- Email: [email protected]
German car industry feels decline
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!ii J ""
i iiiiiiiii~iiiiiiii " '
i ]
iliiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiili
.... :,'~:''"i .... :
i iiiiiiiI!Ii! iil
,
:=
:
r~: :H=: ....
=:: i, r''"=z="
=~i~i~i:::'''zz:'i "1
iiiiii!iiiliii!i'i!i = : ::': z
ii ! ~ ii H" '=~='=:ii=::::'=i~'::: =="H
i ~ ~ . i ~ l ~ l ~ m m ~ i i l l l i=r, ~
German car Industry feels decline GERMAN car p r o d u c t i o n totalled 415 200 u n i t s in November 1992, 7% less t h a n a year ago, says t h e G e r m a n automobile t r a d e association VD& But in t h e first 11 m o n t h s of 1992 t h e o u t p u t was 4% above t h e same period in 1991. Some 4.5 million u n i t s were p r o d u c e d in this period, u p from 4.346 million u n i t s in t h e first 11 m o n t h s of 1991. The weakening of t h e t r u c k sector h a s recently accelerated. Production in November fell by 28% c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e same m o n t h in 1991, with a b o u t 25 400 trucks p r o d u c e d i n s t e a d of 35 443. In t h e first 11 m o n t h s of the year a b o u t 308 400 trucks were built, down 6% from t h e
ittiiiiiiiiiii"ii :-~Z=~IIH]'""Z==:~;~;;.I: : J ': i : ~!H~HHHJJ i=~i~!~
S a l e s o f i m p o r t s f a l l in J a p a n SALES of imported cars, trucks a n d b u s e s in J a p a n fell 3.7% in December to 18 366 u n i t s from 19 070 u n i t s in t h e same m o n t h a year earlier, t h e J a p a n Automobile I m p o r t e r ' s Association reports. The d r o p indicates t h a t t h e s l u m p in J a p a n ' s car sales is continuing
as personal consumption slows. I m p o r t e d vehicle sales fell 7.6% in November after d e c l i n i n g 3.4% in O c t o b e r . I m p o r t e d vehicle sales for t h e whole of 1992 were down 7.7% from 1991, to 184 615 units. The is t h e second consecutive a n n u a l decline.
same period a year earlier. E x p o r t s of vehicles in Nov e m b e r slipped 6% to 225 500 from 237 093 in t h e yearearlier month. Truck shipm e n t s totalled 12 700 falling from 16 227. But in t h e 11 m o n t h span, car e x p o r t s rose 18% to 2.36 million units. Truck e x p o r t s for t h a t p e r i o d w e r e 147 300 edging u p from 146 209 in t h e prior-year period.
Jaguar hopes rise
S"-vreet Jourr~al Europe. T h e r e p o r t says t h a t a l t h o u g h n o n e of t h e car b u i l d e r s is e x p e c t e d t o d i s a p p e a r entirely, s o m e have already lost t h e i r independence, more p r o b a b l y will, a n d m a n y will emerge far s m a l l e r as d o z e n s of factories and ten of t h o u s a n d s of workers are eliminated. Those cutting back include: Isuzu Motors, Volvo, Mazda Motor, General
Motors, Dalmler Benz, Fiat, Ford Europe, Dalhatsu and Toyota Motor. According to the chairman of Honda, Koichiro Yoshizawa, this difficult period will con-
10 MPR February 1993
t i n u e for some t i m e to come. US c a r sales h a v e b e g u n a gradual r e c o ~ r y , h e believes, b u t says t h a t t h e situation is n o t as favourable in Japan a n d Europe. In Germany t h i n g s are actually getting worse. B u t it is not all b a d news: BMW h a s e x p e r i e n c e d a j u m p in w o r l d w i d e s a l e s a n d is building a n assembly p l a n t in the USA; Chrysler is staging a c o m e b a c k w i t h a r a n g e of saloon cars a n d Jeeps; a n d Ford's s h a r e of cars sales has risen 1.5% in t h e p a s t year. The global s h a k e o u t s t e m s directly from simtiltaneous w e a k n e s s in t h e m a j o r economies: N o r t h America, E u r o p e a n d J a p a n . This, says t h e report, is s o m e t h i n g t h e car m a k e r s did n o t e x p e c t w h e n they built 25 assembly p l a n t s between 1982 a n d 1992. In t h e past w h e n either E u r o p e or the USA s u f f e r e d a n e c o n o m i c s l u m p , t h e o t h e r w o u l d be riding high. Ford e s t i m a t e s t h a t world-
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiili~iii~i :=
iiiililiii! iiiiiiiiilii i iiiiiiiiiiiii ...................................................................
