Since China is, and likely will remain, the largest car market on the planet – “By the Numbers” will now extend to our Sino neighbor.
In February, sales of cars, commercial vehicles, SUVs, trucks and buses topped 1.21 million in China, a 46.40% increase from last year.
Excluding commercial vehicles (buses and commercial grade trucks), China sold 942,900 vehicles to its citizens – that’s up 55% from last February. Passenger car sales are about 17% higher in China when compared to USA’s 780,265 units sold in the same month.
According to Waverly Advisors, while China’s sales are dramatically less than January’s (chart above) it’s still considered to be profound growth due to the nature of February in Chinese society. The Lunar New Year’s is the most important holiday for the Chinese. The two week long holiday reduce sales prospects by as much as 30-40% according to Waverly, and yet sales were up nearly 50% from last New Year’s.
The top three passenger car sellers in China remained Shanghai Volkswagen, Shanghai General Motors, and FAW-VW, according to morningpost.com.
For GM, sales of the new Chevy Cruze (13,515) and Chevy Spark (10,405) have been better than expected. Ford moved 4,857 of its new Fiesta and 59,362 of the vehicle since it was launched in the country. Chrysler sold a measly 1,234 vehicle in the country, but, then again, Chrysler only sold 10,405 vehicles outside North America.
While there were big winners in China, many automakers also suffered. Beijing Hyundai, Changan Ford Mazda, and Chery, suffered a 40%-plus month-on-month drop in sales volume. Dongfeng Kia and Changan Suzuki also fell by 25%.
Toyota's sales fell to 45,400 units in February from 72,000 in January, according to the Associated Press. Toyota has announced a 0% financing scheme similar to the one announced in the US. Toyota is also offering gas coupons worth $13 USD and $140 USD discounts on car insurance to win over buyers. Toyota is suffering from recall hangover in China, the same as in the US.
According to Waverly, Beijing has hinted that it will continue to support the auto industry through distortionary market incentives. China’s Ministry of Industry continues to place pressure on the market to create 500,000 green vehicles by 2013.
2009 was one of the most difficult years in automotive history and this year’s Fortune Global 500 rankings help to prove the case. The 16 largest automakers, who publicly report their earnings, generated more than $1.48 trillion worth of revenue. Without adjusting for currency fluctuations, the automotive industry contracted total revenue by about 3%, or approximately $45 billion, from last year’s Fortune rankings. Out of the 34 ranked industries, motor vehicles and parts ranked as the poorest performer within the Global 500.
All but three automaker’s lost rank on the Global 500 chart, most car companies saw double digit falls (chart above).
Total aggregate net income stood at a whopping -$37.4 billion loss. The number is slightly deceptive, as 9 out of the 16 automakers actually reported a net profit. Big losers like General Motors, Ford and Toyota sagged down profits and revenue.
By simply removing the North American automakers from the reporting, the rest of the industry actually raked in $8.1 billion in profits.
General Motors is the largest outlier of the North American rankings. GM’s total revenue contracted $33.4 billion and the company slid 9 places on the Global 500 list. It is the first time in recent memory that GM wasn’t one of the top 10 largest companies in the world, based off revenue. New “GM” declared a $1 billion operating loss for July 10-Sept. 30 2009. GM hasn’t posted any new financial results since November and isn’t required to since new GM isn’t publicly traded. The company also lost its spot on the Dow 30; it was replaced with Cisco Systems.
Ford has also lost tremendously; revenue contracted $26.2 billion and the automaker fell 6 places on the list. The last big American car company, Chrysler, doesn’t publicly report its financials and isn’t included on Fortune’s chart.
As a region, Asia was the second worst performing on Fortune’s list. Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Mazda reported negative income and all Asian automaker’s lost rank on the Global 500. Mitsubishi fell 120 positions, while Mazda fell 97 positions. Collectively, the two Japanese automakers saw revenue contract $9 billion. Toyota barely held on as one of the top 10 companies in the world, a list now dominated by oil companies and Wal-Mart. Toyota fell from 5th place to 10th, with revenue contracting $25 billion. Subaru is a part of Fuji Heavy Industries and wasn’t included in Fortune’s rankings.
