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Category Archives: economy
September US Auto Sales at 2021 Low Point
Automakers sold just under 1 million during September, down by -25% YoY. The annualized rate fell to 12 million units, the same level registered in May 2020 and 1 million units under the August Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate, aka SAAR. During Q3 light vehicle sales totaled 3.36 million units, down by -14% YoY and the lowest Q3 since 2011 as volumes plunged -22% from the pre-pandemic level in Q3 2019. Continue reading
Posted in economy, sales
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, Ken Zino, lmc automotive, Q3 US light vehicle sales
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GM Q3 US Sales Drop -33% as Semiconductor Shortage Bites
During the quarter, GM provided an update for investors that its wholesale volumes in North America in the second half of 2021 would be down about 200,000 units from the first half, largely because of supply chain disruptions in Malaysia caused by COVID-19, with most of the impact occurring during the third quarter. Continue reading
Posted in economy, results, sales
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, GM Q3 2021US Sales, Ken Zino, semiconductor shortage
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Climate Change – EPA Targets Hydrofluorocarbons Again
A global phasedown of HFCs is expected to avoid up to 0.5 °C of global warming by 2100. This final rule will phase down the U.S. production and consumption of HFCs by 85% during the next 15 years, as mandated by the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act that was enacted in December 2020 after the environmental hater “global warming is a Chinese hoax” was evicted by voters the month before from occupying the Whitehouse. Continue reading
Semiconductors – Auto Industry to Lose $210B in Revenue
Exec Summary: There are no more cushions left in the industry when it comes to production or obtaining material. Any shortage or production interruption in any part of the world affects companies around the globe. Worse, the impacts are now amplified due to all the other shortages. Continue reading
August Global Light Vehicle Sales Weaken Again
The US Light Vehicle market continued to be hurt by low inventories during July. Sales grew by only 3.2% YoY, to 1.28 mn units. This is a slight advance compared to July 2020’s pandemic-affected result. The selling rate declined more to 14.6 mn units/year, from 15.4 mn units/year in June. This is the lowest rate since June 2020. Continue reading
Posted in economy, sales
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, July Global Sales, Ken Zino, lmc automotive
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Is China Now Clearly in the EV Affordability Lead?
This of course is not good news for occidental auto conglomerates or their customers, which through a forced combination of government regulation, shareholder pressure and consumer sentiment are investing billions in EVs to solve the very real and deadly problem of fossil fuel use, which has increasingly visible negative health and climate effects. Continue reading
Posted in economy, environment, global warming, news analysis
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, china, climate change, EVs, fossil fuel, Ken Zino
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COVID Losses – NISMO Festival Canceled Again
The annual festival in Japan, billed as a fan appreciation event, has been held in the off-season. This year’s festival was to have been the 23rd After last year’s event was cancelled, the organizers had hoped for it to go ahead this year and had been watching the situation closely. Continue reading
Posted in economy, racing, safety
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, Ken Zino, NISMO Festival, Nissan Motorsports
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US August Light Vehicle Sales Continue Shrinking Trend
“The month of August is historically a peak selling month as manufacturers launch promotional events to clear inventories of outgoing model-year vehicles and begin sales of the new model year. This year, however, the industry has insufficient inventory at dealerships to meet strong consumer demand. The consequence is that the retail sales pace is depressed, but transaction prices are elevated,” said Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power. Continue reading
Posted in economy, sales
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, Ken Zino, Patrick Manzi
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Labor Day – Majorities of Americans Say Unions Good
As of July, 55% of U.S. adults say labor unions have a positive effect in the U.S., unchanged from August 2019, the last time the Center asked this question. While the overall figure has remained the same, Democrats have become more likely – and Republicans less likely – to say unions have a positive effect. Continue reading
Posted in economy, labor issues, people
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, Ken Zino, pew research center, union membership
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GM Workers in Mexico Reject Corrupt Union to Form New One
Workers at General Motors plant in Silao, Mexico, have formed a new union – the national union of automotive workers, SINTTIA. The union seeks to represent GM workers and negotiate a new collective employment agreement. In a crucial vote on … Continue reading
Posted in economy, labor issues, manufacturing, people
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, Generando Movimiento, GM Silao, IndustriALL, Ken Zino
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US Auto Sales Forecast Down Again in August
Overall new-vehicle sales for August 2021, including retail and non-retail transactions, are projected to reach 1,094,500 units, a 13.7% decrease from August 2020 and a 25.3% decrease from August 2019. Comparing the same sales volume without adjusting for the number of selling days translates to a decrease of 17.0% from 2020 and a decrease of 33.3% from 2019. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for total new-vehicle sales is expected to be 13.1 million units, down 2.1 million units from 2020 and down 4.0 million units from 2019. Continue reading
Chinese Covid Recovery Policies is Zero-Sum Game for Automakers Overall. Luxury, Compact Segments Benefit Most?
As with most statistics though, the devil is hiding in the details. Consultancy LMC Automotive says there is an enduring imbalance in the economy’s internal structure: the performance of the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) among medium and large enterprises is significantly better than that among smaller enterprises. Continue reading
Global Village – Record UK Used Car Prices. Demand High
“It not only marks 66 weeks of consecutive price growth, but a huge acceleration on what is now a comparatively conservative 5.7% increase recorded during the week of 12th April when physical forecourts (dealerships) reopened, ” Auto Trader said. Continue reading
US Vehicle Sales Drop in July for Third Month Running
Toyota, General Motors and Hyundai were the three bestselling OEMs, while Ford had the weakest performance compared to last July. Ford remains mired in simi-conductor shortages and long-standing troubled relationships with suppliers. Hyundai re-introduced the Compact Pickup segment in July, with the first units of the Santa Cruz delivered. This segment of course was once dominated by GM and Ford before Toyota and Nissan moved in. Continue reading
GM’s Dual Platform Strategy – Doubling Revenues by 2030?
However, the success of the prediction will depend on GM smoothly transitioning from internal combustion engines, traditional blacksmithing manufacturing, while keeping dealers and training them for what is the most significant transformation the auto industry has ever seen. This is how science fiction becomes science fact with GM selling more than one million EVs by 2025; 30 million connected vehicles in North America on the road by 2030. Along the way the United States and ultimately the world will turn into an environmental culture that uses technology to make things cleaner and safer. Continue reading →