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Tavares: ‘electric is tech chosen by politicians, not by industry’
Félix Bouland Posted On January 19, 2022


In an interview with four European media, the CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, gave his thoughts on Europe’s campaign to phase out the internal combustion engine by 2035. The 63-year-old company director believes that switching to more expensive EVs without a progressive transition could create a social fracture.

One year after the fusion of French automotive group PSA and its Italo-American counterpart FCA into the important 14-brand strong Stellantis, CEO Carlos Tavares speaks to four European newspapers: Les Echos (France), Handelsblatt (Germany), Corriere Della Sera (Italy), and El Mundo (Spain). Not for the first time in his career, the chief officer lashes out at the European transition to electric cars.

Risk of social fracture

According to Tavares, the European ban on ICE cars sales by 2035 runs a social risk. “We know that a mild-hybrid vehicle costs half as much as an EV. We must not lose sight of the fact that we risk losing the middle classes who will no longer be able to buy a car and that there will be social consequences,” says the CEO.

The company boss knows what he’s talking about as Stellantis recently scrapped the internal combustion engine offer from its Peugeot, Citroën, and Opel family vans in favor of an EV-only model, thus nearly doubling their base prices.

“In the end, is it better to accept very efficient thermal hybrid cars so that they remain affordable and bring an immediate carbon benefit? Or should we have 100% electric vehicles that the middle classes will not be able to afford while asking the member states to continue to increase their budget deficits to subsidize them? It’s a societal debate I’d love to have, but for the moment I don’t see it,” adds Tavares.

Political choice

Not only are electric cars more expensive to purchase, but their manufacturing is also different. Tavares points out that while carmakers try to limit the extra cost of EVs to a maximum of 50% in five years, they aren’t the sole players in the industry. Surrounding automotive manufacturing lives a whole ecosystem of subcontractors.

Without a progressive transition, there is a social risk for those buying the product but also for those working on the assembly line. “What is clear is that electrification is the technology chosen by politicians, not by industry,” he summarizes.


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Asking Alain Visser: ‘Lynk & Co victim of its success?’
Joris Van Roy Posted On November 3, 2021


Volvo’s sister brand Lynk & Co, just celebrating its fifth anniversary two weeks ago, is struggling to keep all of its 30 000 – or even 50 000 – ‘club members’ in Europe happy and tackle software problems that may differ in different countries. And every day, some 150 to 200 additional members are signing up.

The young company can’t find and train staff fast enough to cope with the rapid growth spurt, although it is hiring new blood at a pace of 15-20 people a week, Lynk & Co’s CEO Alain Visser confirms in an interview with Newmobility.news. In January, headcount was a mere 150, today more than 500.

Frustration on both sides

As he told the staff at the company’s birthday rally, L&Co is somewhat a victim of its success as the personnel and infrastructure setup was calculated for an initial 9 to 10 000 club members for the first year. In October, the call center for Europe, based in Maastricht (Netherlands) alone, hired 50 extra people. “And we’ll need at least 50 more,” Visser says.

“We are measuring waiting times for people calling and see these are unacceptable at his moment,” he adds. Meanwhile, frustration grows for one group on social media forums, while others praise the young brand’s refreshing business model to the skies. Vissers admits it’s sometimes frustrating too for the big boss, these pangs of childbirth taking time to get under control.

2 000 Belgian club members

After testing the Swedish home market and the Netherlands, Lynk & Co started to roll out its membership model in Belgium and the rest of Europe in May. According to Visser, there are now just under 30 000 people who have registered to get a Lynk & Co 01 car. In Belgium, some 2 000 people signed up.

Some 95% of these 30 000 opt for the month-to-month (M2M) subscription of €500. The other five percent want to buy it. Another 20 000 have registered to show interest in just ‘lending’ the car from family, friends, or other L&Co club members through the company’s app.

Software problems

‘Owners’ of a Lynk & Co can set a rental price themselves (the company advises €5 an hour or €40 a day to start) and indicate when and where the car is available. An interested ‘lender’ can see available cars in a radius he can adjust around his location and file a reservation request online.

When the owner accepts, all administration from driver’s license and credit check to final invoicing is handled conveniently by Lynk & Co through the app. Relatively easy if it works. But that’s where the shoe pinches, at least in some countries and with several accounts.

Like available cars not showing up on the map in the app. Or, in Belgium, for instance, trying to use a Visa or Mastercard issued by major banks like state-owned Belfius, KBC, or ING turning out to be impossible. Visser admits that’s one of the headaches the company faces and tries to address one by one.

Getting Apple CarPlay to work

“Initially, the biggest problem we had was to get Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to work seamlessly in all cars. I had that problem myself in my own car. That’s under control now,” Vissers says. “Other problems we had was with the car’s rear camera, and today there are still problems with sharing and some banks, for instance,” he acknowledges.

Criticism on social media that Lynk & Co uses its club members as beta testers without telling them, Visser finds somewhat out of proportion, but he understands the frustration. When pointed at the fact that Lynk & Co hasn’t been very communicative lately to show people which software problems are currently under review, he admits there is work to do.

“Personally, I would like to have a dedicated official company forum on our website to communicate directly on these problems and solutions. But honestly, we’ve been so busy it was simply not possible to set up such a thing yet.”

Staying longer than anticipated

Despite these pangs of childbirth mentioned, the vast majority of the more than 3 200 members that had their car delivered in the last months in Europe seem to be quite pleased with the offer. While Visser and his team initially assumed people would subscribe for a couple of months, most of them tend to stick with the M2M membership longer than expected.

As long as the cars are young – one to three months – with limited mileage, when people cancel their subscription with a 20-day notice, the vehicle will go to the next on the waiting list. So it’s not always a brand-new car you’ll get. But what when that car gets older? Like two or three years? Will subscription prices go down with age?

Selling on the second-hand market

“When we see that by depreciation, the cost of the car sinks below or threshold, we’re going to sell it on the second-hand market with the same benefits, like the sharing option, for the new owner, just like someone who buys a new car today,” Visser explains. The M2M subscriber will have the option to get the car at the residual value or subscribe to a new one.

Visser confirms that people counting on a fully electric Lynk & Co to be the successor of the hybrid or plug-in hybrid of today will have to wait at least two more years. The Lynk & Co Zero Concept, which was presented last year as a sleek EV sedan, was ‘hijacked‘ in some way by parent company Geely and launched as a new luxury brand, the Zeekr 001.

No Zero Concept Lynk soon

There will be another Lynk & Co BEV, but it won’t be directly derived from the Zero Concept, Vissers tells. “Anyway, Lynk & Co wants to be more like a city car, and a 5 meter and a half sedan doesn’t fit into that picture,” he adds.

He admits BEVs are currently competitive or even better when it comes to cost (TCO) and sustainability but sticks to his view that a PHEV is more suitable for the current market as sufficient charging infrastructure is still lacking in most European countries the company is serving.

Expanding to Israel and Kuwait

Today, apart from Sweden, the Netherlands, and Belgium, these are the big markets like Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. There is a lot of interest in other countries like Switzerland and Portugal, says Visser, but currently, he keeps his distance as there is plenty to do to get the existing countries on track.

In China, Lynk & Co only sells cars, as the Chinese tend to be more sensitive to owning a car as a status symbol than Europeans today. There are plans to start selling in Israel and Kuwait too. For the United States, where the company thinks about introducing the membership formula too, “there are currently more intentions than actual plans,” the CEO says.

 

 

 

 

 


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Climate  / Energy  / Interview  / Technology  / Top Stories Today
Toyota: ‘Carbon is the enemy, not a particular drivetrain’
Tony Verhelle Posted On August 31, 2021


Toyota Motor chief scientist Gill Pratt denies that Toyota has been slow to develop full battery solutions. However, a significant portion of the $10 billion per year the company spends on R&D goes to scientists working on battery development.

In a blog post, Pratt counters the criticism of Toyota dragging its feet about BEVs and spending too much money on all kinds of propulsion and drivetrains. We resume some of the questions he was asked in a reaction to its earlier posts.

Has Toyota dragged its feet on Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) investment because of its investment in Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs)?

“No. Here are the facts: Toyota spends about $10 billion per year on R&D. That pays for a lot of R&D on fuel cells, but it also pays for over a thousand scientists, including over a hundred in the US, working on battery R&D. And, so far, they’ve generated one of the largest battery patent portfolios of any company, including far more patents on solid-state batteries.”

“Toyota was, in fact, an early developer of our own BEV, and we were also an early investor and joint developer with Tesla. Until now, high battery costs have prohibited a more widespread effort, but by 2030, we expect that approximately 20% of our global vehicle production will already be BEVs.”

Why pursue four different types of drivetrains? Isn’t that wasteful of R&D investment?

“Toyota is known for being scrupulously efficient in manufacturing and has helped other companies become more efficient using concepts from the Toyota Production System (TPS). But being efficient about R&D means managing the risk of lost opportunities if we make decisions too soon. And it also means developing products for diverse customers, not just a category of customers.”

“This boils down to two principles: first, the solution to uncertainty is diversity; and secondly, what is best for the average person is not best for every person. I will explain this a little more substantially.”

“The first principle is a profound, fundamental lesson from nature. Sure, it feels more satisfying to make bold predictions and decisions right away and put all of our eggs in one basket. But making decisions too soon is foolish. For example, we know that total carbon emissions in transportation must be drastically reduced, and we know that BEVs are part of the solution. However, we do not know (nor, in truth, does anyone know) whether BEVs are the entire solution.”

“Faced with this uncertainty, our strategy is to place several bets on several promising pathways, including BEVs, and adapt our strategy as we learn. This is the core idea of Toyota’s philosophy of Kaizen and the approach of every investor who diversifies his portfolio to manage uncertainty. It is also the strategy nature has used so successfully for evolving life on earth.”

It seems to us that the second principle is key to the entire Toyota strategy…

“What is best for the average person is not best for every person. Everyone understands this principle when it comes to clothing: maximizing a group’s total comfort isn’t achieved by making everyone wear ‘medium’. The same is true for mobility. As battery technology improves and the carbon emissions from the electrical power grid decrease, long-range BEVs will become more attractive, both from practicality and environmental point of view to the average customer.”

“But does this mean that in 2030, the greatest net carbon reduction would be achieved by making every customer buy a long-range BEV? No, it does not. However, for some customers, particularly those who live in areas with low-carbon intensity electrical power generation and easy access to rapid (level 3) charging infrastructure for long trips, replacing a gasoline-fueled car with a long-range BEV will be the best way for them to contribute to carbon emission reduction.”

“But for other customers in different circumstances, the best way to contribute to carbon emissions reduction will be different – perhaps a PHEV or an FCEV. For example, for a customer using his car mostly for commuting in an area with fewer high-speed chargers, a PHEV would make more sense.”

But isn’t it true that PHEVs don’t achieve their potential high-carbon reduction in real-world use, particularly in Europe?

“We know that PHEV owners with low-range PHEVs, poor access to overnight charging locations, or company-provided gas credit cards (that disincentivize electric charging) more frequently refuel with gasoline than necessary. But these factors are reasons to fix those problems, not reasons to dismiss PHEVs.”

“Modifying company ‘gas card’ policies, using slightly larger batteries in PHEVs, and installing more overnight charging infrastructure with some rapid chargers is a more practical way to reduce carbon sooner than building only BEVs and installing the many more rapid chargers an all-BEV approach would require.”

Doesn’t your argument about ‘right-sizing’ battery packs depend on a shortage of battery supply?

“No. Right-sizing battery packs into diverse types of EVs and limiting the ramp-up speed of global battery production is a good idea even if battery supply is not otherwise limited. Batteries are continuously improving. Compared to current technology, future battery technology (including possibly Toyota’s solid-state batteries) will be produced with fewer carbon emissions, reduced environmental impact, at lower cost, with higher performance, and with fewer recycling problems.”

“By spreading today’s battery cells across a diversity of EV types now, we can maximize carbon reductions immediately. Then, as battery technology improves, we can ramp up the production of more efficient, less carbon-intensive batteries.”

“Here’s an analogy: cell phone technology allowed developing countries to leapfrog wired telecommunications infrastructure. It would have been a waste of time and resources for these countries to have invested heavily in wired telephone infrastructure when cell phone technology was just around the corner. We believe there is a corollary with the evolution of battery technology.”

Can Toyota meet aggressive, result-oriented, quantitative limits on how much carbon may be emitted over a vehicle’s entire lifetime?

“Yes, we can. Will Toyota meet this challenge by producing millions of BEVs? Yes, we will, and we will also offer other drivetrains for customers in circumstances where those vehicles are a better carbon-reduction choice.”

“We believe the best approach is for policymakers around the world to insist on results and allow innovators like Toyota and our competitors to create diverse solutions to achieve those results.”

“In years past, when other pollutants were of greatest concern, governments established limits on the number of emissions permissible and necessary fleet fuel efficiency and then allowed the private sector to innovate catalytic converters, engine control systems, and new types of drivetrains to meet those limits.”

“We believe this proven approach of driving innovation by focusing on outcomes — rather than prescribing particular technology solutions — is the best way to reduce carbon emissions.”

“Carbon is the enemy, not a particular drivetrain. Battery Electric Vehicles are a wonderful way to reduce carbon for some customers. Other types of electrified drivetrains are best for other customers, especially in the near future. So let’s use all the tools in the toolbox.”

Different views, one goal

It has been clear for a while already that the world’s number one manufacturer, Toyota, has chosen a more careful path toward electrification, leaving open more possibilities for drivetrains than the sole BEV. The fact that it has been the leader in hybrid vehicles for a long time is for sure playing a role here.

While others are pushing ahead far more urgently with BEVs, others think the ‘Toyota way’ has more sense. Toyota has always argued that it is a global producer and that the customer needs in some parts of the world differ strongly from those in other parts of the globe. As CEO of Toyota Research Institute, Gill Pratt provides the arguments here for this point of view.

In the end, the ultimate goal is the same. Reaching a carbon-neutral society as soon as possible to reduce the effects of climate change.

 

 


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MD LeasePlan Belgium: ‘We’re at a crucial tipping point regarding EVs’
Tony Verhelle Posted On March 22, 2021


Recently, car leasing company LeasePlan published its yearly ‘Mobility Insight Report’. According to Johan Portier, Managing Director of LeasePlan Belgium, the most striking result is that some 55% of the Belgians consider switching to electricity when buying a new car.

“We are at a crucial tipping point regarding electric driving,” he says. We had a chat with him about these and other results. LeasePlan is one of the world’s biggest CaaS companies (Car-as-a-Service) and is one of the bigger players in second-hand cars throughout Europe.

European survey

Every year, the research bureau Ipsos asks 5 400 drivers in 22 countries of the Western world (Belgium being one) about the latest mobility trends. Electric or zero-emission driving is one of the most cited topics.

Two-thirds of all respondents have a positive attitude toward EVs. 44% of them admit that their attitude has grown positive during the last three years. In Belgium, one-third of the respondents gave this message.

When asked about their buying intentions, 55% of the Belgian drivers says that his/her next car will certainly or probably be electric. There are countries where it is (much) more. Still, the Belgians score ‘better’ than the Netherlands, Germany, and even some Scandinavian countries, generally renowned for their ‘progressiveness’ on the matter.

Snapshot

The three most cited reasons to change to electric: lower cost (47%), lower emissions (46%), and fiscal or other incentives (33%). In Belgium, these reasons score 42, 37, and 32%, respectively.

Low emissions (and the green image going with it) score best with people living in cities (51%), women (48%), and younger people (51%).

“These are very nice figures,” says Portier, “but we can’t let them blind us. It’s a snapshot of the moment; we have to look for the trends. But the average Belgian starts to like electric driving. And that’s important when you know that he’s still very emotionally attached to his four-wheeler. He will have to adapt to electric driving. Positive is the fast-growing choice of interesting EVs.”

Surviving obstacles

Of course, there are still huge obstacles. The biggest one is the price. 68% of the Belgians indicate the pricing as the reason why they don’t drive on electricity yet. “Some manufacturers are taking the lead here, look at brands like Jaguar, Mini, or Volvo that will have a complete electric portfolio as early as 2025 or 2030,” Portier points out.

The famous range anxiety seems to be less an obstacle than always imagined. Only 28% of the people surveyed see it as an obstacle. The lack of adapted infrastructure is seen as a much bigger burden: 42% consider this as the biggest obstacle to take the step.

“Our report pinpoints at the infrastructure as one of the biggest hurdles to overcome,” indicates Portier. “Authorities don’t seem to have the will nor the power to deliver an infrastructure that is necessary for the energy transition we’re facing. In all countries, policymakers will have to move forward by working out a long-term vision regarding mobility on the one side and by taking initiatives themselves or stimulating private initiatives.”

Europe’s future

“We note that the change in the people’s minds is coming. Now is the moment to act if Europe wants to save its car industry,” Portier continues. “And the best way to do this is to invest heavily in electrification. This is a worldwide competition that Europe has to win. If we don’t ‘green’ our industry, it will be lost.”

“In 20 years, you won’t get the smallest award for the best diesel ever. Not with this Euro 7 regulations coming, not with this target of a 55% reduction of CO2. In fact, the cities and communes are far more ambitious than national or international institutions.”

Leasing companies

In the plans of the Belgian federal government, there is the aim to go for purely electric as of 2026 in the sector of company cars. “That’s really a big help for us,” explains Portier, “but it won’t be the all-determining factor.

“And then we aren’t yet talking about new forms of mobility like car-sharing or changing to other means of transport. Owning a car won’t be the highest good for everyone anymore. We see experiments in subscriptions or simply renting by the month. We, as LeasePlan, also try this in the UK as an experiment.”

“The three main domains of interest for leasing companies will be sustainability, financing capacity, and risk assessment. We see car companies rethinking their distribution channels; maybe we can collaborate here. LeasePlan is also selling cars via CarNext.com and even physical showrooms. Here, the trend is full service: we bring the car to the doorstep, and we take it back when it doesn’t suit the customer. We must adapt ourselves to the new ‘buying’ habits that are coming.”

