the assembly point of all Saturn models, but after GM shuttered the brand post-bankruptcy in 2007, the plant sat idle for a full year.

Ten years ago the plant reopened to produce GM’s large crossovers, including the Chevrolet Traverse, before beginning production of the Acadia and XT5 in 2016.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Study finds most Ford sedan customers say they will leave brand rather than buy crossovers, SUVs or trucks

Many Ford Fusion owners switch brands when they trade in their cars, KBB says.

Ford Motor Co. could have trouble keeping some U.S. sedan customers after discontinuing the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Taurus, a Cox Automotive study indicates.

Many Ford owners surveyed said they'll likely buy their next vehicle from one of Ford's rivals. Among Ford sedan owners, half said they would switch to a new or used car from another automaker for their next vehicle. Only 10 percent said they would get a new crossover or SUV from Ford; 5 percent said they'll get a Ford Mustang and 3 percent said they will drive a new Ford pickup.

While the survey's sample size is small — of the 2,697 responders, only 104 owned Ford vehicles — it highlights the problems Ford faces as it repositions its lineup. And it suggests that, although Ford has said it will replace its sedans with new vehicles at similar prices, the public might not yet understand that strategy.

"Ford's got some work to do in terms of clearing up the message to owners of these vehicles if they want any shot of keeping them," said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst with Autotrader, which is part of Cox. "They need to do some educating."

Most of the study's responders said they were surprised by Ford's decision to discontinue U.S. sedan sales, and most said they opposed it.

That stands in stark contrast to consumers' buying habits, as car sales continue to fall. Still, Ford's loss could be another automaker's gain.

For example, 53 percent of owners who trade in a Ford Fusion already go to a different brand, according to Kelley Blue Book data. They're most likely to defect to a Honda Accord, Civic or CR-V or a Toyota Camry or RAV4.

General Motors — which struggled to keep Pontiac and Saturn customers after killing those brands as part of its bankruptcy restructuring — thinks it can cash in on Ford's decision. "We see a terrific opportunity to forge new and stronger customer relationships with such a broad portfolio," Kurt McNeil, GM's U.S. vice president of sales operations, said this year in a news release.

McNeil said GM views sedans as crucial to its lineup because "they typically offer very good safety, comfort, fuel economy and a lower total cost of ownership than other vehicle choices."

Jim Farley, Ford's president of global markets, this year noted that exiting the car business carries some risk for the company and its dealers, especially among entry-level buyers. But he said Ford would offer vehicles with a different body style at entry prices.

"We think we can tempt some of those customers with an image upgrade," Farley told Automotive Newsin April. "Where Ford does best is where we play to our strength of emotional products."

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Hyundai fills future product pipeline with crossovers

The 2019 Tucson gets a cascading grille?and more advanced safety features.

Hyundai's move to rework its notoriously car-heavy lineup with a batch of new, redesigned or freshened crossovers is paying off. The brand has seen record sales performance this year among its crossovers, which topped the 30,000-a-month mark for the first time in June.The second half of 2018 will see reinforcements with the redesigned Santa Fe, an electric version of the Kona and the freshened Tucson. Next year, two new crossovers could be added to the mix.

Also, Hyundai's N performance subbrand will make its U.S. debut this year.

Accent: The sixth-generation subcompact sedan hit the market last fall as a 2018 model. There's speculation that the discontinued hatchback model could be replaced by a yet-unnamed small crossover, spotted during road tests in July, that's positioned beneath the Kona. The Accent will be due for a freshening in 2020.

Elantra: The compact sedan, now in its sixth generation, was freshened for the 2018 model year. It now has six trims to accommodate various driver tastes. A redesign could come in 2022.

Sonata: The midsize sedan, with its versatile lineup, was heavily freshened for the 2018 model year. The gasoline version went on sale in the spring. The conventional hybrid, powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and a 38-kilowatt electric motor that combine for up to 46 mpg on the highway, also was released in the spring.

The plug-in arrived this summer. The base plug-in model gets a $1,300 price cut from the 2017 model. A redesign could be on the way next year for the 2020 model year.

The speedier N variant of the Veloster, which sports a turbocharged 2.0-liter 275-hp engine, is scheduled for a fall release.

Veloster:?The redesigned quirky three-door hot hatch arrived in dealerships for a summer push, just ahead of its high-octane turn in the?Ant-Man and the Wasp?superhero flick. The speedier N variant, which sports a turbocharged 2.0-liter 275-hp engine, is scheduled for a fall release.

Ioniq:?The 2018 editions of Hyundai's electrified-car nameplate arrived in stores this summer with new and broader applications of active-safety technologies, enhanced voice-recognition features and standard remote charge-management for the plug-in and electric models.

A-segment crossover:?Hyundai's utility blitz will continue in 2019 with another crossover addition, this one in the smaller A-segment that resides below the Kona.

Kona:?The brand's first "cute ute" hit stores in the first quarter of 2018. An electric version will get a targeted rollout in the fourth quarter, looking slightly different from its gasoline counterpart. Instead of using Hyundai's cascading grille, the electric Kona gets a closed-up front with a debossed design. A freshening of the gasoline and electric versions may happen in 2021.

Tucson:?The freshened compact crossover will be one of eight new or updated Hyundai crossovers debuting by 2020. The 2019 Tucson gets a new cascading grille and modified center stack, along with more advanced safety features. The 2019 model, unveiled at the New York auto show, is expected to go on sale this fall. A redesign could take place for the 2021 model year.

Santa Fe:?The 2019 model year ushers in a redesign and some naming changes: The five-passenger Santa Fe Sport of years past will be called the Santa Fe. The three-row, seven-passenger version of the outgoing model carries on as the Santa Fe XL. The gasoline version of the redesigned model hit U.S. showrooms in July, while a diesel variant is due in 2019. The new Santa Fe and Santa Fe diesel are two of the eight new or updated crossovers Hyundai is debuting by 2020. The brand confirmed during the Geneva auto show in March that hybrid and plug-in hybrid models are on the way. A few weeks before that, Hyundai said during a media event in Korea that a hybrid possibly could debut when the Santa Fe is freshened, which would be around 2021.

Palisade:?Hyundai's answer to the Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander and Chevrolet Traverse was spotted again in July by a spy photographer in Arizona. The eight-seat crossover is built on a new platform that's front-wheel-drive-based but will offer optional all-wheel-drive capabilities.

The Palisade will be the biggest Hyundai crossover since the Veracruz was dropped in 2013. It will slot above the midsize Santa Fe and possibly replace the three-row Santa Fe XL after the 2019 model year. Its official debut is slated for sometime in 2019.

Nexo:?The fuel cell crossover is built on a dedicated platform. It is expected to go on sale in the U.S. this year. Hyundai is using a crossover as the host for its fuel cell technology, just as it did with the Tucson. Hyundai said in January that the Nexo's estimated driving range is 370 miles, a significant jump from the Tucson Fuel Cell's 265 miles.?

Santa Cruz:?Hyundai execs reportedly have greenlighted the development of a pickup. The brand teased the possibility of a pickup with the Santa Cruz concept shown in 2015. It could hit the market for the 2021 model year.

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