USMotor Industry struggling to keep their head above water?

[gurubarry]

No , it's RHD Hyundai ix20 automatic...7000 miles on the clock £8000 . Cost in France LHD 22000 euros.

[peter]

The US recovery is hit by GM - Ford woes in Europe ...

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/is-g ... urope.html

[peter]

[peter]

Japanese carmaker Toyota has regained its slot as the world's biggest vehicle maker, capping a year of a dramatic turnaround in its fortunes.

Toyota said it sold 9.75 million vehicles in 2012, a jump of more than 22% from a year earlier.

General Motors, which was the biggest vehicle maker in 2011, sold 9.29 million vehicles in 2012.

Toyota's sales in 2011 were hit by natural disasters in Japan and Thailand which hurt production at its factories.

More : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21226611

[peter]

EU Commission calls for restructuring over Peugeot aid :

PSA finance provides finance to car buyers, but also funds dealers and stocks, has had difficulties in borrowing money because of the weak position of the PSA group.

France offered loans on the condition Peugeot don't close French factories. The EU did not approve those plans so the French govt are now proposing to lend money to PSA finance.

The EU are insisting on a full recovery plan for the whole group before sanctioning the support.

More : http://finance.yahoo.com/news/eu-commis ... 39450.html


There is a complication in that joint model development with GM on new models is intended to reduce GM and PSA european factory locations and this doesn't fit with the French govt strategy of "you keep all the factories and jobs if we lend you the money".

[peter]

Meanwhile VAG seems to be doing everything right ...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/ ... 6Q20130211

Worth noting that VAG brands took over 19% of the UK car market in 2012 and 23.4 % of total European sales.

[peter]

Not over yet ?

On Thursday, General Motors reported generally in-line fourth quarter results. As expected, Europe remained a significant drag on profitability. Since going public again in late 2010, GM has generated nearly all of its profit in the North American region. However, GM's North American market share has slipped during that time, raising doubts about the sustainability of this business. For Q4, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes in North America was down slightly over the prior year's period. Moreover, North American market share dropped from 17.5% to 16.6%.

GM hopes to bounce back in North America by introducing about 20 new models over the next two years. However, while new products should provide GM a nice boost, the company will face headwinds from two directions: a new F-150 based on the "Atlas" concept from Detroit rival Ford and stronger pricing competition from Japanese automakers, enabled by the weak yen.

K2XX: Will it be enough?
In the next year, GM is refreshing its pickup trucks with models based on the new K2XX architecture. As I discussed earlier this month, the transition could be pretty bumpy, because GM entered the year with very high inventory of last-generation pickup trucks. However, GM bulls believe that this overdue truck overhaul will increase the competitiveness of GM's truck lineup, improving profitability over the next few years.

The problem is that market-leader Ford is due to introduce its own updated truck, based on the Atlas concept, next year. To improve fuel economy, Ford is planning to cut 750 pounds compared with the current F-150 pickup, while also featuring an active grille and stop-start technology. Ford's goal is to reduce fuel consumption by 20%. If Ford delivers on this goal, GM could find that it is still behind the technology curve in the pickup segment. Pickup owners tend to be very loyal to their favorite brands, and so GM needs a clear advantage to make significant market share gains in the segment.

Competition ramps up again
GM's 2012 North American profit declined somewhat compared to 2011 despite a double-digit increase in the market . The main cause was a strong rebound by Japanese auto giants Toyota, Honda , and Nissan from the 2011 tsunami, which led to massive supply disruptions. During 2012, Japanese automakers offered more incentives in order to regain lost market share .

In 2013, GM could face even tougher price competition from its Japanese competitors. The yen has fallen by more than 15% against the dollar over the past year. That reduces costs for the Japanese automakers for two reasons: Some of the cars they sell in the U.S. are built in Japan, and many components for the cars they build in the U.S. are made in Japan. With many costs denominated in the now-cheaper yen, Japanese automakers are saving a lot of money. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and others may pass some of that savings along to consumers to maintain their market-share momentum in 2013.

Risky business
Investors around the world are wondering whether GM has what it takes to reclaim its former glory. But as we've seen, GM faces a number of challenges even in its best market, North America. Fool contributor John Rosevear has put together a brand-new premium research report telling you what you need to know about GM and its turnaround. If you own or are thinking about owning GM, then you don't want to miss this report. Click here now to get started.

[peter]

Opel has run up losses of more than $16 billion since 1999.

German unions have agreed to the closure of the Bochum plant at the end of 2016 with a guarantee to maintain employment of 20,000 workers for four years : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21619923

The industry view is that it is too little, too late and the global GM business will suffer as a consequence.

[peter]

Cap in hand time ...

BERLIN (Reuters) - General Motors (GM.N) CEO Dan Akerson and the new head of GM's Opel unit will visit Chancellor Angela Merkel next Thursday, along with members of the GM board, a German government spokesman said on Friday.
Akerson and Opel's chief executive Karl-Thomas Neumann will visit Merkel in Berlin on Thursday at 3 p.m. (10 a.m. ET) for an hour, said government spokesman Georg Streiter, adding that the meeting coincided with a meeting of the GM board in Germany.
Last month employees at Opel's Bochum plant in western Germany rejected a restructuring deal agreed by union leaders and management, which would have kept the plant open through the end of 2016 on significantly reduced staff numbers.
This could lead to the plant's closing at the end of next year.

[peter]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGQm1uCRy2w#!