LeasePlan in Belgium

“The Belgian leasing environment is still fairly conservative. In 2016, we saw four future horizons for our company: connected, electric, shared, autonomous. Electric will come first. And we started within our own company. We recently installed 37 charging points at our Belgian headquarters, and 50% of the people already drive on electricity. By the end of the year, this should be 100%.”

“Of course, we learn from our own experience. We see enthusiasm and reluctance. That’s why we want them to be the first; they’re our signboard. Now we have to persuade the company managers, our clients. But here also, the tipping point is approaching. And probably it will go via the plug-in hybrid technique because the change is less radical.”

“I’m driving electric myself, of course. I don’t have a wall-box at home. I’m perfectly satisfied with charging at work. But people will have to learn how to live in an ‘EV society’. They will have to learn to keep charging stations free, to learn how to use an EV properly. It will come…”


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‘2021 fiscal year to be most difficult in Ryanair’s history’
Félix Bouland Posted On February 2, 2021


In a recent press release, Irish low-cost airline Ryanair reports a €306 million net loss and a 78% drop in customers during 2020’s third-quarter (October to December) due to the corona pandemic and the different travel restrictions. The airline declares that its balance sheet remains one of the strongest in the industry, with €3,5 billion in cash at the end of 2020.

The group has been forced to take drastic measures, such as cutting 15% of its workforce, but it remains hopeful for the future and looks for growth opportunities beyond the Covid-19 crisis and vaccinations rollout.

82% revenue loss

“The 2021 fiscal year continues to be the most challenging in Ryanair’s 35-year history. Recently announced Covid-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions across the EU and UK will reduce our forecast to between €26 and €35 million (previously €35 million).

Visibility remains limited due to uncertain and constantly changing Covid-19 travel restrictions, and the timing of the roll-out of vaccines across the EU, but we are cautiously guiding an FY21 net loss of between €850 and €950 million,” writes Ryanair in its latest press release.

At the end of the third quarter of the 2021 fiscal year (from March 2020 to March 2021), numbers of the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair fall all around. It’s revenue dropped by 82%, and it transported 78% fewer passengers than in the same period last year.

‘Strong enough’

Ryanair isn’t alone in that situation, the whole aviation sector is taking a hit. Competitor EasyJet also announced its results a few days before, with an 88% drop in revenues in 2020’s Q3. EasyJet plans to only use 10% of its capacity in the upcoming quarter.

Despite the crisis, Ryanair declared being strong enough and that its balance sheet remains one of the strongest in the industry with €3,5 billion in cash at the end of 2020. The group even ordered 75 additional Boeing 737-8200 MAX in December, bringing the total order to 210 units.


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Shell buys German lamppost charging specialist ‘ubitricity’
Joris Van Roy Posted On January 26, 2021


Dutch oil giant Shell will buy German charging point manufacturer ubitricity if allowed to do by competition authorities. The Germans are specialists in integrating EV charging points into lampposts and bollards. In the UK, ubitricity has built in more than 2 700 chargers into ‘street furniture‘ already, being the largest provider with a market share of 13%

According to the press release, Shell has signed an agreement to buy 100% of ubitricity. The Berlin-based company is active in several European countries and has, besides the UK, an installed base in Germany and France and some 1 200 private charge points for fleet customers in Europe.

On-street infrastructure

Lex Hartman, ubitricity’s CEO, explains the success of the concept. “What excites so many people about ubitricity is that our integration of EV charging points into existing on-street infrastructure makes EV charging easy and accessible for everyone who needs it, where they need it.”

“Particularly in larger cities where there is limited access to off-street parking, this is the solution many people have been waiting for to allow them to transition to EV ownership,” he adds.

Electric Avenue

In London, for instance, ubitricity converted in March last year 24 street lamps into charging stations for electric vehicles using the existing urban infrastructure. Sutherland Avenue was renamed ‘Electric Avenue’ for the occasion.

The company bases its business plan on studies showing 60–85% of charging processes will take place in private and 15–40% in public spaces. But in cities, 60% of EV owners have no access to a private parking space.

185 000 EV charging points

For Shell, it’s a nice acquisition on top of its growing EV charging business. Shell claims it offers over 1 000 fast-charging points at approximately 430 Shell retail sites plus worldwide access to over 185 000 third-party EV charging points through its subsidiaries and partners.

In 2017, Shell took over the then market leader, Dutch Newmotion, getting some 50 000 installed chargers in 25 European countries at once.

 

 


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Alain Visser, CEO of Lynk & Co (2): ‘We are the wild horse in the stable’
Tony Verhelle Posted On January 13, 2021


Alain Visser, CEO of Lynk & Co, preaches the revolution. He doesn’t want to sell cars anymore, he wants to lend them monthly, and he wants his clients to share them. In this second part of the interview, he explains how it works.

Visser has no high opinion of the current car business. Over the years, cars may have evolved quite significantly, but the business of selling them hasn’t. “Over the last decades, I have been shocked by this industry telling us that it’s revolutionary. I think it isn’t.”

“The industry today is still designing and engineering cars, producing them in big factories, and shipping them to dealers who sell and repair them. It started 120 years ago like that, and that’s how they’re still trying to do it today.”

Membership

Visser tells us that all future prognoses tell us that this model is at its very end. He wants to sell mobility, so he started a model where clients subscribe to rent a car monthly. But Visser doesn’t like to call it subscription anymore.

“In fact, other manufacturers have stolen the idea from us, but what they do is not at all the same. Most brands talking about subscriptions now are, in fact, implying a form of leasing. That’s why I have introduced the notion of membership in this context.”

“I really think that Lynk & Co is the wild horse in the stable. We ask our clients to become members of a community. As part of that community, they do not only rent a car; they can also participate in events, go to musea, restaurants, the gym, etc.”

“We also want to make this ‘renting’ as simple as possible. For the moment, our cars are only hybrids (model 01). They come fully optioned, and they are only available in blue and black. The result: you sign your membership on Monday, and on Wednesday, you have your car.”

Of course, Visser doesn’t want to bet on one horse only; one can still buy a Lynk & Co. “Until now, we see that 70% of our new clients are members; they go for the monthly renting and want to be able to stop it at their convenience, every month.”

“One of the problems of the traditional car industry is the distribution system. The system of dealers is expensive and old-fashioned. We will have 16 ‘clubhouses’ all over Europe and pop-up stores where you can see the cars, test them, and book for events and other things.”

Service at home

Of course, a car needs maintenance from time to time. Having no dealers of their own, Lynk & Co will use the existing Volvo dealers to service the cars. It’s always nice to have a ‘sister’ who can deal with this aspect of the business, and apparently, Volvo likes it. They’re already doing the same thing for the other, pure electric sister, Polestar.

“Our members don’t have to bother much about service. Their car is being delivered and fetched at their home, and they always get a replacement. The cost of service is included in the membership, and we aim to see the cars in our network as little as possible.”

Sharing

Who are the potential customers? Seeing the scheme, one tends to think that Lynk & Co is aiming at the so-called Millenials, the people who prefer subscribing to services instead of owning products. “Our clients are not exclusively young people; they have a young or different mindset. We see that most of the early adopters are between 30 and 50. An open mind has no age limit.”

“Today, customers think differently. They’ve started to share things, from bikes to cars, and even their houses. Of course, many people still want to buy a car, but the number of customers who want something different is growing. We go for this 10% (but growing).”

Innovating is also the fact that a member can share his car with family or friends. The ‘owner’ of the car can then recuperate part of his monthly fee by charging others. That’s why Lynk & Co sees other sharing companies as their biggest competitors. Companies also can be interested in this scheme.

“Companies can have a pool of our cars in their car park. I reckon that, in the future, this will be 30% or more of our business. We see rental companies evolve in this direction. With their subscription policies, they’ll become the biggest competitors in this mobility industry.

“At the moment, the profitability of the sharing business is horrible. Almost everyone is struggling in this business to survive. But our added value is the membership, the emotion, the events on the side. We will be judged by the number of members, not the number of cars sold. That’s why we need to have a high occupancy rate for our cars.”

Only in Europe, for the moment

Lynk & Co is already proposing cars on the market in China since 2018. But there, almost all the cars are sold (some 125 000 in 2018). “The Chinese market is still very traditional. Proposing a sort of subscription to a Chinese customer is offending him/her. Our business model for Europe is big news over there.”

“In Europe, we aim for 10 000 members in 2021, and more than 100 000 by the end of 2023. Already now, we have 5 000, most of them in Sweden and the Netherlands. As usual, the Belgians are no early adopters.”

One should think that a quite revolutionary concept matches electrification perfectly. But Lynk & Co doesn’t offer pure electric cars yet. “The future is pure electric, that’s for sure. But to be the family’s unique car, it’s too early because the infrastructure is not ready yet. Our business case has to be simple and hassle-free. For most clients, this means hybrid at the moment.”

Unique selling proposition

The USP of Lynk & Co doesn’t lie in the product (yet) but in the people who work there and the customers they want to attract.

“Our car is brutally simple, you take it, or you leave it; that’s part of our business plan. But in the people who work for us, you can see the unconventional mixture of our customer base.”

“80% of them have never worked in the car business. 50% of them are female. At our headquarters in Gothenburg, we count 24 different nationalities. Our head of marketing doesn’t even have a driver’s license. Maybe, we still have to work on that…”

 


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Alain Visser, CEO of Lynk & Co (1): ‘We go for another business model’
Tony Verhelle Posted On January 12, 2021


The Belgian Alain Visser is Lynk & Co’s CEO, the Chinese Geely daughter who intends to change things on the car market. Many new and sometimes controversial ideas come from or are stimulated by the CEO — no better reason for having a chat with him.

We’ve known Alain Visser for a long time. Already when he was the CEO of Ford Belgium, he had this invaluable quality of appealing to people. We remember him also as the big star of a ‘big style’ Opel Corsa launch in London.

Charismatic

After a long career with Ford, Visser had moved to the arch-rival GM to lead the marketing division in Europe. His ‘show in the show’ was brilliant, charismatic, faultless. From the ‘event master’ of the show, we got the info that he was at the same time flexible enough to adapt himself to the expectations of the organizers and confident enough to make his own show of it.

When moving to the US’s GM headquarters, he quickly collided with other big shots about some future strategies and decided to quit the car sector altogether. But old habits die hard. When suddenly Volvo asked him to join them in steering the ‘Chinese’ Swede to success, he couldn’t resist.

Alain Visser is also one of the first who put a question mark after the obligation to be present at all ‘big’ motor shows on earth. He decided that Volvo would attend three, Geneva in Europe, one in the US, and one in China. That’s it.

To prove that he could also be lenient and understanding, he found a ‘Belgian’ solution for the Brussels Motor Show. Together with the Belgian MD, he concocted that the Brussels show was, in fact, a ‘vendor’s fair’, so Volvo could continue to support the event.

Some four years ago, he left the Swedes for a new challenge under the Geely umbrella, developing a new brand that wants to establish itself a unique position on the market. Technically, until now, Lynk & Co leans heavily on its Volvo sister, its first car (the ’01’) being very close to Volvo’s small XC40 SUV, but style- and marketing-wise it wants to be totally different.

Ghent

Lynk & Co positions itself as a global brand. Taking Volvo’s technical parentage into account, the first intention was to build the Lynk & Co 01 also in Ghent, the home turf of the small Volvo models. But as the launch of the brand took some delay, and the success of the XC40 was even better than expected, plans to produce in Ghent are in the fridge for now.

“But in the long term, I would like to produce also in Europe,” comments Visser. “To me, the flexibility and the proximity of producing local are more important than possible price differences between countries or continents.”

Another business model

“Take a look at the statistics,” Visser continues. “A growing number of people are hesitating about buying a car. It’s an expensive object sitting numb along the road or in the garage for 96% of its lifetime. How can one see this as a good investment?”

“Even my own sons ask me, ‘Daddy, what did you do with your life?’ What you’re doing is completely unsustainable; you can’t continue like this. So we decided to go for another business model, to stop trying to sell cars like all others (still) do, but to try to sell mobility.”

“I know that everyone is pretending to do the same nowadays, but in our business model of membership, of sharing a car, of paying a monthly fee for mobility, with a contract terminable every month, I think we are unique.”

Tomorrow, in our second part of the interview with Alain Visser, we will take a closer look at this model and his thoughts about the car industry: “For 100 years now, the car industry is doing the same thing over and over again. They think of themselves as being progressive or even revolutionary. I think they’re not.”

 

 

 


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Interview: the new faces at PSA Belux
Joris Van Roy Posted On January 7, 2021


Dutchman Bas Viveen, an ‘automotive veteran’ with mileage at Renault, Nissan, Peugeot, and Opel/Vauxhall Europe, runs Peugeot Belux for a few months already from August 2020. His colleague CEO at Citroën Belux, Frenchman Damien Martin-Cocher, just arrived from Ukraine, finishing his obligatory ‘quarantine’. Time to meet the new faces at PSA Belux.

For both men, it’s quite a challenge to take the helm in full corona restrictions. In a market that still loves cars, but that is divided within a regionalized country with complex differences in culture and taxation. Not to mention the loss – due to COVID-19 – of the high mass of car sales, the Brussels Motor Show. That ‘sales’ show normally makes up the car manufacturers’ major revenue of the year.

Limited interaction between Belgians

For Bas Viveen, it’s a reunion with Flanders after working in Hoogstraten for a few years at the very beginning of his career. Talking about the differences in culture, one of the things that struck him most at his return to Belgium was how the virus spread during the second peak in autumn.

“Looking at the Belgian news channels, you saw the map of the corona infections color deeply blue first in Wallonia and the ‘island’ of Brussels in Flanders, while Flanders itself followed weeks later,” Viveen says. “I was surprised to see how limited the interaction between the different regions actually was.”

Even for a ‘foreigner’, it’s clear Belgians rather live in a LAT relation, living apart together. Flemish people tend to look with interest at the Dutch. The opposite isn’t always the case, Viveen notes, which he estimates undeserved. French-speaking Belgians have their eyes fixed on France. Looking at the Belgian media, it’s apparent there is limited interest in each other’s regions.

An old hand at Peugeot-PSA

Although he started his automotive career as a product manager for Renault Netherlands (1998) and except for a three-year intermezzo at Nissan Europe as Section Manager Sales & Support (2002-2005), Bas Viveen is an old hand at Peugeot / PSA and a specialist in aftersales and customer care.

His trajectory includes being a Director Aftersales at Peugeot Netherlands, Director Pieces & Services at Peugeot/PSA Switzerland, and later at PSA Germany in Cologne, with a final stopover of two years at Frankfurt, as Director Customer Care & Aftersales at Opel/Vauxhall Europe.

Virtual motor shows

Asked whether PSA Belux already noticed reactions with the general public to the ‘virtual motor shows’ car manufacturers have prepared as a substitute for the Brussels Motor Show, he has to amid ‘close to none’ yet.

“This is a crisis and a lockdown no one has ever seen before,” Viveen says. “Everybody in the sector is looking at each other to see how this normally ‘Brussels party’ can be organized online and at the dealerships.”

Importance dealerships without questioning

Asked if it turns out after a few months of ‘virtual motor show’ online that sales match nearly a ‘normal’ year with the motor show, the latter will turn out to be irrelevant in the future, he hesitates. It’s clear no one has a crystal ball to look into the future, but he remains firmly convinced direct contact with the customer remains imperative.

“Contact is essential, and the dealer network remains crucial, but it will need to show flexibility,” he adds. “Belgians are very loyal to their dealers. Maybe second after the Swiss as I learned with my aftersales past.”

Belgians still want to buy cars

He believes Belgians will still want to buy a car to own themselves for a longer time, rather than convert to lease and rental formulas or subscriptions. However, he sees a growing role for PSA’s ‘Free2Move’ platform that provides all kinds of these formulas, including car sharing.

Asked how he sees PSA’s commitment to making the transition to electric, he assures the goal is to electrify the model line-up completely over time. “But for now, we need to be modest about it,” he adds. “We saw our LEV mix (PHEV and BEV e.n.) in our car sales grow from 3,2% grow to 8,3%, but we should go to 15%. But we can’t rest on one’s laurels.”

“We will still have to do some missionary work in the training of our salespeople to make them aware of the need to make the transition. But I’m convinced it is the only way to go.”

From Euro 5 to zero-emission

For Citroën Belux CEO Damien Martin-Cocher, coming from a country (Ukraine) where Euro5 is still the highest standard and electrification is the least of concern to the people today, it will be leapfrogging coming back to Western Europe.

Just coming out of quarantine, traveling from his latest post in Ukraine where he was CEO Peugeot-Citroën, he had very little time to familiarize himself with the new job at the Belgian PSA offices as Belgian CEO for Citroën. And with most of the staff working from home as required by the government, that’s no easy task neither.

Face masks everywhere

One of the first things he noticed, to his surprise, was all people wearing face masks in Belgium, something that obviously isn’t the case in Ukraine (yet). But in the automotive sector, it’s clear Ukraine is living 15 years or more in the past, as the Euro V standard will still apply there until 2025…

“For every new car sold there,” he tells, “there are six second-hand cars sold in that market. These are often cars coming from America or Asia, damaged and written-off in these countries, but to be patched up by local dealers.” And there is no such thing as a Periodical Technical Inspection (PTI) like in Europe.

Three years in Moscow

Before his five-year term in Kiev, he already served three years in Russia as an International Business Developer and Internal Controle Manager at the PSA Eurasia‘s team. But his career at PSA goes back to 2002 when he started in Project Planning Management.

Being only a few days in his ‘new country’, you can’t blame him for needing some time to get familiarized with the complex Belgian situation, in fully corona lockdown and having to cope without the Brussels Motor Show.