JAGUAR, t h e luxury car m a k e r owned by Ford, forecasts a 25% increase in world sales in 1993 to 28 300. This follows a 12.4% decline last year. The firm said b e t t e r e x p o r t s to t h e USA are t h e m a i n factor b e h i n d t h e expected rise. New cars a n d improved product quality boosted US sales in t h e final q u a r t e r of 1992.
Car industry hit by global THE WORLDWIDE a u t o m o tive i n d u s t r y is h e a d i n g for a shakeout. Companies from t h e US, E u r o p e a n d Japan are c u t t i n g back in way t h a t few people anticip a t e d a year o r two ago, when the industry was w i n d i n g u p a d e c a d e of rapid growth, says t h e Wall
i~E~Z~ ..Z~ZZ~ !" i~ii'"'"ii~!!~=iii,. ~:'
wide excess p r o d u c t i o n capacity currently totals 8.2 million cars a n d trucks a year, e n o u g h t o keep b u ~ 33 assembly plants -- more t h a n GM h a s in N o r t h America The c h a n g e in climate is strikingly illustrated by t h e Japanese automotive industry. T w o y e a r s a g o i t s domestic sales h i t a record 7.8 million units. It e x pected to c o n t i n u e raising its 30% share o f the US vehicle market and saw p o t e n t i a l l y h u g e gains in Europe. But in 1991, t h e countTy'S 11 car, truck and bus makers s a w sales dip 3% -the first decline since 1980. In t h e first 11 m o n t h s of last year sales fell 7.5%, to 6.4 million vehicles. Several p l a n t s are o p e r a t i n g far b e l o w c a p a c i t y at h u g e cost, and Nlssan Motor h a s posted its first loss since 1946.
=.==,:::~:=~=~:=..,= = = .:::::::::::,:. =. = = = ===..................
,..,..,|
Truck sales up in USA US DOMESTIC t r u c k s a l e s surged in mid-December while car sales, w h i c h h a d revived in late November a n d early December, slid back to sluggish levels. Domestically built cars sold a t a n a n n u a l rate of 6.2 million in t h e 11-20 December selling period. T h a t was down from t h e 6.5 million rate in t h e previous 30 days b u t still up s u b s t a n t i a l l y f r o m t h e dep r e s s e d year earlier r a t e of 5.2 million vehicles. Domestically built trucks sold at a n a n n u a l rate of 5.4 million vehicles, u p from a 4.6 million rate for t h e previous 30 days. Overall, t h e industry sold 236 500 vehicles, u p f r o m 10.4% from a year earlier. Car sales rose 5.2% from t h e dep r e s s e d y e a r e a r l i e r levels, while truck sales, which have b e e n s t r o n g all year, r o s e 18.8%.
Ford unveils
Mondeo world car FORD M o t o r Co h a s u n wrapped its long awaited TCorld Car', a jointly developed vehicle for b o t h Europe a n d North America t h a t h a s been nearly six years in t h e making at a cost of some $6 billion. The new Mondeo will compete in one of Europe's t o u g h e s t m a r k e t segments: family-size saloon cars. The segment acc o u n t s for 20% of t o t a l Euro p e a n car sales. Ford h a s long been e n a m o r e d of t h e world car concept a n d t h e belief t h a t s h a r e d developm e n t costs, even t h o u g h one e a r l i e r a t t e m p t to b u i l d a universal car misfired. T h a t project, t h e Escort, resulted in s e p a r a t e E u r o p e a n a n d North A m e r i c a n versions of the car being built at h i g h e r cost t h a n if they h a d been developed independently. Sources: Wall Street Journal Europe, The Guardian.
i iiiiiiiii~iiiiiiii " '
i ]
iliiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiili
.... :,'~:''"i .... :
i iiiiiiiI!Ii! iil
,
:=
:
r~: :H=: ....
