Automotive News - June 23, 2008 - (Page 26)

26 • JUNE 23, 2008 Picture this You and your industry colleagues have just hung out at a party, raised a truckload of cash for charity or fired your best rounds of golf. Share your snapshots with us. When the celebration is over, e-mail your high-resolution photos, IDs and a brief description of the event to autonews@crain.com. ■ The eyes have it About 300 people gathered at the Detroit Institute of Arts to see GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz receive the Lifetime Design Achievement Award at the EyesOn Design Vision Honored black-tie event. This year’s honorary chairman of EyesOn Design was General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner. Joining Wagoner in this photo are, from left, his wife, Kathy; Dr. Philip Hessburg, president of the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology; Greg Chancey of the EyesOn Design executive leadership committee; and Marianne Schroede, vice president of automotive development at Dassault Systemes. Merger gives Hughes Telematics a cash boost Leslie J. Allen lallen@crain.com European sales dip 7.8% in May Andrew Grossman agrossman@crain.com Estimated Europe light-vehicle registrations by manufacturer, May & 5 months May 2008 May Percent 2007 change 5 mos. 2008 5 mos. Percent 2007 change Auto sales in Europe fell last month compared with May 2007, but there was little change in position among the top three automakers there. Volkswagen AG remained atop the European pack despite posting a year-over-year sales decline of 8.1 percent in May — to 269,476 vehicles. PSA Group came in second with sales of 175,292 vehicles, a decline of 7.9 percent. Ford Motor Co. sold 140,778 vehicles, a decline of 8.6 percent. VW was Europe’s most popular brand last month, followed by Ford, General Motors’ Opel/Vauxhall and Renault. The only major automakers that posted sales increases for May 2008 were Nissan and Mazda. Overall European sales were down 7.8 percent last month. There were 1.33 million vehicles registered in Europe in May. For the first five months of 2008, European sales are down 0.7 percent compared with the first five months of 2007. In its last month as a Ford unit, the Jaguar brand posted one of the highest year-over-year sales increases — up 58.3 percent from May 2007. On June 2, Ford completed a deal to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors. Vehicle registrations were off 6.2 percent in Germany, Europe’s largest market, from May 2007. But they’re still up 4.2 percent for the five months through May, compared with the same period last year. Registrations fell 17.6 percent in Italy, Europe’s second-largest market. Estimated Europe registrations by country 5 mos. Percent 2008 change Germany 1,329,133 Italy 1,073,570 United Kingdom 1,038,289 France 909,142 Spain 587,407 Belgium 280,007 Netherlands 252,065 Poland 141,212 Austria 133,955 Greece 132,046 Switzerland 122,946 Romania 121,618 Ireland 116,313 Sweden 115,552 Portugal 93,420 Finland 75,870 Hungary 69,592 Denmark 68,992 Czech Republic 59,660 Norway 51,895 Slovenia 32,820 Slovakia 28,304 Luxembourg 24,999 Bulgaria 19,473 Estonia 12,608 Lithuania 10,918 Latvia 9,987 Iceland 7,397 TOTAL 6,919,190 Note: Excludes most commercial vehicles Source: ACEA 4.2 –10.0 –0.6 5.2 –14.3 8.3 3.9 14.6 0.5 0.6 7.0 9.8 –15.5 –8.0 10.5 15.6 1.4 8.4 8.7 –5.0 13.8 19.5 1.5 23.9 –8.1 48.9 –29.0 –11.2 ± 0.7 Bulgaria posted a 65.3 percent increase in registrations last month compared with a year ago. Previously rapid sales growth in other eastern European markets seemed to slow. No other market posted double-digit monthly sales growth, and some, such as the Czech Republic, saw sales decline.c Volkswagen division Audi Seat Skoda Other VOLKSWAGEN AG Peugeot Citroen PSA GROUP Ford division Volvo Land Rover Jaguar FORD MOTOR CO. Opel/Vauxhall Chevrolet Saab GM U.S. GENERAL