Believer in electrification

He is a strong believer though in the potential for Citroën to electrify its complete line-up and expects a lot, also in Belgium, for the e-C4 as a typical C-segment car for a brand that embraces comfort as a principle…

Like everyone, he’s curious how the market will react on the launch of Citroën’s daring ‘electric mobility concept’ AMI, a two-seater EV that is already available for sale since July in 39 shops of the French electronics and book retailer Fnac Darty.

The Belgian launch would be somewhere in March-April and will be hopefully appealing to young people of 16 and older as an alternative for the electric scooter, the Belgian CEO believes. The suggestion that AMI might appeal for sharing services like Cambio, which partners with Citroën already for quite some time in Belgium, he apparently liked to look further into.

 

 

 

 

 


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BMW accelerates EV production even more
Tony Verhelle Posted On December 29, 2020


Is the German car manufacturer BMW getting nervous about the energy transition? In any case, the company wants to draw already one-fifth of its turnover out of electric cars in 2023. At the moment this is 8%.

According to CEO Oliver Zipse, talking to the South-German newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine, there should be 10 million EVs in Germany in 2030. “But to reach these 10 million, we also need between 8 and 11 million charging points,” Zipse explains.

“As of today, there should be a growth in Germany of 15 000 new private charging points every week and 1 300 new public charging stations,” Zipse insists. “Unfortunately, we’re still far away from this. The next big European project should be aimed at the proliferation of charging infrastructure.”

250 000 EVs more every year

BMW already communicated about ambitious plans for electrification, now it wants to accelerate things just a little more. “We still want to broaden our market position,” says Zipse, “In the next three years, we intend to build a quarter of a million EVs more than we had planned before.”

“Already in 2023, we will have 25 electrified models on the road. Half of them will be fully electric. I’m talking about the already launched iX3 and the announced i4 and iX, but also about an electric X1, a 5-Series, and a 7-Series. And the Mini plans have also been revealed lately.”

Precursor i3

“Concerning sustainability, we subscribe to the Paris Climate Agreement targets. But 2050 is still far away, and we won’t be at the helm anymore. Still, we have to act now, and our goals for 2030 are already set. That’s why we came with the electric i3 already in 2013.”

“There have been doubts about the commercial success of the i3, but despite its age of almost 8 now, it’s selling better and better. It’s an ideal EV for the city, compact and at the same time spacious, and until now, it’s one of the existing EVs that is most frugal in consuming electric energy. We will continue to build him as long as the consumer wants him.”

What about Tesla?

In the interview, one also refers to Tesla as the manufacturer that has surprised all the big, traditional car companies and has overtaken them with speed. Zipse puts this into perspective.

“If you look at the German registrations for the first 11 months of this year, we see that 11,9% of the cars have a plug (plug-ins or full EVs). Only 0,5% are Tesla’s, 1,1% are already BMW’s. Please don’t misunderstand me; the performance of Tesla is impressive. But at the same time, we see Tesla building a factory in Germany. Conceiving and building cars is not that simple. In Germany, we have the competence, and we will defend our position.”

What about ICE?

Compared to other German manufacturers, BMW hasn’t suffered too much from Dieselgate. Is there still a future for cars with an internal combustion engine (ICE)? Zipse thinks there is.

“At BMW, we always want the most efficient drive with the lowest emissions for certain power delivery. This means that also our diesel and petrol engines have to be as efficient and clean as possible. Modern diesel cars, for example, emit more than 50 times less toxic elements than 10 years ago.”

“Somebody who sells his 10 to 15-year-old car for a new one is always contributing to the environment. So many people in this world don’t have access yet to electricity and charging points. They can also contribute to a cleaner environment by buying the most modern ICE cars.”


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Fiat reveals new ‘3+1’ body version of New 500 Electric
Tony Verhelle Posted On October 26, 2020


Fiat has introduced a new version of its electric 500 – the Fiat New 500 3+1, which is characterized by an additional door on the passenger side, hinged in the opposite direction.

Thus, the New 500 3+1 is designed to make access to the second row of seats easier – whether for passengers or if the rear seat is to be used as an additional storage area or to attach a child seat. Fiat sees the 3+1 as the “most versatile” version of the new 500.

The body of the Fiat New 500 3+1 hasn’t lengthened for the additional door. The weight is around 30 kg higher than the normal version of the new 500. According to Fiat, this should have no effect on driving behavior or fuel consumption.

La Prima goes further

As with the familiar body versions (hatchback or cabriolet) of the new 500, the 3+1 will initially feature the well-equipped ‘La Prima’ version, a so-called first edition.

With the 3+1, Fiat is introducing a more powerful version with a longer range. The top model has an 87 kW electric motor and a 42 kWh battery, which ensures a 320 km range according to WLTP or 460 km in the WLTP city cycle. This version has a DC charging capacity of 85 kW and an AC charging power of maximum 11 kW.

The basic model ‘Action’, as we already knew, has an output of only 70 kW, and the battery holds 23.8 kWh of capacity. The official WLTP range is reduced to 180 kilometers, the top speed from 150 to 135 kph.

Because of the smaller battery, the DC charging power is limited to 50 kW. This level of performance and range is intended for customers who drive 50 kilometers or less per day, says Fiat.

The more powerful drive from the La Prima introduction version will also be installed in the better equipped ‘Passion’ and ‘Icon’ versions, the latter being the top version when the La Prima is gone.

Alternatives to buying

One can buy a New 500 but also lease it or even pay-per-use (via Leasys Miles). Apart from that, there’s also LeasyGO! Car-sharing or Leasys Car Cloud subscription service. But FCA goes further: with ‘My Dream Garage’, one has the choice between 13 FCA- cars out of a virtual garage.

The Fiat New 500 Opening Edition in the Leasys Miles formula will cost from € 299 per month (VAT inclusive) and € 0,09 per kilometer (Lite version). All possible aids and insurances are included. Ideal for people in an urban era that don’t drive much.

If one prefers LeasyGO!, you just have to register for a yearly subscription via Amazon and pay an subscription fee and a monthly amount, giving you the right to use a New 500 for 2 hours. After that, you pay per minute. Charging is free and cared for by the LeasyGO!-team.


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Europe  / Industry  / Interview  / Portrait  / Top Stories Today
Nissan COO: ‘The relation with Renault has never been this strong’
Tony Verhelle Posted On September 8, 2020


Ashwani Gupta, a lively Indian in his early fifties, has the most difficult task at Nissan: making the failing Japanese number two profitable again. At Nissan, he’s COO, member of the board, director of operations, and performance. In short, he’s the duty fire officer.

Gupta and the newly appointed Luca de Meo at Renault have a lot in common, says the energetic Indian. “Luca loves cars, and so do I. Luca loves brands and products, the same goes for me. Luca is interested in people, it’s so refreshing to work with him.”

Huge task

Bringing Nissan back in the green is a huge task. For its fiscal year 20-21, Nissan foresees a €5,4 billion loss, the same as the year before. It hopes to become profitable again somewhere in 2022. To achieve this, the restructuring plan Nissan Next has been started, planning a 20% reduction in costs and capacity, and led by Gupta.

“The plan is on its way. We will focus on our key markets (Japan, China, US) and new products. But what we really want to change is the culture within. We want to pass from a volume culture to a culture of values, just like our partner Renault.”

“In the past, we have pushed for volume, thinking that we were able to sell seven million cars or more every year. We never sold more than five. The return to profitability has to come from this new culture of values. And these values are generated by profitable sales, by technological progress, by new sales. That’s the new Nissan.”

Nissan-Renault

Put it in another way, it’s bye-bye to the ‘folly of greatness’ of the former big boss Carlos Ghosn. Gupta points out that the relations between Nissan and Renault have been revived by Jean-Dominique Senard, president of Renault, and of the Alliance.

“In fact, I’m the oldest member of the Alliance direction, and I can assure you that the relations between Nissan and Renault are at present the best I’ve ever known in fourteen years.” Gupta entered the Alliance board in 2006 via Renault-India.

“Since his arrival at Renault in July, I already had six work meetings with Luca de Meo. Just last week, we launched five common projects,” adds Gupta. He’s also not afraid to give his comments on Nissan’s situation in Europe.

“Given our market share of 2,5% in Europe, we can’t afford any longer to have two factories on the old continent. So, we will close Barcelona, but Sunderland is another story. It’s our most performant plant; it’s part of our history.”

Leader-follower

In Europe, Nissan will be a follower in the new leader-follower strategy of the Alliance. “The current Nissan Micra is produced in France by Renault on a Nissan platform,” explains Gupta. “But it’s in a segment and in a region where Renault is leading. For the next Micra, we will ask Renault to develop and produce the car for us. And the same will happen with our commercial vehicles in Europe, where our French partner also leads.”

Is there a risk of losing engineering capacity and knowledge in this? Gupta denies. “You mustn’t confuse the leader-follower principle and loss of competences. The principle is that the partner who dominates a segment or region takes the lead, but everybody else is seriously involved in the project.”

According to Mr. Gupta, the benefits of this strategy are innumerable. “In China, Renault still sells light commercial vehicles with the assistance of Nissan, In Argentina, Renault produces the Frontier pickup for Nissan; in our home town Yokohama we produce parts of the E-Tech engine for Renault.”

“We have dozens of opportunities to work together. Thanks to Mr. Senard, the relationship between Nissan and Renault has never been as tight. The way the Alliance works has never been this clear. It’s clear as crystal.”

 

 


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Polestar opens first ‘Space’ in Brussels
Tony Verhelle Posted On July 24, 2020


Polestar, the new car manufacturer of electric vehicles and daughter of the Chinese Geely Group, has opened its first ‘Space’ in Brussels, the third in the world, after Beijing and Oslo. Later, there will be three more in Belgium, in Antwerp, Ghent, and Liège.

“Brussels gets renowned for the implantation of green mobility,” says Lies Eeckman, MD of Polestar Belgium. “We wanted to be there, in the city center, near the people. We will be just in front of the new pedestrian bridge relaying the North station and Tour&Taxis. A beautiful project that will change this area into a more vibrant community.”

“That we choose Brussels as our first location is no coincidence,” says Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar.”The Belgian market for EVs is just starting up but has a lot of potentials. Polestar will have a pioneering role in the transition toward sustainable mobility.”

No showroom

A Polestar Space is no ordinary showroom. “We want to inform visitors here, not to sell cars,” comments Eeckman. “The cars will be sold online; there is no stock. Our employees aren’t salespeople, they are trained to inform our potential clients as detailed as possible.”

“They don’t have any sales targets. They can talk about Polestar 1 or 2, but also about green mobility in general. It will create a relaxed and stressless atmosphere.”

Technical components and interior elements are shown as if it were an art gallery. Visitors can examine them, and eventually integrate them in the car of their choice. These configurations can be tested via huge screens or virtual reality goggles.

A test ride can be arranged. When they leave for home, they scan the QR code and can revive things in their own familiar atmosphere. “It takes away the stress of a classic purchasing process, it makes choosing and repurchasing a car enjoyable again,” adds Lies Eeckman.

Maintenance of the Polestar cars is assured by selected Volvo dealers. The vehicles are picked up at the home or the workplace of the client and redelivered after maintenance or repair. Polestar plans to open still this year 40 Spaces like this one all over the world.

Vegan approach

“Times are changing, and the corona crisis is accelerating everything, says CEO Ingenlath. “Dealers are confronted with huge problems. The classic dealers, with their big showrooms and stock of cars, are in trouble. Online sellers are benefitting from this.”

“In the car itself, we go for a vegan approach. No animal products in a Polestar. So many people like the tissues that, for example, Nike uses. We apply them too. Leather is outdated; it’s something for vintage cars. That’s why we have also banned chrome on the outside.”

The European equivalent of Tesla

Some people think that Polestars are very resembling of Volvo’s. Ingenlath, former chief designer at Volvo,  doesn’t see this as a handicap. “Polestar 1 was initially a Volvo project. Polestar 2 is already different, and our first project. Polestar 3 will be more different.”

“Sometimes you want to rebel against your ‘parents’, but it can also be an advantage. As a start-up, it’s very difficult to create an image, a brand identity. As Polestar, we can surely use the help of Volvo and its sound image concerning safety but also the lifestyle of Scandinavian society and design. It’s good to be associated for a while with Volvo.”

“But in five years, we want to stand further,” concludes Ingenlath. “We want to be an electric performance brand, in the league of Porsche or Tesla. A manufacturer that contributes to the sustainability progress of the car industry. This industry is still too conservative. Like Tesla, we want to shake it up. We’ll try to be the European equivalent of Tesla.”

 


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eBikes  / Interview  / Mobility  / Product  / Technology  / Top Stories Today
Agnelli family invests in Belgian e-bike Cowboy
Luc Joris Posted On July 23, 2020


Exor Seeds, an investment vehicle of the Fiat family Agnelli, is one of the new investors in the Belgian connected e-bike Cowboy. The Brussels start-up raises 23 million euros in a new capital round. The money will be used to design new bikes and expand the sales network, co-founder of Cowboy, Adrien Roose, says.

An old name

The fresh capital was brought in by five venture capitalists: Index Venture, Isomer Capital, Future Positive Capital, HCVC, and Exor Seeds. The latter in particular catches the eye. The fund is part of the business empire of the Italian Agnelli family.

The family is co-owner of the Italian-American car group Fiat-Chrysler. Still, through Exor, the family also has interests in the American reinsurer PaternerRe, the sports car manufacturer Ferrari, the football club Juventus Turin, business magazine The Economist, and CNH Industrial, a company that makes agricultural machinery and trucks, among others. Through Exor Seeds, the Agnelli family also has interests in small start-ups that are mainly involved in health care and mobility.

Expand network

For Adrien Roose of Cowboy, Exor Seeds is an exciting investor. “We also knocked on their door because Exor is one of the world’s largest industrial conglomerates,” Roose says in the newspaper De Tijd. “We also hope to gain access to certain manufacturers through them.”

Cowboy currently only has one point of sales in Belgium, along the canal in Brussels. The intention is to use this new capital to expand that network and increase the workforce.

Cowboy today employs 65 people. “We’re going to recruit 30 more people over the next twelve months, mainly product developers and software engineers,” says Roose.

Tripled sales

However, at first, it was not easy to get the investors on board. The investors hesitated first, especially when the corona crisis erupted. Roose feared that the deal wouldn’t go through, and in March and April, he even paused the talks.

But the corona crisis eventually turned out to be a blessing for Cowboy. The crisis has led to a boom in e-bike sales. “We initially feared that sales would drop because we’d stopped our marketing efforts,” explains Roose. “But despite that, our sales have tripled.” It’s those excellent sales figures that finally convinced the investors.

Last year, the company said it sold more than 5 000 bicycles (the Cowboy costs 2 200 euros). Besides Belgium, Cowboy is also active in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, and the United Kingdom. All in all, you can test a Cowboy in 60 cities in nine European countries. Germany sells the most.

37,5 million euros in fresh capital

With the new operation, Cowboy has already raised a total of 37,5 million euros in three capital rounds. In a first operation, 10 million euros were raised, and earlier this year, Cowboy was able to raise another 4,5 million euros in extra capital through crowdfunding, with 3 155 investors from 70 different countries.

According to the latest annual report submitted, Cowboy suffered a loss of 3 million euros in 2018 as a result of the high investments in product development. The intention remains to be profitable next year, says Roose, who confirms everything’s going according to plan.

Good app and a sleek design

“We’ve invested a lot in research and development, but we’re already selling our bikes at a profit today,” says Roose in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws. Unlike traditional bike manufacturers, Cowboy doesn’t buy parts, so they don’t lose money to suppliers. Because they also do the distribution themselves, they don’t lose any margin to bike resellers.

“We started with a white sheet and first built a good app for the users of our bikes, then developed an electrical system that communicates well with the app and only then designed a bike with a sleek design.”

Thanks to the app, Cowboy communicates directly with customers. Anyone who sends a message will receive a reply after 10 minutes. “We’re also starting a service where we do home maintenance,” says Roose. “We get so much feedback compared to regular manufacturers, which is very useful.”

Game-changer

Roose even thinks the app is a game-changer. Like a Tesla, the bike has a crucial function: if the owner jumps on the bike with his smartphone and is recognized, the bike will start and otherwise not. An alarm system has also been set up with the app. When the bike moves, there will be an alarm and a notification.

If an accident happens, the app asks if you’re okay and if there’s no answer within a minute, emergency contacts get a signal and a location. The latest feature on the app is a route that adapts bases on air quality.

Like a car with an automatic gearbox

What’s striking about Cowboy’s bikes is that they don’t even have gears on the handlebars. According to Roose, it turns out that on traditional bikes, people usually only use one gear – the middle one – and that stays the same with e-bikes.

“We’ve developed our bikes so that the power on the pedals senses how fast you want to ride and, depending on that, how fast you want to accelerate. It’s like a car with an automatic gearbox.

Extremely rapid expanding market

The production of the Cowboy bikes is done by Flex, an American company active in Europe that also works for Apple, Sony PlayStation, and Sonos, among others. The development and sales are managed from Belgium.

There is one model, which has already evolved into Cowboy 3, but the company wants to expand that, precisely because the market for e-bikes has been growing extremely rapidly in recent years. In Europe, sales are increasing by 30% a year. In the US, the market is ten times smaller, but there the growth is twice as big.

That offers opportunities. Roose: “Half of the bicycles sold in Europe are electric. I believe e-bikes will completely replace regular bikes – except for the real sportbikes. And even then there will be growth because there are also bikes that replace cars.”

Safer

“A lot of people think it’s more comfortable riding an e-bike and there’s also recent research that says it’s safer,” explains Roose, whose previous company was the Take Eat Ease meal delivery service, which has since gone bankrupt.

“Insurers now give discounts, for example, because they notice that e-bikers report fewer claims than ordinary cyclists. Specialists explain this partly because you brake faster at an intersection, especially in the city, because you know that it takes less effort to accelerate again. Ordinary cyclists think easier: ‘I’m not going to slow down and I’ll have a quick look to see if the traffic is safe’.