=:: i, r''"=z="
=~i~i~i:::'''zz:'i "1
iiiiii!iiiliii!i'i!i = : ::': z
ii ! ~ ii H" '=~='=:ii=::::'=i~'::: =="H
i ~ ~ . i ~ l ~ l ~ m m ~ i i l l l i=r, ~
German car Industry feels decline GERMAN car p r o d u c t i o n totalled 415 200 u n i t s in November 1992, 7% less t h a n a year ago, says t h e G e r m a n automobile t r a d e association VD& But in t h e first 11 m o n t h s of 1992 t h e o u t p u t was 4% above t h e same period in 1991. Some 4.5 million u n i t s were p r o d u c e d in this period, u p from 4.346 million u n i t s in t h e first 11 m o n t h s of 1991. The weakening of t h e t r u c k sector h a s recently accelerated. Production in November fell by 28% c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e same m o n t h in 1991, with a b o u t 25 400 trucks p r o d u c e d i n s t e a d of 35 443. In t h e first 11 m o n t h s of the year a b o u t 308 400 trucks were built, down 6% from t h e
ittiiiiiiiiiii"ii :-~Z=~IIH]'""Z==:~;~;;.I: : J ': i : ~!H~HHHJJ i=~i~!~
S a l e s o f i m p o r t s f a l l in J a p a n SALES of imported cars, trucks a n d b u s e s in J a p a n fell 3.7% in December to 18 366 u n i t s from 19 070 u n i t s in t h e same m o n t h a year earlier, t h e J a p a n Automobile I m p o r t e r ' s Association reports. The d r o p indicates t h a t t h e s l u m p in J a p a n ' s car sales is continuing
as personal consumption slows. I m p o r t e d vehicle sales fell 7.6% in November after d e c l i n i n g 3.4% in O c t o b e r . I m p o r t e d vehicle sales for t h e whole of 1992 were down 7.7% from 1991, to 184 615 units. The is t h e second consecutive a n n u a l decline.
same period a year earlier. E x p o r t s of vehicles in Nov e m b e r slipped 6% to 225 500 from 237 093 in t h e yearearlier month. Truck shipm e n t s totalled 12 700 falling from 16 227. But in t h e 11 m o n t h span, car e x p o r t s rose 18% to 2.36 million units. Truck e x p o r t s for t h a t p e r i o d w e r e 147 300 edging u p from 146 209 in t h e prior-year period.
Jaguar hopes rise
S"-vreet Jourr~al Europe. T h e r e p o r t says t h a t a l t h o u g h n o n e of t h e car b u i l d e r s is e x p e c t e d t o d i s a p p e a r entirely, s o m e have already lost t h e i r independence, more p r o b a b l y will, a n d m a n y will emerge far s m a l l e r as d o z e n s of factories and ten of t h o u s a n d s of workers are eliminated. Those cutting back include: Isuzu Motors, Volvo, Mazda Motor, General
Motors, Dalmler Benz, Fiat, Ford Europe, Dalhatsu and Toyota Motor. According to the chairman of Honda, Koichiro Yoshizawa, this difficult period will con-
10 MPR February 1993
t i n u e for some t i m e to come. US c a r sales h a v e b e g u n a gradual r e c o ~ r y , h e believes, b u t says t h a t t h e situation is n o t as favourable in Japan a n d Europe. In Germany t h i n g s are actually getting worse. B u t it is not all b a d news: BMW h a s e x p e r i e n c e d a j u m p in w o r l d w i d e s a l e s a n d is building a n assembly p l a n t in the USA; Chrysler is staging a c o m e b a c k w i t h a r a n g e of saloon cars a n d Jeeps; a n d Ford's s h a r e of cars sales has risen 1.5% in t h e p a s t year. The global s h a k e o u t s t e m s directly from simtiltaneous w e a k n e s s in t h e m a j o r economies: N o r t h America, E u r o p e a n d J a p a n . This, says t h e report, is s o m e t h i n g t h e car m a k e r s did n o t e x p e c t w h e n they built 25 assembly p l a n t s between 1982 a n d 1992. In t h e past w h e n either E u r o p e or the USA s u f f e r e d a n e c o n o m i c s l u m p , t h e o t h e r w o u l d be riding high. Ford e s t i m a t e s t h a t world-
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiili~iii~i :=
iiiililiii! iiiiiiiiilii i iiiiiiiiiiiii ...................................................................
