Australian General Motors arm Holden Ltd on Friday said it expected General Motors’ 2004 Asia Pacific profit to exceed $US750 million, up from $577 million last year, driven by growth in China, Reuters reported.
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“Profit wise, we made over half a billion dollars in Asia Pacific last year, we are looking at over three quarters of a billion-plus this year,” Holden’s managing director and chairman, Dennis Mooney, reportedly told a conference.
Reuters noted that GM in January said it expected Asia Pacific earnings to grow in the range of $700 million to $800 million in calendar 2004 – GM posted a 58% leap in first half vehicle sales in China to a record 259,653 units after it slashed prices in the world’s fastest-growing major car market.
In Australia’s $A17 billion ($US12 billion) auto industry, Mooney said he expected prices of new cars to fall further as tariffs for imported cars fell and competition increased, the report said, – as part of legislation passed last year, imported car tariffs will fall to 10% from 15%.
Earlier this year, Holden announced it would withdraw the GM Daewoo brand from Australia by the end of 2004 because of intense price competition from Japanese manufacturers, Reuters noted.
Holden’s biggest rival in the Australian market is Toyota, which has a 21.3% market share. Holden has an 18.7% market share with sales in the first six months of this year at 88,381, the news agency’s report added.