Bicycle is the future

“All I know comes from that Take Eat Easy adventure,” Roose concludes. “During Take Eat Easy, one of the problems was that when we delivered meals by car, we lost a lot of time because of traffic jams in the cities.”

“That’s when I realized that our mobility is all tangled up there and that the bicycle is the future. However, I still didn’t see many people coming to the office with an e-bike in the next few years, and that’s because they were far too expensive and poorly developed. That was my eureka moment.”


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Nissan MD West Europe: ‘We will be the smart follower’
Tony Verhelle Posted On July 23, 2020


Last week, Nissan presented its second full-electric passenger car, the Ariya. It’s also the sign for the new Nissan strategy to be developed. We had a brief virtual meeting with the CEO and COO and spoke with the newly appointed MD Nissan West Europe, the Belgian Koen Maes.

For Nissan, 2019 has been an ‘annus horribilis’ in different ways. The demise of the autocratic but also charismatic Carlos Ghosn, once the savior of Nissan, was a big blow; the sales and the financial results were also rather disastrous.

When it closed its most recent financial year (2019/2020) on the 31st of March, Nissan registered a net loss of 671,2 billion yen (€5,7 billion). That’s why it announced at the end of May a drastic restructuring foreseeing a 20% reduction in production capacity and personnel. The assembly plant in Barcelona will be closed.

Ariya

At the same time, Nissan plans to sell 1 million electrified vehicles in 2023/24, compared to 200 000 at the moment. It just launched Ariya and plans to have seven all-new electric vehicles before 2023, primarily for the Japanese, Chinese, and European markets.

All in all, Nissan wants to launch 12 new models (electric, hybrid, and ICE) in the next 18 months. For Europe, the next Qashqai will be of the utmost importance. It will be built in Nissan’s large Sunderland plant, staying the most important bridgehead of Nissan in Europe, despite Brexit.

Future vehicles

“Ariya opens a new chapter in the history of Nissan,” declared Makoto Uchida, Nissan’s CEO, last week in Tokyo at the launch of the car. “It will set the tone for a new era of future vehicles for Nissan. It unites our two biggest strengths, electric vehicles and crossovers.”

“With the Ariya, we combine all lessons learned of 10 years of Leaf. This car is everything combined. We offer D-segment roominess in a C-segment car. That’s why we also adapted the Nissan logo (digital, illuminated), referring to the sun, and with the hindsight that ‘there is nothing we can’t achieve’.”

Perfect fusion

“The Ariya is the perfect fusion of a crossover and an EV,” Ashwani Gupta, the COO of Nissan adds. “In fact, Nissan created the crossover and has been one of the pioneers of the EV. This now comes together in Ariya. And it adds the way to the autonomous car, and offers the latest in connectivity.”

“We learned a lot from our Leaf customers,” concludes Marco Fioravanti, VP for product planning at Nissan Europe. “We didn’t focus on what the competition was bringing; we listened to the actual needs of our customers. The differentiator will be the ability to meet customer needs better.”

Nissan Europe

A few months ago, the Alliance (Nissan/Renault/Mitsubishi) explained its new strategy. One of the key ideas was the leader/follower principle. Instead of competing for dead all over the world, the different partners will become leaders in some parts of the world and followers in others.

In Europe, Renault is clearly the leader, and Nissan will be the follower. “But we will be a smart follower,” says Koen Maes, the newly appointed MD of Nissan West Europe (Benelux and France).

Bigger brother

“There is confusion about this leader/follower principle. Nissan won’t be a subsidiary of Renault here in Europe. Renault will be the bigger brother, Nissan will follow its own course. The target is clear: we don’t want to lose identity, but we surely want to bring the Alliance to a new level, so that there are no overlaps in investments anymore.”

“The Ariya stands on the CMF-EV platform, Nissan-based, but open for everybody within the Alliance, to maximize its chances. The Ariya represents (at the moment) the pinnacle of Nissan Intelligent Mobility, focusing on three pillars: intelligent power, intelligent driving, and intelligent integration.”

Stability

“Nissan will stay in Europe, for sure. We have a strong base in the UK with the Sunderland plant, the technical center at Cranfield, and the design center in London City. Those will be our antennas in a complex Europe.”

Of course, Brexit is a threat. Car manufacturers want stability, preferably without friction or restrictions whatsoever. So we surely don’t want a no-deal Brexit. Europe is a hybrid situation for Nissan at the moment.”

Nissan in Benelux and France

“The position of Nissan is fairly different between France and the Benelux. In France, half of the market is, of course, dominated by the French brands, but while VW has 7% of market share, Nissan had 4% not so long ago (and was situated before Opel or Ford).”

“At the moment, Nissan has fallen back to 2,5% market share, but for the French, our brand is still considered as innovative. With Ariya and other products, we will try to consolidate this and rise again in sales.”

“Of course, we are very pleased with the incentives of the French state (premiums) as of June. We already sold a gigantic bunch of Leafs last month in France. But let’s not be mistaken: the French market is still 50% diesel.”

Fleet market

“In Belgium, the fleet market is significant. That’s our handicap here. At Nissan, there’s a real aversion for the fleet market, and that’s because of the US experience.  The fleet market there is different from ours, and requires huge buy-back initiatives, costing a lot of money. We are convinced that we can do better here.”

To conclude, I still want to emphasize that Nissan has been one of the pioneers of autonomous driving. From now on, Renault will be far more involved and maybe even take the lead. From a technical point of view, we can reach Level 4 or even 5 in the second half of this next decade. But there are som big question marks: what about the political and jurisdictional aspects and, even more important, how will the customer react?”

 

 


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Stéphane Sertang (Ginion Group): ‘the private car will be for passionates’
Tony Verhelle Posted On June 15, 2020


How is the car business waking up after the corona confinement? Belgian newspaper L’Echo asked Stéphane Sertang, CEO of the car dealer group Ginion, how he sees things.

Ginion Group covers a certain amount of (usually premium or high-end luxury) brands. There is Mini, BMW, and Volvo, but also Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, McLaren, Pininfarina, or Touring Superleggera). During confinement, the seven sites of the group were closed, 300 workers on temporary unemployment, but three workshops stayed open to assure the mobility of BMW and Volvo cars, especially those used by public or emergency services.

Freedom wanted

From the first day of the reopening in May, clients came back. In fact, for the Ginion group, May 2020 will be a better month than May 2019. Sertang points out that people were very interested in “freedom transport”, for example, cabriolets or motorbikes. “Of course, when you talk ‘leisure vehicle’, we’ll have to wait for a few years before we see the real impact of this crisis,” Stéphane Sertang adds.

People tend to react in two different ways in the corona crisis. Some of them wait for a little longer, to see what will come next. Others, on the contrary, compensate traveling restrictions (by air, boat, etc.) by buying a new car. Some also realize that ‘this awkward flu’ could have been the end, so they wanted to give themselves a threat.

Changing the business model

Concerning the impact of the crisis, Sertang says that this will be different according to the sector you work in. When we talk about the car business, Sertang points out that this sector was already hitting problems before the recent crisis. “In its current form, it will surely disappear sooner or later.”

“The car will become a leisure item like the horse has become one after being the first means of transportation for a long time,” he states. “But if far fewer people will own one, they will be ready to spend a lot more to get the object of their wishes.”

According to Sertang, the future market will be shared between the passionates and the others, the latter rather looking for the best mobility solutions, whatever they may be. “It’s not the discussion about which fuel to use that is important,” Sertang muses, “but the arrival of the autonomous and shared car. And this will come sooner than we think.”

Optimism prevails

At Ginion, they’re already preparing the change. There are a lot of discussions with other companies, of all kinds. Sertang not only sees optimism as a moral duty, he simply has it in the veins. “Even in the darkest of nights, there’s always a star to shine,” he concludes.

And he joins the last anecdote to confirm it. “Lately, there was a Portuguese guy stuck in a traffic jam just in front of the McLaren showroom because he couldn’t drive through the ‘Bois de la Cambre’ anymore. So he parks his car, enters the showroom, and buys a McLaren.”

“A week later, his cousin calls us and buys another one. So, finally, there are two McLarens ready for transport to Portugal. You see, you always win by staying optimistic.”

 


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Erik Swerts, MD Alphabet: ‘Mobility is at a turning point’
Tony Verhelle Posted On June 11, 2020


Just before the corona crisis hit Europe, the mobility supplier Alphabet ordered a mobility survey. We discussed the results with Erik Swerts, Managing Director of Alphabet Belgium & Luxembourg.

First, an overview of the most important results. The survey was held in the first half of February 2020 by the research bureau iVOX. 93% of the respondents indicated owning at least one car. A quarter of them has at least one company car in the household.

61% still use the car for commuting, 18% use public transport. Last three years, 8% of the car owners chose a smaller car, 3% a hybrid vehicle, and 2% a fully electric car. 2% of them already own an electric car for years, 1% a hybrid one.

Trends

These results are confirming the growing interest in ‘greener’ mobility. At Alphabet, this is confirmed by the fact that the total demand for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles has doubled lately.

The study also showed some remarkable differences between the regions in Belgium. One-quarter of Brussels citizens, for example, doesn’t own a car, and practically everybody (93%) uses public transport. Of course, the urban environment plays a big role here.

72% of Flemish people use public transport, while in Wallonia, this is only 53%. When we look at commuting habits, 70% of the Walloons go to work by car, while half of the Brussels citizens use public transport.

Cycling is far more popular in Flanders than elsewhere. One-fifth of them even drives to work by bicycle, 12% on a normal bike, 9% electrified.  The comparable figures for Brussels are 4% and 1%, and for Wallonia an almost non-existent 1% and 0%.

Unhappy

6 out of 10 respondents declared being unhappy about the mobility offer they have. 55% responded that they would like to use public transport for commuting, but that it’s practically not feasible.

The same frustration appears when you ask people about the mobility possibilities they’re offered by their employer. 34% would like to be offered a company car, only 24% are offered one. 56% would like a mobility budget; only 12% have the possibility.

45% would appreciate having an (electric) bike offered, only 17% can count on it; 29% would like an electric company car, a mere 7% can choose one. Even pool cars are far less offered (10%) than wanted (21%).

Looking for further comments on some of these results, we talked to Erik Swerts, Managing Director at Alphabet Belgium and Luxembourg.

“Every human is unique, and this is also seen in their commuting preferences. Three out of four want to decide themselves on their mobility possibilities. That’s why we think a panoply of mobility solutions for the employee integrated into one offer for the employer can surely help here,” confirms Swerts.

Just after the survey, the corona crisis hit the world. For sure, this must have its consequences too?

“The side-effects of corona on mobility were huge. That’s why we think that mobility in Belgium but maybe in the entire world is at a turning point. Is this the moment that teleworking is an option, now that we’ve experienced uncongested roads? A survey of 305 employers done in April shows that teleworking is now finally accepted.”

Has corona changed the world?

“Personally, I’m convinced that the world as we knew it before will never come back. I see the future of mobility as a mix of things. There is no unique answer. People will learn how to work from home, and they will like it, but they also need human contact. Human beings are not made to live or work completely on their own.”

How will Alphabet react to this?

“Alphabet was already a mobility provider. What we’re facing now is an accelerated shift toward other mobility solutions, reaching from teleworking over public transport, car sharing up to biking. People are ready for change now. When we launched strategies like Alphacity or Alphaflex, it was mainly the talk at receptions, “nice to talk about”, but now you will see the real interest.

Is this the end of the car era?

“Of course not. You won’t go quickly from 100% of cars to 20%. But other solutions will gain importance. Even before corona, we already had 2 500 bikes in our leasing park. We want a multi-modal approach, and you have the possibility to offer an incredible amount of solutions.”

“The need for comfort for the user/customer will be essential in the different mobility solutions offered. Do you know that the average value of our bikes is 5 000 euros? I thought it would be something like 1 800. It means that comfort is of paramount importance, independent of the actual solution you choose. Until now, it was the car that was always winning in this comparison, that’s changing now.”

Will Alphabet change its politics, considering what you experience?

“For sure, though we were already doing this. More so in other countries, Belgium was until now a very traditional, conservative market, but we were bumping into our limits just before corona. The return to this immobility is no solution for the future. There is no ‘back to normal’ anymore. Does everything has to be reinvented? No, a lot of inventive solutions already existed. Now, we have a combination of factors and forces that enables us to go through with it.”

Isn’t the whole lease market threatened by these evolutions?

“I already told you that the car won’t suddenly disappear. But, as you know, Alphabet is part of the BMW Group, and it’s certain that we will, also as a group, have to reconsider some things if we want to keep a leading position. We have to see the challenge of alternative mobility solutions as a challenge but also as an opportunity. This asks for an adapted, profitable business concept.

But in the end, there will be fewer cars to sell?

“The car will continue to play a leading role, whatever happens. More so, its use will be intensified; this is good for players like Alphabet. But manufacturers will be forced to compensate for the lower total number of sales. The car as a monodimensional object becomes an issue. That’s where we from Alphabet come in: our entire history is one of a service provider. We will continue to do that and enlarge our offering.

But that’s more difficult for a car manufacturer like BMW?

BMW is very aware of this challenge, and will also have to broaden its offer and its appeal. I know that this is something very difficult for a company like this, to withdraw onto the core business is tempting, but we have to think and react anti-cyclic, to ‘think out of the box’ to use a cliché. In fact, a ‘disruptive’ manufacturer like Tesla was very necessary. You can’t afford to be afraid of new things; you have to embrace them. I see parallels with e-commerce here.”

“At the end, the human behavior must be the thread in all things. You have to observe, you must analyze, and then you have to act as quickly as possible. It’s the only way to survive in these changing times.”

 


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Ex-CEO Audi: ‘The best solution is driving less’
Tony Verhelle Posted On April 27, 2020


Bram Schot (58), the former CEO of Audi, has left the company this month and considers his options. Meanwhile, he analyses the current situation and thinks about the future. He talked openly to the Dutch newspaper Trouw.

Schot was the successor of Rupert Städler at Audi in 2018 and led the company through a difficult period. End of last month, he had to clear the path for a new German Audi-boss, Markus Duessmann, a former BMW manager and confidant of VW’s big boss Herbert Diess.

Feeling free

A month ago responsible for 90 000 people, and now a free man, that must be a big difference?

“I worked till the last minute as if I was still going to work 25 years for the company. I think I did a lot for the company in those two years. I changed the company culture, made the organization simpler and flatter.”

But you had to cut in budgets, reorganize investments?

“I tried to give people a new perspective. I told them that it was going to hurt in the beginning, but that Audi will shine again and that it’s a wonderful company to work for. We made the company more efficient and effective.”

You stopped at the outbreak of corona…

“Yes, I was still in charge and decided immediately to close the factories. It confronted me with the fact that car companies are extremely vulnerable and also (too?) dependent on China.”

“This is a time of reflection. We feel the effects of globalizing. We see people growing; we see people failing. I think it’s good to stand still for a while, overlook things. I hope we learn from it too.”

Times are changing

Is this a big shock for the car industry?

“The speed at which the industry had to slow down was enormous. It will take much more time to rebuild; this will have an impact on the car industry for years. The timing was awful, we were amidst the (very costly) energy transition.”

“I also think we will have to rethink the meaning of premium. People tend to cherish other things in times of crisis; they ask themselves what is worth spending their money on.”

“I’m not too concerned about Audi. My successor will do a good job and we assured that Audi stays the innovation pole within the VW Group. There will always be a need for premium cars when they offer ‘Vorsprung Durch Technik’.”

But isn’t it possible that we will return to our old habits once this crisis is gone?

“That’s surely possible. It wouldn’t be the first time we don’t learn from history and will be doomed to repeat it. But I hope we will, this time.”

Back to the future

What will happen in the near future?

Car manufacturers will have to become mobility providers. The car itself will become one of the most important data sources, that’s where its chances ly. But first, it has to become green. A thing that takes so much space to transport, on average, 1,2 persons is too harmful to the environment. We will have to sell fewer cars, not more.”

“The best solution is, of course, to drive less. It brings us back to the essence of our discussion. What’s important for us? What’s essential and what is just nice to have? A big area of tension between wish and necessity, between environment and economic interests.”

How about your future? Will you stay in the automotive business?

“I haven’t decided yet. All options are open. I take a sabbatical to think about things. Of course, there will be a lot of things happening in the automotive. A quarter of my options is related to automotive, as a CEO or a board member somewhere.”

“But I can also continue my teaching about leadership. I do this already at the Bocconi University in Milano or the Sankt Gallen University in Switzerland. It feels like my head has become my office again. In the next weeks, I’m going to ask myself what are the essentials. What’s really important for me, what will make me happy…”

 

 

 


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D’Ieteren CEO: ‘A Belgian car market of 430 000 units this year’
Tony Verhelle Posted On April 14, 2020


Denis Gorteman, CEO of D’Ieteren Auto, is clear. He estimates the Belgian car market at 430 000 units this year and around 450 000 the following years – a far cry from the 550 000 last year. At the moment, the automotive sector is losing 3,7 billion euros a week, says sector federation Traxio.

The sector has been calculating and rings the alarm bell. If the lockdown is going to be pursued until the 3rd of May, the loss of turnover will be 34 billion euros or 20% of the yearly total. If it lasts until June, this will climb to 47 billion euros or 27% of total turnover.

Gradual restart

These figures take into account that there will be a rush after the confinement because, after the rush, the market will be abnormally calm again, says Traxio. According to the federation, the fleet market and the second-hand car business will suffer the most.

Many companies will be in serious problems, that’s why Traxio asks for a gradual restart of activities. “We are expecting quite a lot of problems,” says Traxio spokesman Filip Rylant, “that’s why we ask for a gradual restart. That way, we see cash coming in, and we partially avoid the rush of a sudden restart later on.”

What the sector would prefer is a resumption of certain activities from the 19th of April onward, with all respect of the social distancing rules foreseen in this lockdown period. The premises of the dealers and importers are overstocked with cars waiting to be delivered. In the port of Zeebrugge, 100 000 cars are awaiting distribution.