In Europe, Volkswagen actually climbed places, a rare feat for a car companyin today’s environment. Volkswagen grew revenue by $17.5 billion and increased its rank from 18th place to 14th. Volkswagen also surpassed GM in becoming the second largest car company based off revenue. Volkswagen is now the largest car company when it comes to profits: totaling nearly $7 billion. Fiat and Volvo also saw healthy growth, the only other car companies to increase in rank.
The average price of gas in America rose by about 10 cents and now stands at $2.71 per gallon, according to Gasbuddy.com. Before this week, America had experienced a lull in the steady rise of gas prices. This marks the first spike in gas prices since January 11th.
The average price for gasoline has a variance of 13 cents depending on what region you live in: East Coast prices are $2.88, Midwest $2.79, Gulf Coast $2.79, Rocky Mountains $2.83 and the West Coast at $2.92.
The most expensive gas in the contiguous United States is in San Francisco, California, where the average is $2.98 per gallon. The cheapest gas is in Tulsa, Oklahoma at $2.409 per gallon.
Interestingly, Oklahoma has had the cheapest gas since the Pump Price series started and that’s not a coincidence. After all, Tulsa wasn’t known as the “Oil Capital of the World" for nothing.
Oklahoma is the fifth-largest producer of oil and has the fifth-largest reserves with large oil pipelines traversing the state and refineries dotting the landscape. Despite a relatively high state gas tax, gasoline remains cheap in Oklahoma overall, at $2.52 a gallon.
Gas prices should continue to rise over the course of 2010. The Department of Energy forecasts that the annual average for gas will rise to $2.84 in 2010 and $2.97 in 2011. This is due to a tightening of global oil supply as the economy begins to pick up again
Since gas prices are cyclical, peaking in the summer and bottoming out in the winter, get used to the idea of an average of $3 per gallon this spring and summer.
Sources: Gasbuddy.com and the Department of Energy
While Toyota stole most of the headlines yesterday, there was also significant news out of GM, particularly for the Chevrolet brand.
First, President of GM North America, Mark Russ announced the introduction of a third shift to the Lordstown Complex, in anticipation for demand of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze.
Lordstown is currently home to the Chevrolet Cobalt and has a bit of history producing GM’s compact econoboxes, like the Caviler and Vega.
This announcement marks a rapid change in prospects for the Ohio-complex – it was only nine months ago that the plant was down to one shift, producing only 87,897 Cobalts and Pontiac rebadges (for export).
The new shift will add 1,200 jobs to Lordstown, making it GM’s largest assembly plant in terms of employment, with 4,500 workers. The plant is already the largest of GM’s assemblies in the United States.
According to insiders who work at the plant, Chevy Cobalt production ends tentatively on July 1st with Cruze production starting on August 9th. The Cruze will be available for sale sometime in the early fall of this year.
The second tidbit is courtesy of KickingTires. The blog got their hands on the first official images of the 2012 Chevrolet Aveo (above). These photos show that there isn’t much of a radical departure from the concept Aveo to the production vehicle.
The photos of the interior reveal a sophisticated design. The Aveo interior pics show the Ebony/Brink coloration motif that is now commonly implemented on upper levels of the Malibu, Equinox, Corvette and soon-to-be Cruze. The circular side air vents, center console radio controls, radial HVAC knobs and new corporate steering wheel tie in the Aveo perfectly with its bigger cousin the Cruze.
We know that the next-generation Aveo will be available in both sedan and five-door hatch body styles, with the hatch probably having some sort of “RS” sport trim. I speculated on the powertrain and pricing of this vehicle in an earlier post.
The new Aveo will be built in Lake Orion, Mich. in 2011 and sold/ marketed as a 2012 model year.
