Questions About Euro Bias, Faurecia Remain Unanswered Short-Term Profitability Improves, But Concerns Mount About 2010 Peugeot CEO Philippe Varin finally unburdened himself of his vision of the future at a meeting on November 12, but investors were not impressed. Investors wanted guidance from Peugeot about his plans, with the main concerns being the company’s Eurocentricity, […]
Archive | Industry Analysis 2009
Fiat Plan For Chrysler Ambitious, Tough To Achieve
Chrysler Must More Than Double Sales, Make Hefty Profits By 2014 Are Fiat Products Good Enough To Make It In The U.S.? “Execution On Every Play Will Have To Be Flawless” Fiat’s aggressive and ambitious plans for Chrysler, delivered with panache and brio by CEO Sergio Marchionne by all accounts, seems to have surprised investors who […]
GM Angers Europeans, But Opel Decision Gains Plaudits
Ruesselsheim Seen As Indispensable Global Jewel Not Everybody Agrees “The GM board doesn’t understand Europe, and Opel-Vauxhall will continue to a loss maker” GM’s last minute decision to hang on to its European Opel marque left Russian Premier Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angel Merkel spluttering with anger and induced German unions to take to […]
Golf Cart Makes More Sense Than Pricey New Battery Car
Battery Car Guaranteed To Strand You Somewhere, Sometime Too Expensive, Too Impractical 100 Miles One Day, Who Knows How Many The Next “low-tech, proven and cheap as chips” If it’s a cheap and cheerful electric vehicle you want to do the shopping and pickup the kids from school, why not clean-up and dust down the […]
Saab, Still Hanging In There, Readies The 9-5 For Launch
1.6 Litre Engine Produces 180 Hp Saab of Sweden is still alive, and about to kick-off a series of new car launches starting with the 9-5. Saab is hanging on after being cast adrift by GM, albeit reportedly with a nice legacy of $500 million in assets and cash, engineering facilities for new cars, and […]
As ACEA Cries Foul, Hyundai, Kia Report Spectacular Profits
E.U./Korea Free Trade Agreement Must Be Changed Says ACEA No Reciprocity With South Korean Market As Europe’s car manufacturers protested easing the taxes on South Korean imports, Hyundai announced spectacular global profits, with more to come. The European Commission has signed a free-trade agreement with South Korea, and the European Car Makers Association (ACEA) has […]
Fiat’s Results Impress, But Doubts Remain On 2010, Chrysler
Marchionne To Unveil 5-Year Plan For Fiat On November 4 “U.S. patient is suffering from ugly cash-burn” Fiat’s latest results pleased investors, but they are divided on the likely long-term impact of the relationship with Chrysler. In the 3rd quarter, Fiat Auto reported a trading profit of €155 million, the same as in the 2nd quarter, and […]
Peugeot Loses More In 3rd Quarter As Rivals Return To Profit
Investors Expect Action From Varin At November 12 Meeting Solid Profitability Not Expected Until Second Half Of 2010 “Eurocentricity”, Capacity Use, Faurecia Need Sorting Peugeot-Citroen disappointed investors with its third quarter performance, and the consensus remains that it will lose more than €1 billion in 2009. Peugeot sales in the 3rd quarter “only” declined by 7.7 […]
Renault Battery Vision Looks Like An Expensive Blind-Alley
Why Pursue Batteries When Plug-In Hybrid Makes Them Obsolete? Firms Which Rescue Stranded Motorists Will Be Big Winners Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn’s startling claim that battery powered vehicles will win 10 per cent of global new car sales by 2020 still beggars belief. At the Frankfurt Car Show last month, Ghosn wasn’t talking about plug-in […]
Despite Recent Surge, Europe’s 2010 Car Sales Set To Dive
Germany Expected To Slide More Than 25 Per Cent Some Still Say Scrapping Didn’t Steal Sales Car sales in Western Europe may have zoomed almost nine per cent in September, but this looks very much like the zenith of a shooting star about to return to earth. According to forecaster J.D.Power, government scrapping incentives induced […]