D’Ieteren Auto

CEO Denis Gorteman is very clear: “For this year, we were thinking of a market of 510 000 cars, now we will be lucky to arrive at 430 000. More so, we think the market will oscillate around 450 000 for the next five years.”

D’Ieteren Auto, the biggest importer in Belgium, is also struggling with overstock. “We are at the top of a wave; we were just preparing to deliver the cars sold at the January motor show. Normally, we deliver 120 000 cars per year, that is 800 to 900 per day.”

When the lockdown is over, special measures will have to be taken. “Not only we want to deliver as many cars quickly, but the modern car has also become more complex, so it needs more explanation. We need qualified people for it.”

Home delivery

Last week, a generalist car distributor announced the home delivery of its cars. Maybe that would also be a solution for regular importers or dealers? “Home delivery is more complex; it asks for more people during a longer period. That’s not what we are aiming for.”

Meanwhile, having such a big overstock costs a lot of money. Maybe the consumer will benefit from this, with discounts to be considered. “I don’t see big discounts, for three reasons,” says Gorteman.

“First, the majority of our cars are already sold. Secondly, production will restart progressively, we don’t have to push our stock. Thirdly, we know that delivery times for newly ordered cars will be longer, our stock will hold its worth.”

CO2 emissions

The corona crisis is unseen in the car industry. Does this mean that Europe has to review its CO2 emission targets? “If Europe wants to invest massively in new sustainable industries and energies, I think it has to delay the rules in the short term, but even strengthen them in the middle and long term.”

Do you think this will slow down electrification? “I don’t think so. The factories have already been transformed to build EVs. On the contrary, if oil prices remain as low as they are now, the electric car will have more difficulties competing with gasoline or diesel cars if you only consider the price.”

 


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Brussels Airlines CEO Vranckx: ‘going for it 100%’
Arnaud Henckaerts Posted On April 9, 2020


Brussels Airlines fights to survive amid the corona crisis, but Dieter Vranckx shows himself combative. “I’m going for it 100%.” The newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws interviewed the CEO of the Belgian airline, which is part of Lufthansa.

No new Sabena scenario

Since March 21st, the 42 Brussels Airlines’ airplanes have been on the ground in Zaventem. And it will remain that way until at least May 15th. An expensive problem, because the costs keep rising. Dieter Vranckx (47) became CEO of Brussels Airlines on January 1st of this year, and wants to avoid a new Sabena scenario.

The whole airline sector is in turmoil because of the corona crisis. “I have experienced September 11th, the financial crisis, the bombings at Brussels airport. More than once there was a crisis that revolved solely around aviation. But then the rest of the world went crazy. This? Unseen,” says Vranckx.

Corona impact

Vranckx saw the first consequences of the corona crisis on February 24th. “The virus had already been in Italy for a few weeks, and suddenly our new bookings dropped 6% below the normal level. From then on, it got worse every day. That’s why we were one of the first to stop a series of flights from March 11th.”

Brussels Airlines has a flexible system for people who saw their flight canceled. “Customers whose flight was canceled get until April next year to use their ticket still, and even change their destination. Anyone who still travels this year will receive 50 euros in travel credit. This option is currently popular.” Reimbursement is also possible, but due to technical unemployment Brussels Airlines reports delays in processing applications.

Running costs

The current situation costs a lot of money, also because the airplanes of Brussels Airlines are leased, and the insurance continues to run. “In addition, airplanes are not made to stand on the ground. Certainly, the planes we keep ready to fly again have to be maintained daily. Also, our Service Centers also continue to work on rebooking,” says Vranckx.

Some planes have been wrapped up because they will remain on the ground for more than three months. After all, bookings come in very slowly. “In the last six to seven months of 2020, we expect to sell half as many tickets as in the same period last year. In the whole of 2021, the demand will reach about 75% of the normal level. We’ll drag this along for another 12 or 18 months.”

Survive

Brussels Airlines has been loss-making on average for the last 10 years and wants to reach a profit margin of 8%. Before the corona crisis, Brussels Airlines was already in the process of restructuring. This is now being accelerated, with fewer aircraft and less staff, says Vranckx.

“The old plan was based on 100% of normal demand, so I think everyone understands that the new plan has to look different. It’s too early to say how many personnel it will affect. We’ve already canceled five planes that would normally fly for us from the summer.”

“Il faut reculer pour mieux sauter, they say in French. In the end, the goal is to grow profitably from 2023. But first, we have to survive the coming weeks.”

State aid

Brussels Airlines counts on state aid to survive the risk and has regular consultations with the Belgian political world. After all, the economic impact of the company cannot be underestimated.

“We employ 4 200 people, and there are another 40 000 jobs directly dependent on Brussels Airlines. That’s four times more than if the flights to Zaventem were operated by a foreign company. Tourists who come to Belgium also spend an average of 650 euros, not counting airline tickets.”

According to Vranckx, Brussels Airlines also provides a hub effect. By bringing people to Zaventem via shorter European flights, large airlines choose the airport for their international flights. “Including our parent group, Lufthansa, we have a market share of more than 50%. Thanks to us, Brussels is a hub, and I’m sure it will continue to be so.”

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e-bike 2.0 gets automatic gearbox
Gert Verhoeven Posted On April 2, 2020


The e-bike market has been growing steadily for years. The market represented 9 million units last year. That is why the Belgian company E2 Drives also focuses on this growth market by developing innovative technology with an automatic gearbox.

Interesting technology

E2, founded by Arthur Deleval and Simon Godfrind, tries to position itself in the market in a particular way. “We chose to develop new technology for e-bikes: an engine with an automatic gearbox,” says Deleval. “After six months of prototyping,” we succeeded.

“We believe that a standard gear for e-bikes is not the best solution. We have developed our own system and presented it to the industry. There was a clear interest in it. We made contact with one of those players, which would give E2 Drives one million to make the technology available. We would also receive royalties on the sale of the e-bikes equipped with our technology,” Godfrind adds.

Own prototype

“However, there was discussion about payments and the further development of technology. In the meantime, we have started discussions with other players to use our technology. We also decided not only to offer the technology but also to develop our own electric bikes,” Deleval continues.

The young organization has recruited five young employees who are working on some prototypes with which they want to reinvent the bicycle. “A few more months and we can introduce them. We believe in it, although we did need some persuasion from our investors. We are mainly working on the development of the frame, the engine, and electronic connections. We call our prototype Zest,” adds Godfrind.

Technology makes all the difference

The first E2 Drives bike does not target the same audience as Cowboy, the other Belgian start-up. “We want a connected bike for commuting, and we want to make a difference, especially in terms of technology, where many other start-ups do so mainly in terms of design.

“Of course, we are also looking for ways to bring this to the market,” Deleval concludes.


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CEO Francis Deprez confident D’Ieteren is ‘well-armed’
Arnaud Henckaerts Posted On April 2, 2020


D’ieteren CEO Francis Deprez is facing the worst economic crisis of his career. But D’Ieteren Group is armed with a €1,5 billion in cash. The magazine Trends interviewed Deprez and asked him about his view on the corona crisis and his vision for the future.

Impact corona crisis

D’Ieteren found a new CEO for its Italian luxury stationery subsidiary Moleskine last month. She (Daniela Riccardi, e.n.) needs to get the numbers back on track after a few difficult years. But Moleskine felt the corona crisis first, according to Deprez. “Moleskine’s Chinese subsidiary has been feeling the impact since the end of January. Our stores there closed, our people worked at home. Today, those stores are open again, although they’re still running at a slower rate than before the coronavirus outbreak.”

While car sales, one of D’Ieteren’s main activities, still performed relatively well in 2019, Deprez expected 2020 to underperform. “At the beginning of this year, we expected a decrease of 7 to 9%. Consumers are uncertain about the car policy. This does not yet include the corona effect. Sales have come to a standstill because the car factories are shutting down. And what will be the impact on consumer confidence and the lease market?

Electrification

Volkswagen Group focuses on electric cars. After the Audi e-tron and e-tron Sportback, VW ID.3, ID.4, and the Porsche Taycan, the Volkswagen Group aims to have no less than 75 electric cars in its range by 2030. However, this is not the only form of drive that will continue to exist, according to Deprez.

“Electric cars will gain a significant market share. And yet it remains a segment among others because the electric car is particularly suitable for short distances in the city. As long as the cities have the right infrastructure. Hybrid cars will continue to play a role, especially if their electric range is increased to 50 to 60 kilometers. For long distances, clean diesel models certainly remain a solution. Hydrogen will also play a role in the long term, but only in ten to fifteen years. Hydrogen will become an alternative to diesel in the long run.”

Belron

In 2017, D’Ieteren sold 40% of its share in vehicle glass repair company Belron. But Belron was the driving force behind the good results of 2019. Nevertheless, Deprez does not regret the sale. “On the contrary. We as a group were given additional resources, which will enable us to diversify into other activities.”

According to Deprez, fresh blood in the management of Belron is also good for the dynamics of the company. “The general car glass repair market will not grow. Together with the new shareholder, we made the management analyze the situation. Many things were good; others could be better. The profitability, for example. Last year, turnover and profitability grew strongly, despite the mild winter in Western Europe. So we’re no longer too dependent on the climate.”

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems play a role in that growth. These systems also need to be readjusted when replacing a windscreen. “Belron was one of the first to jump on that bandwagon. We have the equipment, and we have retrained our staff. In 10 to 15% of all windscreen repairs, we now have to do that new job too.”

Participations

D’Ieteren Group has been looking for new acquisitions for some time now. Family shareholders Nicolas D’Ieteren (44) and Olivier Périer (48) work on the long-term strategy, and ensure diversification, according to Deprez. “What should the Group look like in forty years’ time? There are still many opportunities in the automotive sector and mobility. Perhaps we will no longer have the same tailwind the automobile sector has had in the past forty years.”

In the long run, D’Ieteren wants more participations, but according to Deprez is picky. “First of all, we want companies that invent or reinvent their sector. Belron has done this in vehicle glass repair, Moleskine, with a unique notebook. Secondly, companies need to pursue long-term excellence and have a major impact. Not only financially, but also for employees, customers, and society at large. Thirdly, these companies must have strong and ambitious management teams.”

The corona crisis is a setback, but indirectly it has an impact on strategy. “We can re-examine the files that we have looked at over the past weeks and months and found to be too expensive. On the stock exchanges, the prices look different than a few weeks ago. On the private market, we need to look at how the situation is evolving.”

Don’t miss the digital boat

Deprez worked in Germany from 2006 to 2016, a golden decade for the country. Under Merkel’s leadership, the country believed in itself. Today, he sees symptoms of fatigue, especially in digitization.

“My previous boss, the CEO of Deutsche Telekom Group Tim Höttges, felt that Germany and Europe, in general, had lost the first half of the game. The first half of the game is about the digital consumer companies Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon. But Höttges fears that we could also lose the second half of the game, that of Industry 4.0 and artificial intelligence. Germany works in a very systematic way, with a lot of procedures. It is looking for the perfect solution. Elsewhere in the world, this is viewed more pragmatically. Testing something, and if it works for 80%, it’s commercialized. That makes all the difference because it means you’re on the market faster.”

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Maxime Picat: ‘PSA wants to make cars for everyone’
Tony Verhelle Posted On March 10, 2020


Many car manufacturers are struggling. Lately, their reaction to the different threats differ. In this article, we talk with Maxime Picat, since 2016 EVP at PSA and Operational Director for Europe.

Our rendezvous was scheduled for Geneva, but we finally talked on the phone. Of course, Maxime Picat couldn’t hide being exalted by the fact that ‘his’ Peugeot 208 was elected Car of the Year 2020. “I think that the fact that the car is proposed as a multi-energy car from the beginning was a clear message. It’s the key to its success.”

Not so long ago, PSA CEO, Carlos Tavares, was showing irritated by what he called ‘immobilism’ and the lack of vision of the authorities. Picat expresses this a bit more politely. “The problem with the abundance of rules and their financial consequences is that the car becomes a real luxury item.”

“PSA wants to make cars for everyone. A car is still a symbol of freedom. You have to look at the impact of all these measures on the car industry, and you have to be sure that a car that can be bought by all is still in the possibilities.”

Corona and China

The impact of the coronavirus changes almost every day, but until now, it has been reasonable regarding PSA. “Our factories are still producing, the impact until now is limited. Our factories in Wuhan are scheduled to restart on the 11th of March.”

“Of course, the impact can become worse when other parts of the world go in lock-down. I’m thinking of Italy, of course, in the first place. Until now, sales were down in the regions that were in quarantine, but we sold more in the other regions in Italy. Now, we will have to see what happens.”

Flops

One of the biggest flops for PSA the past years is the position in China. Instead of heightening sales and market share, PSA almost sells nothing anymore compared to a few years ago. Maxime Picat was working in China for PSA for many years before he came back to Europe at the end of 2012.

“Of course, we are not at all happy about what happened in China. As we are so small now, the impact on the group is limited, but we have to do things otherwise. DS, for example, has a future in China. DS 9, for example, is a car that is very well suited for China. We have to redevelop our position in this biggest of markets.

DS

In the recent past, Peugeot was doing very well, Citroën has reinvented itself, and Opel is finally making money. But what about DS? “DS has a very recent history. Until now, we see that DS is doing very well in France, and it has a good start in other countries, like Belgium. But in others, DS is not known yet; we still have to build everything.”

“I have to warn you that DS is already making money at the moment. But, for sure, we have to improve everything. The biggest danger is that DS would become mainstream and become an internal competitor to Citroën and Peugeot. We have to be very vigilant in this.”

FCA

It can’t be easy to differentiate the four brands within the PSA Group, normally all the brands of Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA) will be joining reasonably soon. That must surely make things even more complicated.

“We are preparing the fusion, indeed. This takes a lot of work, we have installed so-called transversal working groups to look for the best way to do things. We have to think about synergies; we have to rethink our relations with the suppliers, we have to streamline our manufacturing apparatus without  closing factories, etcetera.”

“You know, our recent client surveys gave us fascinating information. Potential buyers of PSA products are evidentially hesitating between ours and other brands. But they are practically never hesitating between PSA brands and FCA brands. They seem to be very different customers, and that’s excellent news.

“In fact, we have to see that our two base brands, Citroën and Peugeot, aren’t coming too close to each other. That’s why we are trying to differentiate them as much as possible, be it that the underpinnings are mostly the same.”

The family

As a result of future fusion, the part of the Peugeot family in the new group will be halved. The Agnelli family will be the biggest shareholder. The Peugeot heirs are concerned about this.

FFP, the holding of the family, has announced this week it will buy additional shares of PSA. At the moment, FFP has 12,2% of the PSA shares, the same as the Chinese partner DongFeng and the French state. Once the fusion is a fact, the FFP share in the new company will automatically fall to 6,2%, where the Agnelli family will still have 14%.

While BPIFrance (the French state), as well as DongFeng, has he intention to diminish their part in the new entity, it is possible that the Peugeot family will take advantage of this. In January, one of the heirs, Jean-Philippe Peugeot, has reminded that the French state has no intention of staying much longer in the group’s capital.

FFP has diverse interests in a lot of companies. Some are active in the stock market; many others are entirely private. In total, FFP has an estimated value of approximately €2,1 billion. With this first operation of acquiring shares, the Peugeot family reaffirms it is still very interested in the car business.


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Geert Bruyneel (Volvo): ‘The success of Ghent is competence’
Tony Verhelle Posted On March 6, 2020


On Thursday, Volvo inaugurated its brand new battery assembly plant in Ghent, the first for Volvo. Belgian Geert Bruyneel, responsible for Global Production Operations at Volvo, had traveled from Göteborg to comment on the important investment.

“Sustainability is as important as safety at Volvo,” says Geert Bruyneel. “That’s why we are on this electrification journey. Electrification is at the top of our priorities. In 2025, we want to have reduced the CO2 emissions of our company by 40%; in 2040 we want to be CO2-neutral.”

Frontrunner

Volvo’s new battery assembly plant in Ghent, starting up next week, has a pioneering role. Until after the summer, it will be ramping up, afterward it will turn out up to five batteries/hour, a figure that can be augmented fairly quickly if the need arises. The entire hall is a completely dust-free high-voltage area, a no-enter zone except for the trained personnel.

Volvo has invested €150 million in the new battery plant and is also investing €24 million in the education and training that goes with it. A copy of this plant will be built in Charleston, South-Carolina (US), near the factory Volvo is running over there.

In the end, Volvo aims to produce its batteries for electric cars all by itself. For the actual components (the cells), they have a long-time contract with LG Chem (South-Korean), and CATL (Chinese), so that they’re not easily running out of supply when something happens.

Until now, they had no problems concerning the coronavirus. They hope the factories of the suppliers in China will re-open on the 11th of March, as scheduled. The LG Chem cells for the battery arrive from a factory in Poland.

Ghent factory

Volvo’s Ghent factory has been in Belgium for 55 years already. Last year, it produced 206 225 vehicles, from which 93% are exported. Almost 70% all over Europe, 15% to the US, and 8% to China. The factory gives work to 6 500 people.

The capacity for building the compact XC40 in Ghent has been increased to 185 000. Apart from that, Volvo is also assembling V60. Soon the production of the Twin Engine, Mild Hybrid, and fully electric model (XC40 Recharge P8) will start. The latter shares its technical underpinnings with the Polestar 2.

“The interest for our electrified models is high,” says Wim Maes, CEO of Volvo Belgium. “Already in 2019, we sold 31% hybrid cars, while our target was 20% in 2020.”

Full capacity

“I think we will produce 220 000 cars in 2020 in Ghent,” says Geert Bruyneel, who has himself been plant manager here ten years ago. “The factory is at full capacity; it turns 24 hours a day on three shifts.”

Bruyneel is confident about the future of the Belgian plant inside the company. “The future is today is my favorite saying, meaning that we have to constantly improve ourselves to stay top of the bill.”

