Well, 2005's increased variety looks as if there will be something new (or at least improved) for buyers. Andrew Hamilton repots.
We are fast approaching the year end, and in the corridors of motor industry power here in Ireland and in Europe, final preparations are being made for the 2005 new model assault.
In the Irish context, the first months of any new year are vitally important with over 50 per cent of registrations taking place in the January to March period.
Not all companies on the Irish scene are happy with business being bottled up in the first quarter: Michael Nugent, BMW's sales and marketing director, is planning initiatives to stimulate sales in the latter months: "We are trying to avoid a sales graph that plummets dramatically from July onwards."
BMW's complaint may seem to some a bit academic, with its 2004 sales up 29 per cent on the same period last year, and Mini registrations up a staggering 90 per cent. Its success and that of other prestigious competitors like Audi and Mercedes-Benz, are powerful indicators that our Celtic tiger economy is still very much alive and well.
The market has grown, too, for MPVs and the ubiquitous SUVs, almost a necessity for patrolling the urban jungle. But everyone in the Irish industry is agreed that it's far tougher selling high volume cars in segments represented by models like the Ford Fiesta or Ford Focus.
The 2005 market looks as if it will be characterised by all kinds of everything. Here the Focus, in its Mark Two form, is going to be among the first out of the traps along with Citroën's C4, replacing the lacklustre Xsara.
Let's take a canter from segment to segment, from bottom to top, looking at what's coming, and when.
Most of us assumed that Toyota was represented in all segments, but that's not quite true. From this coming summer, it will be marketing a baby car that will be called Aygo and built at a new plant in the Czech Republic. Actually it's a co-operative venture with PSA (Peugeot-Citroën) and there will be identically engineered Peugeot and Citroën versions respectively badged 107 and C1. Another baby arrival in the spring is the Chevrolet Matiz. It used to be the Daewoo from Korea, and is surely the smallest model ever to carry the Chevy badge.
Slightly more grown-up metal bearing the three-pointed star is the second-generation Mercedes A-Class. The first generation famously failed the elk test but the new model, that's bigger with a more attractive profile, won't turn over if one of these monsters comes into its path. It should be on sale early in 2005. Japan is represented by the Daihatsu Sirion and the Suzuki Swift, both due in the spring. A Korean newcomer is a new-look Accent, scheduled for mid year.
A novel French arrival is the Peugeot 1007 with remotely operated sliding doors and interior panels that can be replaced, depending on the customer's colour preference. It's due in June. Around the same time that we should be seeing new Polo and Lupo models. Next year is an important one for Renault: its big volume selling Clio is due to be replaced, with the new arrival making its debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September.
The Focus gets estate and saloon derivatives next March, and at the end of the year, it will be available in high performance ST guise. Bigger family cars with 2005 debuts include the Seat Toledo which is due to be launched in January, and the Volkswagen Passat with the saloon due in May and the estate in September. An important summer facelift is scheduled for the Opel Vectra.
Car manufacturers aren't at the party these days if they don't have an MPV. Honda is late to the party, and its FR-V claims to be that bit different with 3-plus-3 seating with a facia mounted gear lever. It's similar to the approach taken by Fiat with the Multipla: coincidentally a second generation Multipla has just gone on sale in readiness for the 2005 market. Fiat has made the latest Multipla much more conformist and, some would say, less ugly but also less distinctive.
The MPV that has been a best-seller here, along with the Renault Megane, is the Opel Zafira and it will be making an autumn debut. Looking for big volume sales that eluded other past Mazda MPVs will be Mazda's latest, the 5, which is also due to arrive in the autumn.
Mazda will probably make even bigger news with a totally new MX-5 sports car, replacing a model that has been largely unchanged since 1969. The Japanese manufacturer is credited with rescuing the whole concept of the compact sports car, and no doubt the new MX-5 will be seeking to replicate the success of its predecessor with over 1.5 million sold.
In the burgeoning SUV sector, the very early part of 2005 promises a new Kia Sportage, a Range Rover facelift in March, and the new Mercedes M-Class and Jeep Grand Cherokee in the summer. A high performance Sport version of the Range Rover is due out in May, and towards the end of the year we may see or hear about a new look Freelander. The most technically interesting 2005 SUV arrival has to be the electric-petrol Lexus RX400h, high-powered but economical and with impressive green and clean credentials. It's due in June.
Selling big-engined cars with volume badges is a tough business; they come up against the allure of the prestige German marques like BMW. Still, Citroën's C6 flagship that is expected next spring is eye-catchingly different, but a far cry from the idiosyncratic big Citroëns of yesteryear. Meanwhile, the new Hyundai Sonata due, in the first months of 2005, looks very European in its styling influences.
Finally, to the prestige area. Probably the biggest event in 2005 is the arrival of the new BMW 3-series, likely in March. Styling predictably almost gives it the same corporate identity as the other siblings. Increased space and extra power for the petrol and diesel engine range are among key improvements. The details of the new 3-series have already been given, and even before the official announcement from Munich a few weeks ago, a comprehensive collation of information on the car was leaked from Slovenia. BMW itself was among the main suspects.
Its prime German rivals are Audi and Mercedes-Benz and both have models to sneak in before the 3's arrival.
Audi's distraction is a new or revised A4 while from Mercedes-Benz, there's a new CLS saloon that has a coupé-like profile. Prestige car makers always put up the toughest fight when a new model line-up could threaten their power or influence.