Volt Versus Leaf; No-Contest, But Time Will Tell “Wouldn’t it make more sense for battery-only vehicles to be much less ambitious – cheap and cheerful little golf-cart like vehicles used for a quick jaunt down to the shops?” “surprising thing is that battery-only projects survived after the Volt, and improved plug-in hybrids appeared I wonder […]
French daily newspaper Le Figaro claimed to have some details of Renault’s new long-term plan, notably less ambitious than Commitment 2009 which was victim of the economic recession. According to Le Figaro, the plan will be in two steps – 2011 to 2013, and 2013 to 2016. The plan calls for an operating profit margin […]
At Least Germany Will Emerge From Its Sharp Slump While analysts differ about the relative strength of the U.S. recovery, in Europe the debate centres on just how bad will things be. Dieter Zetsche, Daimler CEO set the tone with some gloomy remarks. “The European automobile industry is recovering from the financial and economic crisis, […]
Consensus For 2011 Is Close To 12.7 Million, But 15 Million Mooted It looks like stagnation for Europe next year, but some analysts are busily junking their conservative projections for U.S. car sales in 2011 in favour of much more aggressive targets of up to 15 million. 2010 is expected to end up at around […]
Short-Term Tax Worries Frighten Investors, Momentarily Rich Chinese More Likely Than Westerners To Splurge On Cars Darker Scenarios Include Runaway Inflation, Political Unrest China has provided a massive boost in profits for the German luxury car manufacturers, with most forecasts firmly predicting that the good times will continue to roll and maybe even accelerate far […]
The public relations departments of car manufacturers pour out a huge amount of boring, self-serving and normally inoffensive garbage every day. Morris Canardly wins North West Scotland caravan tow car of the year, and variations on that theme, is the standard fare. But sometimes they produce publicity so nonsensical, so superficial, I feel moved to […]
“Merger deal for Porsche, VW nearer”, said the Wall Street Journal headline, but many investors now think this isn’t going to happen. A month ago Deutsche Bank said the chances of a merger are receding. In late November, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in a research note on Porsche, joined the nay-sayers. “Central case – […]
Investors Will Be Hoping It Has More Success Than Commitment 2009 Renault investors are getting ready for the new three-year plan, due to be announced on February 10, 2011. They will be hoping that CEO Carlos Ghosn’s new long-term project has more success than the last one, which crashed and burned during the recession. That […]
GM’s Biggest Problem Is In Europe As Opel/Vauxhall Struggle China, Brazil Volatile But Promising Markets “Next year’s contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers union will indicate how much Detroit has, or hasn’t changed.” General Motors, the world’s biggest car manufacturer until it plunged into bankruptcy, can wallow for a while in the feel-good factor […]
First Winner To Be Unreliable, Probably Dangerous, Unaffordable Hybrids, Plug-Ins The Way Forward Not Batteries “only exists to please politicians who see advantages to their careers from appearing to be green without bothering to check out the facts” The Nissan Leaf, the battery-powered vehicle named European Car of the Year for 2011, is the first […]