“The company is a fixed value inside our group. Now that there are rumors about a fusion between Volvo and Geely, we could see this as a threat. But I see it rather as an opportunity; we can also build the Chinese Lynk & Co brand here (the original plan has only be postponed), and even the Polestar 2 when demand is high. They’re both based on the small platform CMA (Compact Modular Architecture).

Self-learning and responsibility

Bruyneel is a strong advocate for permanent education and training within the company. “When somebody works here, he acquires a deeper knowledge of what’s going on, and what he has to do compared to somebody from outside.”

“We have to invest in people so that they can take responsibility for their own. They will learn to always ask themselves and others what’s best for the company. Sometimes it will be automation, but sometimes it will be manual handling. There’s no rule here.”

Competence

“Competent people make the right choices. If you’re making your manufacturing processes too complex and confusing, you’re running into big trouble when something goes wrong.”

Bruyneel has the same attitude toward suppliers. “If they are more competent than we are, why shouldn’t we use them. We are no battery cell experts, so we let others make them for us.”

“When we look at our factories or our suppliers, apart from competence, there are three key factors to look at: cost, efficiency, and emissions. The latter is becoming more important every year. That’s also why we will introduce one new electric vehicle every year to come.”

 


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BMW Head of Design: ‘Car sector is turned upside down’
Tony Verhelle Posted On February 10, 2020


For ten years now, Dutchman Adrian van Hooydonk leads the design department of the German premium car manufacturer BMW. He thinks the whole car sector is now ‘in a perfect storm’. “In our industry, everything is turned upside down.”

“We have electrification, we have autonomous cars coming, and everything has to be done at the same time. We don’t have the luxury to do things step by step.”

Profound changes

According to van Hooydonk, the cars will change profoundly. “For designers, the electrification process is a positive thing. We have more room to design nicer interiors. And as the car gets more intelligent, you need fewer handles and knobs.”

“The interior of a car will, therefore, be quieter, it will look more like a living room. The occupants will be doing other things than just sitting in the car, like watching things on a big screen or responding to emails or reading.”

Design is even more important

When technology becomes less important for the ‘driver’ and his passengers, it’s the design that will have to convince them. “There are no bad cars anymore, so you have to convince people to choose your brand by offering outstanding design and comfort.”

“And when you have three very different brands like the BMW Group, you have to understand the different needs and profiles of those brands, also in design. A BMW has to emanate movement, also at standstill. A Mini is a more joyful, urban brand. A Rolls-Royce stands for authenticity, sovereignty. It can never be ‘out of style’.”

And when a design flops, who’s responsible? “At this moment, that’s me at BMW. But the most important thing is to stay in contact with your customers. You have to be faithful to them and to the brand.”


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Interview: Frans Timmermans on the EU Green Deal
Arnaud Henckaerts Posted On February 3, 2020


Flemish newspaper De Morgen interviewed Frans Timmermans, ‘Mister climate’ of the European Commission, about the European Green Deal. Timmermans does not see the Green Deal as a fixed plan, but rather as a guideline with the ultimate goal of climate neutrality by 2050.

For Timmermans, the Green Deal combines three major challenges in Europe: the climate crisis, the industrial revolution, and the demographic challenges. At the end of February, the European Commission will present a climate law that should teach everyone discipline with a view to 2050. If the parliament and the member states adopt this law, the Commission will have enforceable targets for the trajectory to 2050.

Poland

However, some countries do not seem to agree, such as Poland, which abstained in a vote in the European Council. Timmermans: “Poland gave its blessing to the end goal. This is how I interpret the decisions of the European Council. Only it took until June to commit itself to that goal. I understand that Poland needs 4% of its gross domestic product for that transformation. I feel we can achieve a positive result in June.”

However, the breakthrough will take some time. “We shouldn’t be naive. The problem lies with the multi-annual European budget for the period 2021-2027. As long as the member states don’t know how much they will get in the next seven years, there will be no clarity from Poland,” says Timmermans.

“We need 260 billion euros of investment annually for the Green Deal. But this is the first time we say: we have to realize this Green Deal, even if we don’t have enough resources. We used to look at the budget first to see how much we could do. That’s an important difference.”

Belgium and the Netherlands

The Netherlands, Timmermans’ homeland, demands a small European budget of no more than 1% of the European GDP. Timmermans is critical. “I hope the Netherlands has an idea of where it wants to land and also thinks of its interests, such as a shift toward an innovative policy. It is dangerous if the member states only look at the income side and the contributions they pay to the European budget. And believe me, I use every opportunity to give my advice, including unsolicited advice.”

Timmermans did not yet look at the Belgian national energy and climate plan in detail. He does remember his meeting in Madrid with Flemish Minister of the Environment Zuhal Demir. “I reported that we were talking about reducing emissions by 50 to 55 percent by 2030. She then told me that Flanders is aiming for, what is it again, 32,5 percent? Which I told her is not the European target.”

Nuclear energy

According to Timmermans, natural gas and nuclear energy are necessary to meet the climate targets by 2050. However, he sees nuclear power plants only as a temporary interim solution.

“It may be much wiser to invest in the end goal than in an interim solution. That’s why I say: first, make the bill and only then make your choice. Building new nuclear reactors is extremely expensive. But the member states have to look carefully at those costs. Then other solutions may be more advantageous. Moreover, nuclear energy is not sustainable. But nuclear energy does have a positive effect on greenhouse gas emissions.”

According to Timmermans, the whole of Europe must focus on renewable energy: “We want to be as pragmatic as possible at the European Commission, but the focus is: how do we become sustainable? Gas isn’t; coal isn’t.”

According to Timmermans, the choice for renewable energy will also come naturally: “Even in France, I can see the mood changing. The nuclear park there is outdated. So far-reaching investment decisions are needed. The income from green energy is on the rise. There is a business case for green energy.” According to Timmermans, the rising price of CO2 will also undermine the profitability of coal-fired power stations.

Cities

Timmermans, who co-heads the Global Government of Mayors, wants to bring European cities together to exchange ideas. “In cities, the problems are the most acute. Just think of pollution, the heat in southern Europe, or the weather catastrophes. Cities also create solutions, because they are a hotchpotch of people from different regions and cultures. You can find solutions for greening transport or insulating houses.”

Timmermans is also in favor of working together to make investments cheaper. A group purchase for green buses, for example. “Now, cities do that separately for 100 or 200 buses. With a group purchase, you can do that for 5.000 buses in one go. That can make a big difference, also for the European industry.” Another idea is joint loans for insulating houses or installing solar panels.

Timmermans wants to tighten the target for 2030 by the end of September. “The pressure is great to reduce emissions to 50 or 55 percent by 2030 instead of 40 percent. But I am waiting for an impact study. I got my plastic strategy through in eleven months because the figures weren’t up for discussion.”

Automotive industry

Timmermans is also waiting for an impact analysis next year for an adaptation of the emission standards of cars. But the car industry already finds the standards too ambitious and fears job losses. “An industrial revolution leads to shifts. Think of the transition from horse to steam, or from steam to internal combustion engines. The challenge is: where are the jobs needed for that change, and are they accessible to those who are doing a different job now? Experience shows that this can go terribly wrong,” says Timmermans

“People need dignified other jobs. I’ve already raised that with Google, Microsoft, and Apple. We need to use new digital technology to continuously educate people. But we also need to use it to make new jobs less complex.”

Europe is behind in the battery race with Asia. Timmermans had a conversation about this with CEOs from the automotive industry. According to him, they are willing to join the battery European alliance. But Timmermans wants to go further. “Can we catch up with the Asians? Yes, we can. But we can also innovate: use less precious metals and less scarce materials and achieve better use and recycling of batteries.”

According to Timmermans, hydrogen is also part of the solution to the energy problem, if sufficient investments are made. “In aviation, you can’t do without any form of fuel, such as hydrogen or a synthetic variant. The technology is there, but we have to move to a broader scale and market. Europe can become a world leader with a hydrogen-based economy.”

Modal shift

Timmermans wants to divert 75 percent of the transport from road to rail and water. According to him, that will also be necessary if we switch to emission-free trucks. “The energy supply alone is a huge challenge. Trucks are now refueled every week. This will have to be done with electric trucks every four hours. Look at the infrastructure you need for that.”

According to Timmermans, the industry is following the story of modular transport and freeing up the roads. “Everyone is intimidated by the magnitude of the challenge, but at the same time understands that this change is necessary. They don’t discourage that step.” Still, a lot has to change before the train is a worthy transport alternative. “There have been long underinvestments in the railways. Now Germany has announced 85 billion euros of investment in the railways. That’s a big change.”

Legislation could also be improved. “We want to make sure the products arrive just-in-time. Trucks are the surest means of transport for that today. Trains are often delayed, they come to a standstill at the border. The locomotive is replaced, or the conductor does not have a certificate in another country. This has nothing to do with investments, but with legislation. The European Commission is going to do something about that immediately.”

According to Timmermans, there is a need for a Eurovignette to focus more on the potential of water and rail. Yet, that Eurovignette has been a topic of discussion for 20 years. “That’s right, but it’s the first time I’ve heard the automotive industry ask about it myself. That’s interesting. If the idea behind the whole transformation is that you put a price on carbon, then you can’t help but put a price on transport that runs on carbon, right? Individual countries already do that. But shouldn’t we think of a European system? But is that for tomorrow? I don’t know if I can answer that question.”

CO2 tax

A CO2 tax at the European borders is also an option for Timmermans. “Every measure has effects. For some sectors, they are positive; for others, they are negative. The best illustration is that some sectors already want this border tax, and others do not. The bottom line is: if the market does not create a level playing field itself, we have to do it at the border. Industry tells us it’s not that difficult to calculate a product’s carbon footprint.”

The United States has stepped out of the Paris climate agreement. Timmermans acknowledges that a climate import tax can cause problems, but he also sees progress. “American citizens and cities are on our side. American companies know it’s heading in that direction. I also noticed in Davos that on his return, President Donald Trump took a different tone from his earlier climate pessimism. He realizes that Americans are concerned about climate change,” concludes Timmermans.

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German lithium processing plant to prevent battery shortage
Arnaud Henckaerts Posted On January 29, 2020


Advanced Metallurgical Group (AMG) wants to build a lithium plant in Germany. The aim is to prevent a shortage of batteries once the European production of electric cars is running at full speed. The German automotive world warned for such a crisis last week. According to analysts, there will inevitably be a shortage of raw materials such as lithium.

European car manufacturers are still calling on Chinese suppliers. Europe does not play a role in battery production. Countries like Germany and France want to put an end to this, and are investing 3 billion euros in the development of batteries for electric cars. The European Commission approved this state aid last month.

New plant

A part of the solution may also come from the Advanced Metallurgical Group (AMG). That’s what Heinz Schimmelbusch, the metal company’s executive, said in an interview with the newspaper Financieele Dagblad. AMG wants to be the first company in Europe to process lithium so that batteries can be made on European soil. The plant is to be located in Zeitz, Germany.

“We are the only European company with our own lithium mine. This is incredibly important for car manufacturers in the long term,” says the top man. The raw materials lithium, nickel, and cobalt make up a large part of the cost of a battery. AMG extracts metals such as lithium in its own mines and processes some of them in its own factories.

European battery ecosystem

With the lithium refining plant, AMG wants to contribute to the development of ‘a European ecosystem’ for batteries. This subject is high on the German political agenda. This week, Peter Altmaier, the German Minister of Economic Affairs, spoke to 55 European companies about setting up battery production.

“A supply chain ending in Germany is much less risky for car manufacturers than a chain via China,” says Schimmelbusch. “It is better for a customer to hedge contractually and the political risk is lower. It is incomparable.”

First

The fact that AMG comes close to European end customers would be a first. There is currently no processing plant in Europe. ING analyst Stijn Demeester sees a European battery supply chain under development in which AMG can play a role.

According to Schimmelbusch, the price and quality of raw materials will play a key role in making e-cars affordable and safe. “Quality is becoming more and more important for buyers. As a supplier to the aviation industry, we have a lot of experience with quality and safety. For our part, quality assurance requires a larger investment in production. Also in processing,” he says.

Financing

Schimmelbusch trusts the German political world to come up with cash for the factory in Zeitz. The city is located in a German coal area, in the east of the country. The region has to reinvent itself economically because the country stops mining coal. For the development of products involving renewable energy sources, there is ample government support available.

AMG is extracting the raw lithium from its own mine in Brazil. Processing is then required in several stages. The company is expanding a Brazilian plant and has started preparations for the lithium hydroxide refinery in Zeitz. The total costs for Zeitz and a new research center in Frankfurt are between 50 and 60 million dollars.

But the final plans are much bigger. Schimmelbusch says AMG is willing to put down a lot more money and hopes its company can ‘fivefold’ its activities within a few years. “We are starting with a lithium hydroxide plant with a capacity of 20.000 tons. The capacity Europe needs is many times that. But we want to supply five times as much in time.”

Shortage remains

On the other hand, Schimmelbusch underlines the fact that it will never be able to solve the shortfall. In 2025, worldwide demand will already be 750.000 to 1.000.000 tons. That is three times the current production, according to most estimates.

The European demand for lithium is also much more than the 20.000 tons AMG wants to produce. But if AMG can increase annual production at the European plant fivefold to 100.000 tons, as Schimmelbusch now predicts, the company could supply about a fifth of European demand.

Schimmelbusch claims that a multinational in Europe has already asked it to buy the full 20.000 tons a year. He, therefore, has little concern about the financial risk for AMG.

Controversy

Heinz Schimmelbusch (76) will remain associated in Germany with a loss of billions at the conglomerate Metallgesellschaft, which he led. In the 1990s, shareholder Deutsche Bank forced the company to liquidate positions on the oil market. This led to enormous losses. Schimmelbusch was blamed for cheating, but the allegations were never proved. He says that Deutsche Bank, which has been struggling financially for some time, made the damage much worse.

The affair made the Austrian a pariah in Germany. He moved to the US, where he became active in private equity. In his ‘second life’, he built up AMG after a number of mergers and acquisitions. AMG is managed from Philadelphia, but has its registered office and is listed in the Netherlands. It recently entered into a partnership with Shell. Schimmelbusch’s 3% stake in AMG is worth 120 million euros.

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GM is considering (re)launch of electric Hummer
Gert Verhoeven Posted On January 15, 2020


Rumour has it that General Motors is considering taking this ultimate off-road vehicle back into production. With an electric motor, it’s true, but still far from energy-efficient.

Energy crisis

The Hummer made its debut during the first Iraq war, and also remained an armored menace when it was introduced on the road in 1992. When gasoline prices rose in 2008, Americans’ love of energy guzzlers cooled, and GM stopped production.

The self-satisfaction of GM, Chrysler, and Ford, fuelled by decades of dominance in the American market, soured them when the oil crisis broke out. Now it was up to the Japanese, who made small, high quality, efficient cars.

Climate change

This e-Hummer is a child of its time, the rise of electric cars reflects the growing concern about climate change and is helped by attractive fiscal regimes. Moreover, in the European market, they have become a necessary tool for manufacturers to avoid fines when the average CO2 emissions of their fleet would exceed 95 grams per km.

Green car?

Although an electric version of a mastodon seems ecological at first sight, such a car – and by extension, many large and heavy SUVs – is far from economical. A green car should consume little, regardless of the fuel or energy it uses. In that sense, lighter, more compact, and perhaps slightly less luxurious models are the way to go.


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Renault President Senard: ‘the Alliance is not dead’
Tony Verhelle Posted On January 15, 2020


Jean-Dominique Senard was on a visit at the Brussels Motor Show. There he confirmed that the rumors about a possible divorce between Nissan and Renault were completely false. “On the contrary, we will see to it that the Alliance will be in full force again as soon as possible.”

It was the newspaper, the Financial Times, that suggested earlier this week that important people at Nissan were thinking of going solo again and blowing up the Alliance. “This info has no link to reality,” adds Senard, “I’m wondering where these rumors come from, surely not from a good spirit.” Of course, Senard is pointing indirectly to his predecessor Carlos Ghosn.

Ghosn

Carlos Ghosn escaped just before New Year from his Japanese custody (awaiting trial) and is now in Libanon. From there, he is giving one interview after the other, explaining how bad he has been treated, and how good he was for the Alliance.

Meanwhile, he is claiming his 800.000 euros extra pension per year and 15,5 million shares he had ‘earned’ at Renault between 2015 and 2018. Renault says he has no rights on them anymore because he resigned (on January 23 of last year) from his CEO post. Ghosn claims he didn’t resign but only stepped aside during his time in jail to let Renault function without him.

Big leader

At the same time, there are more and more people questioning the qualities of Ghosn as a big leader. He had certainly been the savior of Nissan in 1999, his leading of Renault has not been as successful as he claims.

Renault has increased its sales by 1 million units yearly over the last ten years, but this is mainly due to Dacia’s success, not Renault’s. Analysts claim that Renault has missed the move to more premium cars and that his bigger (more profitable) models failed.

The operating margin of Renault, for example, is also two points inferior to that of PSA at the moment, a competitor who was almost dead when CEO Carlos Tavares came at the helm (after being ousted at Renault by… Carlos Ghosn).

Agressive strategy

In the end, the results are mixed, many analysts say. Ghosn has led a very aggressive strategy concerning volumes, very good for gaining market share in emerging countries, but he was not so good in augmenting the profitability of its companies.

Last but not least, he had concentrated all power throughout the Alliance around him, being CEO of Renault and Nissan for a long time as well as being President of Mitsubishi. The Alliance was too dependent on him, and he hadn’t in the least foreseen a successor.

The after-Ghosn era

Jean-Dominique Senard has been picked at Michelin (where he was going to leave soon as CEO) by the French State (important shareholder of Renault) at the beginning of last year to start to save the Alliance and Renault itself.

“In the Alliance, we share the same future, and at the end of January, when our overseeing board meets again, a lot will become clear,” says Senard. “Nobody doubts the importance of the Alliance, look at all the initiatives to work together. By the way, also, our partnership with Daimler on certain projects will continue and even be intensified.”

