All eyes were on the US sales reports this week as we wondered what effect that ‘quake in Japan would have on the world’s larg…, er, second largest new vehicle market. Our men with the spreadsheets made a prediction and that was proved pretty accurate when the numbers came in next morning.
For old Detroit hands, if there are any left outside ‘consultancy’ roles, it must have been like a trip back to the good ‘ol days – Toy-which? Dat-what? Isuz-who? Hon-dah? They make bikes, don’t they?
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Detroit Three in the old GM-Ford-Chrysler order. A Chevy top passenger car (behind Ford and Chev trucks), hey, Joe, remember when the Impala alone did a million in a single model year?
But this is 2011 and the Detroit gain was mostly because the earth moved in Japan and knocked out the Japanese automakers and some supplies of critical parts and paint ingredients – temporarily. Marvel at how quickly the industrious locals restored broken infrastructure – that buckled highway – and how most factories are already well on the way back, ahead of schedule; after earlier denials, Toyota reckoned it’d be up to about 90% this month.
The Koreans made hay. “Japanese brand sales fell 16.0% costing their market share 7.3 points. Hyundai and Kia, both of which reported new records, were the primary beneficiaries: their share grew from 7.3% to 10.2%. Little wonder the Georgia Kia plant is already heading up above originally stated capacity. The Detroit Three picked up 2.5 points and the Europeans added two,” our Bill Cawthon wrote.
Globally, the auto industry won’t let the Japan ‘quake effect happen again, it will demand the supply chain spreads itself more widely. And there’s more trouble on the horizon for the Detroit Three – top execs are now admitting five bucks a gallon gas is coming and will keep on going up; even the die-hards will eventually be forced out of those F-series, Silverado and Ram trucks, at least in the V8 forms we currently know them. Hence the news just last night Ford has a one-litre EcoBoost I3 in the works – who’d have thought, in the days of the Suzuki Swift/Geo Metro, Subaru Justy and Daihatsu Charade econoboxes, such an engine would one day be under the bonnet [hood] of mainstream Fords?
There was a little social engineering at certain automakers this week. Mazda moved the weekend for a while and Tata Motors decided some executives had had enough British bank holidays in April and May.
Meanwhile, we put Brazil under the microscope in our latest look at a BRIC market.
Have a nice weekend, always assuming you’re getting one…
Graeme Roberts, Deputy Editor, just-auto.com
