Another forgettable year for the auto sector has ended. In 2021 the semiconductor crisis has further weakened a sector that was trying to re-emerge after the difficulties generated by the pandemic and even 2022 does not look easy at all from the point of view of recovery. In Italy, the auto industry had to deal with a generalized decline in the last months of the year, with a -27.5% in December and overall a decrease of 25% compared to 2019, the reference year if you want to have the real measure of the market trend. In this scenario that is far from rosy, car manufacturers are preparing to intensify their transition strategies, with electrification and technology driving the innovations that will arrive on the road in this 2022.
The group Stellantis faces the new year on the strength of an important basis that the former PSA has provided to the reality led by Carlos Tavares, with French brands such as Peugeot and Citroen that have held up well to the impact of the year just ended and already guarantee a good mix of electrification. The downside are Fiat instead, Alfa Romeo and Lancia, all three looking for a raise. If the Turin brand still manages to stay at the top thanks to the 500 and the Panda, the Biscione definitely needs a shock with the arrival of the Alfa Romeo Tonale. On the other side of the Alps, on the other hand, there is Renault which had started 2021 with the relaunch plan wanted by Luca de Meo and which will bring the new Megane E-Tech Electric to the market, opening a new electric course that will see in the coming years the return of R5 and R4, thus also replacing the current spearhead of the battery range, the Zoe, which has dominated the EV market for years. Losanga will then present Austral, the compact SUV that will take over from Kadjar. On the Paris-Tokyo axis there is also Nissan which will instead introduce the Ariya, a fully electric SUV born on the platform developed by the Alliance.
There are those who have played in advance with shared architectures, such as Volkswagen which has launched the MEB since 2016, relying now on Volkswagen ID.3, ID, 4 and in the coming months also on the ID.5 awaiting the arrival of the van ID.Buzz. The situation is different for the premium brands: always remaining in the VW galaxy, Audi makes the big voice with several new features ready to be unveiled in the coming months. Similar speech for rivals BMW and Mercedes, with the three-pointed star that will introduce several models in the EQ range. It will look out to pure electric too Toyota, which after years of hybrid has presented the first full electric crossover bz4x. From Japan to Korea, where the Hyundai group, which includes the namesake brand and Kia, has been able to withstand the semiconductor crisis thanks to a diversified offer with full electrification, increasing its share of the European market by 6%.
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