In the auto industry, the race belongs to the swift, and also the flexible. Honda is driving home this point with several chess moves among its growing number of North American factories. Honda is ramping up production of cars that are in demand, while turning down the volume on trucks, which aren’t. The Detroit 3 are doing the same thing, but Honda is different in that its plants are...
Auto Industry Archive
October 2008
Houston-based Group 1 Automotive Inc. warned that tighter consumer credit, lower dealership traffic, and the effects of two hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, cut into its third-quarter earnings, due Oct. 28. Other dealer groups will no doubt feel the effects of the credit crisis and slower industry sales, but different groups may not have felt the same impact from the storms. Group 1, with 100...
General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC need to do something to address the credit crisis and the drop in U.S. auto sales, but rumored talks of a GM-Chrysler merger are probably not the answer. Whether to call it a “merger,” a “rescue,” or “mutual aid” is debatable. All of the Detroit 3 are in crisis mode, with analysts worried whether they have...
Ford named Lewis Booth executive vice president and CFO effective Nov. 1, replacing Don Leclair. Leclair announced on Oct. 10 that he will retire after 32 years with the company. Booth, 59, has been chairman of Ford of Europe since 2005. He has also been chairman of Volvo Car Corp. since January 2007. Booth’s move creates an organization-chart domino effect, starting with John Fleming,...
As pointed out by BNET auto industry analyst Jim Henry, U.S. auto sales for September fell 26.6% from the year-ago month, due to the credit crisis that’s making it harder for some consumers to get auto loans and for automakers to finance their own operations. Operating results at Texas-based AmeriCredit Corp., which has focused predominantly on servicing sub-prime borrowers underscores...
Do restructuring and layoffs at Volvo Car Corp. mean Ford is less likely to sell Volvo, or more? My opinion — today, at least — is “less.” Ford CEO Alan Mulally says the plan is to keep Volvo and “fix” it, rather than sell it. Volvo’s recent cutbacks sure look like a company that’s getting “fixed,” as painful as it may be. In...
The BMW Group, including BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, had higher sales for the first three quarters of 2008 by a thin margin, even though U.S. sales were down. “The situation remains challenging: The recent escalation in the financial crisis is also affecting consumer confidence in the premium segment,” said Ian Robertson, member of the board of management of BMW AG responsible...
Volvo Car Corp., a subsidiary of Ford, tripled the size of job cuts in its current reorganization, to a total of 6,000 employees and contractors worldwide, up from 2,000 positions previously announced in June. “These are difficult times for the car industry in general, including Volvo. These actions are necessary to create a new and sustainable Volvo Car Corp. — a company with more...
Write down the latest U.S. auto sales forecasts with something that’s easy to erase, like a grease pencil, because industry analysts are scrambling to cut their auto sales forecasts as fast as you can write them down. For instance, J.D. Power and Associates on Oct. 8 cut its forecast for the second time in a week, to only 13.6 million light vehicles in 2008, and a measly 13.2 million in...
U.S. auto sales forecasts took a tumble following terrible sales results for September, and the growing prospect of a prolonged credit crisis that’s making it harder for some consumers to get auto loans, and for automakers to finance their own operations. J.D. Power and Associates last week cut its 2008 forecast to 14 million light vehicles, and its 2009 forecast to only 13.5 million....
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