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Motor Authority - blog Tag: Industry

  • Opel Boss Carl-Peter Forster Calls It Quits

    Opel Boss Carl-Peter Forster Calls It Quits November 6th, 2009 By Viknesh Vijayenthiran Viknesh Vijayenthiran, Author, November 6th, 2009 Viknesh Vijayenthiran 8 Comments

    Opel Boss Carl-Peter Forster Calls It Quits

    Carl-Peter Forster, GM group vice president and president of Opel, will be leaving his role as head of the European operation and will advise the company during the transition to find a new CEO, it was announced today.

    With the departure of Forster, GM will initiate an immediate external search for a new CEO for Opel. Expected to replace him, believe it or not, is GM's Bob Lutz.

    The move comes just days after GM decided to keep Opel rather than selling it to a consortium of buyers led by Magna International and Russia's Sberbank.

    No other management changes to the Opel organization are being considered at this time, and that all key...

    Carl-Peter Forster, GM group vice president and president of Opel, will be leaving his role as head of the European operation and will advise the company during the transition to find a new CEO, it was announced today. With the departure of Forster, GM will initiate an immediate external search for a new CEO for Opel. Expected to replace him, believe it or not, is GM's Bob Lutz. The move comes just days after GM decided to keep Opel rather than selling it to a consortium of buyers led by Magna International and Russia's Sberbank. No other management changes to the Opel organization are being considered at this time, and that all key management roles remain while the search for a new CEO continues. Perhaps most telling in the whole fiasco, GM still has plans for Opel cars here in the U.S. Although Saturn was previously the primary outlet for re-badged Opels in America, Buick recently confirmed a redesigned Insignia to be sold as the Regal. For more on what may be in store for that car, read up on our preview story here. [General Motors] Read More

  • Ford Posts First Quarterly Profit In North America Since 2005

    Ford Posts First Quarterly Profit In North America Since 2005 November 2nd, 2009 By Nelson Ireson's avatar Nelson Ireson, Author, November 2nd, 2009 Nelson Ireson 1 Comment

    Ford Posts First Quarterly Profit In North America Since 2005

    Slowly but surely the indicators are beginning to swing back up from the industry's trough of 2008 and early 2009. Ford appears to be leading the way in North America with today's release of a pre-tax $357 million quarterly profit--the first in the region since 2005. There is a counterstroke to the upswing, however.

    The company as a whole reported a net income of $997 million, up $1.2 billion from the third quarter of 2008, while quarterly pre-tax profit on the whole is up $3.9 billion to $1.1 billion as well.

    Those are potentially huge numbers--not just in quantity, but in significance. Despite still-low overall sales volume, Ford's global...

    Slowly but surely the indicators are beginning to swing back up from the industry's trough of 2008 and early 2009. Ford appears to be leading the way in North America with today's release of a pre-tax $357 million quarterly profit--the first in the region since 2005. There is a counterstroke to the upswing, however. The company as a whole reported a net income of $997 million, up $1.2 billion from the third quarter of 2008, while quarterly pre-tax profit on the whole is up $3.9 billion to $1.1 billion as well. Those are potentially huge numbers--not just in quantity, but in significance. Despite still-low overall sales volume, Ford's global and North American operations have changed positions well enough to see profit, even if only for the quarter. Provided enough other automakers can get their bottom lines aligned as well, the industry could reach a new equilibrium, and start turning back to growth as sales ramp up over the next several years. Ford credits its success with a strong product lineup on top of better transaction prices and improved profit margins. The company expects to be fully and comfortably in the black by 2011. With cars like the 2010 Fusion and Fusion Hybrid, its upscale Mercury equivalents, plus the coming Fiesta and new Focus, not to mention a range of new SUVs, trucks and crossovers, such as the Mercury and Lincoln versions of the Kuga, the Ford brand is definitely picking up steam. On the flip side, however, despite this quarter's upswing, the Blue Oval is down about $1.3 billion on the whole for the year. That's a reflection on what went down over the first half, especially the first quarter, during the industry's slowest sales period in two decades. Ford's future projections about profitability over the coming years also rest on SAAR numbers--as high as 12.5 million vehicles--that may be a bit optimistic, and that could spell disappointment down the road. This tempers the optimism with which this quarter's profit should be received, both for the company and the industry as a whole. Read More

  • Ford Says Geely Closer to Winning Volvo

    Ford Says Geely Closer to Winning Volvo October 28th, 2009 By Marty Padgett Marty Padgett, Executive Editor, October 28th, 2009 Marty Padgett 6 Comments

    Ford Says Geely Closer to Winning Volvo

    Volvo may be a step closer to new Chinese owners this morning, as Ford Motor Company says China's Geely is the lead bidder for the Swedish car brand.

    In a press release this morning, Ford named Geely and said it thought the Chinese company "has the potential to be a responsible future owner of Volvo and to take the business forward while preserving its core values and the independence of the Swedish brand."

