THE FRENCH AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY 2009 EDITION Analysis andStatistics Analysis Industry Automotive The French CONTENTS EUROPE - FRANCE EDITORIAL 01 Xavier Fels, Chairman of CCFA A N A L Y S I S A N D H I G H L I G H T S WORLD 04 Production Markets Trade EUROPE 12 Markets by vehicle type, country, manufacturer, etc. AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH BODIES et leur sécurité (Inrets) Passenger cars in use IN FRANCE Département économie et sociologie des transports (DEST) 2, rue de la Butte-Verte The automotive industry Groupe d’études et de recherches permanent sur l’industrie et les salariés de l’automobile (Gerpisa) 93166 Noisy-le-Grand Cedex Université d’Évry-Val d’Essonne – rue du Facteur-Cheval Tel.: +33 (0)1 45 92 55 00 – Fax: +33 (0)1 45 92 55 01 91025 Evry Cedex www.inrets.fr FRANCE 22 Tel.: +33 (0)1 69 47 78 95 – Fax: +33 (0)1 69 47 78 99 Siège de l’Inrets www.gerpisa.univ-evry.fr 25, avenue François-Mitterrand – Case 24 – 69675 Bron Cedex French manufacturers: facilities, production, markets, Tel.: +33 (0)4 72 14 23 00 – Fax: +33 (0)4 72 37 68 37 Institut français du pétrole (IFP) competitiveness factors of the French automotive industry, 1-4, avenue de Bois-Préau Programme national de recherche New the automotive industry and the financial crisis, etc. 92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex et d’innovation dans les transports terrestres (Predit) The industry in France: research and development, Tel.: +33 (0)1 47 52 60 00 – Fax: +33 (0)1 47 52 70 00 Tour Pascal B – 92055 La Défense Cedex www.ifp.fr Tel.: +33 (0)1 40 81 14 17 – Fax: +33 (0)1 40 81 15 22 competitiveness factors, foreign trade, etc. Institut national de recherche sur les transports www.predit.prd.fr New Markets: diesel, body, used cars, French Overseas Departments, etc. Use: vehicle ownership, traffic and CO2 emissions, domestic transport of passengers and freight, cost of passenger and freight transport, etc. Spending: price indices per mode of transport: travellers and freight, consumption, financing, etc. New Economic impact and employment: distribution, suppliers, etc. STATISTICS WORLD 56 In the context of its communication actions, EUROPE 59 CCFA regularly publishes leaflets on various automobile- FRANCE 66 related subjects: press surveys, trend charts, etc. All these publications can be consulted on our website www.ccfa.fr This brochure is produced by CCFA, 2 rue de Presbourg, 75008 Paris Telephone: +33 (0)1 49 52 51 00 – Fax: +33 (0)1 47 23 74 73 – Website: www.ccfa.fr – E-mail: [email protected] Design and production: – Illustrations: Fabrice Mathé – Photo credits: Peugeot, Citroën, Renault, Renault Trucks This document is printed on Print Speed Laser paper, certified PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), guaranteeing sustainable management of forests. It was printed on an Imprim’vert printer, signalling a commitment to avoid using toxic products and to secure the collection, storage and PEFC/10-3-1190 FCBA/08-00860 processing of hazardous products and waste. EDITORIAL “TO WEATHER THE STORM, FRENCH AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS ARE DEALING WITH THE CRISIS BY OFFERING PRODUCTS THAT MEET EXISTING DEMAND, WHICH ARE EFFICIENT IN TERMS OF FUEL CONSUMPTION AND THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE. THEY ARE PREPARING FOR THE RECOVERY BY CONTINUING, WITHIN THE INDUSTRY, THEIR APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT FOR THE FUTURE.” Dear Reader, 2008 was marked by the crisis that suddenly and violently hit the world automotive industry. Following a long period of growth since 1998, with particularly strong growth rates between 2003 and 2007, world production of automobiles dropped by 4% in 2008, with a total output of 70 million vehicles. In fact, the size of this drop compared with the year 2007 is not a faithful reflection of the brutality of the downturn suffered by the automo- tive industry in 2008. This year started off quite well, but plummeted by more than 20% in the fourth quarter. All regions of the world were affected: in traditional automobile-manufacturing areas such as the European Union or North America, stability gave way to very considerable drops; in emerging regions, which had seen highly dynamic growth in their automobile production, the pace was considerably slowed, and growth was replaced with stability, or even notable falls in markets with uneven growth. In this context, French automobile manufacturers were quick to react and initially adjusted their output rates. Then, in view of the extent and duration of the complications, they set up more structured plans that aimed to adapt their offer, reduce their costs and optimise the use of their plants. Xavier Fels Chairman of CCFA In France, as in other major automobile-manufacturing countries, considering the importance of the sec- tor both upstream (automobile equipment, as well as other goods and services) and downstream from the network, the State did not hesitate to support the efforts of the automotive industry through a wide-reaching