Posts tagged ‘Toyota’

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29/11/2016

Nissan Revs Up Connected Car Plans in India – India Real Time – WSJ

Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday that it planned to accelerate the penetration of internet-connected vehicles by offering a connection device to existing customers in Japan and India starting next year.

Nissan has been among the most aggressive car makers in putting connection technology in lower-priced vehicles. Now, it is expanding the offering to owners of older models.

The device will allow car owners to get live updates on maintenance needs, make service appointments and order parts ahead of time. Nissan said it planned to bring the device to other countries eventually and install it in 30% of the 40 million Nissan vehicles on the road globally today.

The device contains a Global Positioning System tracker and can transmit information about the vehicle’s health to Nissan through mobile networks. The goal is to give customers a taste of connected-car services that will become available on new cars, Nissan said.

“In the coming years, customers will see sophisticated applications of software and hardware that will keep them connected with work, with friends and family. It will allow them to control their vehicles from their phones in their pockets,” said Kent O’Hara, who runs Nissan’s after-sales division.

Source: Nissan Revs Up Connected Car Plans in India – India Real Time – WSJ

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19/04/2015

Foreign automakers double down on China bets despite slowing growth | Reuters

Foreign automakers continue to plough money into factories in China, the world’s largest car market, even as the biggest economic slowdown in a quarter of a century crimps sales growth.

Employees work at the third factory of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile company, after its inauguration ceremony, in Wuhan, in this July 2, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/China Daily/Files

Market leaders Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and General Motors (GM.N) show no sign of letting up on their planned investments, while Toyota Motor (7203.T) and Ford Motor (F.N) are also pursuing new China expansion plans.

That’s in spite of the economic slowdown further depressing the car market in January-March, when sales grew only 3.9 percent, compared to 9.2 percent a year ago and way below the 7 percent growth that the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) predicts for this year.

via Foreign automakers double down on China bets despite slowing growth | Reuters.

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03/04/2015

Toyota to end expansion freeze, invest $1.3 billion in two new Mexico, China plants: sources | Reuters

Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) will spend about 150 billion yen ($1.3 billion) to build two new car plants in Mexico and China, two people familiar with plans said, ending a three-year freeze imposed after unchecked growth lumbered the world’s biggest auto maker with too many idle production lines.

A visitor walks under a logo of Toyota Motor Corp at the company's showroom in Tokyo February 4, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

Reuters reported in January that plans were in place for new plants in the two countries, awaiting a green light from top management that has now been given. President Akio Toyoda had been cautious about expanding after Toyota was hit by a capacity glut following the global financial crisis.

The new plants will raise Toyota’s annual production capacity by nearly 300,000 cars, the two people said – 200,000 in Mexico and up to 100,000 in China. They declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media, and said the expansion may be announced formally as early as this month.

The renewed expansion drive by Toyota will put more pressure on rivals such as General Motors Co (GM.N) and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), in a global automotive industry still burdened by being able to make more cars than it can sell. The increase in global production capacity of up to 300,000 compares with sales of just over 10 million in 2014.

Immediately after the financial crisis, big carmakers were cautious about adding production capacity. Now, with demand in the United States back at pre-crisis levels and China’s auto market growing, albeit more slowly, expansion is back on the agenda.

via Toyota to end expansion freeze, invest $1.3 billion in two new Mexico, China plants: sources | Reuters.

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19/04/2014

Audi expects to sell half million cars in China this year | Reuters

Volkswagen‘s (VOWG_p.DE) luxury division Audi plans to sell about half a million cars this year in China, the world’s biggest auto market, and raise the number of its Chinese dealers to 500 by 2017.

The company logo is seen on the bonnet of a Audi car during the media day ahead of the 84th Geneva Motor Show at the Palexpo Arena in Geneva March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

The German automaker hopes its car sales will exceed 500,000 this year, executives told reporters on Friday before the Beijing auto show, which opens on Sunday.

Foreign auto makers, such as General Motors Co (GM.N) and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), and domestic players such as SAIC Motor Corp (600104.SS) have been competing aggressively in China, where rising affluence is boosting car ownership.

“This country has an increasing number of mega cities,” Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said, naming Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou as examples. “In these three areas, there are as many people as, for example, in Germany.”

In 2013, Audi sold 488,000 vehicles in China and a total of 492,000 including Hong Kong. Executives said it aimed to take advantage of the increasing popularity of SUVs and rising demand for compact premium cars.

China’s auto market is expected to grow 8-10 percent this year, easing from last year when it expanded 13.9 percent to 21.98 million vehicles.

Audi is stepping up efforts to unseat German rival BMW (BMWG.DE) as global luxury-car sales leader.

via Audi expects to sell half million cars in China this year | Reuters.

