Tesla has risen by two lines in the list of the most expensive car brands in the world and topped it for the first time, overtaking Mercedes-Benz and Toyota, according to Brand Finance.
Tesla’s brand value is now valued at $66.2 billion, up 44 percent in one year and five times since pre-demonstration times.
“This increase in brand valuation is a positive signal for Tesla because it indicates better brand awareness, which could lead to higher sales and revenue in the future,” said Alex Hay, director of valuation at Brand Finance.
Toyota dropped to third place, losing 18% of its value ($52.5 billion), while Mercedes-Benz remained in second place (minus 3%, $58.8 billion).
The record jump in value in the sector was demonstrated by the Chinese automobile brand Sokon – by 123% over the year to $739 million.
The analysts of Brand Finance called Ferrari NV the strongest automobile brand having given to it the maximum rating “AAA+”. When evaluating brand strength, the company considers a host of other indicators besides value, including investment in marketing, operating results, and relationships with stakeholders (from employees, suppliers and shareholders to government agencies and community organizations).
The value of the Ferrari brand fell 8 percent over the year, mainly due to the depreciation of the euro against the dollar, to $7.4 billion. In euros, the figure rose 3 percent.
Among auto parts manufacturers, the most expensive brand was once again Japanese Denso, which rose in value over the year by 6%, to $4.5 billion. In the segment of tire manufacturers the French Michelin remained the leader (+2%, to $7.9 billion).
American automaker Ford Motor has delayed deliveries of some vehicles due to the lack of blue oval badges with the company’s logo.
According to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, the company is faced with a shortage of nameplates and plates indicating the model, which are attached to the car body and are important identifiers for the automaker’s products.
A spokesman for the company confirmed to the publication that deliveries of a number of vehicles were delayed due to missing badges. This is yet another example of how hard supply chain problems have hit automakers, the WSJ notes.
Ford has been considering a number of workarounds, such as 3D-printed nameplates, until supplies are restored, the sources said. But such substitutes do not inspire confidence, and may not meet the high quality bar of the automaker, the management decided.
Earlier this week, the company warned investors that high inflation and a lack of spare parts were leading to lower supplies. As a result, from 40,000 to 45,000 vehicles will remain in the company’s warehouses by the end of the third quarter due to the lack of a number of parts.
However, Ford reiterated its guidance for 2022, which suggests that adjusted earnings before taxes and interest payments could be $11.5-12.5 billion. In the third quarter, this figure is expected to be in the region of $1.4-1.7 billion.
Ford shares fell 5.4% in trading on Friday. Since the beginning of this year, the automaker’s market value has collapsed by almost 42%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index has fallen by about 23%.
Car sales in the European Union in March fell by 20.5% compared to the same month in 2021, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said in a statement.
Negative factors for the market are the ongoing disruptions in supply chains due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
According to ACEA, the number of cars registered last month in the EU countries (excluding Malta, for which statistics are not available) amounted to 844.187 thousand against 1.063 million in the same month a year earlier. All four of the region’s largest markets posted double-digit declines: Spain – 30.2%, Italy – 29.7%, France – 19.5%, Germany – 17.5%.
The number of new car registrations in Europe (EU countries plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, which left the European Union on January 31, 2020) fell by 18.8% in March to 1.127 million.
Sales of the Volkswagen group (including Skoda, Audi, Seat, Porsche, etc.) decreased by 24.3% last month, Stellantis (combined by Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group) – by 32.9%, BMW – 20.5%, Mercedes -Benz – 13.6%.
Realization of cars of Renault group decreased by 14.1%, at the same time cars of Lada jumped by 35.3% (up to 211 cars).
Japanese Toyota reduced sales by 12.2%. South Korean Hyundai increased them by 0.5%, Japanese Honda and Mazda – by 21.7% and 5.5% respectively.
In the first quarter, car sales in the European Union fell by 12.3% compared to the same period in 2021 (to 2.246 million), in Europe as a whole – by 10.6% (to 2.753 million).
The Stellantis group in Ukraine (Peugeot, Citroёn, Opel, DS Automobiles) sold 4,689 cars in January-June of this year, which is 35.17% more than in the same period of 2020, increasing its share in the Ukrainian market of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles to 8.35% from 8.29% a year earlier, the press service of the group told Interfax-Ukraine.
At the same time, the press service of the company states that in general, sales in the car market during this period also increased by more than a third – by 34.2%, to 53,800 units.
“The automobile market of Ukraine in 2021 shows a constant growth in sales. The deferred demand from 2020, the opening of car dealerships after the lockdowns, the debut of numerous new products, and the development of corporate sales had a positive effect,” the group said in a press release.
