Jeep Stars In Europe, While Ford, GM Steal Sales From VW. “Fiat Chrysler’s decision to use a bog standard Fiat car and place a new body on the vehicle and make it a 4X4 has really paid off handsomely” Fiat Chrysler’s Jeep brand in general and the little Renegade SUV in particular were the star […]
Archive | Industry Analysis 2015
Volkswagen: Admit Defeat In U.S.; Withdraw Namesake Brand
Volkswagen: Admit Defeat In U.S.; Withdraw Namesake Brand. “Skoda makes good products and it doesn’t have a cheating image to change” “That’s complete nonsense. Skoda doesn’t have the product or the SUVs. Volkswagen, tainted by its admission it cheated government regulations and sold its cars to Americans under false pretences, should withdraw the brand from […]
Americans May Start To Attack German Luxury Dominance
Americans May Start To Attack German Luxury Dominance. “Don’t make the mistake that (premium sector) market shares are frozen” The Detroit Auto Show featured luxury sedans with SUVs taking more of a back seat, but what’s surprising was that American upmarket vehicles may finally start to pose a threat to German hegemony. Volvo, now owned […]
Dealers, States Pose Bigger Threat To Volkswagen Than EPA
Dealers, States Pose Bigger Threat To Volkswagen Than EPA. “There will be a very, very long line of lawyers trying to sue Volkswagen for the next 20 years” Estimates that Volkswagen could be liable for costs from aggrieved customers and government agency fines approaching a total of $90 billion have been dismissed as an exaggeration, […]
VW Rivals Gain In Europe Despite Hefty Price Cuts, Discounts
VW Rivals Gain In Europe Despite Hefty Price Cuts, Discounts. “The VW diesel scandal has added a totally new competitive spirit to the market and forced it to pull out all the stops to fight off the anticipated sharp drop off of sales of not just diesels, but all of its vehicles” Western Europe’s healthy […]
New Technology Threat To Traditional Auto Industry
New Technology Threat To Traditional Auto Industry. “The challenge this time is no longer financial or operational. New entrants are posing an existential question” While auto industry chiefs bragged to the Detroit Auto Show about how wonderful are the industry prospects in general, and their new cars and SUVs in particular, German consultants Roland Berger […]
U.S. Auto Sales Likely To Spurt Again, But Clouds Gather
U.S. Auto Sales Likely To Spurt Again, But Clouds Gather. “U.S. auto sales will approach 18 million in 2016 after setting an all time-high in 2015” The Detroit Auto Show basked in the glory of news 2015 set a new record for U.S. sales and the expert consensus is for a new high to be […]
VW, BMW, Daimler Victimized By China Fears
VW, BMW, Daimler Victimized By China Fears. “Germans are suffering in particular. In 2015, they exported about 511,000 vehicles from Germany and the U.S. to China” German car shares were leading European stock markets down (in early January) as worries about China continued to spook investors. The Stoxx Europe 600 index was down nearly 3.5 […]
Bentley, Maserati, Jaguar Prop Up Reliability Survey
Bentley, Maserati, Jaguar Prop Up Reliability Survey. “could it be the plethora of new, high tech but unproven gizmos offered in these vehicles?” “The fact Hyundai of Korea was in sixth place, but its sister company Kia with almost identical vehicles, was 19th looks weird” It looks like the result of a survey of the […]
Mahindra Will Use Pininfarina To Threaten New Markets
Mahindra Will Use Pininfarina To Threaten New Markets. “Where Pininfarina comes into our equation is they are great at design and style. Where we come in is as industrial engineers.” Mahindra Group of India wants to use newly acquired and legendary Italian designer Pininfarina to attack new markets in Europe and the U.S. not only […]