    Ford's been trying to sell Volvo for more than a year. The latest piece in its global empire to go, Volvo would follow Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover in the exodus from Ford. The American automaker is selling the brands to re-focus...

    Volvo may be a step closer to new Chinese owners this morning, as Ford Motor Company says China's Geely is the lead bidder for the Swedish car brand. In a press release this morning, Ford named Geely and said it thought the Chinese company "has the potential to be a responsible future owner of Volvo and to take the business forward while preserving its core values and the independence of the Swedish brand." Ford's been trying to sell Volvo for more than a year. The latest piece in its global empire to go, Volvo would follow Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover in the exodus from Ford. The American automaker is selling the brands to re-focus its business on the core Ford, Lincoln and Mercury nameplates. Ford has been negotiating with Geely for most of the year. Given China's emerging influence in global car design and marketing, Ford has expressed concern about intellectual property from Volvo and Ford going directly to China's auto industry--everything from safety equipment to plug-in hybrid technology. Nevertheless, the company seems to be lining up a future cooperation with Geely/Volvo, including sharing components and possibly even car platforms, though it points out in the release that it's not interested in keeping a stake in the Swedish carmaker. Sources at Volvo have told TheCarConnection that a future relationship with China would leave Sweden as the center of product planning, marketing and some initial engineering. Geely's China-based engineers would execute mid-level engineering and manufacturing development at a savings of up to 30 percent from high-cost Sweden. Volvo would also produce a model in a Geely factory in China to expand the brand's global presence, but the goal would be to leverage Volvo's reputation and brand value, teamed with lower-cost Chinese manufacturing. According to a previous report, Geely hopes to start production of Volvo cars in a new factory in the Guangdong Province of China. As part of the deal, Geely will reportedly invest up to $10 billion in building the Volvo brand and the first model to be fully designed under the guidance of the Chinese automaker will be the next-generation XC90 due in 2011. From here, Ford and Geely will enter "more detailed and focused negotiations" over Volvo. Ford suggests in the release that it may decide not to sell Volvo at all. However, in the months since Ford put Volvo on the market, it's moved to separate the company as a business unit, and it's begun to split product development away from the Swedish company. New Ford models for North America, such as the 2012 Ford Focus, will share platforms with European Fords--and not with future vehicles like the replacement for the Volvo S40 / V50 sedan and wagon, which share a platform with the current European Focus. Where the Geely sale would leave Volvo's future lineup is uncertain. The company recently unveiled its 2010 XC60 crossover and a refreshed C70 Convertible, with a new S60 sedan to come early next year. A delay in any other model programs of six to 12 months is likely during a transition in ownership. Ford gave no timeline to complete a sale. Incidentally, Ford bought Volvo for $6.45 billion back in 1999 and has since written down its value to less than $2.4 billion. With the state of the industry and the economy in general, however, the final sale price could be substantially lower. [Ford] Read More

  • Fisker Picks Delaware Plant For New Hybrid Vehicle Production

    Fisker Picks Delaware Plant For New Hybrid Vehicle Production October 27th, 2009 By Viknesh Vijayenthiran's avatar Viknesh Vijayenthiran, Author, October 27th, 2009 Viknesh Vijayenthiran 1 Comment

    Fisker Picks Delaware Plant For New Hybrid Vehicle Production

    The first hybrid vehicle from bespoke Californian vehicle manufacturer Fisker, the Karma luxury plug-in hybrid sedan, is just a month away from going on sale. The $87,900 plug-in hybrid will feature an innovative twin-motor propulsion system developing 408 horsepower and a monstrous 959 pound-feet of torque, and although it was designed and engineered mostly in the U.S., production of the Karma will take place in Finland.

    The same can’t be said for Fisker’s next model as the company has just announced a new North American assembly site for the new car, which is scheduled to go into production in 2012. The second vehicle will be a mid-sized...

    The first hybrid vehicle from bespoke Californian vehicle manufacturer Fisker, the Karma luxury plug-in hybrid sedan, is just a month away from going on sale. The $87,900 plug-in hybrid will feature an innovative twin-motor propulsion system developing 408 horsepower and a monstrous 959 pound-feet of torque, and although it was designed and engineered mostly in the U.S., production of the Karma will take place in Finland. The same can’t be said for Fisker’s next model as the company has just announced a new North American assembly site for the new car, which is scheduled to go into production in 2012. The second vehicle will be a mid-sized plug-in hybrid sedan with a detuned version of the same powertrain found in the Karma. Fisker has revealed today that it has chosen the old General Motors Wilmington plant in Delaware, which was formerly responsible for the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky and Opel GT range. The company anticipates Project NINA will ultimately create or support 2,000 factory jobs and more than 3,000 vendor and supplier jobs by 2014, as production ramps up to full capacity of 75,000-100,000 vehicles per year. Importantly, half of these will be exported. Fisker will pay $18 million to Motors Liquidation Co. (the old GM) for the plant and then spend an additional $175 million to refurbish and retool it over the next three years.  Most of that money will come from a $528 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, already approved to Fisker. [Fisker] Read More