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11/05/2013

* U.S., European Auto Makers Find Slow Going in India

WSJ: “Sleek new compact cars sporting the Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai brands stand out on the streets of India’s business capital against the mishmash of aging buses and black taxicabs.

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The view is similar across India, a country where consumers have an affinity for smaller and fuel-efficient cars and, increasingly, for Asian auto brands. Much harder to spot are the logos of top Western mass-market car makers such as Volkswagen AG, VOW3.XE -0.88% General Motors Co. GM -0.73% and Ford Motor Co. F -0.63%

Profit margins are thin in India, where hatchbacks sell for as low as $5,000. Maruti and Hyundai together hold 54% of the nation’s new-car sales.

While major players in China, Asia’s other big and growing car market, the three are struggling to expand sales here. Each reported Indian sales fell between 16% and 20% year-over-year in the 12 months ended March, sharply underperforming the 2.2% rise among all passenger vehicle sales in the nation, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Their combined share of the car market stands at just 9%.

Some industry executives say these companies lack the compact models that consumers prefer in India, and have too few sales and repair outlets in the country.

Others say razor-thin profit margins on small cars make India a highly competitive and unprofitable market, and may explain the Western companies’ small shares. India’s compact hatchbacks usually sell for between $5,000 and $10,000 each.

“It isn’t that the international companies are incompetent, it is just that there is not much of a prize [in India] yet. It is a much, much smaller profit pool,” compared with markets like China, said Max Warburton, European and Asian autos analyst at investment research firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

Maruti, the Indian unit of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Co., 7269.TO +7.53% and Hyundai Motor Co 005380.SE -2.33% . together hold 54% of the nation’s new-car sales, thanks to a broad sales and service networks and a loyal following for their cars and hatchbacks, which last year took seven spots out of the 10 best-selling models in India.

Japan-based Honda Motor Co. 7267.TO +3.18% and Toyota Motor Corp. 7203.TO +5.03% also are gaining here despite the overall market’s stagnant sales following several boom years. Asian-brand cars account for around 64% of the nation’s market.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen hasn’t launched a new compact model in India since 2010, save for refreshed versions of existing cars, while Ford launched just one, the new Fiesta, in 2011. GM launched its Sail U-VA last November.”

via U.S., European Auto Makers Find Slow Going in India – WSJ.com.

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14/03/2013

* VW ramps up China production to offset weak Europe

Reuters: “Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, plans to almost double production capacity in China over the next five years to grab a bigger slice of fast-growing emerging markets and offset declining demand at home.

A logo of Volkswagen is pictured a car dealer in the western city of Hamm January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

The German company said on Thursday it aimed to have the capacity to make over 4 million vehicles in China, already its largest market, by 2018.

Volkswagen (VW), which delivered around 9.1 million vehicles in total last year, has said previously it hopes to snatch the global sales crown from Toyota Motor Corp in 2018.

“VW’s future is increasingly being decided in China, Russia, India, the Americas and Southeast Asia,” Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said as the company published its annual report. “This is where we will generate most of our growth in future.”

Carmakers across the world are relying on emerging markets for growth amid a protracted slump in recession-hit Europe, which if anything has got worse in recent months.

VW said last month, alongside its 2012 results, that growth in group operating profit might stall this year due to weakness in Europe, which would be the first time group earnings have not risen for four years.

In the annual report, which gave details on 2012 results for the first time, the company said operating profit at its main VW brand fell 4.1 percent to 3.64 billion euros last year despite higher sales, reflecting big discounts to lure European buyers.

The VW brand, which provides almost a third of group earnings, also saw western European deliveries drop 11.6 percent in the first two months of this year.

“We have to really put our shoulders to the wheel and give our very best,” Winterkorn said. “The environment is definitely a tough challenge, especially for European car makers.”

Operating profit at VW’s two Chinese joint ventures, in contrast, surged 42 percent last year to 3.7 billion euros.

VW has said previously the ventures would spend almost 10 billion euros ($13 billion) through 2015 on new plants, products and technologies.

The company said on Thursday it would set up a new assembly plant in southern China, adding to the dozen component, engine and production factories it already has in the country.

It also has another three assembly plants and two component facilities starting operation in 2013.

With 10.6 billion euros in net cash resources, VW is open to making acquisitions, Winterkorn told Reuters in an interview, noting “there are always opportunities one cannot pass up.””

via VW ramps up China production to offset weak Europe | Reuters.

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29/10/2012

* Oh, what a sinking feeling: Toyota misfires with Chinese buyers

Although like other Japanese car makers, Toyota suffered recently due to the anti-Japanese protests and violence (eg burning of Japanese car showrooms), its woes are partly self-inflicted.

