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| Rebound; Ford, GM Down (8/3/2004) Chrysler and Japan's Big Three have a - Mini Motorcycle |
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(2004-08-09)
July Sales Rebound; Ford, GM Down
Sales of new vehicles hit a 17.5 million-unit pace in July after a slight drop in June asToyota , Honda and Nissan all continued to pick up market share. The Chrysler Group was the only Detroit-based automaker to increase sales, while Toyota , Nissan, Honda and Hyundai all reported record sales for July. "The market continues to show a strong bias toward light trucks and luxury performance vehicles," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda, which posted a 1.2-percent sales increase last month. Nissan's truck sales were up 69 percent while car sales climbed 10 percent. Toyota also set a blistering sales pace in July and finished only 8000 units behind DaimlerChrysler AG's total sales in the U.S. Toyota-Lexus-Scion dealers sold 200,206 vehicles while Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Mercedes-Benz dealers sold 208,581 vehicles in a duel that is certain to get more attention in months to come.
July Sales Rebound; Ford, GM Down (8/3/2004)
Chrysler and Japan's Big Three have a month to remember.
Detroit Incentives Hit $4k
Detroit is spending a whopping $4011 in incentives per vehicle sold in July on average, according to Edmunds's True Cost of Incentives report. That figure remains significantly higher than the record industry average $2885 per vehicle. GM remains the biggest spender of the Big Three and the industry as a whole, increasing its pay out for the fourth straight month to $4467 - a figure that has them spending $800 more than Ford ($3686), which had the biggest monthly increase in spending ($358), and well over $1000 more than Chrysler ($3384) The automaker kicked off August with a fresh round of incentives, with its uppermost rebate now reaching $5000. While many continue to criticize the General's cutthroat incentives, the automaker is gaining market share, up 3.4 percent in July, while Ford and Chrysler have fallen 1.3 percent and 2.3 percent respectively, Edmunds says.
While the Big Three spend, spend, spend, most of their counterparts are doing their job to keep incentive levels moderate. Korean automakers Kia and Hyundai are the only firms able to actually deflate spending, despite July being a traditionally competitive month when most automakers are moving out 2004 models to make room for 2005. The Koreans reduced incentives $35 to $1833, while Europeans boosted spending $228 to $2562. The Japanese remain the most frugal, spending just a shade above $1000 in incentives per vehicles, Edmunds says. Luxury nameplates Cadillac ($7878), Lincoln ($5480) and Jaguar ($5248) are the most liberal spending of brands in the U.S. market, while specialty players MINI ($80), Scion ($212) and Porsche ($257) dish out the least. -Jack Gilbert
July Sales Rebound; Ford, GM Down by Joseph Szczesny (8/3/2004)
Chrysler and Japan 's Big Three have a month to remember.
Chrysler Builds New Jeeps with Suppliers
DaimlerChrysler AG is launching an effort to remake its assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio , for the 21st century. Tom LaSorda, the Chrysler Group's chief operating officer says the new $2.1 billion manufacturing project in Toledo will utilize outside suppliers to handle key elements of the assembly process. Three suppliers will build and manage key manufacturing process facilities for body, paint and chassis operations that are totally within the plant "footprint" of the new plant that Chrysler plans to have in operation by 2006.
Chrysler Builds New Jeeps with Suppliers (8/3/2004)
New Toledo plant subs out more work than ever for Jeep.
C6 Ads to Invade Olympics
Television commercials for the Chevy's C6 'Vette debut during the Summer Olympics. GM turned to Guy Ritchie, best known for his highly-publicize fling with Madonna, but also known for his short movie-directing talent - including BMW commercials staring The Material Girl - to call the shots on the new TV spots. Created by longtime Chevrolet ad shop Campbell-Ewald in Warren, the ads are set to the tune of the Rolling Stones' "Jumping Jack Flash," and retell the daydream of a boy who imagines himself racing through the streets of New York in nothing less than America's most storied sports car. -Jack Gilbert
2005 Chevrolet Corvette by Paul A. Eisenstein (8/2/2004)
With the "C6," the little changes make a big difference
GM Wins China Financing Approval
Like crosstown rival Ford, General Motors now has permission to finance vehicles in China through its captive-finance arm. General Motors Acceptance Corp. has partnered with Shanghai Automotive Group Finance Co. Ltd., and together, the two will begin to sell Chinese consumers vehicles on credit. General Motors will actually beat Ford to the punch in China with its financing; Ford has received initial approval for its Ford Credit branch to operate in China , while GM's deal with its Chinese partner is final approval. GMAC will own 60 percent of its venture and will fund it to the tune of $60 million.
