- The automotive business blog -
David Leggett's unique web log on the global automotive industry, key events, people and his own daily experiences. If you would like to offer your comments, opinions, suggest topics or just have a good rant, please feel free to email: David Leggett. |
Page number: 1 of 179 ( 1789 records)
ANE Congress 2008
16th May 2008 16:05
I'm attending Automotive News Europe's Congress in Turin next week. I go every year and it's a useful occasion to get up to speed on some topical issues, hear some good speakers and meet up with people. It's usually fun, too. Last year's was in Prague and I wrote a review.
Hard to believe that was a whole year ago. Back then it looked like Volvo Cars was close to being on Ford's sales block. And private equity was still all the rage.
Looking back, there were some prescient remarks from UBS analyst Max Warburton on Ford.
Must say, I liked Matt Donnelly's (of Russia's Rolf Group - he's left there now) very direct way of expressing himself: 'Russians don't like hatchbacks - the weather gets very cold. Open the hatch and grandma in the back dies.' He had one heck of a laid-back presenting style, too. I spoke to him on the phone last October - interesting bloke.
Like this? Share it with
|
|
[?] |
permalink
url | comment on this blog
Fusion man
16th May 2008 15:12
Look it's Friday. Someone has sent me a link to something that I'll share here. Well, it is transport related, personal mobility even... There's a guy in Switzerland (calls himself 'Fusion man') who has built himself a contraption that looks pretty lethal but enables him to get about as close to soaring like a bird as us wingless humans will ever do. Quite simply amazing. You can watch his flight on the video clip. Me, I'll stick to BASE jumping (yes, I'm joking).
Like this? Share it with
|
|
[?] |
permalink
url | comment on this blog
Proton's Chinese cure
16th May 2008 14:59
Proton has looked like a company in a bad way for some years now. As Malaysia’s protectionist barriers have come down in the wake of liberalised trading regimes in the ASEAN region, its dominant share of the domestic market has plummeted (from 60% at the beginning of the decade to just 24% last year).
Protons had sold mainly on price, not on quality of product (alas a problem that comes with protection from competition). As imports have become more price competitive, consumers have, unsurprisingly, voted with their feet.
Proton’s exports have struggled too and the long search for a Western partner with some answers to its ills proved fruitless.
But just lately there have been signs that a turnaround for Proton is not completely inconceivable. Profits rather than losses have been posted and sales have stabilised.
A number of elements to Proton’s strategy stand out.
It has made existing products better – at relatively low cost - and targeted export sales in new markets. The focus of its export strategy has moved away from Western markets (always difficult) to developing ones where Proton naturally sits a little higher in the OEM hierarchy – for example markets in ASEAN and also Iran and China.
It is also starting to realise that it is sitting on a brand that it can do more with: Lotus. And Lotus Engineering is also a strong asset when it comes to product development matters – for third parties as well as for Proton.
And it has decided to look east rather than west for collaborative opportunities with other automotive companies.
Those things could add up to a particularly potent mix in China and Proton has a promising relationship developing with a company known as Youngman. Yes, it’s Chinese medicine for the ‘Malaysian patient’. Follow the bear as Mark Bursa sets out the details.
EMERGING MARKETS ANALYSIS: A Chinese cure for the 'Malaysian patient'?
Like this? Share it with
|
|
[?] |
permalink
url | comment on this blog
Curious goings on at Tesla
15th May 2008 10:10
What Tesla has achieved with its Roadster is pretty impressive, by any standards. Any firm that gets as far as it has done in executing such a radical vision deserves some credit - though Tesla's journey is far from over. It's early days in terms of deliveries of the first cars and the vision has further to go in terms of future higher volume plug-in models. And if others pick up the Tesla ball and run with it, that's no disaster either.
But beating the Tesla path has not been entirely smooth and maybe that's no big surprise given the nature of the undertaking. There's litigation stuff going on with a major contractor - Fisker - and there has been some discord inside Tesla at times, also. On the latter point, there's a curious row going on between one of the Tesla founders and ex-CEO, Martin Eberhard, and Tesla over his 'number 2' (after Elon Musk took #1) car. It's a bit sad to see, but stuff like this happens. Autobloggreen has the details.
Tesla Saga continues: When is production car #2 not?
Like this? Share it with
|
|
[?] |
permalink
url | comment on this blog
Proton and Youngman
14th May 2008 17:25
We have published an informative piece from Mr Bursa today looking at Proton. It may have failed to find a suitable Western partner but perhaps the troubled carmaker is now discovering sizeable opportunities in China. The deal with 'Youngman' involves Proton Gen2s being shipped fully built up to Youngman which will sell them in China under its EuropeStar brand (check out that wacky prancing logo complete with 'Engineered by Lotus' ). It's an interesting approach and the Proton-Lotus Engineering-Youngman connections could get stronger in the future.
EMERGING MARKETS ANALYSIS: A Chinese cure for the 'Malaysian Patient'?
Like this? Share it with
|
|
[?] |
permalink
url | comment on this blog
Leave Macca alone!
14th May 2008 16:21
Here's one that made me laugh. Paul McCartney has apparently been given a Lexus LS600h by Lexus. Good for him. You wouldn't turn that down as a freebie would you? Just one small problem. It's been flown from Japan to Britain, which kind of more than negates any benefit to the environment from Macca having it for the occasional sortie off his country estate. But it's hardly his fault - the great one was reportedly not best pleased when he found out about the method of delivery. It's more a PR bungle by Lexus.
