Renault Cranks Up Electric Output; Now To Find Some Buyers Can The Zoe Ignite A Bit Of Enthusiasm? “Carlos Ghosn did indeed bet the farm with Renault’s ambitious electric only vehicle project” “Car makers now seem to put their hopes on fuel-cells with ranges similar to that of conventional cars. If they are right, the […]
“Every time you take a new look at the red ink being generated by Europe’s losers, the numbers get bigger” If Europe was one country led by an elected President who saw that his re-election depended on winning support from swing states inhabited by Peugeot-Citroen of France, Italy’s Fiat and mainly German-based Opel and Ford, […]
Mercedes Irks Investors As Big Sales Plan Hits Profit Hopes Race For First Place Might Succeed, But Cost Seen As Unacceptable Unexpected Profit Warnings, Botched Financial Release Didn’t Help “The company remains in denial. Labour costs at Daimler stand at 16.4 per cent of sales versus 11.2 per cent at BMW” Mercedes might be fighting toe […]
“Who ever heard about two car makers who are in trouble joining up” “Austerity programs, combined with political and nationalistic policies, have created a calamity for the European auto industry. If merging one horrendous loss-maker into another massive value-destroyer makes sense, business schools will have to throw their text books out the window and start […]
Renault Ahead Of Competition Financially, Thanks To Dacia How Did Renault Manage To Move So Much Output Away From Europe? “It may lack glamour, but the new Logan could be the most important model on show in Paris,” Most European mass car manufacturers, with the exception of VW, are losing huge amounts of money, but […]
New Golf VII Being Discounted Already “This is the worst market in Europe in the last 20 years” But Don’t Expect To See Any Company Bite The Dust Industry leaders at the Paris Car Show vied with each other to come up with the worst possible scenario for the European industry, and Renault Chief Operating […]
“The crisis in Europe is not over, but is just beginning. In 2013 we predict the worst auto sales in Western Europe since 1993” As Europeans head back from their beaches and holiday homes, a second European recession in three years looms, and a feeling that the economy is drifting, pilotless, on to the rocks, […]
New Mercedes A class Will Shake Up BMW, Audi Investors Worry Mercedes Plans Overambitious “Mercedes has done a fabulous job with the styling. It’s a big step up in terms of styling. The previous ones were dreadfully dull but this one is a quantum leap” German luxury car makers are investing heavily in new small […]
Current Models Not Selling; What Happens When New Ones Appear? “sales pace so slow as to be barely measurable” Every self-respecting automobile manufacturer in Europe is planning to launch an all-electric vehicle soon, but the fact that sales are dying on the vine points to an expensive and embarrassing debacle when the next wave appears. […]
“Deutsche Bank believes Ford, GM, Peugeot-Citroen, Renault and Fiat will lose close to $4 billion between them this year” If you’re bored reading about how the European car industry is on the brink of a shakeout which never happens, this might be the time to pay attention. There are probably still some people out there […]
