International

Chrysler’s Jeep brand has seen a resurgence in recent years, winning awards that range from the Grand Cherokee’s 2011 Urban Truck of the Year to the Wrangler’s 2012 Four Wheeler of the Year. Its popularity has also blossomed in emerging markets. According to Chrysler Group LLC, sales of Jeep-brand vehicles in China in 2011 rose 64% compared to the previous year, climbing to 38,373 units. Sales also exploded in Russia, rising 85% to 2,327 units. Here’s a look at some of the particulars in those markets.

Brazil, China and India are outpacing the growth in many mature automotive markets—a trend that is likely to continue over the next few years. The Brazilian trade association Associação Nacional dos Fabricantes de Veículos Automotores (National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, or ANFAVEA) has estimated that vehicle sales in Brazil will rise 5% during 2012. In fact, the country has already overtaken Germany to become the fourth-largest vehicle market in the world, with sales of 3.6 million cars and light trucks in 2011.

Brazil has long been on a short list of automotive specialty-equipment markets that SEMA is tracking as having the potential to develop into one of the world’s most important. Brazil first came onto the association’s radar screen due its position as the largest market in South America as well as a citizenry known for an obsession with cars, trucks and motorsports.

This is the second in a two-part series on the Middle East Market—specifically the market in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the five neighboring countries comprising the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. A number of factors make this market of 7.3 million vehicles particularly attractive, including the high regard for U.S. products and considerable discretionary income. SEMA members making products for light trucks and American musclecars will find strong demand for those applications.

A group of SEMA-member manufacturers recently descended on the Chinese capitol of Beijing, for the second annual SEMA China International Auto Parts Expo (CIAPE) China Business Development Program—an intensive three days of networking and one-on-one meetings with Chinese buyers from 24 cities throughout China. The 2011 delegation of U.S. companies represented a broad range of products, including engine performance, interior and exterior appearance products, suspension and handling upgrades and mobile electronics. The goals of the participants included meeting potential customers, getting a better understanding of consumer brand awareness, evaluating distribution channels for their products and identifying vehicles on Chinese roads for which they should develop new product applications.

Some of the fastest-growing markets in recent years have been in the Middle East—the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the five neighboring countries comprising the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The specialty-equipment markets in the region are in their infancy, and U.S. manufacturers have the opportunity to get into these respective markets during these exciting early days.

The SUV and luxury segments will be the main drivers of growth in China’s auto market this year as it shrugs off a slow few months and returns to steady growth, analysts said. That’s good news for SEMA members. Buyers of luxury cars and SUVs—many of which are luxury SUVs—have money to spend on customizing their vehicles, and a growing desire to do so.

In a closely watched case, a German court has, for the second time in two years, sided with a consumer who sued for the right to install aftermarket carbon-fiber wheels on his motorcycle. The German state of Baden-Württemberg denied the consumer an operating license, with the following note in the appeal documents: “Upon retrofitting carbon fiber wheels, the motorcycle no longer conforms” and “the operating permit of the individual vehicle is forfeited pursuant to the German Road Traffic Admission Regulation….”

A growing number of Chinese are looking to explore their country’s rougher regions by going off-road, and Jeep sales in China are surging. But China’s terrain is apparently rougher than that found in the United States—or perhaps Chinese drivers are just more radical—because U.S.-built Jeeps are not durable enough for China, an engineer with Chrysler in China told SEMA. That could be an opportunity for SEMA members.