Didn't he used to travel by bus? ...was often late, would grab his hat and make the bus in seconds flat...
Like this? Share it with
|
|
[?] |
permalink
url | comment on this blog
'Commodity surcharge'
14th May 2008 16:00
Plenty of eyes will be on the latest initiative by ArvinMeritor to pass on soaring commodity prices to its customers. Will it stick, or more accurately, how much will ArvinMeritor's customers believe it is reasonable to pass on? My guess is that some soundings were taken before the announcement was made, to ensure that it wouldn't be laughed out of court.
One thing's for sure: market conditions are not conducive to the OEM passing 'extraordinary' costs on to the final consumer. The question, working back, then becomes where on the supply chain are rising prices to be absorbed. A number of Tier 1s in North America are just about walking out of intensive care - there were some encouraging Q1 financial results, mainly buoyed by non-North American operations (Na ops still financially precarious) - and it's probably not in their customers' interests to send them back in.
US: Supplier plans "commodity surcharge"
Like this? Share it with
|
|
[?] |
permalink
url | comment on this blog
Is this for real?
13th May 2008 18:12
Is this for real? Yes, I am afraid it may well be. The old stereotypes to the fore. Aussies do like their beer don't they?
Australian driver belts in beer rather than young boy
Like this? Share it with
|
|
[?] |
permalink
url | comment on this blog
A Europeanised Caddy
9th May 2008 15:03
This week I have been driving around in a press fleet Cadillac BLS 1.9 CDTI Wagon. I wanted it to coincide with the interview I did with Jonathan Nash (below link). It's a pretty good piece of kit - the 1.9 litre diesel engine is turbocharged, there's plenty of load space, nice interior finish, subtle but definitely not bland styling (the Cadillac 'origami edges' figure). And the handling is sharp on what is a fairly sizeable car. No complaints and an easy car to live with. Comments in the office on the styling were pretty favourable, too - plenty thought it resembled a Saab (BLS is also made in Trollhattan).
In short, it deserves a fair hearing amongst its mainly German peers here in Europe. But will it get one or more accurately, will there be enough customers who are attracted to the idea of a Cadillac badge on their status symbol? 'Do different' might make an appropriate brand tagline. One thing though - I certainly don't think Cadillac will be emphasing Teutonic-like peer values, as per Citroen C5. This is an American brand and there's a project ahead on communicating or maybe even reinterpreting Cadillac values for Europeans. But hang on, it's built in Sweden...but there again Saabs will be built in Germany with the next 9-5, BMWs are built in the US etc. Place of final assembly is perhaps less important if other associated brand values are very strong. It's a question of balance.
Just realised re Jonathan Nash. We are a similar age, but he's ginger and has a good hair spread that has a lot less charcoal grey than me. Fair play: ginger upside. And, also, he sounds a wee bit like Chris Evans, too (listen to the embedded audio file on the below link...). Wait a minute, he actually looks like Chris Evans! Someone needs to ask him what he's doing in the Radio 2 drivetime slot.
THE EDITOR’S INTERVIEW: Jonathan Nash, MD Saab GB and GM UK's Caddy man
Like this? Share it with
|
|
[?] |
permalink
url | comment on this blog
Citroen C5 advertisment
9th May 2008 13:03
Marketing and selling large premium cars isn't all that easy for the French outside of France. The German brands have something of a stranglehold - in Europe, especially. PSA is developing what it believes is a credible strategy - 'competitive premium' - essentially levering off the volume business on component sets to produce a low-cost premium offering in each segment and undercutting the established premium brands.
I think it will be an uphill struggle in an area of the market where brand equity counts for a lot. Citroen is most definitely a value-driven brand and I think that counts against it in premium segments. But it will be interesting to see how the strategy unfolds in the market. The right price point can count for a lot, too, so maybe with good product there's a chance to build a reputation (and people who consider a Citroen brand premium car may have low initial expectations). And first off, perhaps you'd want to mix it a bit on the old brand image front, try and dispel some ingrained perceptions and maybe even suggest that you are already right up there with the established players...
In the UK, Citroen is certainly having a go with the C5 and an advertising campaign on TV that has drawn some criticism for its 'Nazi imagery'. A group of MPs said this: 'This house notes with regret the stereotypes used by Citroen to market the new C5 as Unmistakably German, including imagery, symbolism and style reminiscent of the 1930s.
'[We believe] this is counterproductive to the reputation of Citroen and urge it to withdraw the advertisement.'
Personally, I think it is harmless and rather funny. Judge for yourself.
Like this? Share it with
|
|
[?] |
permalink
url | comment on this blog
What's this?
Your Comments
Given the strength of the US consumer's rush from trucks to cars, and from larger to smaller, it's too bad this one won't be sold in the States. The 9-3 donor car is Federalized, so I have to think it'd homologate easily...but I suspect the exchange rates just don't work. But what odds on the next-gen BLS being built in North America (once the next-gen 9-3, related Opel/Saturn, et al, are launched)? That architecture is likely to be produced somewhere in N America, though perhaps Mexico to squeeze a bit more out of costs. I wonder how the relative costs of shipping cheaper North American cars across the pond versus higher-priced Euro production work out? Probably doesn't matter for the low-volume BLS, but what about US-sourced Saabs in higher volume ? ? ?
John Voelcker, United States