Thursday 4 August 2011
• GM today posted a $2.5 billion profit in the second quarter of 2011. It's the General's sixth consecutive quarterly profit since exiting bankruptcy in mid 2009. Revenues rose 19%, swollen by strong recovery in the US (Automotive News)
• Opel and Vauxhall also bounced into profit - with a $102 million net gain in Q2 - compared to a $160m loss a year earlier. European sales rose from 315,000 a year ago to 340,000 (Automotive News Europe)
• New car sales in Britain continue to fall. July's figures were out today and they slipped 3.5% on a year ago. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders forecasts a 5% drop on last year, predicting a full-year figure of 1.93 million (SMMT)
• UK insurance giant Axa has called on the Government to stop the upward spiral of car policy costs. In June it became the first UK insurer to stop selling to lawyers details of its customers who've made claims - it's part of a racket pushing up personal insurance claim costs (BBC News)
Wednesday 3 August 2011
• Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has hinted that he'll step aside from the helm of his US outpost in 2015 or 2016. In a Q&A with analysts, he said Chrysler's future 'will be up to the guy after me - after 2015 or maybe a year later,' reported AN (Automotive News)
• An investment company has taken a 'substantial' stake in Swedish Automobile, Saab's parent company. GEM Global Yield Fund will acquire about 5 million new shares, giving it a 17% stake in Saab. It could raise around €6.5 million, analysts estimate (Automotive News Europe)
• Meanwhile, Marchionne - him again - predicts that the US won't break through the 13 million sales barrier in 2011. He also confirmed his ambition to start building Alfa Romeos in the US, hopefully by 2012 (Detroit News)
Tuesday 2 August 2011
• Kia's first half results are out - and the Korean car maker is in strong growth. Sales were up 20% to 1.2 million, revenues rose 31% to 22,238 billion Korean Won. Although European car sales have fallen in the first six months by 2.4%, Kia's rose by 0.7% to a record 137,000 vehicles (Kia)
• Skoda has recorded record sales, revenue and profit in the first six months of 2011. Sales revenues were up 25.7% to €5.4bn, operating profit increased 81.5% to €412m, and 454,698 vehicles were delivered, an increase of 20.1% (Skoda)
• Toyota has reported an enormous 99% drop in quarterly profits after the tsunami. In the quarter to the end of June, net profits fell to 1.1 billion yen (£8.7 million). But it's raised its full-year forecast for sales and profits (BBC News)
• It's Toyota's first quarterly loss in two years (Automotive News Europe)
• Audi may expand its engine facility in Hungary, according to local media reports. The Gyor plant made 938,000 engines in the first half of the year (Automotive News Eruope)
• Ford has recalled 1.2 million pick-ups over a fire worry. It affects certain derivatives of F150, F250 and Lincoln Blackwood trucks (BBC News)
• Chinese car maker JAC Motors plans to build a factory in Brazil to increase its influence in south America's biggest market. It's spending between £379m-£550m on the new plant (BBC News)
Monday 1 August 2011
• Porsche reports an operating profit of €1.07 billion in the first half of 2011 – up from €675 million in the same period last year. Deliveries leapt 37% to 60,529 vehicles – meaning Porsche is on track to set a new sales record in 2011 of more than 100,000 cars (Porsche)
• How did Porsche sell so many cars? It shifted 28,000 Cayennes, 12,000 Panameras, 10,000 of the 911, 4000 Boxsters and 2000 of the Cayman (Porsche)
• Volkswagen is reviewing its plans to cooperate with Suzuki. 'The strategic cooperation is developing more slowly than expected and is not currently being implemented with the desired level of intensity,' VW's chief financial officer Hans Dieter Poetsch told investors (Automotive News Europe)
• Fiat's boss Sergio Marchionne is piling in to the American market with its growing control of Chrysler – where Nissan's Carlos Ghosn feared to tread, reports ANE (Automotive News Europe)
• Honda has reported an 88% plunge in first-quarter profits after the earthquake in March. It made a net profit of 71.7bn yen (£248m). However, it's recovering fast and predicts full year earnings will rise by 35% (BBC News)
• GM today posted a $2.5 billion profit in the second quarter of 2011. It's the General's sixth consecutive quarterly profit since exiting bankruptcy in mid 2009. Revenues rose 19%, swollen by strong recovery in the US (Automotive News)