Together

“The investments we’re obliged to do are considerable,” Senard continues. “We are simply not able to do this alone. But together, the potential of the Alliance is considerable. The whole management is striving to motivate all people at the different companies within the Alliance to do their utmost best.”

Already, Renault has lured away Gilles Le Borgne, head of R&D at PSA, to lead its research and development departments, soon the new CEO will be announced. Most probably, this will be Luca de Meo, ex-Seat, but Renault is still negotiating his departure with the VW Group.

The future

“The hesitation of the consumer to go for the energy transition gets less important. But he needs help. His aim to be mobile doesn’t have to be punished, but encouraged, in the whole world. But the sorts of mobility will be different throughout that world, and they will be combined.”

“I regret that the cooperation between public and private hasn’t been so successful until now. We underestimated the social consequences of this. Renault will be at the forefront to make this better in the future.”

Stronger than ever

To close, Senard is stressing that his company will prevail, stronger than ever. “Renault will be ready at the end of this year; we have no intention to pay CO2 fines. But of course, we will have to use all our means, also those of our colleagues within the Alliance.”

“The underestimated but very valuable and innovative knowledge of Mitsubishi, for example, will be of great importance to the whole Alliance shortly. It’s one of the best in the world. The Alliance is not dead, I can assure you!”

 

 


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Peugeot CEO: ‘Peugeot will comply in CO2 norm from Day One’
Tony Verhelle Posted On January 10, 2020


Jean-Philippe Imparato, CEO of Peugeot and visiting the Brussels Motor Show on Thursday, is clear. “We will be ready for the stringent EU emission regulations from Day One. And that doesn’t mean Peugeot cars won’t be attractive anymore, on the contrary.”

The automotive sector is under pressure in Europe. The average CO2 emissions for every manufacturer at the end of this year are causing headaches in many headquarters. But not so for PSA or Peugeot. The French carmaker is ready to take measures to avoid paying the huge fines implied.

“To do so, you have to manage your stock of cars, and be sure of a certain volume in alternative propulsions, at the condition you can offer them, of course. We comply with all these conditions.”

Brussels Motor Show

“For us, the Brussels Motor Show is a first important test, a sort of marker, of how it’s going to be the following year. The next clue you have is how the British market is doing in March.”

If we can sell 7% of electrified vehicles this year, we’re doing fine. At the moment, we see a demand of 11% in Belgium, and even 15% for electric 2008. Furthermore, we see that the conversion rate (to convince people to go electric) for 208 is 38% at the moment. There are the early adopters, of course, but if we can stay at 15-20%, we can feel comfortable.”

“The infrastructure will play a key role here. We are offering the charging infrastructure at home, but the public infrastructure has to follow as well.”

Big turnarounds

“The energy transition we’re facing now is one of the biggest turnarounds in the 100+ history of the automobile. But there are other challenges coming: the communication networks on 5G will also have their influence and the development of the autonomous car.”

“For Peugeot, 100% electrification is possible in a relatively short time, we are flexible enough in our production, but I have my doubts (and fears) about the suppliers. They will have to change even more, and not all are ready for it.”

“I’m not so anxious about the question if the customer will follow. He just needs the appropriate kind of incentives. Take our proposition to be able to use different Peugeots. We already offer buyers an electric 208 the use of a gasoline 3008 for several weeks in the year. We call it in French: ‘la semaine en EV, le week-end en thermique’ (during the week you drive EV, at the weekends you use ICE).

Nice cars

But all these financial and legislative concerns don’t mean that a car or a car brand doesn’t have to be attractive and drive well. “There is one thing on which I won’t concede anything, and that’s style. I’m ready to compromise on some technical issues, but the style has no impact on the price. It’s not more expensive to make beautiful cars instead of ugly ones,” concludes the CEO, looking lovingly at its new 208.”

 

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Climate  / Environment  / Interview  / Mobility  / Public transport  / Weekly Newsletter
Seven federations join forces in ‘Low Emission Mobility Platform’
Joris Van Roy Posted On January 8, 2020


Seven Belgian federations are joining forces to set up a so-called ‘Low Emission Mobility Platform’ to exchange knowledge and to boost the breakthrough of sustainable technology in the mobility sector. Priority will be the roll-out of EV charging infrastructure and further development of hydrogen and green gas, the parties state in a press release.

The seven, signing for the cooperation are car and two-wheeler federation FEBIAC, tech federation AGORIA, the retail and service federation COMEOS, the gas and electricity federation FEBEG, the federation of rental and leasing companies RENTA, grid-managing federation SYNERGRID, and automotive and mobility federation TRAXIO.

Brussels Motor Show

The start of the 98th Brussels Motor Show, organized by Febiac and opening on Friday for the general public, is the ideal moment for launching this ‘Low Emission Mobility Platform’ (LEMP). The theme of this year’s motor show will be more than ever the start of a necessary transition to more sustainable transport shortly.

Although environmental movements like Extinction Rebellion (XR) doubt the good intentions of the automotive sector and want to disturb what they call the ‘Salon of Lies’, this joining forces of federations isn’t a bad idea. Together they represent the bulk of the Belgian companies involved in the energy transition everybody gradually recognizes to be mandatory.

Combining expertise

In the press release, the seven express their commitment to strive for a more sustainable passenger and goods traffic by combining one’s skills in tackling practical problems for the users and speeding up ‘green’ technologies.

They admit that the emission of greenhouse gases by the transport sector has to come down. They have no other choice, as Europe imposes an average CO2 emission standard of 95 grams per kilometer for the entire fleet of new cars sold by the end of 2020.

A tough nut to crack

A tough nut to crack, as figures just published show the average in Belgium was 121,2 grams/km last year, the same level as 2014. Although cars have become far less polluting in those years, the latter is explained by stricter EU measuring techniques (WLTP), but also by a worldwide trend to abandon diesel in favor of gasoline cars and the general public’s appetite for larger and heavier SUVs, emitting more CO2 on average.

So, the industry is convinced that the breakthrough of ‘low-emission vehicles’ is going to happen this year, even in Belgium. But according to the seven of LEMP, users are hesitating to make the switch, hindered by obstacles on their way. Range anxiety, the lack of charging infrastructure, actual costs, and the questions about the actual lifecycle of these new ‘green’ cars, not to mention them.

Responsibility

The seven say they want to take responsibility and, as a first step, will set up ‘structural consultation moments’ in joined discussion groups to share their expertise and to formulate propositions to tackle those obstacles. “It’s important,” the seven emphasize, “that these new technologies remain affordable for the people and the companies.”

The LEMP wants to issue several recommendations by the beginning of 2021 to accelerate the transition. Priority, for now, is to boost the roll-out of charging infrastructure and the development of hydrogen and green gas as alternatives for transport.

They don’t say who is going to roll out this charging and alternative fuel network, but it looks like a good idea to get all noses in the same direction to start with, among all parties involved.

It will be a daunting task, though, for these ‘magnificent seven’ to convince the public opinion and politicians of their honest intentions in the aftermath of the ‘credibility disaster’ the automotive sector inflicted on itself with the dieselgate scandal, and convert words into actions. But one should give them at least the benefit of the doubt, as everybody starts realizing there is no other way out.

 

 

 

 


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Autonomous driving  / Industry  / Interview  / Legislation  / Technology  / Top Stories Today  / Weekly Newsletter
‘Artificial Intelligence has to be more human’
Arnaud Henckaerts Posted On January 2, 2020


Artificial Intelligence (AI) can break through if it consumes fewer data and can make connections like humans. That’s what Mieke De Ketelaere says in the weekly magazine Trends. De Ketelaere has been working with artificial intelligence for more than twenty years.

Since May, she has been drawing up the strategy for artificial intelligence at IMEC. The research center is an authority in research into and development of computer chips, and semiconductors, but in recent years, it has also invested heavily in software and artificial intelligence.

AI has the potential to change the world radically. But to do so, we must raise the bar. “Most AI applications require a huge amount of data and computing power. That’s not feasible in the long term. Now we train software to recognize an object by showing it thousands of examples.”

“That consumes as much energy as flying from New York to Los Angeles. Approximately 2 percent of global CO2 emissions come from AI applications, and with the further breakthrough of the Internet of Things that will rise to 20 percent if we continue to use the same techniques,” says De Ketelaere.

Short-chain

De Ketelaere advocates processing data as close to the source as possible, in contrast to the current cloud-based trend. In doing so, information is sent to gigantic data centers, analyzed to send the result back to the device at the end of the chain.

“Not only does this consume energy, with all these data transfers we risk violating our privacy. At a crucial moment, communication can also be too slow or even lost, while autonomous cars and other advanced applications have to decide in a fraction of a second,” says De Ketelaere.

“Our answer to all these problems is described as TinyAI: everything happens as close as possible to the end device. That means smaller and more powerful hardware, with more economical and smarter algorithms that can handle a smaller amount of data.”

Cooking

The gap between believers and non-believers in AI slows down the research and use of AI. In order to remove the distrust, de Ketelaere pleads for transparency, explaining that the algorithms are not a black box.

Systems with artificial intelligence can do smart things without pre-programmed rules. To get the value out, you have to know and follow the process.

She compares AI with cooking, but with data instead of ingredients: “Instead of a recipe, you have an algorithm. Variables are weighed up like ingredients, which give a different result, a model.”

“We don’t have to explain everything from needle to thread to the general public, but we have to give enough information about the method. We also all use a microwave, without knowing all the technical details,” says De Ketelaere.

Responsible use

Trust also requires that AI is used properly. To this end, De Ketalaere pleads for external control: “I am an absolute believer in artificial intelligence, but we need independent bodies that check which data algorithms are used and how decisions are automated.”

“At the moment, there are still too few technical standards and too few systems are tested against each other before we send them into the real world.”

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is convinced that autonomous car development is so fast because the government is not involved. But at the same time, according to De Ketelaere, these companies are pleading with the government not to allow the technology on public roads yet, because they know its limits.

Today’s limited AI is good in a certain niche, but less useful in complex situations. “A Tesla can drive autonomously very well if it only has to consider itself. But the real world is much more complex.”

“One of the recent accidents with autonomous cars happened because the car didn’t brake for a pedestrian that stepped off the curb. The system hadn’t been taught that. People and systems have to learn to cooperate and communicate. That is the basic principle of strong AI. The current form of artificial intelligence only has the level of a two-year-old,” says De Ketelaere.

Empathy

Humans’ great advantage, in addition to the energy efficiency and speed of his brain, is his ability to interact and reason. “When cars come to an intersection at the same time, we can communicate with gestures or flickering lights. Computers are not yet able to interpret those intentions. They are good at pattern recognition, but they have difficulty empathizing with someone else’s future actions,” says De Ketelaere.

Today, AI relies on computing power and a lot of data. This used to be less the case, and AI made use of a better knowledge of, and better-defined relationships within the data. “So we have to look for combinations of the new data-driven techniques with knowledge-driven techniques. That fits in perfectly with our TinyAI strategy. With these hybrid systems, we can work more efficiently, and make automated decisions because the information is readable for computers,” says De Ketelaere.

According to her, the problem is that this necessary knowledge is often trapped in people’s heads or different systems in the company. That’s why the company has to invest a lot to create applications that can make good connections.

Ethics

According to De Ketelaere, passion for technology sometimes makes engineers blind to ethical and social complications: “I believe that ethics should become a compulsory subject in engineering education. We increasingly have a direct impact on people’s lives, like whether or not they get a loan or a job. We need to be more mindful of doctors and their Hippocratic oath.”

Architects are liable for construction errors. De Ketelaere doesn’t think it’s a good idea to do the same for programmers when they create incorrect algorithms: “As an engineer, programmer, or data scientist, you don’t really know how and where your creations are used. You can have the best system in mind, but in the end, financial and other aspects can be given priority. That’s why you can’t hold them solely responsible.”


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Interview  / Public transport  / Top Stories Today
François Bellot: ‘Belgian rail has too many pen-pushers’
Joris Van Roy Posted On December 11, 2017


In an interview with economical newspaper L’Echo, Belgian federal Minster of Mobility François Bellot (MR) says that at his age, he can speak “without mincing matters“. Like saying the “SNCB/NMBS has too many pen-pushers sitting at a desk and too few people in the field” or Brussels should have to work at night at its tunnels.

In a world of confrontations and where a little phrase can fuel polemics this man is a UFO, L’Echo writes. Where others are climbing barricades easily, Bellot always stays calm.

“It’s not that I didn’t inherited a portfolio in which it’s easy to get agitated”, Bellot says. Traffic jams, restructuring Belgian railways, the Regional Express Net,… there are numerous reasons to get nervous.

“I’m an engineer and what I like to do is organizing. They can make me Minister of Justice, I wouldn’t go for the content, but what interests me is that things are running fine”, Bellot says.

Modernizing Belgian railways

“We’ve come to the end of a certain logic with the SNCB/NMBS. In the eighties it was all about massive movements of blue collar workers and goods. The rest was the car, my freedom. Today social movement towards public transport is enormous. People ‘endure’ mobility rather than benefit from it, in cities but also on the countryside”.

“The role of the public rail company is to adapt to this new daily habits of people. We’ve studied the matter and the priority of SNCB/NMBS should be the passenger. This sounds like a truism, but it isn’t. The traveller isn’t always at the centre of concern at the SNCB/NMBS.”

More operational people needed

“I don’t want to provoke, but there are way too much pen-pushers at Belgian railways, while we need more operational people. Sometimes four or five people at an office desk are doing work that could be done by a computer. Listen carefully, I don’t want to liquidate staff, I want to balance things and that’s what our recruitment is showing. Digitizing has to be pushed. And autonomy too.”

“I hear the CEO (Sophie Dutordoir e.n.) wants to have more autonomy. I’ve got the message: the shareholder is the state and the minister is not operational in the company. I won’t be asked to choose the colour of the train tickets. I agree with more autonomy, but that won’t liberate her from her responsibilities”.

Let talent to express itself

Other parameter to consider: the railway network. “What kind of network do we want? How dense and in which direction? We have to adapt the internal rules. We still work like in the sixties. Rules are outdated, obsolete. Employees want to be heard, but today the system is stuck. We don’t let talent to express itself. We have to work on the internal democracy.”

Asked to comment on the social climate at the Belgian railways with a new strike in view on December 19th, Bellot replies: “I say things the way they are. I give you my short, medium and long term vision. What happens to me in 2019 (federal elections, e.n), I don’t care. I put things as I see it and ask to take some distance.”

Every Belgian family pays 650 euro

“It’s nice to have great ideas for the railroads, but if budgets are cut, wouldn’t that be contradictory? The budget is lowered with 1,2 billion euro, from 14,8 billion to 13,6 billion. But the railways are still costing the community a lot of money”.

“The effort asked in terms of budget is heavy, but indispensable. The moment a user enters the train, this costs 12,50 euro a head. Every Belgian family pays 650 euro per year to the SNCB/NMBS”.

Reinforce the offerings

“But in spit of the cuts, we offer 78 extra trains, including on Sundays. In twenty years time, this was never done before. Everything we are going to do is studied with the people on the field”. Bellot cites the figure of 120 demands of which 101 have been screened based on six criteria.

“69 projects are shortlisted, among which the 5,1% supplementary trains. The railways company embarks on maintaining the network, we with our billion euro take care of expanding the network. The Regional Express Network will be established”.

Not in favour of privatizing

Bellot, although being a liberal, is not convinced that privatization of the railways would be a solution. “I’m not in favour”, Bellot answers. “We have a rendezvous with European liberalization in 2023, that we can’t miss. Railway companies have to be ready and if not, it will become difficult I tell the unions. But a public company can modernize and stay public, that I believe.”

Confronted with some critics saying that one of the reasons for the mobility problems in Brussels, is due to the lack of sufficient trains, Bellot disagrees. “The ones telling you this don’t know a thing about it. The problem is more global. Car sharing can be an idea, but it’s not only Brussels. Antwerp is worse.”

Brussels’ tunnels: work at night

Bellot cites another example. “This story of the tunnels in Brussels that fall apart is known for a long time. They have scrapped the budget for the tunnels and in 2001, engineers warned already that this would become a catastrophe and nothing was maintained afterwards.”

Bellot does not think the essential problem is solved today. “There is no coordination in organizing the works. Pascal Smet (Brussels Mobility Minister n.e) tells me that workers are working at night. But every time I pass the tunnels in the middle of the night, I don’t see anyone on the construction sites. In the weekends neither.”

“When the viaduct in Vilvoorde was to be renewed, Flanders has mobilized its workers day and night to finish it, why can’t the Brussels’ Region do the same?”

(more…)


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Environment  / Interview  / Mobility  / Public transport  / Top Stories Today  / Weekly Newsletter
“Brussels is slowly getting stuck.”
Tony Verhelle Posted On December 4, 2017


Former CEO of Brussels public transport company STIB/MIVB Alain Flausch leaves the Union of Public Transport which he has lead for 6 years. He is disappointed about Brussels and Belgium as a whole: “We should take other cities as an example,” he claims.

In his 6 years as Secretary-General of the international Union of Public Transport the 67-year old Belgian has seen a lot of cities in the world, large ones and smaller ones, and heard al lot of ideas, good ones and bad ones.

He’s not positive about “his” city, Brussels: more traffic jams, slower public transport, biking practically non-existent, he draws a morose portrait of the European capital. “What I see here is not very stimulating. I’m not very optimistic: Brussels is very slowly getting completely stuck.”

Public transport and leadership

A private car is far more convenient and comfortable than public transport for the normal customer: “public transport’s first goal is to facilitate life for his customers. But where other European cities seem to have understood this, Brussels is lagging far behind.”

The countries or cities where there is true progress in city mobility are those who have clearly defined institutions, like Transport of London, Stif in Paris or Land Transport authority in Singapore.” Authorities over there are responsible for all mobility aspects and have enough leverage to realise what politicians decide.

