Archive for January, 2010

SMMT says car industry faces bad year

Britain's car industry has been warned to expect another difficult year after data released today showed that production fell by a third in 2009, to its lowest level in 25 years. Only 999,460 new cars were produced in Britain during the past year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) announced. This is the lowest annual output since 1984 and 30.9% less than in 2008. Commercial vehicle manufacturers were hit even harder by the recession, with the number of new models produced falling 55% last year to 90,679.

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Dallas-Fort Worth new car sales fell 29.9% in 2009

The recession cut deeply into local new car and truck sales last year, which fell a dramatic 29.9 percent – one of the steepest declines in decades.

All four major counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area reported drops of at least 25 percent in new vehicle sales from 2008 levels, according to The Freeman Metroplex Recap of new vehicle sales, released Wednesday.

Buyers in the Dallas area – formerly one of the strongest new car markets in the U.S. – postponed purchases last year as unemployment rose and the values of their houses fell.

In addition, many banks balked at financing car and truck sales, demanding higher down payments and better credit scores.

In fact, the new vehicle market in Dallas-Fort Worth was actually weaker than the car and truck market nationally. Sales in the U.S. dropped 21 percent in 2009 from 2008.

Drew Campbell, who recently retired as president of the New Car Dealers Association of Metropolitan Dallas, said this area was slower to slide into recession than the U.S. as a whole and its recovery will lag the nation’s.

In 2008, for example, new car and truck sales in Dallas-Fort Worth declined a relatively modest 13.8 percent.

“The reality is it’s still hard for dealers to finance people,” Campbell said. “People are just not coming into dealerships like they were.”

He believes the sales numbers will at least look better this year because the economy should improve slightly and sales will be compared with the weak quarters in 2009.

“National sales are improving some, and we’re always a little behind,” Campbell said.

“It’s going to be an interesting year, but I think we’ll see some improvement.”

Sourced via dallasnews.com

Hot cars in Detroit: Small, electric and sporty

More than any auto show in recent memory, the new cars rolled out this week out at the Detroit auto show will redefine what we drive in the future. As the show opened to the public on Saturday, small cars that push the previous limits on gas mileage, performance, quality and looks took the spotlight. But the show also features a fun gas-electric hybrid sports car and a just-plain-gorgeous convertible. And there's an electric car that soon you'll be able to buy.

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Bosch to close factory in Wales, loss of 900 jobs

German engineering giant Bosch is set to close a car parts factory in Wales with the loss of 900 jobs, said the company, blaming the economic downturn which has hit the automotive industry hard.

The division in charge of the plant near Cardiff will recommend to the firm’s board that production be phased out at the factory, which makes alternators for the motor industry.

A consultation period runs to the end of February so all involved can agree terms for the phase-out of production, before a final confirmation from the board.

Bosch, just the latest in a long line of automotive firms caught up in the fierce global downturn, said Thursday demand for the alternator had dropped dramatically and the firm was on track to make its first loss for six decades.

“The Bosch Group is currently facing the worst economic downturn for many decades and has been especially hit in the automotive sector,” said the company in a statement.

“In parallel to this, the automotive industry is undergoing major change as core technologies are being completely transformed to accommodate demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient and less polluting vehicles.

“All this has left its mark on the Bosch Group in 2009, which will show a negative operating result for the first time in 60 years.”

A union representative described the news as a “terrible blow” for hundreds of workers.

Sourced via afp