• CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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      5 hours ago

      Its not collusion. They just can compete against Japanese and South Korean brands in this segment so all the R&D money designing and building compact cars was going to waste. People would rather buy a Civic or Corolla than a Cruze or Focus.

      It’s no like they’re forcing people to buy bigger cars especially considering these brands already make up a minority of sales in the US.

      • BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk
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        1 hour ago

        I’ll disagree, personally I’d have bought a Mondeo over a VAG wagon in a heartbeat if they still made them. I got talking to a salesman at my local dealership and the sentiment is basically “no-one really understands what they’re doing, they’ve stopped making all the cars that sold well”

        • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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          34 minutes ago

          No doubt there are outliers, but sales figures show that German brands (and Tesla) dominated sales in the EU while the Mondeo was still around. Here in the US, this segment is dominated by Asian and German brands as well which leaves little room for companies like Ford or GM to compete, especially when this whole segment shows declining sales year over year. They sell far more trucks and SUVs which is why those have become their focus. Why spend billions to build a car that only earns you millions?

    • Humanius@lemmy.world
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      6 hours ago

      Stellantis does make affordable vehicles though… in Europe…
      They own Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Opel, etc and they have been making great affordable EVs for a few years now.

      Stellantis in the US and Stellantis in Europe seem like two entirely different entities that don’t talk to one another.