From the sounds of a story at the Freep, both GM and Ford appear to get ready for bigger losses from Europe. Led by fanfares inflated by their hometown paper, Ford and GM seem to embark on a PR campaign to soften the blow at home:

“Europe was GM’s only unprofitable global region in 2010, extending the company’s streak of years in the red there to 11, with a $1.8-billion European operating loss. GM is hoping to break even in Europe this year before restructuring charges.”

(It’s the restructuring charges that will be the humdinger. Even if kept as non-recurring items, they will hit the bottom line in a big way.)

“Ford unexpectedly lost money in the fourth quarter in Europe, losing market share because it refused to match competitors’ incentives. It made a profit on European operations for all of 2010, albeit just $182 million of its $6.6-billion companywide profit for the year.”

And who’s to blame? The customer of course. The Freep’s informers see a gaping perception gap that is widening every day: (Read More…)

Every few years, Beijing’s government lashes out against billboards that advertise an ostentatious lifestyle. These exhortations are largely ignored, which preserves an endless source of involuntary humor. (Read More…)

One of my jobs in China was to help out with the launch of the Passat B6. Except that there was no Passat B6 in China. In 2005, the car was introduced in Europe to great acclaim. A year later, it was supposed to be made in China.  In China, Volkswagen has two joint ventures, Shanghai Volkswagen in Shanghai, and FAW-VW in frigid Changchun. SVW made and makes the Passat and was the logical choice to make the B6. Except that SVW didn’t want it. They deemed the 1996 vintage B5 and its Chinese variants as good enough for the Chinese market.  The folks in Wolfsburg shook their heads. “They always complain that they don’t get the latest technology, and when we give them the latest technology, they  keep the old stuff.”

Making the best out of having two joint ventures in China, Volkswagen sold the B6 license to FAW-VW. As the name “Passat” was taken, the B6 received a new name, “Magotan.” Pronounced “Ma-GO-tn”. Except that in Chinese, it’s called “May Teng.” (Are we confused yet? Gee, there is a company that is proud of the mess.) The Ma-GO-tn/May Teng was launched to limited success.

Last year, a new generation Passat was launched in Europe, dubbed the B7 internally, but detractors say it’s no more than a big facelift. The Chinese version will be shown at the Shanghai Motor Show. Guess who will make it? (Read More…)

All told, it takes about 3 weeks for a shipborne container from Japan to reach its destination at the West Coast. To the East Coast, it’s about 5 weeks. With the Japanese earthquake and tsunami three weeks old, we should see the first real stateside disruptions by now. And we do. But not all originate in Japan. (Read More…)

In the (OMG) 7 years I have lived and worked in China by now, I have learned not to take the first two months of the year all too seriously. After all, according to the Chinese calendar, the first two months mostly belong to the old year. Chinese New Year  is some time in late January or early February, depending on the inscrutable lunar calendar. The nearly month long festivities mess up sales, and make comparisons pretty much useless. Confucius say: “Only the stupidest of men make predictions based on January sales.”

March is a different matter.  It’s the first “regular” month of the new year. Everybody is waiting for March sales results in China. We’ll have to wait at least a week or so until the CAAM is done tabulating the sales of the 60 to 120 automakers in China (even that number remains shrouded in mystery.) But there is our trusted indicator: GM China. (Read More…)

All Japanese car companies need a little good news to cheer them up. Honda has reason to smile a little. Honda’s business jet in Greensboro, NC, is a step further to production. Honda says its first FAA-conforming HondaJet light business jet achieved a maximum speed of 489 mph at 30,000 ft. and a maximum Mach number of 0.72 above 30,000 ft.  This exceeds Honda’s performance commitment of 483 mph for the production HondaJet. (Read More…)

As we had warned a few days ago, the Japanese car market took a punishing hit in March. Sales of new cars, trucks and buses dropped 37 percent from a year earlier, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association reports. Separately reported minivehicles took a similar hit and dropped 31.6 percent, according to data by the Japan Mini Vehicles Association, published in The Nikkei [sub]. (Read More…)

Like most manufacturers, BMW is getting ready for the pilgrimage to Shanghai, where the Shanghai Motor Show will open its doors to the press on April 19, and to the public on April 21. Some at BMW go with mixed feelings. There will be some delicate discussions between BMW brass and their Chinese joint venture partner Brilliance. The reason: At Asia’s and possibly the world’s most important auto show, Brilliance will show their A3 SUV. Germany’s Auto Bild calls it “a brazen BMW X1 rip-off, with inspirations from Audi.”

The matter becomes even more touchy as BMW plans to produce the X1 in China with a launch date in 2012. It will be built by BMW’s Chinese joint venture with Brilliance. (Read More…)

A truck at the Nordschleife? No, no service truck. One that does some 190 mph. Possibly more. A truck made by BMW. In a press release, BMW dubs it “the world’s fastest pickup.” If they say so. One needs to be very careful with these statements in Germany, lest someone will sue you faster than the truck completes the Nordschleife lap. (Read More…)

In the usual show of unity, all three Japanese majors will have at least some production up by mid April. Honda told The Nikkei [sub] today that it will resume auto assembly at its two domestic production plants in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, and Mie Prefecture, western Japan, from April 11. (Read More…)

The Nikkei must have had too much sake at Yokohama’s famous seaside watering holes after they finished an interview with Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn yesterday evening. Their reports of an imminent merger of the two (and sundry others) under a joint holding company turn out to be utter nonsense, or rather “a misinterpretation of a wide-ranging interview,“ as Rachel Konrad, Director of Communications of the Renault Nissan Alliance, tells us in more elegant words. (Read More…)

There is was a new ad out in Brazil. 1 minute 39 seconds long (at least in its director’s cut Youtube version).  For 1 minute and 26 seconds, it shows the Ford Focus. Only a short 13 seconds long it shows the Nissan Tiida (better known as the Versa in the U.S.). The full length of the ad is paid by Nissan. Nearly one and a half minutes of free advertising for Ford. And is Ford happy? No, they are hip-hopping mad. (Read More…)

While other manufacturers have problems getting parts, Saab has problems getting parts. But for different reasons.

“Production at Saab stopped for a second day on Wednesday as the money-losing automaker faces payment problems with its suppliers,” reports Automotive News [sub]. They add that Saab said it will start production again on Thursday, after money problems have been settled. According to the Automotive News report, Saab made a very inadvisable move: They did not pay their shipping company. (Read More…)

Caution: This Nikkei story has been debunked by Nissan.

Often considered, more than often denied, now it’s on the table again: Nissan and Renault, having lived in an open relationship with a joint CEO since 1999, could move under the umbrella of a common holding company. Joint CEO Carlos Ghosn told that to The Nikkei [sub] late Wednesday night in Yokohama. The managements of Nissan and Renault seem convinced that this is the way to go. However, there is a lot of work to be done before the wedding will become official. (Read More…)

Our (not quite) daily run-down of delays, shut-downs, shortages, and postponements, triggered by the March 11 tsunami in Japan.

• Toyota will have lost production of 200,000 vehicles by Friday. The Nikkei [sub]
• Toyota says that 300 dealerships out of a total of 810 in North Japan have been damaged by the earthquake. The Nikkei [sub]
• Nissan figures its Chinese output will be about 10 lower than planned in April as supply chain disruptions hinder operations. The Dongfeng Nissan joint venture will idle plants on weekends until mid-April, but will continue doing overtime on weekdays. Dongfeng Nissan has trouble getting parts from Hitachi. The Nikkei [sub] (Read More…)