Japanese, Europeans Better Placed With Fuel Efficient Line-ups Persistently high oil prices could stall the recovery at Ford and General Motors, and boost Japanese carmakers and Europeans like Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen, Moody’s Investors Service said. The price of crude oil has jumped to around $115 from below $80 last September, as demand has recovered […]
Archive | Industry Analysis 2011
Renault “Spy” Shenanigans Bodes Ill For Ghosn
Any Signs Of Failure In New Strategic Plan Could Spell Doom The strange affair of the three “spies” at Renault, fired for betraying electric car secrets and then reinstated after grovelling apologies conceding that they were innocent, is likely to undermine top management for some time to come. Investors though believe CEO Carlos Ghosn and […]
BMW Most Vulnerable To Japan Fall Out
Damage Unlikely To Be Major, Although 2011 Profits Look Capped New 1, 3 Series Launches To Provide Substantial Cost Savings BMW is the most vulnerable of the premium car manufacturers to any supply crunch following the crisis in Japan, but investors are confident that any disruption will be short-lived and manageable. BMW announced impressive financial […]
Japan Quake Impact on Global industry Hard To Fathom
Some Say Normality Weeks, Not Months Away. Others That Japanese Production Losses Will Gather Pace. Will Crucial Electronic Parts Made By Small Firms Be The Achilles Heel? News about the possible impact of the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant disaster on the global automotive industry is confused and contradictory. Nissan Motor’s Chief Operating […]
E.U. Truck Problem, Car CO2 Weakness Could Cost Daimler
Audi CO2 Performance Said To Beat Equivalent Mercedes “Truck Engine Changeover Like Changing All Cars At Once” Daimler reported huge profits for 2010, and investors were convinced that 2011 would be even better as pronouncements from the corporate leadership left the impression that everything in the garden was lovely. The only complaint was that Daimler’s […]
More Of The Black Stuff Expected For BMW In 2011
China The Key To More Profit Progress BMW reported powerful profit progress in 2010, mainly thanks to China and to a lesser extent the revival in the U.S. market, and investors expect more of the same in 2011. BMW’s net income raced ahead to €3.23 billion in 2010 compared with 2009’s meagre €210 million, and […]
VW Expected To Beat 2010’s Impressive Performance This Year
Cash Flow Causes Eyebrows To Rise, Momentarily Rising Oil, Euro, Interest Rates Doesn’t Bode Well For Industry “we believe VW will again be in the position to increase earnings and maintain its competitive lead” Just because Volkswagen raised its profits sevenfold in 2010, don’t think it can avoid criticism from the naysayers. VW’s net income […]
Short-Term Outlook Grim For Japanese Automakers
Delicate, Crucial Supply Chain Badly Damaged Even If Production Restored, Infrastructure Havoc Will Curb Exports Competitors Circle To Gain Advantage Japanese auto manufacturers closed down their factories in the days after the earthquake and tsunami disaster and nuclear power plant failures, but even if big factory production is restored, with roads and ports crippled the […]
Conventional Wisdom On China, Energy Might Have To Change
Industry moving to Asia, But Will Return As New Costs Bite Will New Shale Gas Technology Mean Cheap Energy Future Restored? “no possibility of an unexpected and revolutionary new way of powering cars, like perhaps John Galt of Atlas Shrugged fame’s mythical motor, which draws static electricity from the atmosphere and converts it to usable, […]
Battery Cars Will Struggle Against Mainstream Competition
When Subsidies Disappear, Battery Deficiencies Will Be Stark Massive Technology Breakthrough Required, But Don’t Hold Your Breath Manufacturers Will Concoct “Mobility” Schemes To Tempt You Some say electric cars will save the planet from man-made climate change. Others see a need to clean up the exhausts of an increasing number of cars clogging up city […]