MOTORS Renault division Dacia RENAULT Fiat division Lancia Alfa Romeo Other FIAT GROUP Toyota Division Lexus TOYOTA MOTOR BMW division Mini BMW GROUP Mercedes-Benz Smart DAIMLER AG² NISSAN HONDA HYUNDAI MAZDA SUZUKI KIA MITSUBISHI CHRYSLER LLC² OTHER 139,521 59,250 28,328 42,050 327 269,476 96,182 79,110 175,292 112,090 19,103 5,601 3,984 140,778 109,739 16,481 6,383 458 133,061 104,629 12,504 117,133 91,250 10,643 11,336 637 113,866 63,327 2,466 65,793 63,624 13,174 76,798 57,125 9,675 66,800 28,868 21,434 23,810 21,595 22,122 21,282 10,281 10,214 15,478 151,941 63,644 33,645 43,622 406 293,258 103,040 87,187 190,227 119,704 22,582 9,181 2,517 153,984 115,142 17,177 7,884 488 140,691 104,782 19,463 124,245 93,508 11,646 13,544 505 119,203 80,693 3,274 83,967 67,331 12,971 80,302 66,808 10,171 76,979 26,643 27,391 25,072 20,989 24,145 22,909 12,525 10,276 13,477 1,446,283 –8.2 –6.9 –15.8 –3.6 –19.5 ± 8.1 –6.7 –9.3 ± 7.9 –6.4 –15.4 –39.0 58.3 ± 8.6 –4.7 –4.1 –19.0 –6.1 ± 5.4 –0.1 –35.8 ± 5.7 –2.4 –8.6 –16.3 26.1 ± 4.5 –21.5 –24.7 ± 21.6 –5.5 1.6 ± 4.4 –14.5 –4.9 ± 13.2 8.4 ± 21.7 ± 5.0 2.9 ± 8.4 ± 7.1 ± 17.9 ± 0.6 14.8 ± 7.8 696,694 283,102 160,187 205,776 1,904 1,347,663 491,559 402,709 894,268 575,474 107,469 37,537 16,700 737,180 560,983 84,293 31,862 2,798 679,936 528,626 73,544 602,170 466,426 54,072 43,108 3,178 566,784 362,087 13,785 375,872 305,348 68,321 373,669 315,885 42,047 357,932 167,903 131,443 122,721 118,359 115,458 113,986 62,035 48,951 102,860 6,919,190 692,420 0.6 291,589 –2.9 166,980 –4.1 208,115 –1.1 2,222 –14.3 1,361,326 ± 1.0 501,377 –2.0 422,433 –4.7 923,810 ± 3.2 587,643 –2.1 119,144 –9.8 44,289 –15.2 15,091 10.7 766,167 ± 3.8 588,576 –4.7 85,616 –1.5 36,719 –13.2 2,512 11.4 713,423 ± 4.7 530,478 –0.3 66,951 9.8 597,429 0.8 446,585 4.4 60,209 –10.2 67,324 –36.0 2,580 23.2 576,698 ± 1.7 405,487 –10.7 17,914 –23.0 423,401 ± 11.2 282,859 8.0 56,191 21.6 339,050 10.2 314,862 0.3 30,021 40.1 344,883 3.8 125,097 34.2 139,165 ± 5.5 128,331 ± 4.4 107,283 10.3 120,909 ± 4.5 106,947 6.6 63,064 ± 1.6 50,415 ± 2.9 82,010 25.4 6,969,408 ± 0.7 TOTAL 1,334,081 †DaimlerChrysler sold the Chrysler group on Aug. 3, 2007; Chrysler LLC and Daimler AG totals through July 2007 are extracted from DaimlerChrysler. Note: Reflects estimated registration data from 28 European countries; excludes most commercial vehicles Source: ACEA Hughes Telematics Inc. is hoping a big cash infusion and a plan to trade on the public markets will put it on the radar screens — or, more accurately, the navigation screens — of automakers worldwide. On June 16, the Atlanta company said it will merge with Polaris Acquisition Corp. in a deal that will give Hughes $140 million in capital. That’s on top of nearly $90 million the company has received from its largest investor, Apollo Management LP. Building a world-class telematics operation in today’s environment “takes a major capital commitment,” said Polaris CEO Marc Byron. “The market is literally at the point of explosion, both here and abroad. You can’t be a johnny-come-lately, and you can’t do it whimsically.” Hughes’ telematics products are not yet on the market, but the company will provide telematics services in Chrysler LLC and Mercedes vehicles beginning next year. “From an automotive perspective, an OEM’s perspective, this is fairly transparent. They won’t see us looking any different from an operational standpoint,” said Hughes CEO Jeff Leddy. Leddy said the merger gives Hughes a stronger balance sheet. Financial stability should make Hughes a more attractive supplier to automakers. Hughes calls itself an end-to-end telematics provider, similar to General Motors’ OnStar. That means automakers can use a single supplier, rather than several, for telematics hardware, call center support services, management of wireless networks and other services. For Hughes, the merger deal has the same effect as an initial