“In Brussels we lack an intermediate technical corps with a real tactical vision,” complains Flausch. “Here the political responsible even decides about knobs and doorhandles, but isn’t prepared to tackle the challenges from tomorrow like Uber, free biking, autonomous cars.”

Of course technology will aid the customer in search of mobility in many different ways, “but in Belgium there’s a serious lack of leadership in these matters, politicians are still very scared of the car lobby. Where mobility has become one of the major problems for many citizens, I don’t see one government responsible standing out and saying ‘That’s the way to go’.”

Some ideas

“We need a big national mobility plan. I proposed such a thing in 2005, but was immediately countered by several politicians ‘because I was federalising mobility again’. What a big mistake! Belgium only gets into action when a crisis is looming, we have no tradition in long term planning. Mobility wise we repeat the same things for several decades now, but we don’t realise them.”

Flausch insists on the fact that a good mobility plan is far less complicated than, for example, the wing of an airplane. “Brussels is not and will never be a pioneering city in these matters. Let’s follow examples then. I’ll take Copenhagen as an example: public transport and biking get far more space there, car speed is restricted to 20 km/h, when it snows cyclist paths are cleaned in priority. That is a clear and understandable political message.”

Apparently nobody understands that the final winners of such ‘draconic measures’ are the cities and their inhabitants. “Of course in an institutional swamp like Brussels it’s much easier to say no than to say yes. And there are enough other partners and coalition parties to blame when things go wrong, especially when they all have different political interests and agendas.” (more…)


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Interview  / Mobility  / Top Stories Today  / Weekly Newsletter
Philippe Dehennin (FEBIAC): ‘the friendly neighbouring dealer is not dead yet’
Joris Van Roy Posted On November 30, 2017


Since June 2017 the Belgian Association of Car Manufacturers and Importers (Febiac) has a new president. Phillippe Dehennin left BMW in 2016 and is now the head of what is commonly known as the “car lobby” in Belgium. He is convinced mobility will evolve to multi-modal and inter-modal, but that doesn’t mean that the car will disappear. Neither will the dealerships. An interview.

By Tony Verhelle
Editorialist GopressMobility

The whole professional career of Phillippe Dehennin was about cars. He started as sales responsible at Inchcape (then and now importer of Toyota/Lexus in Belgium) and in 1987 he went to BMW, first as sales director of the Belgian importer, from 2001 as CEO.

In 2009 he moved to France, to lead importership there and the last step in his BMW-career (from 2012 till 2016) was being CEO of the Swiss BMW importer. Ever since he prepared himself to be the successor of Thierry van Kan, former president of Febiac.

You arrive at Febiac in stormy weather. Dieselgate and other scandals have made that the car industry as a whole is under heavy fire. Does that bother or frighten you?

Philippe Dehennin: “I had the chance to learn the new job during one whole year before actually taking over, I’ve studied and learned a lot during that period. Concerning Dieselgate, it is obvious that I have to defend my members, but the societal stakeholders are as important to me.

At this time it would be completely ridiculous to ignore the problems, my aim is to be a trustful go-between and to be a bigger aid in the search for durable solutions regarding our mobile future.

Do you have any idea how Dieselgate could happen, how the system went completely wrong?

P.D.: “Truth is always asking for nuances. So I’d liked to stress that the car industry as a whole is always searching to fulfill requirements, to obey regulations. One of the mistakes has been that (at least in Europe) too much emphasis has been laid on C02-emissions and not enough on N0x.

I’m sure the German car industry will in the end come with an equitable solution, Corporate Social Responsibility is not a vain word in Germany.”

But isn’t it time to get rid of this polluting diesel technology?

P.D.:”The European car industry is still very diesel oriented. Big and sudden changes in that policy might cost a lot of jobs. Furthermore, the energy companies don’t have a clear and defined solution for the future, creating uncertainty with the car manufacturers.

Which are the solutions to go for? Once again Belgium is falling behind when it comes to creating a new infrastructure for alternative means of transport and energy usage. Flanders may be a little bit more progressive in this, but the plan to put (only) 100 charging points in the whole city of Brussels is of course ridiculous. That’s not how we can solve the future societal needs for transport and mobility.”

Isn’t the fight for ICE-technology and the car as a whole a lost cause?

P.D.:“We are sure that mobility will evolve to multi-modal and inter-modal, but that doesn’t mean that the car will disappear. For a majority of people and mobility needs, it still is the most flexible and comfortable way.

The growing traffic problems can partially be countered by the autonomous/connected car, but that doesn’t mean that other measures aren’t necessary. I think for example that this is the right time to really promote teleworking on all possible levels.

The real debate is not between car or bicycle/public transport, the real solution is car and bike/public transport. I don’t think that the consumer will benefit from “fundamentalistic” choices in one or the other direction.”

And now for something completely different. The Belgian car market the last years reacted really in an atypical way, certainly compared to its neighbours. What’s the reason and how do you see the evolution?

P.D.:”Our national planning office (Planbureau) is still projecting an increase of car use by 18% before 2030, the Belgian consumer is still in high need of (better) mobility. The need to invest in infrastructure is very high and urgent, but that’s only one part of the equation.

If we don’t invest in a sort of overseeing digital mobility structure, we are going to get stuck completely in this small country. Taken into account that products also become more complex and sophisticated, the current dealer structures will have to adapt but there’s surely still a large amount of work for them to do.”

Will this dealer still be necessary? Won’t car buyers do their purchase online, will mobility seekers not simply share cars when necessary or go for other means of transport?

P.D.:”In the future cars will be at the centre of a digital ecosystem and it’s the aim of the customer to be perfectly informed about this. Even me, as a car guy, I’m confronted with the abundance of information and possibilities on the net, there are for example so many possible car configurations that also the “specialist” needs help.

The “friendly neighbouring dealer” is not dead yet, but he has to work on new competences of all sorts.

That asks for other skills than maintenance issues (which will probably diminish), that’s why Febiac is joining hands with Traxio to emphasize the importance of good schooling. In that perspective it is of utmost importance that the social appreciation of these kinds of consultancy jobs is rising.”

And what about car sharing? Isn’t that a big threat for car selling?

P.D. “If the success of shared cars is increasing, the rotation of cars will be accelerated, so I don’t see them as a threat but more as an opportunity. Here also this is not an or-story but probably an and-story.

But dealers will have to invest (rapidly and heavily) in new competences for their people. Sales advisors are nowadays good in their technical understanding and their analysis of customer needs, but they surely still have to learn on the emotional side. Passion and design will still be important motivators in the car buying process and we have to keep it that way.”

 


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EU-Commissioner Bienkowska: ‘I wouldn’t buy a Volkswagen anymore’
Joris Van Roy Posted On November 21, 2017


Three years after dieselgate burst out, what has really changed? “I wouldn’t buy a Volkswagen anymore”, says EU Commissioner for Industry Elzbieta Bienkowska (53) in an interview with Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.

She grew up in communist Poland, being the daughter of a car technician. And it was she who got to deal with the biggest scandal evere in European industry. “When dieselgate surfaced, my heart was bleeding”, she says. “I love cars. But the industry has disappointed me deeply.”

Cheating for years

Volkswagen and other car manufacturers showed to have cheated for years with software. Their diesel cars complied with the standards while tested in the lab, but on the street they polluted ten times more than allowed.

One could expect that such a scandal would shake up the industry and the companies involved would do everything to erase the shame as soon as possible. But of 8 million cars that Volkswagen said to get rid of the cheating software, an unknown number is still driving around with it.

And other than in the US, where Volkswagen compensates clients up to 10.000 dollar, in Europe it does not. There never was a settlement like this, while there is no juridical obligation.

No hard deadline anymore

Will VW meet the deadline in removing the cheating software? “It’s November now, they still have some time”, Bienkowska says. “But they have disappointed me so many times already.”

Why aren’t these companies forced to take these polluting cars of the road? “This is a task for the national authorities and I’m very disappointed to see how they approach this problem”, the commissioner says.

“I would love to say that in two years all polluting cars will be taken of the road, but I’m not setting a hard deadline anymore. It takes all too long. Fines are rarely issued, a member state’s task, but this isn’t done either.”

Infringement procedure

Why don’t you take measures yourself? “The only thing I can do out of Brussels is start an infringement procedure against these countries to force them to apply fines. We’ve done that in two cases (Germany and Italy). I can’t tell you what’s on my desk now, but we’re working on it. Something has to be done. In many countries, also yours, cities are closing their boundaries for polluting cars.”

Has industry learned something from dieselgate? “From Volkswagen you might have expected a gesture towards the clients after all what happened. If I owned a Volkswagen and they’d only offer me to remove the cheating software without compensation, I would feel treated badly. I wouldn’t regain my confidence in the company and wouldn’t buy a Volkswagen anymore.”

Era of diesel is over

“What amazes me most is that the car industry is going to change completely. Cars are getting cleaner and I predict that within 15 years nobody in Europe is still driving on petrol”, adds Bienkowska.

“But car makers don’t even dare to say that the era of diesel is over, let alone that they dare to think about the end of the petrol engine. Like they don’t understand that the future of European car industry is at stake”.

(more…)


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Industry  / Interview  / Top Stories Today  / Weekly Newsletter
What is D’Ieteren going to do with one billion euro cash ?
Joris Van Roy Posted On November 21, 2017


With the sale of 40% of its Belron business, Belgium’s largest car importer, family concern D’Ieteren, is sitting on a pile of one billion euro in cash. Asked by newspapers L’Echo and De Tijd what D’Ieteren is going to do with it , CEO Axel Miller answers “not to be in a hurry in looking for investing the money elsewhere”.

On Sunday D’Ieteren confirmed the late-braking news that is was in the final stage of negotiating a deal with American equity investment group Clayton, Dublilier & Rice (CD&R) to take a 40% participation in its Belron activities, home to the Carglass car repair brand among others.

The Americans are paying 620 million euro for the minority share, but D’Ieteren already got some 450 million one-time dividend from Belron last month, so now it sits on more than one million euro cash.

Valued at 3 billion euro

With the deal Belron is valued at 3 billion euro, which is quite a lot according to analysts who valued it rather at 2 billion (ING), 2,5 billion (Degroof Petercam) or 2,7 billion (KBC). Cars are getting better and car windows are breaking less. That’s one of the reasons Belron’s operational profit is balancing around 6%, much less than in peak years like 2010 and 2011.

But CD&R, that is to invest for the first time in Belgium, is prepared to pay the high price because Belron is worldwide market leader in the business and realizes 40% of its turnover in the US. For D’Ieteren Belron represents half of its turnover, but nearly two thirds of the profits. So why selling it?

Footprint getting to big

Belron’s footprint was getting to big within D’Ieteren, according to Axel Miller. “Belron represents a big part of D’Ieterens portfolio and we don’t want Belron to become D’Ieteren and D’Ieteren to become Belron”,  Miller says.

“We wanted to sell partially to find a way to keep a participation in Belron and free resources to continue the development of the company and benefit from it.”

“We think there are other activities with important growth potential to create added value for our shareholders. That’s what we do at D’Ieteren Auto and that’s what we do at Moleskine (Italian luxury notebook maker; editorial note) and that’s what we’ll continue to do with Belron. With a billion euro we are going to look for attracting long term investments.”, Miller adds.

Equity investment group

Does this mean D’Ieteren is becoming an equity investment group? “That’s the group’s history since Pierre D’Ieteren has withdrawn the import contract for the VW Beetle in 1948 to free resources made in the car business and invest in other businesses.”

“We did it in the past with Avis Europe and did it in the nineties with Belron”, Miller explains. “We are an investment company with family values, but we want to work on a professional manner to create added value for all stakeholders”.

No targets yet

Asked whether he already has some targets in mind for further investments, Miller keeps his cards close to his chest. “We have a structural process for this. We don’t feel obliged to invest this money immediately. We stay in a market with enormous amounts of cash available, few possible targets and with prices that are high. We’ll stay very disciplined in reinvesting.”

Staying in the car business

Asked whether D’Ieteren is going to leave the car business within the next five years, Miller is decided. “No, without any question. We are delighted with our position as market leader on the Belgian market with the largest fleet by far, driving around. We still have a lot to do in this profession and we’re counting on staying in for sure”, Miller says.

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Toyota’s no 2 Didier Leroy: “Ten years ago they made fun of our hybrids”
Joris Van Roy Posted On October 23, 2017


At the age of 59, Toyota’s no.2 worldwide is French, native from Lille, close to the Belgian border: Didier Leroy. He saw Toyota predicting the switch from the combustion engine to electric 15 years ago. Financial newspaper L’Echo interviewed the man on the eve of the Tokyo Motor Show.

Leroy’s career at Toyota got a turbo boost some 12 years ago. After seven years with the company, Didier Leroy was named in 2005 CEO of Toyota’s plant in Valenciennes, France.

In 2007 he entered Toyota’s worldwide executive board and in 2009 he moved to Toyota Europe’s headquarters in Brussels on Akio Toyoda’s demand to be in charge of marketing and sales. One year later he became CEO until 2015, when he moved to Japan to become executive vice-president.

Today the Frenchman, who likes to visit his family in his native town of Lille as often as possible, is chief of Toyota’s worldwide activities, except for Japan itself. There he ‘only’ manages sales and marketing. He is the first non-Japanese to reach this level of responsibility.

How does a European manages to reach this level of responsibility at a Japanese company?

“First you need to have the right basic values in your DNA. These are not unique to the Japanese culture. Respecting people, the way you communicate are merely fundamental human values. Secondly you have to be aware that in a Japanese company, you need to win credibility and be willing to learn.”

“I’ve been on the same post for seven years from 1998 to 2005. In a company like Toyota, once you have this credibility, it can go fast. I have never pursued a promotion. What interested me was to discover new things, to get the impression to experience new things every day to become stronger in the future.”

“Too many people rack their brains in finding out how to behave to please the Japanese. But if you want to behave just like a Japanese, they don’t need you. It’s the difference you bring to them, another way of seeing and approaching things.”

“Lots of people will say that some things are impossible because it is ‘not done’ at the headquarters. What is important, is that you like to bring something to the company of the bottom of your heart”.

And then fight to convince them?

“Yes. And from that moment on you are part of the people who can push out frontiers”.

Push out frontiers, what does that mean at Toyota?

“You have to up to date with your time and being capable to let the company evolve. A company with 340.000 employees needs to have the agility of a startup with 40 people, even if that isn’t easy in every day’s life.”

“The automotive industry is very complex and you need rigorousness. But rigorousness can lead to bureaucracy because you are very process-driven. This can be a brake on change. You need to find the balance between rigorousness and the passion, the fighting spirit, to take risks, even if you don’t have all the answers.”

European car industry is somehow upturned with everybody making plans for electrification. How does Japan sees this?

“We, at Toyota, started that process 15 years ago. We’re not that upturned today. We introduced hybrid technology 20 years ago. Ten years ago a lot of people still made fun of our hybrids. We were the only ones to believe in it. Now we have 11 million hybrids on the roads, of which 1,5 million in Europe. In Europe 98% of all Lexus cars are hybrid.”

“In Eastern Europe 48% of all Toyota cars are hybrid. We launched the C-HR a year ago and it is an instant hit. We already decided in 2014 not to offer a diesel version and this decision was not taken after a scandal”.

Then why no diesel engine?

“We told ourselves it would be useless. We anticipated already the tendencies and the additional costs diesel would generate including the possibility the client would turn away from diesel.”

Everybody jumps onto the hybrid now. Don’t you fear they’re going to attack your meadow?

“On the contrary. Because now everybody sees it isn’t a temporary solution. The fact that some of our competitors have to try to catch up in a hurry with hybrids and electric cars proves that they have pushed the limit to keep on using the traditional engine too long.”

“The threshold of 95 grams of CO2 per km in 2021 is closing in fast. You have to act quickly to reach this goal. Our growth in hybrids in the European market was extremely positive last years. It even accelerated with the diesel phenomena we saw last year.”

“And even before we saw incredible growth, even with the Yaris hybrid of which many journalists believed it would be unsaleable. 45% of the Yaris cars sold is hybrid”.

South Korean brands are main competitors on the European market for you?

“They grow far less than a few years ago. In a market growing with 4% this year, they do 11%. They are far less aggressive than they used to be. In China Hyundai and Kia are not really taking off.”

Can Toyota jump over the Korean brands in Europe?

“We don’t care. It isn’t important. Lots of journalists harassed us for Nissan selling more cars than Toyota in Europe for one year. But none of your colleagues came back next year to say that we jumped over Nissan again. Nobody is interested in this.”

China is becoming a potential competitor in electrification. Do you think there will come a wave of Chinese cars to Europe?

“It isn’t sure yet if this wave will be in China itself or aimed at the world. I don’t know what Chinese government wants to do. What is clear, is their commitment to electricity, which won’t be aimed against their industry. They have confidence in their own capability to develop products of the future.”

“Will they want to put more weight on their local market that is soon to be extended to 30 million cars a year? Or will they use this to boost it on a worldwide level”?  Toyota has always maintained a policy of little steps in China. Nothing like Volkswagen. We have sold 1,2 million cars there last year and have 6 or 7% of the market.”

“It’s an important market, being so close to Japan. We will follow it up from close-by, but we’re not going to force a high growth, because I think it is a market you have to be extremely careful with”.

How does Toyota react on the Brexit?

“We decided not to pull back our 240 million pound investment to make the UK factory more competitive. We think this plant is performing and the people are motivated. It was the first factory of Toyota in Europe in 1991. We are confident in their ability to get better and stay competitive, even in the event of more difficult commercial relations with Europe in the future.”

“But in the long term, you have to consider another phenomena. The British government tells us that if we want to stay competitive, we need to source more locally in Great Britain in the future.”

“But don’t fool yourself, it won’t come naturally. We produce 200.000 to 240.000 cars a year there now. We have a lot of suppliers around us in the UK, but they risk to do the opposite and in case of levies, move to the European mainland”.

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