Jaguar Land Rover Hit By Big Loss. “JLR’s small size suggests it might need to link ...
German Carmakers Face Huge Profit Hit If 25% Tariff Imposed. “We estimate a total of about 650,000 of these sales would be lost, with the luxury segment losing 90% of imported sales. The German manufacturers would be the most disadvantaged” If President Trump imposes a 25% tariff on auto imports, European carmakers like BMW, Mercedes, […]
Renault-Nissan Alliance Works Well, But Politics May Doom It. “Clearly Ghosn held the thing together with the strength of his personality but the alliance will have to find other ways to make it work” All the business evidence points to a successful future for the Renault-Nissan alliance after years of dynamic leadership from Carlos Ghosn, […]
Jaguar Land Rover Hit By Big Loss. “JLR’s small size suggests it might need to link with another manufacturer” Jaguar Land Rover said it lost 3.4 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) in the quarter ended December 31 after it took a major write-down in the value of its investments. JLR, owned by Tata Motors of India, […]
Tesla Consecutive Profit Fails To Dispel Investor Doubts. “Within the industry we think only Tesla will, for some time, experience incremental growth in revenue and earnings” Tesla Inc may have reported a 2nd consecutive quarterly profit, but investors were worrying about longer term threats to the business from competition cranking up in Europe and possible […]
Nissan Still Eligible For U.K. Government Aid. Nissan Needs To Apply. A British government grant is still up for grabs for Nissan of Japan despite its withdrawal of the plan to make the X-Trail SUV at its Sunderland plant, but it has been cut from 80 million pounds ($104 million) to £61 million. The grant […]
An Alliance Might Fix Fiat Chrysler’s European Problem. “We also wonder how long FCA can keep reviving brands like Maserati and Alfa Romeo” Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) financial performance is being dragged down by its European division and investors believe an alliance with another manufacturer could be on the cards. Ford of Europe recently announced […]
X-Trail Decision Raises Questions About Government Funding. Brexit Peripheral. Nissan of Japan’s decision to reverse its plan to make the new version of its X-Trail SUV at its British plant was taken because of Europe’s sudden rejection of diesel engines, and weakening sales in the region generally. But the decision became headlines in Britain because […]
Ferrari Reports Higher Profits, Raises Target For The Year. “At some point, perhaps one of Ferrari’s core models will fall short. But until that (distant?) day, the music will play on” Italian luxury sports-car maker Ferrari reported strong financial results and investors, despite having misgivings about a car company with a high, luxury-sector share value, […]
Mercedes Profits Slip, But Industry Implications Are Reassuring. “Our goal is to return to our target margin corridor of 8% to 10% by 2021” Mercedes Benz parent company Daimler reported sharply lower profits for the 2018 4th quarter, but reassured investors looking for evidence of how a possibly troubled year for the auto industry might […]
Volvo Sells More Cars, Makes Less Profit. “margins will remain under continued pressure” Volvo Cars of Sweden, owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding, sold more cars and SUVs last year but saw its profit margin slide because of tariff wars and increasing competition. President and CEO Hakan Samuelsson said this wasn’t good enough and promised […]
Ghosn’s Renault Demise Opens Questions About Nissan Alliance. Will It Be Forced To Breakup? The future of the Renault Nissan alliance remains in the balance after Carlos Ghosn resigned as Chairman and CEO of Renault. Renault announced that Ghosn’s job would be split between the new chairman Jean-Dominique Senard and CEO Thierry Bolore. Ghosn was […]
Ford, VW Deal Seen As Disappointingly Defensive. “The two announced a damp squib of a deal” “Ford/VW Alliance: Lacks Scope, Detail and Action,” Ford and Volkswagen’s long-awaited alliance plan didn’t please investors, who viewed it as too defensive and lacking ambition. Ford and VW announced details of their plan at the Detroit Auto Show, which […]
Britain’s Auto Business Fears Brexit Plan Defeat Spells Doom. ‘No deal’ must be avoided at all costs-SMMT. “However, the longer term picture is by no means so bleak. Over half of UK new car exports are to markets outside the EU, a share that has been steadily increasing over recent years” Parliament’s rejection of Prime […]
