TTAC has reported on VW’s plans to become the global number one. Looking at Toyota’s current quality problems, one could be excused for thinking that there just might be some substance to Wolfsburg’s plans. After all, Toyota’s days of glory seem to be over, while VW is on a roll, with sales growing and quality improving. Right?
What can I say, I’m a child. Then again, this 100hp, Renault Twingo-based Wind coupe-convertible is one silly toy. With an 11-second 0-60 time from its 1.2 liter engine, there’s some question of whether the Wind could even outrun a fart. But hey, at least you’ll look cool trying, in an adorable, non-threatening, French kind of way.
Opel’s turnaround negotiations with German unions have gone pear-shaped again, as top labour rep Klaus Franz left talks denouncing GM’s decision to cut 9972 jobs instead of the promised 8300, according to The Wall Street Journal. “Fundamental questions have not been answered,” fretted Franz. “Management’s plans seem to change on a daily basis.” Rudi Kennes, a labour representative from Antwerp, concurred, saying the atmosphere between management and the unions “has never been as bad as now.” He added ominously that “(Mr Reilly) needs to answer our questions.”
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So you thought the Saab deal is done? A deal is never done until the check clears. Speaking of clearing, Laurence Stassen, a member of the European Parliament, and a member of the Dutch Partij voor de Vrijheid (a right-of-the-center party in the Netherlands) is seeking clarification from Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.
Vrouw Stassen wants to know if there is any forbidden state aid involved in the Saab/Spyker deal, the Dutch news site NU.NL reports. The Swedish government guarantees a loan of €400m, which Spyker then is supposed to get from the European Investment Bank. Spyker is, well, banking on that money. (Read More…)
Toyota’s recall of 2m vehicles in Europe isn’t doing much to clarify the chaos surrounding the unintended acceleration panic that is enveloping the company. Eight models are being removed from Europe’s roads, including Auris, Avensis, Aygo, Corolla, iQ, RAV4, Verso and Yaris. The fact that two of these models (iQ and RAV4) are built exclusively in Japan (European Corollas are built in Japan and South Africa), seems to suggest that the problem is not limited to gas pedal assemblies supplied by CTS, which has been blamed for the US recall. The other models are built in France (Yaris), Turkey (Auris, Verso), the Czech Republic (Aygo) and the UK (Avensis, Auris). According to Automotive News [sub], the recall affects these models built between Feb. 2005 and this month, even though
Toyota lengthened the arm of the friction lever and changed its materials on all vehicles produced in Europe using the subject accelerator pedals starting in mid-August 2009
Curiouser and curiouser…
Volkswagen’s recent go-fast specials like the Golf R32 and New Beetle Rsi have typically been developed by a little-known branch of the automaker known as Volkswagen Individual. But performance isn’t necessarily VW Individual’s main focus, as the sub-firm also builds to-order customization of VW products, from police specials to to custom-built stretched Phaetons, and helps VW R&D on new products. In order to focus its efforts, VW is spinning the “R”-vehicle development program into its own unit: R GmbH. “BMW has its M, Mercedes has AMG, and our sibling Audi has Quattro. This new R division will be our Quattro,” an unnamed VW exec tells Inside Line. You know, because Audi and its Quattro performance division isn’t owned by Volkswagen or anything.
GM is cautiously putting its toes back in the shark-infested waters of Europe and plans to sell Cadillacs and Corvettes to EU buyers, says Das Autohaus. When their previous importer, Kroymans in the Netherlands, went belly-up in summer of 2009, sales had ceased. At the time, GM had more pressing matters on their plate. (Read More…)
The search for “potential synergies” between Alfa Romeo and Maserati has already yielded its first bitter fruits, as Auto Motor und Sport reports that a special edition Alfa will be built as a loaner for Maserati owners who bring their cars in for service. Because there’s nothing Sergio Marchionne can’t fix with a special edition…
CSM Worldwide thinks that car sales in Europe are in for a nasty drop as governments in the West discontinue scrappage schemes that propped up demand in 2009. That would the third consecutive drop.
CSM is forecasting that 2010 sales in Europe will fall 7.9 percent to 16.7 million units. According to CSM, this “follows declines of 13.4 percent in 2009 and 5.1 percent in 2008, when total European sales were 21.0 million units.”
Careful with those numbers. (Read More…)
1. VW GOLF 571,838 +23.9%
2. FORD FIESTA 472,091 +44.0%
3. PEUGEOT 207 367,160 -9.7%
4. OPEL/VAUXHALL CORSA 351,807 -2.5%
5. FIAT PUNTO 323,536 +15.9%
6. RENAULT CLIO 312,925 -6.8%
7. FORD FOCUS 309,134 -15.1%
8. FIAT PANDA 298,914 +33.8%
9. VW POLO 282,780 +2.4%
10. OPEL/VAUXHALL ASTRA 275,638 -14.1%
Despite what you think of Toyota, it’s a company you should respect. They brought reliability to cars when others couldn’t. They popularised lean manufacturing techniques that others are still trying to copy. And they introduced green technologies at a time when petrol was cheap and still made a success of it. In short, when Toyota put their mind to it, they can make a good success of just about anything… except for the European market. For some reason, Toyota cannot make in-roads in the European sales no matter how hard they try, and the latest set of data suggests that that trend is continuing.
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Europe avoided the worst of carmageddon. While the U.S.A. was down 21.2 percent in 2009 and China was up 45 percent, Europe as a whole ended 2009 with the same sales as in 2008, more or less. According to data released by ACEA, the European Union survived 2009 with a slight drop of 1.6 percent. (Read More…)
A few months back I noted that the French government was interfering in the car industry by demanding French plants stay open as a condition of their bailout of Renault. Well, things are getting even more….well….French. New York times (via Reuters) reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has summoned Renault and Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn for a cosy chat. Actually, “grilling” might be better way of putting it. The invitation has come about after reports surfaced that Renault might be producing its new Clio in Turkey, rather than France. This could be considered state bullying, but the French State is a 15% shareholder in Renault. French Industry minister, Christian Estrosi made absolutely no effort to cover this coercion.
Between the tooling for the old Saab 9-5 being shipped off to China and GM “starting” the wind down process, even the most optimistic, “fuel tank is half full” members of the auto world are starting to think that it’s “game over” for Saab. Well, here’s the final nail (barring a completely audacious bid, from an equally audacious company, who want to spend millions of pounds on a damaged brand) in the coffin of Saab. The Local, a Swedish website, reports that GM are officially killing all plans to bring the new 9-5 to production. “It would be so sad that it never sees the light of day despite the fact that it’s a fantastic car,” admits GM vice chairman Bob Lutz.
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Saab’s extended January 7th deadline came and went. Four groups handed in offers: Spyker put in its third bid. Luxembourg-based private equity group Genii Capital joined with Formula 1 tycoon Bernard Ecclestone and Hakan Samuelsson, former head of truckmaker MAN, in a bid. Wyoming-based Merbanco Inc., and a Swedish investor group also submitted proposals. Apparently, the proposals did not impress. Saab declared bankruptcy, for the second time in a year.
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