• Opel and Vauxhall also bounced into profit - with a $102 million net gain in Q2 - compared to a $160m loss a year earlier. European sales rose from 315,000 a year ago to 340,000 (Automotive News Europe)
• New car sales in Britain continue to fall. July's figures were out today and they slipped 3.5% on a year ago. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders forecasts a 5% drop on last year, predicting a full-year figure of 1.93 million (SMMT)
• UK insurance giant Axa has called on the Government to stop the upward spiral of car policy costs. In June it became the first UK insurer to stop selling to lawyers details of its customers who've made claims - it's part of a racket pushing up personal insurance claim costs (BBC News)
Wednesday 3 August 2011
• Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has hinted that he'll step aside from the helm of his US outpost in 2015 or 2016. In a Q&A with analysts, he said Chrysler's future 'will be up to the guy after me - after 2015 or maybe a year later,' reported AN (Automotive News)
• An investment company has taken a 'substantial' stake in Swedish Automobile, Saab's parent company. GEM Global Yield Fund will acquire about 5 million new shares, giving it a 17% stake in Saab. It could raise around €6.5 million, analysts estimate (Automotive News Europe)
• Meanwhile, Marchionne - him again - predicts that the US won't break through the 13 million sales barrier in 2011. He also confirmed his ambition to start building Alfa Romeos in the US, hopefully by 2012 (Detroit News)
Tuesday 2 August 2011
• Kia's first half results are out - and the Korean car maker is in strong growth. Sales were up 20% to 1.2 million, revenues rose 31% to 22,238 billion Korean Won. Although European car sales have fallen in the first six months by 2.4%, Kia's rose by 0.7% to a record 137,000 vehicles (Kia)
• Skoda has recorded record sales, revenue and profit in the first six months of 2011. Sales revenues were up 25.7% to €5.4bn, operating profit increased 81.5% to €412m, and 454,698 vehicles were delivered, an increase of 20.1% (Skoda)
• Toyota has reported an enormous 99% drop in quarterly profits after the tsunami. In the quarter to the end of June, net profits fell to 1.1 billion yen (£8.7 million). But it's raised its full-year forecast for sales and profits (BBC News)
• It's Toyota's first quarterly loss in two years (Automotive News Europe)
• Audi may expand its engine facility in Hungary, according to local media reports. The Gyor plant made 938,000 engines in the first half of the year (Automotive News Eruope)
• Ford has recalled 1.2 million pick-ups over a fire worry. It affects certain derivatives of F150, F250 and Lincoln Blackwood trucks (BBC News)
• Chinese car maker JAC Motors plans to build a factory in Brazil to increase its influence in south America's biggest market. It's spending between £379m-£550m on the new plant (BBC News)
Monday 1 August 2011
• Porsche reports an operating profit of €1.07 billion in the first half of 2011 – up from €675 million in the same period last year. Deliveries leapt 37% to 60,529 vehicles – meaning Porsche is on track to set a new sales record in 2011 of more than 100,000 cars (Porsche)
• How did Porsche sell so many cars? It shifted 28,000 Cayennes, 12,000 Panameras, 10,000 of the 911, 4000 Boxsters and 2000 of the Cayman (Porsche)
• Volkswagen is reviewing its plans to cooperate with Suzuki. 'The strategic cooperation is developing more slowly than expected and is not currently being implemented with the desired level of intensity,' VW's chief financial officer Hans Dieter Poetsch told investors (Automotive News Europe)
• Fiat's boss Sergio Marchionne is piling in to the American market with its growing control of Chrysler – where Nissan's Carlos Ghosn feared to tread, reports ANE (Automotive News Europe)
• Honda has reported an 88% plunge in first-quarter profits after the earthquake in March. It made a net profit of 71.7bn yen (£248m). However, it's recovering fast and predicts full year earnings will rise by 35% (BBC News)
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• Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has hinted that he'll step aside from the helm of his US outpost in 2015 or 2016. In a Q&A with analysts, he said Chrysler's future 'will be up to the guy after me - after 2015 or maybe a year later,' reported AN (Automotive News)
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