NTSB: Make Black Boxes Standard
The National Transportation Safety Board - the government office best known for investigations of airline, bus and train crashes - has jumped into the debate over automotive Event Data Recorders (EDRs), better known as black boxes. NTSB, merely an advisory group, said Tuesday it wants the regulatory National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to make EDRs mandatory for passenger vehicles. In June, NHTSA proposed that vehicles built after September 1, 2008, meet minimum standards for EDRs voluntarily installed by automakers, but stopped short of mandating them. Comments on the proposal are due by August 13. Now the NTSB, as a result of its study of a July 2003 multi-fatal accident in Santa Monica, Calif., believes a black box would have helped investigators understand the incident. A 1992 Buick, built before full-scale EDRs became standard on GM cars, mowed down dozens of shoppers in an outdoor market, killing ten and injuring 63. It is believed but can't be proven without objective evidence, that the elderly driver panicked, jamming on his accelerator pedal rather than the brake. "We believe very strongly that vehicles should have a black box," NTSB chair Ellen Engleman Connors said. She explained that black boxes would provide investigators with scientific data on every fatal crash. According to the NTSB report, "Voluntary, rather than mandatory, installation of event data recorders in light-duty vehicles will not result in obtaining the maximum highway safety benefits from this technology." -Mike Davis
Electronic Data Recorders: Liars Beware? by Mike Davis (8/4/2004)
When the Feds can track your car's movements, it's time to be concerned. And it's already happening.
Toyota Profit Up 29 Percent; Boosting Prius Output
Toyota says that the April-June quarter saw its profits jump by 29 percent. The income of about $2.6 billion came about as car sales that rose 10 percent from the year-before figure. Though the home market was soft, Toyota 's North American sales rose 11 percent even with the exchange rate not in its favor. Toyota expects to sell 7.2 million vehicles in the current fiscal year, which ends next March 31. Separately, at a press conference in its hometown of Nagoya , Japan , Toyota said it would boost monthly Prius hybrid production from 10,000 to 15,000 units a month in order to meet demand from world markets, particularly the United Stated, where the original plan called for 36,000 units a year. The extra production will begin in January. The expansion of Prius production means Toyota will delay the on-sale date of its Lexus RX 400h hybrid by two months. The RX hybrid now is expected to go on sale in the U.S. in February of 2005.
BMW Turns In $808 Million Profit
Despite almost unrelenting criticism of BMW's new models in the auto press, the company continues to rack up impressive profit. BMW AG reported its second-quarter net profit rose 18 percent, powered by hot-selling new models like the X3 sport-utility vehicle and 6-Series coupe. BMW's net profit rose to 671 million ($808 million), or 99 European cents ($1.19) a share, from 568 million, or 84 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 16 percent to 11.91 billion from 10.27 billion.
"BMW grew on the back of its product initiative and outperformed the overall market in virtually all of the major international automobile markets," said management-board Chairman Helmut Panke. The chairman added that he expected to set a new record for company revenues and profits on the full year.
"The numbers are good. The core automobile division is performing well," said Juergen Pieper, an analyst with private bank Metzler. The automobile division's profit rose 26 percent, but profit from the motorcycle unit fell 24 percent to 44 million.
BMW's second-quarter performance stands in sharp contrast with problems at rival Mercedes-Benz, where the operating profit margin was just 5.4 percent compared with 8.4 percent for BMW's.
BMW adds to the product onslaught this fall with the launch of the 1-Series, a model priced below the popular 3-Series, which won't arrive in the U.S. for a few years yet. -Jim Burt
Spy Shots: '06 BMW 3-Series by Brenda Priddy (7/19/2004)
The disguises come off BMW's heart and soul.
Mitsu Losses Pile Up in Quarter
Mitsubishi Corp's losses worsened in its fiscal first quarter, reported Wednesday, dragged down by falling sales at home and in North America. Mitsubishi posted a net loss of $494.4 million, a drop of 8 percent from the year earlier, which the company said represented about one-fourth the expected losses for the full year. Revenues fell nearly 10 percent from the year earlier as customers continue to desert Mitsubishi after the company was caught covering up product defects for years. In the U.S. market, first-quarter sales of vehicles dropped 30 percent to 53,000 units. The drop was steeper in Japan, where sales plummeted 37 percent to 49,000 units. There were some small gains in Europe and China, but global sales were still down 44,000 units. Japan's fourth-largest car maker says it is in a struggle for survival that depends on its ability to win back customers and rebuild its reputation.
"I promise that Mitsubishi Motors will turn into a healthy company you can trust," President Hideyasu Tagaya said at a news conference. "I will take the lead in all our operations to deliver cars that offer our customers peace of mind."
Recently, members of the Mitsubishi industrial group put together a $4 billion rescue plan after DaimlerChrysler's plan to recapitalize the company was knocked down by the German automaker's board. -Jim Burt
Spy Shots: '06 Mitsubishi Eclipse by Brenda Priddy (7/5/2004)
As headquarters struggles, a new two-door takes flight.
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