range of support measures. The latter are part of the “automobile pact” which brings together the various players in the sector with the aim of improving their competitiveness in the face of increased international competition. Stress was mainly placed on urgently resolving the financial problems generated by the crisis, on the distribution of methods for operational excellence (lean manufacturing) and on stimulating research, which shows a promising future. French automobile manufacturers, represented by CCFA, and their sup- pliers, brought together under CLIFA (Comité de liaison des fournisseurs de l’automobile - Automobile Supplier Linking Committee), signed a Code of Performance and Best Practices (CPBP) and set up a platform (PFA) that will enable them to increase their cooperation and guarantee the future growth of the industry. Forecasts of growth for the French automotive industry depend on common factors for industry in general and on other more specific factors. Certain expenses, in particular tax and social security costs, are comparatively higher for companies in France, particularly for manufacturers, creating a handicap for the competitiveness of French production sites. CCFA, alongside the GFI (Groupement des fédérations industrielles – Group of Industrial Federations), expects much from the suppression of the investment-related part of the professional tax. As for the more specific factors for the automotive industry, efforts for expenditure in research and deve- lopment, which are already considerable (the automotive industry is the leading sector in terms of research and development spending and patent filing in France), must be increased and supported by public program- mes for supporting innovation, such as the Crédit d’impôt Recherche (Research Tax Credit), and by the conso- lidation of automotive competitiveness clusters, which have already resulted in over a hundred projects. COMITÉ DES CONSTRUCTEURS FRANÇAIS D’AUTOMOBILES / ANALYSIS AND HIGHLIGHTS _1 CCFA_RA 2008 GB_01_Edito.indd 1 30/09/09 15:34:53 EDITORIAL As for the French automotive market, the year-on-year results for 2008 are almost stable compared with the 2007 results for light vehicles, and are slightly up for heavy trucks. In fact, they barely register the contrast between the start and the end of the year. Thus, in the first semester, new vehicle registrations were up by 4.5%, and in the second semester they dropped by 6% compared with the same periods of 2007. The annual change of –0.7% can mainly be attributed to the “bonus/malus” system, which stimulated the market. For 2009, good sales performance in the first semester owes much to the government scrap incentive, which increased to €1,000 in December 2008. For 2010, close attention must be paid to measures applied when reducing these incentives to prevent a repeat of the drop seen when the incentives were removed in 1997, during the last recession. It should be noted that in France in 2008-2009 demand turned overwhelmingly to vehicles with low CO2 emissions, bringing about a reduction of 9 grams in the average CO2 emissions per kilometre driven, against a reduction of only 1 gram in preceding years. The average CO2 emissions of cars sold in France is now 140 g/km meaning that the French market now has, since 2008, the best performance in Europe in this regard, second only to Portugal. Another consequence is that the market share of small vehicles increased and overall household spending on automobile purchases dropped. Commercial vehicles, whether light or heavy, have been greatly affected by the recession. While order books were still relatively full in mid-2008, they have gradually emptied since then, and the outlook for 2009 is dim. The European market, on the other hand, the main outlet for French automobile manufacturers, contracted by 8% in 2008 for passenger cars, with particularly marked drops in countries where French manufacturers are well consolidated (Spain, United Kingdom, Italy). These manufacturers have seen a considerable drop in their sales volumes, but more than one in five vehicles sold in Europe is still French. For light commercial vehicles, the European market fell by 11% and the market share of French manufacturers rose by one percentage point to 35%. The situation of heavy trucks took longer to deteriorate, and the market only contracted by 0.3% in 2008, although the outlook for 2009 is very gloomy. Outside Europe, the automotive markets, which are mainly original equipment markets, have held better, and the markets of French manufacturers have not been reduced. These regions, which have considerably lower vehicle ownership rates than developed countries, are important potential markets. Both growth and the consolidation of industrial plants are the main strategic goals here. 2008 was also marked by falling rates of car use in many OECD countries. In France, on the one hand, house- holds facing high fuel prices reduced the number of trips they made and, on the other hand, companies hit by reduced business reduced their use of vehicles in the latter months of 2008.