Category Archives: results

Milestones – Henry Ford at 150 years

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Henry Ford, whose ideas helped revolutionized transportation, brought mobility to the masses and arguably established the U.S. middle class. Continue reading

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Cuts to 2014 EPA Budget Threatens Auto Emissions Rules

Not surprisingly since the chairman is Hal Rogers, a Republican from Kentucky, the legislation reflects significant efforts to cripple the EPA – “an agency that has been rife with governmental overreach, overspending on ineffective and unnecessary programs, and costly and questionable regulations.” The bill funds the EPA at $5.5 billion, a reduction of $2.8 billion – or -34% – below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level. Continue reading

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Renault Profits Climb to €583 Million despite Eurozone Crisis

Renault posted a profit of €583 million in the first half of 2013 in the face of the Eurozone crisis. The unexpected positive increase of 15% in earnings compared to last year came as Group revenues of 20,441 million dropped – 0.9% compared to the first-half 2012. Automotive operational free cash flow was negative at -€31 million with an automotive net cash of €732 million at end of June 2013. Continue reading

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EuroSlump Goes On – June Commercial Vehicle Sales Drop -5%

During June commercial vehicle sales in the EU dropped by -5% in the EU as vehicle registrations continued their downward trend to 149,996 units. In another dismal month, all segments were down, from -4.2% for vans to -14.0% for buses and coaches. Continue reading

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GM Earns $1.2 Billion in Q2 or 75 Cents a Share

With the exception of China where most vehicle buyers are new, GM brands continue to face strong competition. Even though GM continues to receive quality awards and strongly positive reviews on new products, and has once again become competitive in the leasing market, it is having a tough time stealing buyers from competitors. Part of this is due to its damaged reputation; part is the strength of facing products with strong customer loyally. Continue reading

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Ford Motor Q2 Profit at $2.6 Billion or 30 Cents a Share

Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] reported Q2 2013 pre-tax profits of $2.6 billion today, or 45 cents per share. The good overall result, which had analysts gushing over an automotive operating margin of 6.4%, improved 1.5 percentage points from 2012 at $726 million, or 15 cents per share, higher compared with a year ago. Continue reading

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July U.S. Sales Projected as Hot – up 12%

Not all this is good news for automakers in general, and specifically the Detroit Three. Drastic capacity cuts during the Great Recession have caught them out with the market recovery volumes approaching 16 million now running at least a year ahead of earlier forecasts. Mandatory overtime and cancelled vacations are the rule of the day, which ultimately will wear down UAW and workers at Japanese companies and inevitably lead to quality declines. Continue reading

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GM Sales Up 4% in First Half of 2013. Chevrolet Sets Record

General Motors sold more than 4.85 million vehicles in the first half of 2013, an increase of under 4% compared to the same period in 2012. The question now is will GM remain Number Two in Global Auto sales when current leader Toyota Motor reports sales results for the period. GM in a rising global market increased its share only 0.1% year-over-year, while Toyota has been rebounding at a much higher rate. Continue reading

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Ford to Pay 10-Cent Dividend to Shareholders

Ford Motor Company declared a Q3 dividend of $0.10 per share on the company’s outstanding family-controlled Class B and common stock. Continue reading

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GM and Honda Target 2020 for Viable Fuel Cell EVs

The light duty fuel cell vehicle (FCV) has shown promise for decades, but the problem remains that it is space age technology at NASA levels of cost. Not surprisingly, automakers have varying levels of interest fuel cells that always appear to be just a decade or so from commercialization, but interest is rising. Continue reading

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GM, Ford Set China Sales Records in June and First Half

Nonetheless, stockholders at Ford Motor are so far not benefiting from the success in China. Rapid expansion and payments to partners are keeping money in China and not returning it to the U.S. as Ford lost $72 million in Asia-Pacific during 2012. General Motors shareholders in theory are doing better. GM’s International Operations full-year EBIT-adjusted was $2.2 billion in 2012 compared with $1.9 billion in 2011. However, GM pays no dividend on common stock. Continue reading

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Renault-Nissan Cut 2012 Costs by €2.69 billion

Only new savings – not cumulative ones – are taken into account every year. As a result, the Alliance that was established in 1999 when Nissan was facing bankruptcy, arguably now has the longest-lasting cross-cultural partnership in the auto industry. Paris-based Renault and Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan, which together sell one in 10 cars worldwide sold 8.1 million cars in nearly 200 countries in 2012. Continue reading

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Milestones – 500,000 Porsche Cayenne Made in Leipzig

German Chancellor German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week killed a draft European Union law aimed at reducing carbon dioxide. Merkel facing federal elections in September, said “This is also about employment,” a concept that has eluded EU politicians for more than five years as the economic crisis deepens, but not for the lavishly paid, fed and housed Eurocrats. Continue reading

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European Car Sales Down Again in June. EU Slump Continues

The drop was in stark contrast to the recovering U.S. auto market, which is within a year or two to obtaining pre-Great Depression levels and the booming Chinese market,which at 23 million or more units this year will once again be the world’s largest. Once again the specter stalking European politicians whose austerity policies induced the ongoing human tragedy, is the their leadership role in the unchecked decline, which much like the decline of European power after a generation was slaughtered during WW1 is looking to be structural and permanent. Continue reading

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June U.S. Auto Sales Soar to Best Month in Six Years

The resulting seasonally adjusted annual rate or SAAR of 15.96 million vehicles caught the auto industry by surprise and is troublesome for Michigan-based automakers who cut hundreds of thousands of jobs and shut plants during 2008 and 2009. They are are now scrambling to increase capacity using forced overtime and the cancellation of vacations, which demeans workers and assuredly will cause recall and quality problems down the road. Continue reading

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