JAGUAR, t h e luxury car m a k e r owned by Ford, forecasts a 25% increase in world sales in 1993 to 28 300. This follows a 12.4% decline last year. The firm said b e t t e r e x p o r t s to t h e USA are t h e m a i n factor b e h i n d t h e expected rise. New cars a n d improved product quality boosted US sales in t h e final q u a r t e r of 1992.
Car industry hit by global THE WORLDWIDE a u t o m o tive i n d u s t r y is h e a d i n g for a shakeout. Companies from t h e US, E u r o p e a n d Japan are c u t t i n g back in way t h a t few people anticip a t e d a year o r two ago, when the industry was w i n d i n g u p a d e c a d e of rapid growth, says t h e Wall
i~E~Z~ ..Z~ZZ~ !" i~ii'"'"ii~!!~=iii,. ~:'
wide excess p r o d u c t i o n capacity currently totals 8.2 million cars a n d trucks a year, e n o u g h t o keep b u ~ 33 assembly plants -- more t h a n GM h a s in N o r t h America The c h a n g e in climate is strikingly illustrated by t h e Japanese automotive industry. T w o y e a r s a g o i t s domestic sales h i t a record 7.8 million units. It e x pected to c o n t i n u e raising its 30% share o f the US vehicle market and saw p o t e n t i a l l y h u g e gains in Europe. But in 1991, t h e countTy'S 11 car, truck and bus makers s a w sales dip 3% -the first decline since 1980. In t h e first 11 m o n t h s of last year sales fell 7.5%, to 6.4 million vehicles. Several p l a n t s are o p e r a t i n g far b e l o w c a p a c i t y at h u g e cost, and Nlssan Motor h a s posted its first loss since 1946.
=.==,:::~:=~=~:=..,= = = .:::::::::::,:. =. = = = ===..................
,..,..,|
Truck sales up in USA US DOMESTIC t r u c k s a l e s surged in mid-December while car sales, w h i c h h a d revived in late November a n d early December, slid back to sluggish levels. Domestically built cars sold a t a n a n n u a l rate of 6.2 million in t h e 11-20 December selling period. T h a t was down from t h e 6.5 million rate in t h e previous 30 days b u t still up s u b s t a n t i a l l y f r o m t h e dep r e s s e d year earlier r a t e of 5.2 million vehicles. Domestically built trucks sold at a n a n n u a l rate of 5.4 million vehicles, u p from a 4.6 million rate for t h e previous 30 days. Overall, t h e industry sold 236 500 vehicles, u p f r o m 10.4% from a year earlier. Car sales rose 5.2% from t h e dep r e s s e d y e a r e a r l i e r levels, while truck sales, which have b e e n s t r o n g all year, r o s e 18.8%.
Ford unveils
Mondeo world car FORD M o t o r Co h a s u n wrapped its long awaited TCorld Car', a jointly developed vehicle for b o t h Europe a n d North America t h a t h a s been nearly six years in t h e making at a cost of some $6 billion. The new Mondeo will compete in one of Europe's t o u g h e s t m a r k e t segments: family-size saloon cars. The segment acc o u n t s for 20% of t o t a l Euro p e a n car sales. Ford h a s long been e n a m o r e d of t h e world car concept a n d t h e belief t h a t s h a r e d developm e n t costs, even t h o u g h one e a r l i e r a t t e m p t to b u i l d a universal car misfired. T h a t project, t h e Escort, resulted in s e p a r a t e E u r o p e a n a n d North A m e r i c a n versions of the car being built at h i g h e r cost t h a n if they h a d been developed independently. Sources: Wall Street Journal Europe, The Guardian.