  • Early Look At Fiat And Chrysler’s U.S. Model Roll Out

    Early Look At Fiat And Chrysler’s U.S. Model Roll Out October 27th, 2009 By Viknesh Vijayenthiran Viknesh Vijayenthiran, Author, October 27th, 2009 Viknesh Vijayenthiran 2 Comments

    Early Look At Fiat And Chrysler’s U.S. Model Roll Out

    The Fiat-Chrysler partnership has been brewing since well before the economic meltdown and federal loan bonanza of late 2008, but it's still taking shape as the automakers find ways to work to their mutual benefit. The combined companies’ new CEO Sergio Marchionne is set to reveal the future plans for both Fiat and Chrysler in just a week’s time but we already have much of the details on hand.

    According to people briefed on the plans, Alfa Romeo is set to return as a volume player in 2012. Fiat will be here too, although the only model planned is the 500 minicar, which should in early 2011.

    Don’t feel too bad Fiat...

    The Fiat-Chrysler partnership has been brewing since well before the economic meltdown and federal loan bonanza of late 2008, but it's still taking shape as the automakers find ways to work to their mutual benefit. The combined companies’ new CEO Sergio Marchionne is set to reveal the future plans for both Fiat and Chrysler in just a week’s time but we already have much of the details on hand. According to people briefed on the plans, Alfa Romeo is set to return as a volume player in 2012. Fiat will be here too, although the only model planned is the 500 minicar, which should in early 2011. Don’t feel too bad Fiat isn’t coming here in full force. Chrysler will introduce several new models that rely on Fiat platforms and technology. The first of these will be a new mid-sized sedan from Chrysler based on Fiat’s C-Evo platform, followed by new hatchback and a compact Jeep. There will also be redesigned versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 300 arriving as early as next year. Several models will be dropped from Chrysler’s U.S. lineup as well. These will include a number of Dodge models, such as the Caliber, Nitro, Avenger, and several Jeep models, too, such as the Commander, Compass, and Patriot. Other vehicles getting the axe include Chrysler’s PT Cruiser and Sebring. Instead, we’ll get to enjoy several new Alfa Romeos. In the pipeline are the MiTo and Milano hatchbacks as well as the replacement for the current 159, the Giulia mid-sized sedan. All three models are due after 2012 and are destined for production in North America. All will depend on how Chrysler copes with the next two years as the struggling automaker will have to rely mostly on its current model range. Chrysler’s U.S. market share dipped to 8.3% in September, down from 11.1% the year before, and with next-to-no models in the small car segments this figure is likely to deteriorate further. [Wall Street Journal] Read More

  • Peugeot Boss Looking To Strengthen Ties With BMW Beyond Engines

    Peugeot Boss Looking To Strengthen Ties With BMW Beyond Engines October 26th, 2009 By Nelson Ireson's avatar Nelson Ireson, Author, October 26th, 2009 Nelson Ireson 1 Comment

    Peugeot Boss Looking To Strengthen Ties With BMW Beyond Engines

    BMW's relationship with PSA/Peugeot-Citroen has been a tenuous one despite having endured for years now. Their engine cooperation has seen engines shared between the Peugeot 207 and MINI Cooper, but PSA boss Philippe Varin wants to include purchasing and components in the mix, too.

    BMW is no stranger to the suitor game. Mercedes-Benz and BMW have flirted with the idea of a partnership for years now as well, often issuing conflicting statements on the idea. Varin wants in on more joint purchases and parts sharing with the Bavarian automaker, and he appears to have a plan to get there.

    Some of the things that could be shared include...

    BMW's relationship with PSA/Peugeot-Citroen has been a tenuous one despite having endured for years now. Their engine cooperation has seen engines shared between the Peugeot 207 and MINI Cooper, but PSA boss Philippe Varin wants to include purchasing and components in the mix, too. BMW is no stranger to the suitor game. Mercedes-Benz and BMW have flirted with the idea of a partnership for years now as well, often issuing conflicting statements on the idea. Varin wants in on more joint purchases and parts sharing with the Bavarian automaker, and he appears to have a plan to get there. Some of the things that could be shared include transmissions and climate control systems. Currently the two companies have "groups of experts" looking at how to best exploit synergies between them. The cooperation talks aren't being done with an eye toward acquisition or merger, however, according to Varin. The 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine currently shared between the companies may be replaced by a three-cylinder unit built by PSA/Peugeot-Citroen from 2011. Engine cooperation between the two is expected to grow, as both have expressed a desire to see more sharing over the next several years. There has even been discussions around sharing platforms, though nothing solid has yet come of it. [Auto News - sub. req.] Read More

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