Scrapping Schemes Simply Brought Sales Forward, Delaying Pain Except If You Are Germany’s Angela Merkel, Of Course Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. That’s a truism that politicians don’t find easy to live with because allowing a failing enterprise to die can look insensitive, despite the fact that attempts at resuscitation are […]
Bernstein’s Warburton, With No Evidence, Calls This A Neat Idea It Would Appeal To Piech’s Heritage Fascination Fiat’s plans for Chrysler have taken the spotlight away from its troubled sporty subsidiary Alfa Romeo, but Max Warburton, senior analyst at Bernstein Research, has an interesting theory. Might Volkswagen board chairman Ferdinand Piech be interested in buying it? […]
VW Gets Profitable Small Car Expertise, Access To India Suzuki Gains Engine Technology Volkswagen’s deal with Suzuki of Japan was warmly received by many investors, who immediately identified the arrangements as having that rare advantage; everybody wins. “We see a strong strategic rationale for the partnership. Suzuki offers VW access to industry leading small car […]
“There Is No Other Alternative” Hardly A Ringing Endorsement Mitsubishi’s Battery Car Expertise Impresses Though Could This Help Peugeot’s Long Promised Return To The U.S.? News that Peugeot of France is negotiating a tie-up with Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors hasn’t thrilled investors who view the Japanese company as weak, although they are impressed by its electric […]
Changing Economics, Tastes, CO2 Rules, Tougher Competition Audi Looming Large In the Rear View Mirror “BMW most at risk without the scale of Audi, Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti” Germany’s premium car manufacturers have weathered the recession without taking on too much water, but the long-term prospects for Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, and particularly BMW are starting […]
Don’t Hold Your Breathe If You Want Return Of Glory Days Toyota, Honda Under Pressure; Kia/Hyundai Poised To Pounce U.S. light vehicle sales are likely to improve a bit in 2010, but worries about a double-dip recession or spike in fuel prices are a cause for concern, said Fitch Ratings of the U.S. High unemployment, […]
Recession Looks Mild By Historical Standards Opportunity To Tackle Overcapacity Spurned, So Far European car sales will slide at a slightly quicker rate in 2010, but forecasters are confused about the impact of the ending of government subsidised car scrapping schemes. One key ingredient missing from the current dip in car sales is any sign […]
Break-Even Point Allegedly Lowered, New Product Pipeline Ready GM Could See Its Way To Commute Saab Death Sentence China Link Looks Like Non-Starter Things look bleak for Saab, but the one remaining straw to clutch on might be if General Motors decided it would be wrong to waste the huge investment which has bought the […]
While most European mass car manufacturers improved profits in the third quarter on the back of generous car scrapping subsidy schemes, Volkswagen went into reverse. VW’s net income slid to €172 million in 2009’s 3rd quarter from €1.2 billion a year earlier. Sales fell to €26 billion from €28.9 billion. VW said earnings for the whole […]
Return To Profits Expected, Production Methods To Pay Off But S&P Begs To Differ, Slashes Ratings, Warns About Future BMW lost money making cars in the third quarter, but this didn’t phase investors too much. UniCredit analyst Sven Kreitmair said BMW was riding out the economic storm well, and would return to profits in 2010. […]
