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The Current State of the US Auto Market
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I agree. I didn't like it all from the pics I've seen, finally seeing one in person moved it up a notch. That's not saying much BTW;)
Not that all fleet sales are bad. Seems the rental fleet sales do the most damage to resale as they turn cars over much faster than corporate fleets these days. Most people I know with company cars keep them longer compared to years ago.
My wife used to get a new company car every 18 to 24 months, now it's basically every 4 years.
I haven't read anything about that either and I agree. I'd think the current Impala sells in enough numbers to fleets to justify production. OTOH, I have no idea how profitable those fleet sales are.
Correct, I didn't compile the data but YTD would be more useful as it smooths out short-term spikes in demand.
A great idea, IMHO. Fleets just want a low cost product they can turn over quickly.
The new one will cost a bunch more. If they can work out producing both side-by-side, or at different plants, it would be win-win for GM and fleet managers.
Yeah, Honda must be embarassed to lose to Chrysler's 2nd best selling van.
Having said that, I bet a lot of those are to fleets. Those are the official car of Orlando.
Jan + Feb Sales
2010- 31,589
2011 - 33,194
2012 - 34,663
2013 - 30,640
YTD 2013
Camry = 63,167
Accord = 51,923
Fusion = 50,274
Altima = 49,189
Malibu = 30,640
Impala = 29,577
Sonata - 29,254
Optima = 24,447 (Sonata/Optima combined is #2)
That paints a rosy picture since the previous 3 years were not nearly as strong as they are now For comparison, the Fusion YTD is up about 33% vs. it's 3 year average YTD.
I'm not surprised at all in regards to the Malibu's sales woes. The car looks boring to me. It simply doesn't stand out from the crowd. GM has done a pretty good job with recent product, but the Malibu is a definite miss. It was a huge mistake to rush this model to market.
I know they share powertrains and share the same wheelbase. So assume they are built off the same platform. I don't think they are made in the same plant.
Regards,
OW
It's funny, there were folks here who told me that the Equinox and Terrain were two different vehicles, even though they share the same platform, are built in the same plant, have the same engine and trans, and were introduced at the same time!
With the same wheelbase, same platform, same engine, and same trans, one would expect some economies of scale for the Optima and Sonata to be built in the same plant.
The Sonata and Elantra are built in the same plant. I don't think they have the capacity to also build the Optima. I believe the Kia plant in Georgia builds both the Optima and Sorento.
Are there platform mates to the Camry and Accord and Altima--cars with the same wheelbase and platform, built by the same manufacturer--that should supplement their numbers, too?
I don't know about the Altima, but I think the Accord and Acura TL are related, along with the CrossTour.
In my opinion, the Sonata/Optima are about as similar as the Equinox/Terrain. I don't think one is decidedly upmarket from the other. I guess a case could be made for Sonata/Optima being more similar as they essentially have the same base price where as the Terrain has a base price that is about $2k higher than the Equinox.
Also...has Kia already stopped building their minivan? When someone posted sales for Feb. the other day, that product had sales in the 300's--yes, the three-hundreds. Makes the Malibu look like the original VW Beetle in sales by comparison. I would have to believe that the Kia minivan has been discontinued and sales are coming just from dealer inventory, is that correct or not?
I'd doubt it too, those are two completely different cars.
I think Kia's minivan is all but done, I don't know.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_D_platform
I drive a twinned minivan. The engine is sort of shared with the Pathfinder (but changed to make the van's engine non-interference).
Seems like twinning is on the downswing.
Similarly, to me, the Silverado and GMC Sierra are 'twins' although, again, they look more different than they have in past years.
Ford = 126,825
C = 96,093
Total US = 383,074
Toyota = 190,199
Honda = 114,886
Nissan = 116,292
Hyundai/Kia = 133,260
Subaru = 37,357
VW = 53,364
Audi = 14,027
BMW = 22,128
MB = 28,875
Total Foreign = 710,388
In fact when I worked at Hyundai and made a comparison chart for both cars they had identical interior specs like headroom, legroom, etc... so I think even the seat mounting points are the same in both.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Volvo, MINI (under BMW perhaps?), Jag are missing too.
In the first part of this series, we looked at Dan Akerson’s problematic relationship with the truth, focusing on the gap between his stated intentions and his actions. Akerson is hardly the only example of an auto executive to indulge in personal myth-building or ego-driven dissembling. Analysts, employees and shareholders can forgive all kinds of personal shortcomings in a chief executive so long as he has a clear plan for success and the proven ability to get results. Unfortunately for GM, Dan Akerson brings nothing to the table in this regard that might outweigh his negatives.
