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 […]
Archive | Industry Analysis 2010
Successful GM Share Sale Boosts Image, But Work Remains
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 […]
Nissan Leaf – European Car Of The Year 2011
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 […]
Europe Entering Sales Double-Dip As Subsidy Impact Expires
2011 Will Be Little Bit Better, But Not Much Forced Efficiencies Mean Manufacturers Better Prepared For Downturn The dreaded double-dip recession is about to engulf the West European car market, as the impact of cash-for-clunkers government subsidies runs out and consumer confidence wilts. Latest data shows that sales dived more than 18 per cent in […]
Chrysler Short-Term Gain Fails To Dispel Long-Term Worries
Real Test Awaits U.S. Reaction To Fiat-Based New Cars Chrysler has emerged from bankruptcy, but investors are cautious about its survival prospects despite reporting profits in the third quarter. Chrysler, 20 per cent owned by Fiat of Italy, racked up an operating profit of $239 million in the third quarter and now expects a total […]
BMW’s Finances Benefit From Longer, Cooler Look
Audi Was Profit War Winner After Initial News, But Doubts Creep In Investors Wonder If CO2 Rules May Destroy Profitable Product Mix BMW’s financial performance looked even better after the dust settled a bit. When BMW announced its third quarter results, the initial reaction from investors was that the numbers, although strong, were comparatively disappointing, […]
Europe In Good Shape To Resist Car Sales Double-Dip
2011 To Be Down A Bit At Best, Compared With This Year’s 6% Fall But Manufacturers Have Slashed Costs To Avoid Red Numbers Somehow a “W” shaped recovery sounds better, but whatever you call it, a double-dip recession is engulfing Europe’s car market, and the conventional wisdom suggests that this will mean red ink for […]
Law Suits, Tax Question Threaten VW/Porsche Merger
The merger between Volkswagen and Porsche has now stalled and investors are considering the possibility that it may never happen. Two big issues stand in the way of the deal. Uncertainties over German tax law mean that any merger couldn’t take place until 2014 without incurring a massive, potential €2 billion penalty. After that date […]
Ford 3rd Quarter Profits A Record, Expects Gains To Continue
Europe Slips Into The Red Though Just to prove that you don’t have to be a German car manufacturer to produce amazingly impressive results, Ford Motor Co announced that net income jumped to a record-breaking $1.7 billion in the third quarter. There was some bad news though. Ford of Europe reported a pre-tax operating loss […]
China, Loaded S And E Class Sales, Boost Daimler Profits
Profit Forecast Raised For Third Time This Year China sales aided and abetted by a strong global performance by its Mercedes S-class and E-class cars boosted Daimler in the third quarter, but despite its bravura performance, investors expected more and punished the company’s shares on the stock market. Daimler raised its third quarter earnings before […]