And finally in our series of Teutonic luxo-barges: the boys from Stuttgart. For long, Daimler used to look down their noses at the boorish upstarts from BMW, and even more so at – ach du mein Lieber – Audi.
Daimler better get used to looking up. Despite record sales in May, Mercedes-Benz takes the #3 step on the podium, both in May and YTD. The race is close, but Mercedes is getting a bit short-winded. In May, the starred brand delivered a total of 108,766 passenger vehicles to customers worldwide, up 7.3 percent. YTD, the tally stands 490,021 units, up 10.5 percent. (Read More…)
Audi isn’t the only German premium brand to report stellar numbers in May. The Bavarian competition, 89km down south from Audi’s Ingolstadt, didn’t sit on their thumbs either. The BMW Group increased its May sales by 22.1 percent to 147,563 BMW, MINI and Rolls Royce brand vehicles. That’s an all-time sales high for the month of May. Year-to-date, the number stands at 667,511 units for a growth of 20.7 percent, BMW says in an emailed statement. What they don’t say is even more outstanding … (Read More…)
The Chinese government appears to be dead-set on electrifying its car fleet. And if any government usually gets what it wants, then it’s the Chinese. Generous subsidies beckon: Some cities in China match a central government subsidy of 60,000 yuan with their own 60,000 yuan largesse. That’s 120,000 yuan, or in today’s greenbacks (forget the rumor that the yuan is pegged to the $, no more) that’s $18,515. Even more intriguing: Beijing promises to do away with its license plate lottery for EVs.
Two problems: No EVs to buy, and no charging stations. (Read More…)
Powered by new models, especially the Q5, Q7, the A1 and the new A6, Audi is on a seemingly unstoppable tear throughout the world. In May, Audi sold 113,400 units, 19.5 percent more than in May 2010. Year-to-date, Volkswagen’s premium brand is up 17.5 percent to 535,400 units. China has eclipsed Germany as Audi’s most important market. In Germany, Audi is up 18.4 percent, in China an amazing 44.6 percent. Sales are also up solidly in the other BRIC markets. (Read More…)
May shapes up to be an accommodating month for China watchers: There’s something for everybody. You want to see the Chinese bubble burst? May will give that to you. You want cliché-confirmation, you want to hear that Chinese hate Japanese? May gives you automotive anti-Japan pogroms. You want GM up? No problem, May has got that. You want GM down? No problem, May has got that. You want unbridled growth? May can do.
Or as the Chinese say: “May wen ti!” No problem!
First, let’s have a look at our patent-pending TTAC China sales oracle, a.k.a. GM China. (Read More…)
Japan’s March 11 tsunami had more destructive effects than just washing pint-sized (ok, ok, 0.6 liter sized) kei cars to the top of Japan’s sales charts. It also resulted in considerable menboku o tsubusu (literally “breaking of face”, dishonor) for Lexus. On its home-turf Japan, Toyota’s lux-brand was outsold by doitsu (German) BMW, even by Mercedes, a brand said to be popular with the yakuza. Speaking of major menboku o tsubusu: BMW did certainly not top Toyota, as Bloomberg insinuates.(Read More…)
The U.S. jobless rate just rose to 9.1 percent. Employers added the fewest workers in eight months during May. The housing market is double-dipping. Only 16 month to go until the next presidential election. It’s the economy, stupid. The President has to do something. What does he do?
“President Obama’s visit to a Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio, on Friday was the culmination of a campaign to portray the auto bailouts as a brilliant success with no unpleasant side effects. “The industry is back on its feet,” the president said, “repaying its debt, gaining ground.”
If the government hadn’t stepped in and dictated the terms of the restructuring, the story goes, General Motors and Chrysler would have collapsed, and at least a million jobs would have been lost. The bailouts averted disaster, and they did so at remarkably little cost.”
He’s wrong, writes David Skeel, a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania, in his op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal. (Read More…)
Beijingers who are lucky enough to win the license plate lottery may be punished severely – if they don’t buy a car. In the beginning of the year, China’s capital instated a rule by which new car owners must enter a lottery for a license plate. Only 17,600 plates are available per month. In the latest draw, some 530,000 people did compete for the 17,600 plates. Only one out of 30 applicants could win. And what are the lucky winners doing? Most of them do nothing. In April, only 3,700 exercised their hard-won right and bought a car. At least that’s up from 2,000 in January. Now, the city is thinking about meting out harsh punishment. (Read More…)
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami didn’t just destroy more than 410,000 cars in Japan. It also totally mangled the list of top selling cars in Japan. After a two year absence, two minivehicles took the top spot of the chart. Suzuki’s WagonR mini vehicle was the best-selling new car in May, Daihatsu’s Move mini vehicle took second. The first regular car was the Honda Fit in the 3rd position. Perennial leader Toyota Prius is in the 6th position, despite an early re-start of production. Full list after the jump ….(Read More…)
„When you run out of battery with your EV, no AAA will help you – except with a tow.”
This line is a favorite weapon in the low-level propaganda war between gas and electric. Now Nissan, purveyor of the Leaf, goes on the counter-attack. Nissan deployed its first roadside service vehicle equipped with a charger to assist EVs that ran out of juice. (Read More…)
One year after debuting the closed version of the R8 GT in Paris, Audi will show the mess-up-your-significant-other’s-hair model at the Frankfurt IAA this fall. The Audi R8 Spyder GT will be sold as a limited series of only 333. It should be available in early 2012 at your friendly Audi dealer in Europe for 207.800 Euro ($303,886 usual disclaimers apply.) Hit the jump for pictures …. (Read More…)
“I’m tired of being ashamed of where I live,” declared Mark Reuss, President of General Motors North America, at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual policy conference. His colleagues are likewise frustrated. “With all the national bashing of the region,” an aversion to Michigan is ingrained in the minds of potential job prospects, said Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor. Detroit is the city of long lost sex-appeal. Echoing the dejected sentiments of a clockwatching professional with a clientele of reluctant customers, Bill Ford added: “We have to do an incredible sales job to get them to come.” (Read More…)
After the U.S. and Canadian government are out of the car business, at least as far as Chrysler is concerned, Fiat will own 52 percent. Who owns the rest? A large chunk, 45.7 percent, is owned by the UAW. By the UAW’s VEBA healthcare fund, to be exact. And the union is in no great hurry to change that. The UAW has a big “HOLD” on their share of Chrysler, hoping that the value goes up. That’s what “two people familiar with the fund’s strategy” told Reuters today. (Read More…)
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