The State of the US Car Giants
The so called “Big 3″ car manufacturers are “losing money at such an alarming rate that at least one may be bankrupt by Christmas” reports the Times today. The credit crunch has taken its toll, and the manufacturers’ inability to steer with the demand for economical cars rather than gas guzzling MPVs and SUVs now means they are begging for their survival.
Expect Further Decline
The current economic doom and gloom continues to strike at the heart of the used van market with values falling by a further 3.3% - the greatest decline since June.
Fleetnews reports on the British Car Auction’s (BCA) recent findings and highlight that “the average value for all vans sold by BCA fell to £3,083 in October, down by £107 or 3.3%”. The downward trend is most marked in the value of fleet / lease and part-exchange vehicles. In fact, Fleetnews suggest that nearly-new values have “rallied slightly” in the face of the credit crunch.
Ford: battered & bruised but still fighting
Reuters have reported that Ford, a company “burdened by debt and hobbled by an economic slowdown and the credit crunch”, is considering selling a significant part of 33.4% stake in Mazda. The announcement caused shares in Mazda to rise 9% on the Japanese stock market.
Commentators suggest that the Japanese car manufacturer is the likely buyer thus giving Mazda greater control but with the safety-net of their Ford relationship.
Transport News Network report this week on data produced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. These statistics apparently show “van and truck registrations down 20.7% in August” but, as also reported by Works Management, registrations are up 1.9% for the rolling year to a staggering 387,645.
The decline in van registrations accounted for much of the slump with van registrations being “down 24.7% for the month and down 0.8% to 329,092 for the rolling year”.
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