The depth of Akerson’s strategic failure is nothing short of stunning, encompassing almost every element of GM’s global footprint.
Sysiphean Futility
We were made to believe that GM was saved by the government. In reality, it was the American automobile industry that was saved from certain annihilation by foreign carmakers, and we should thank the government for it. In truly Washingtonian fashion, they win the war and lose the peace by putting the American car industry in the hands of an utter amateur. The man in charge of a car company must be a strategist and tactician of the caliber of Alexander the Great, leading from the front, knowing when to dismiss his advisers, knowing when to do the unexpected, having a sixth sense for a sudden opening in the ranks of the opposition, intuitively knowing how to ruthlessly exploit a weakness.
Akerson was put at the helm of GM by politicians who know even less about the car business than an Akerson. As the politicians sell their shares in GM and leave, they should take their man with them. If Akerson is replaced with a CEO worthy and capable of guiding GM, the stock will surely bounce, making the exist less painful.
I didn't want to break the 750K mark.
Regards,
OW
BTW, he needs a proofreader...'exit' isn't spelled 'exist'.
I liked the KV7 concept, which should replace it, though it is more of a 3 row crossover like the Flex.
Well, to be honest you're leaving out most of the profitability.
Conversely, if we focus ONLY on trucks the numbers get a bit embarrassing for the import brands.
Ford - a billion
GM - a billion
C - half billion
Everyone else - five
2013 YTD Import Car Sales = 770,149
2013 Domestic Truck Sales = 653,858
2013 Import Truck Sales = 434,076
Total Domestic = 981,764
Total Import = 1,204,225
Guess that profitability doesn't go that far anymore.
Agreed. I paricularly like this one:
“Akerson was put at the helm of GM by politicians who know even less about the car business than an Akerson”
Actually, he was appointed President and CEO (after a strong personal lobbying campaign, apparently) by the Board. Of GM’s 15 Directors, 11 have private sector backgrounds. Whatever Akerson’s flaws may be, he was appointed by business people, not by politicians.
“The US market is projected to supply a huge percentage of global profits over the next several years, making it a major priority for every automaker. Thanks to the bailout, GM almost can’t help but make money in its home market”
GM’s 2012 financials show an operating loss of $3.2 billion on a global basis. Also according to GM, the pre-tax loss (a somewhat different measure, but the only one available) in Europe was $1.8 billion. Assuming that China is profitable, and South America (much smaller business, unlikely to make a big difference in either direction) is close to break-even, then GM must have made an operating loss in North America. Perhaps somewhere in the $500 million-$1 billion range.
The biggest change was in gross margin (revenues minus the direct materials, factory and factory labour cost of making what you sell), which GM does not break out by segment. Gross margin plummeted from 12.4% in 2011 to only 6.7% in 2012.
GM has also been unable to arrest its declining US market share. In the 2008-2012 period, it lost roughly 1% per year of share(up from an average loss of about 0.75% in the period 1976-2008). If present trends continue – which I am the first to acknowledge is should never be viewed as certain, or even probable, for betting purposes – Ford will outsell GM in the US in 2014 or 2015.
On top of that, GM’s balance sheet shows that cash and cash equivalents fell by $5 billion in 2012.
All in all, the numbers show GM’s present position as something that should have senior management working in crisis mode. How much of this is Akerson’s doing is open for discussion, but largely moot – if it happens on his watch, he takes responsibility for it.
I have no love or hate for GM, but I know people who depend on it for their livelihood. For their sake, I hope the company survives and prospers. I have also seen, over the course of a long career in executive management and professional services, that it takes a whole lot of people, working hard and smart, to make a company prosper, but a few highly-placed dunderheads can do enormous damage. My fear is that GM’s executive management is sleeping its way into Bankruptcy 2 in much the same way that it did into Bankruptcy 1.
Pretty balanced.
Funny what constitutes a "truck" nowadays, isn't it? I'm guessing that includes vans and crossovers.
Yes, the official designation is "Light Trucks". As you can see, the imports are doing quite well relative to the bread and butter area for the domestics. Porsche and now even Bentley want those extra profits!
Exactly. The US have the lion share of PUT's but Light Trucks include all of the SUV's/CUV's.
I mean, sales were really starting to decline rapidly when people started to see the end of the Big 3, that is, until Uncle Sam said they'd cover the warranty costs for a bankrupt GM or Chrysler.
One Jeep and the rest imports. Domestics loose more as a rule (developed over time with the bad business model).
Best Resale Value
Lexus LX? Really? Lux values usually drop like rocks.
Even Sequoias seem to hold their values well despite low sales.
So if you pay full MSRP for Car A, yet you get thousands discounted off Car B, then B is likely a better deal even if resale is lower.