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Should Renault change the Samsung brand name?

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Renault-Samsung-Motors-Market-share-South-KoreaRenault Samsung Motors, the South Korean subsidiary of the French carmaker, is the least successful of the South Korean domestic automakers, the brand has struggled in recent years because of bland and uninspiring products, but is going through a transition period, with the restructuring of its sales network and product offering.

Renault Samsung was once the number two brand in its home market, behind Hyundai-Kia, but has been passed in recent years by GM Korea (the former Daewoo now turned Chevrolet) and SUV maker SsangYong, owned by Mahindra & Mahindra of India, as sales of Samsung branded vehicles have fallen almost 60% in two years time, from 161.917 in 2010 to just 65.691 in 2012.

Its main competitor Hyundai-Kia, with a local market share of over 75%, exports to countries all over the world, and has economies of scale to undercut Samsung’s prices in its home market. And with a production of around 130.000 units in 2012 in a factory with a capacity of 300,000 units annually,  it’s hard to make a profit.

Bright future for Renault-Samsung?

But a change of fortune may be in the making.

renault-samsung-qm3The recent successful introduction of a Samsung branded version of the Renault Captur, named Samsung QM3, looks hope giving. The first 1.000 units of the small SUV were sold out in 7 minutes, with another 4.000 orders signed in the following two weeks. It is the first Samsung vehicle not built in South Korea, but that may change if sales remain strong, as shipping costs from Europe and import duties in South Korea make it hard to turn a profit on these sales. [Read more…]

Mitsubishi’s fate in the US is sealed

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In 2011, Mitsubishi announced Jump 2013, a three-year business plan that focused its attention to building SUVs, pick-up trucks and minicars for emerging and fast-growing markets in Asia, markets that have yet to mature, like Thailand and Indonesia. To put this in perspective: in its last fiscal year, Mitsubishi sold 357.000 vehicles in Southeast and Northern Asia, about 36% of its worldwide sales.

However, in the US market, Mitsubishi is like the kid that never seems to be getting it right.

Mitsubishi-US-sales* In 2002, Mitsubishi’s US sales peaked at 345.111 vehicles, with a market share of 2%, almost twice as many as Subaru, ahead of Volkswagen and Kia, and within 30.000 units of Hyundai.

* Ten years later, Mitsubishi sales in the United States had dropped 83% on 2002 to just 57.790 vehicles, with a market share of less than 0,4%, a drop in the ocean compared to 703.007 Hyundai, 557.599 Kia, 438.133 Volkswagen and 336.441 Subaru sales. In the first ten months of 2013, sales are off another 1,5% in a market up 8%. Mitsubishi transaction prices are among the lowest of all brands, and its brand value has virtually evaporated, resulting in North American operating losses every year since 2007.

Since Suzuki dropped out of the US market last year, Mitsubishi is the smallest Japanese automaker in the continent, and it has promised its dealers and their last few customers that it is here to stay. But no new models were planned for a couple of years, despite already having an aging line-up. But that’s changed, but not for the better: the latest product plans are the final nail in the coffin. It’s over. There’s No More Hope. [Read more…]

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