public offering. In effect, Polaris is a shell company that will transfer its listing on the American Stock Exchange to Hughes. Once the deal becomes final, probably in the first quarter of 2009, the merged company will continue under the Hughes name and be run by Hughes management. Analyst Phil Magney of Telematics Research Group in Minnetonka, Minn., called the Hughes deal “another shot in the arm for telematics.” He said the deal raises Hughes’ profile, and the additional capital should speed the rollout of Hughes’ products. c Looking for a cure for … I Improving your customer retention? I Growing your customer pay business? I Increasing your bottom line profits? Get a free diagnosis of your dealership at lu Cal s ou’ …Y ll 0 1-8 0- r! ette el b 900 fe -3 829 www.mightycure.com The Automotive Dealership Specialists http://mightycure.com http://mightycure.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - June 23, 2008

TRW exec: We're in the 'sweet spot' for growth 'Like house of cards,' used trucks fall Detroit 3 a big drag in global supplier race Ford rethinks big-block V-8 plan Looters and broken levees Plastech's Brown stands to get $9.25 million Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Hunt takes job at Gallup Lawmakers urge roof rule rewrite Webinar offers tips on going green Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Webasto sees more demand for retractable hard tops Why small isn't always big To move metal, hire an Ironman Chevy limits ZR1 Corvette to top dealers Lithium ion battery is key to hybrid growth With Russia hot, Ford will boost Europe production BMW exec: We can grow in U.S. The man who put the wind in GM's sales GM's parts ordering comes down to Earth More Fits for U.S. in fall GM: Volt buyers deserve tax credit Mercedes exec seeks more exclusive technology from suppliers Bosch, Mahle execs to lead turbo venture Supplier personnel ZF moves steering operations in Ky. Slowing Volvo, Saab add to Sweden's industry woes Feds: Drivers don't have to hang up phones Magna eyes new growth strategy: Powertrain-driveline modules Alleged sales scam snares Ohio dealers GM center troubleshoots IT in plants around the world Senator: Plants have capacity for plug-ins Lots of talk but little to show Going green pays off The Detroit 3 are smart to cut sales to fleets Drop Mercury? No; Ford needs it Awareness isn't GM's problem Leno was off base in bashing U.S. cars Roofs, rollovers and reckless driving Big-truck sales fall 15.2% in May Serra deal reflects GM channel strategy No. 2 vehicle hauler to go out of business Chinese company's car looks a lot like a Mini Honda taps star power for fuel cell car Dealer wanted media attention — and got it Dealers European sales dip 7.8% in May Merger gives Hughes Telematics a cash boost Mexico sales bounce back in April Suzuki dealers test system to turn Web leads into sales Bosch-Samsung venture to make lithium batteries Hyundai plans Elantra hybrid for Korea in '09 RV sales drop 8.5% in April Japan’s best-kept secret Utilities join automakers for plug-in r&d Ford likely to build '11 Focus at 2 plants Glut of '08 Ford F-150s delays launch of '09s '09 Porsche SUV prices rise Ford calls off Ohio plant sale Ford idles Mich. truck plant CarMax net earnings decline Dodge Journeys recalled 2009 Chrysler hybrid SUVs start at $45,340 GOP: Climate bills would make $4 gas look cheap EVs on eBay: It's all the rage In terms of market value, the General is a buck private Sign of the times: Hummer store to be used-car lot Bob Stempel's legacy is the future Flying 1 series? It's BMW's joke Dealer hurt in sky-dive navigates the road to recovery Opel car recognizes signs; BMW plans similar system JCI, Magna unit buy main parts of Plastech The little engines that could Suppliers to the 2008 Dodge Viper

Automotive News - June 23, 2008

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