Research and Markets: What, Exactly, is a Low-Cost Car? The Dacia Logan, Fiat Palio,...

Research and Markets: What, Exactly, is a Low-Cost Car? The Dacia Logan, Fiat Palio, Tata Nano, Maruti 800, Lada Zhiguli?

DUBLIN, Ireland--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c88382) has announced the
addition of "Low-cost Cars: Opportunities and Challenges" to their
offering.

It's the hottest of hot topics - but it's open to the widest of
interpretations. What, exactly, is a low-cost car? The Dacia Logan,
Fiat Palio, Tata Nano, Maruti 800, Lada Zhiguli? Or even a
five-year-old VW Golf?

The answer is all of them. Low-cost cars are the agents of growth
in the global car market. German Tier 1 supplier Bosch estimates
low-cost vehicles priced below EUR 7, 000 could reach a 13% share of
the world market - or about 10million vehicles - by 2010, and
consultants Roland Berger estimate annual global production of
18million sub-EUR10,000 cars by 2012. The reasons are clear, as the
developed world stagnates in terms of car sales, emerging markets are
driving growth. Producing cars that suit the needs of consumers in
these markets becomes imperative for the car industry.

That means driving down costs to the consumer - low purchase
price; low running costs. And it means driving down costs for the
manufacturer in order to maximise profitability. Getting this equation
right is essential - there's less room to manoeuvre with a low-cost
car, and margins are inevitably slight.

Chapter 1: Introduction - A brief overview of the sector and
report coverage.

Chapter 2: Legacy cars - the slow demise of the obsolete model -
One of the reasons why low-cost cars are required is the need to
replace 'legacy' cars - obsolete models that have been produced
continuously in those markets for up to 40 years. These cars often
define the look of the country's roads, but the legacy cars' days are
numbered as emissions regulations and especially crash-test rules are
tightened.

Chapter 3: Brazil - remake, remodel and the legacy car lives on -
Brazil remains the home of the legacy car as a market-entry model.
Manufacturers are unwilling to commit to spending heavily on cars in
this segment - so older models are endlessly repackaged. We talk about
models such as the Fiat Mille, the Peugeot 206 and the Ford Ka.

Chapter 4: Russia and India - low cost is king - In both of these
markets, foreign vehiclemakers entering the market have tended to
chase the more up-market sectors, with fewer sales, but higher
profits. Competing with low-cost cars, which neither meet modern
crash-test nor emissions standards is a challenge, and has remained a
low priority.

Chapter 5: Blind alleys - the radical solutions - We take a brief
look at the attempts by vehiclemakers to create concept cars that
address the needs of emerging markets, through using radical
manufacturing and materials technologies in order to bring down costs.
Significant recent examples are the Chrysler CCV and the Fiat
Ecobasic.

Chapter 6: Modern low-cost cars - how low is low? - There is no
single low-cost segment, and a low-cost car is not necessarily an
entry-level model. We discuss a number of specific low-cost programmes
that have been defined over the years, and others that are under
development. Read more about the Fiat Project 178, Renault Logan
(X90), Fiat Linea, Toyota EFC and the GM low-cost car.

Chapter 7: The Indian ultra-low-cost sector and the Tata Nano -
The unique dynamics of the Indian market, compared to other emerging
regions, is bringing about the development of a new class of
ultra-low-cost vehicles. In this chapter we discuss the Maruti
low-cost project and Renault's discussions with Indian scooter maker
Bajaj regarding a joint partnership to develop a small car. Comment
from Renault X90 programme Chief, Gerard Detourbet is included.

Companies Mentioned:

- Fiat

- Renault

- Toyota

For more information, visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c88382

Research and Markets
Laura Wood
Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax: +353 1 4100 980

Copyright Business Wire 2008