Reuters: “The roots of Toyota Motor Corp‘s China troubles run far deeper than the anti-Japan protests that have swept the country, stretching back to the 2008 launch of the Yaris subcompact — a spectacular flop with price-conscious Chinese buyers.

A visitor walks past a Toyota Motor Corp's car displayed behind a sign in both Chinese (L) and Japanese at the company's showroom in Tokyo in this October 18, 2012 file photo. REUTERS-Toru Hanai-Files

The car, a success elsewhere, was meant to help build brand loyalty and send Toyota hurtling towards a still-unattained goal of selling one million vehicles annually in the world’s largest auto market.

However the Yaris missed the mark with China’s traditional higher-end customers as well as its new emerging middle class.

To some company insiders and dealers it epitomizes all that does not appeal to the status-conscious, lacking what the Chinese call ‘daqi’ or ‘road presence’. Next to Nissan Motor Co Ltd’s pricier Tiida, for example, it feels small and lacks oomph.

But for frugal first-time buyers, the Yaris which is priced from 87,000 yuan ($13,900) was a non-starter, costing some 55 percent more than General Motor’s Chevy Sail and putting Toyota at a competitive disadvantage in a must-win market.

via Analysis: Oh, what a sinking feeling: Toyota misfires with Chinese buyers | Reuters.

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05/10/2012

* Diaoyu islands dispute hammers Japanese car sales in China

If the September drop in sales continues, the future for Japanese cars in China is very bleak indeed. There are lots of competitors both indigenous and foreign that can take up the slack. If Japanese car factories close as a result, the impact on Chinese employment will be non-trivial. So the anti-Japanese sentiment cuts both ways.

South China Morning Post: “Toyota’s sales in China halved last month from August levels, damaged by anti-Japanese sentiment in a row over disputed islands in the East China Sea, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Friday, citing the carmaker.

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Showroom traffic and sales have plunged at Japanese automakers since violent protests and calls for boycotts of Japanese products broke out across China in mid-September over Japan’s acquisition of a group of disputed islands.

A prolonged sales hit of this scale could threaten profit forecasts at Toyota, Nissan and others as China, the world’s biggest car market, makes up a bigger portion of their global sales. Toyota sold about 75,300 cars in China in August.

As demand evaporates, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and others have been forced to cut back production in recent weeks in a slowing, but still promising Chinese market.

A source told reporters late last month that Toyota’s production cutbacks could extend through November, a move that would almost certainly put the company’s goal of selling 1 million cars in China this year out of reach.

A Toyota spokeswoman in Tokyo declined to confirm the newspaper report, saying the company would announce its Chinese sales for September on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Mazda said its China sales tumbled by more than a third last month from a year earlier, providing the first concrete numbers to point to Japanese automakers’ troubles in China.

via Diaoyus dispute hammers Japanese car sales in China | South China Morning Post.

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Posted in China alert, Economics, GeoPolitics, Manufacturing, Neighbour conflict, Politics, Retail, Territorial dispute | 2 Comments »

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27/09/2012

* Japanese Car Plants in China: Who’s Feeling the Heat?

WSJ: “Explosive anti-Japanese sentiment in China forced Toyota, Honda and Nissan to idle factories across the country this month. Media reports suggest that fresh shutdowns may be coming again in October.

Halting production is never good news. But who’s got the bigger headache – the Japanese or the Chinese?

There is no question that Toyota, Nissan and Honda will lose sales and market share to competitors. It’s already happening. And lost sales matter because China accounts for 15% of global profits at Toyota and Honda and as much as 25% at Nissan.

And yet, the pain could become even greater for China.

All Japanese cars made in China are produced at joint-venture factories owned on a 50-50 basis with Chinese partners. When the plant doors close, Chinese executives who run those joint ventures will immediately confront two frightening realities: a dramatic drop in revenue and tens of thousands of idle workers.

Take Hong Kong-listed Guangzhou Automobile Co for example. GAC, a subsidiary of the powerful Guangzhou municipality, runs world-class car assembly joint ventures with Honda and Toyota that employs just under 13,000 people.

Guangzhou Honda and Guangzhou Toyota also buy car parts from hundred of suppliers based in Guangdong province that employ tens of thousands of more people. Honda and Toyota products are sold through more than 900 dealers owned by Chinese business people. Count several more thousands of jobs there.

As China steps its way through a delicate political transition expected to formally begin in October, the last thing the leadership in Guangzhou wants to deal with is a crush of workers with too much time on their hands. If an argument between workers at a Foxconn 2038.HK +0.78% plant in Taiyuan can trigger rioting by thousands, imagine what might happen should Guangzhou workers start wondering about future job security.

Guangzhou Automobile isn’t an isolated case.”

via Japanese Car Plants in China: Who’s Feeling the Heat? – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

Posted in China alert, Economics, employment, joint venture | 1 Comment »

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