At the same time, passenger cars accounted for about 90% of sales on the market (or 48,600 units), commercial – almost 10% (or 5,200 vehicles). Private buyers bought 64% of cars, corporate clients – almost 36% of total sales.
According to Stellantis in Ukraine, while maintaining the current dynamics of market growth, 2021 may end at a milestone: more than 100,000 cars. The company’s success in selling its brands is associated with an active marketing and advertising policy, participation in exhibitions, the constant introduction of new models, the development of corporate sales and related services.
Bentley Kyiv, the only official dealership of Bentley Motors in Ukraine, plans to sell 63 cars in 2021, while last year it managed to sell 37 cars, Director of the center Oleksiy Kaplaty has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“In the year of the pandemic, when there was a rather difficult situation on the market, this is very indicative. Some markets, for example the European, lost their shares, but we grew and grew very strongly,” he told Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on the results of last year on the sidelines of a press conference on Wednesday held on the occasion of the debut of the Ukrainian racer Ivan Peklin at the first stage of the International GT Open.
The director said that this year there are plans to sell 48 new cars and 15 used ones. According to him, the company places great emphasis on working with used cars.
Commenting on the receipt of two awards for the best Bentley Motors dealers in Europe – Best of Sales 2020 and Best of Marketing & Communications 2020 – by Bentley Kyiv in April, Kaplaty said that this is due to a significant excess of the sales target of 30 vehicles.
The head of the dealership said that Bentley Kyiv was actively working on pricing, as a result of which they managed to make prices in the domestic market competitive: the purchase price of a car in Bentley Kyiv will be lower than that of a European dealer with its official import and customs clearance.
“This is the result of the work that we carried out with Bentley, telling about our share, our investments. Investments in this building [the largest dealership in Europe near the Boryspil airport with an area of 1700 sq. m.] is about $5.5 million. Accordingly Bentley has confidence in such partners as the Winner group of companies, Kaplaty said.
As for marketing, he said that success in this category became possible thanks to non-standard events, such as the presentation of the updated Bentley Bentayga at the Kyiv Fortress Museum.
The director of the center added that 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic, made fundamental changes in advertising promotion, but the company was ready for this. “I can confidently say that about 40% of our budgets are focused on digital: promotion in electronic networks, social networks,” he said, pointing out that most of the traditional public events were at risk of failure or were not held.
Speaking about market share, Kaplaty said that the main goal set by Bentley in all regions is to occupy a share of at least 12% in the segment of luxury and premium cars. “As of today, according to the results of the first quarter, we hold a share of about 13%, that is, we are growing and strengthening our position,” the director of Bentley Kyiv said.
When asked about new trends for luxury brands, he said that this year the center will officially unveil two new models with hybrid engines – the Bentley Flying Spur and the Bentley Bentayga. The green and renewable materials trend is at the heart of Bentley’s 2030 strategy, he said.
Winner Group Ukraine has been operating on the Ukrainian market for over 28 years, during this time more than 140,000 cars have been sold and more than 50 dealerships have been opened in Ukraine. In August 2016, an agreement of intent was signed with the Bentley brand in Ukraine. Bentley Kyiv is the only official dealer for the sale and service of Bentley on the territory of Ukraine. The official opening of the Bentley Kyiv dealership took place on July 10, 2019.
Winner Imports Ukraine, a member of the group, is the official importer of Ford, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche and Bentley cars in Ukraine, and in the third quarter of this year it intends to introduce the MG auto brand (property of the Chinese SAIC Motor) to the Ukrainian market.
Ivan Peklin is a 19-year-old pilot from Kyiv who started racing for the Italian Lazarus Team in Bentley Continental GT3 this year.
In his debut race at this year’s first International GT Open on May 15 in France, he took first place with teammate Jordan Pepper from South Africa.
PJSC Kriukiv Car Building Works (KCBW, Poltava region) completed 2020 with a net profit of UAH 99.045 million, which is 87.5% less, year-over-year, according to preliminary data.
According to the information on the agenda of the shareholders’ general meeting on April 22, released on Monday in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine, the draft of its decision is planned to send the profit to the development of the enterprise, not to pay dividends (as in the previous year).
As reported, in 2020 the plant reduced the production of freight cars by 70%, to 1,569 units.
PJSC Kriukiv Car Building Works is the only enterprise in the CIS that has a well-established and operating production of two types of cars: passenger and freight (platform cars, tanks, bunker-type cars, gondola cars). It also produces regional diesel trains, high-speed interregional locomotive-hauled trains, spare parts and bogies for freight cars.
