THE WEEK THAT WAS: Focus on financials

After the Detroit product fest of last week, it was time to start thinking of financial results and other things fiscal.

PSA Peugeot Citroen kicked off with guarded confirmation up to EUR3bn (US$4.1bn) could be injected in with speculation in France centering on a possible deal that would see Chinese partner, Dongfeng, and the French state each put in EUR750m with PSA undertaking a rights issue for the remaining funding.

Beyond that, PSA spokespeople remained firmly schtum.

Staying with finance, questions have been asked about the planned axing of mainstream models at Chevrolet Europe by 2016, and how that might affect the Manchester United sponsorship deal. This week, we heard from both unnamed ‘industry experts’ and Chevy’s global chief hisself, Alan Batey.

Quarterly results are starting to trickle in. One of the first was Johnson Controls, which last month sold its remaining electronics business to Visteon and improved profits in its first fiscal period.

Unfavourable currency rates hit Hyundai Motor profit in the fourth quarter, apparently prompting an IHS Automotive analyst to take a closer look. Well worth a read.

Have a nice weekend.

Graeme Roberts, Deputy Editor, just-auto.com