Auto Industry Archive

After a prolonged campaign, Porsche today achieved a controlling stake in the Volkswagen Group. It’s a case of a highly profitable David swallowing a troubled Goliath. Volkswagen produced more than 6.2 million cars and trucks in 2007, versus only 101,844 for Porsche, according to the Automotive News Data Center. The two companies have a long history of cooperation, but had always remained...

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BMW has conceded that in 2008, it won’t sell more cars in the United States than the previous year, after 16 consecutive years of growth. What’s more, BMW indicates that’s OK with them. They are also raising prices, in a effort to put profits before sales volume, in so many words. In June, BMW took a mid-year price increase on 2008 models that averaged out to less than 1...

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Some luxury cars have been getting hurt by the drop in used-car values, but that could start to improve, according to ADESA Inc. auction data. The drop in values for big SUVs and pickups from the Detroit 3 has gotten most of the press coverage, but less dramatically, resale values for luxury cars have been down most of this year, too. BMW, which is a leader in leasing, for instance has set...

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General Motors is using its so-called “Facts and Fiction” web site to try and build support for U.S. government loans, to help U.S. automakers develop technology to save fuel and reduce air pollution. Quote-unquote “Myth” No. 1 on the site is that ”GM is looking for a government handout.” Heaven forbid, GM says. “Fact:  We are not seeking a bailout,...

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Not that General Motors needs any more ominous signs, but one of the company’s biggest shareholders, Memphis-based Southeastern Asset Management Inc., this week sold close to half a billion dollars worth of stock, representing more than 7 percent of GM’s common stock, and bought the equivalent amount of convertible bonds. That sounds like six of one, half a dozen of the other, but the...

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Add Suzuki to the list of would-be breakout automotive brands whose task got a whole lot tougher as U.S. auto sales have tanked. Suzuki sales have tripled in the United States since 1997, but this year, Suzuki’s U.S. sales are down 5.3 percent through August, to 70,430. That represents higher market share for 2008, since the overall U.S. market is down 11.2 percent year to date, to about...

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The absence of worse news was sort-of good news on the used-truck front in August, according to auction firm ADESA Inc. “Average prices for used full-size SUVs and pickups rose in August, indicating prices in these segments may have hit bottom,” said Tom Kontos, executive vice president. Meanwhile, on the new-vehicle side, thanks to big discounts some truck models posted higher...

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BMW’s Mini brand unveiled a vaguely SUV-like, all-wheel-drive, Mini Crossover Concept vehicle, illustrating once again that for automotive brands, the grass is always greener. The rest of the U.S. market is shedding SUVs and getting smaller and more fuel efficient. With the Mini Crossover Concept, the small and fuel efficient Mini is getting bigger, less fuel-efficient, and adopting more...

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Even though GM no longer owns GMAC, it’s important to look at the two partners together. I was reminded of this recently when archrival Ford Credit took a $2 billion write-off in the second quarter on the value of its lease portfolio. That’s primarily because pickups and SUVS that are coming back from leases aren’t worth as much as Ford Credit expected. In the same quarter,...

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Awww. Photos of the production version of the Chevrolet Volt leaked the other day, with versions appearing on thecarconnection.com and a number of other sites. Based on the pictures, it’s a disappointment, compared with the concept car. Based on the leaked photos, the production version bears a family resemblance to other  middle-of-the-road GM cars. It’s not bad-looking, but it...

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