Archive for December, 2010
Auto Industry Turmoil – How Long Will It Last?
December 28th, 2010 | 
Author: Auto Industry Turmoil – How Long Will It Last?
This year has been tough on the auto industry worldwide for the most part due to rising fuel prices. The North American automobile industry has been especially hit.
The biggest buzz seems to have sprung form the Meryl Lynch report and the idea that they couldn’t rule out bankruptcy for the world’s largest automobile manufacturer General Motors. At the same time the company’s stocks fell to a 54year low. And all of it ocurred at a time when GM reported uninspiring sales figures i.e. 265937 in June this year.
In order to avoid bankruptcy GM would need to raise 15 billion in cash as has been said. While the company hasn’t responded to the report but it thinks that it’s got enough cash for 2008 and that it would take the required measures if needed.
However it’s not just GM that took the hit Toyota’s sales also came down by over 21 while Ford’s figures showed a drop of 28.1. For the most part the mechanism seems to be the same that is lower demand for gasguzzlers owing to high fuel prices.
Meanwhile in Canada the trend has been replicated with the auto sales plummeting by 5.7 percent from last year to reach 159500 vehicles in June. The drop is significantly higher than the 0.5 percent fall in May.
So How Long is it going to last?
Predictions were made earlier as well wherein it was said that things could begin to look up for North America by 2009. However given the present trends some experts feel that for the North American auto industry revenues could decline in 2008 and 2009. And that we could see increasing losses as the yearend approaches.
To learn more about challenges before the auto industry worldwide and for other insights kindly visit my blog Automobile Hotspot.
About the writer: I am a journalist with 7 years of experience. Though as a professional I’ve reported on myriad topics my favorites remain to be the medical industry and the automobile industry. I blog at Automobile Hotspot.
Posted in 
Auto Finance Trends Shift Towards Long Term Auto Loans
Auto Finance Trends Shift Towards Long Term Auto Loans
Auto finance companies in the U.S. are switching to longer term car loans in an attempt to downsize their involvement in the leasing business.
Longer term auto finance loans have a slower repayment of principal as well as increase the risk of losses resulting from defaults in payments. Leasing companies in the auto finance industry also have to cushion themselves with reserve funds to make up for possible losses from these car loans.
Longer term car loans now stretch as long as7 years or 84 months. GM Ford and Chrysler LLC consider long term auto loans as a way of shedding heavy inventories. Soaring fuel prices have caused a catalytic decline in consumer confidence and have hit the fortunes of auto makers who are now faced with plunging sales especially in the pickup trucks and sportutility segments.
Longer term car loans such as 72 or 84 months can reduce monthly payments for buyers putting them on par with payments under leasing agreements. However long term car financing heightens the risk factor of defaults as the unpaid principal would be higher than that of a shortterm loan. Auto financing companies need to factor the loss perspective into the prices charged to customers who avail such loans.
Approximately 20 of U.S. auto sales are conducted by leasing companies who offer lower monthly payments on vehicles. However under todays credit crunch leasing has lost its lucrative edge amid dipping resale values. You can visit 5minuteautoloan.com for more auto finance tips and latest automotive news.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Dave Clark is an experienced article writer and has been writing articles and books for many years he is very knowledgeable in numerous fields Dave also works part time for Cushy Sofa a manufacturer and online retailer of Divans Memory Foam Mattresses Memory Foam Toppers Memory Foam Pillows and Memory Foam Sofas
Auto Bild: Bmw M-b Considering Partnership
Auto Bild: Bmw M-b Considering Partnership
Auto Bild a German motor magazine reported that BMW the largest premium carmaker in the world and its closest competitor MercedesBenz are in negotiations over a partnership in order to build subcompact cars.
Without citing sources Auto Bild said in its forthcoming Friday edition that the two companies are expected to make a decision in July if the next generation Mercedes AClass will be built on BMW’s Mini platform.
BMW Minis parent company is considering finding a partner because heavy cost pressure means Mini runs the risk of losing money should its Oxford England plant not run at full capacity.
Other than that discussions could include Honda and existing partner PSA and Mercedes its archrival.
For its part Mercedes has reportedly planned on building the next AClass in 2012 on a platform to be developed together with Chrysler. But these plans have been dropped after parent company DaimlerChrysler have disposed majority of its stake in the lossmaking U.S. carmaker.
Michael Ganal BMW’s sales and marketing head suggested early last month in an interview with German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche the expansion of its current cooperation with Mercedes which develops hybrid powertrains into other fields also.
A BMW spokesperson said that Ganal was generally speaking on the possible further partnerships.
Ganal’s counterpart Mercedes sales chief Klaus Maier denied days later that there were “any plans at present” to broaden the partnership any further.
A spokesman for Mercedes said that the brand retained its openness to cooperation where it makes sense but reaffirmed Maier’s comments that there were no current plans to broaden its hybrid partnership with BMW into other areas.
About BMW
Along with its automotive concerns such as building quality BMW emblem the BMW Group’s activities encompass the development production and marketing of motorcycles as well as comprehensive financial services for private and business customers.
With BMW MINI and RollsRoyce Motor Cars the group is the only car maker in the world to pursue a purely premium strategy for all market sectors covered by its brands from exclusive smaller cars to topoftherange luxury limousines.
Other business interests of the group are insurance Bavaria Wirtschaftsagentur GmbH IT consulting and systems integration Softlab GmbH.
About MercedesBenz
Since then German car maker MercedesBenz is the pioneer in innovations striking design and industryleading safety features that are sure to impress. It has also pioneered reduction of CO2 emission comfort for high mileage drivers and driving dynamics.
About the writer: Hailey Kerr is a Business Administration graduate. She is currently part of a business consulting firm in Massachusetts. Hailey loves to write and enjoys doing her favorite hobby during her free time cooking French cuisines.