Automotive News - November 3, 2008 - (Page 31)

NOVEMBER 3, 2008 • 31 Mexico vehicle sales, September & 9 months Sept. 2008 Sept. 2007 9 mos. 2008 9 mos. 2007 Car Import truck BMW Car Truck CHRYSLER LLC† Mercedes-Benz import car Mercedes-Benz import truck Smart import car DAIMLER AG† FERRARI import car* Fiat import car Fiat import truck FIAT AUTO S.p.A. Ford car Ford truck Jaguar import car†† Land Rover import truck†† .. Volvo import car Volvo import truck FORD Car Truck GENERAL MOTORS Car Truck HONDA ISUZU Import truck Import car Import truck MAZDA Import car Import truck MITSUBISHI Car Truck NISSAN Import car Import truck PEUGEOT Import car Import truck PORSCHE Car Import truck RENAULT Import car Import truck SUBARU Import car Import truck SUZUKI Jaguar car Land Rover truck TATA†† Import car Import truck TOYOTA Audi import car Audi import truck Bentley import car Seat import car Seat import truck VW car VW import truck VOLKSWAGEN 516 151 667 2,799 5,210 8,009 295 200 53 548 2 159 114 273 2,377 7,884 – – 77 25 10,363 8,708 5,596 14,304 2,771 1,850 4,621 55 1,037 743 1,780 514 851 1,365 10,627 5,588 16,215 518 177 695 8 39 47 881 1,083 1,964 76 20 96 400 338 738 29 52 81 1,845 2,126 3,971 328 45 2 979 – 9,218 901 11,473 640 181 821 3,378 7,165 10,543 402 326 70 798 1 140 105 245 3,885 8,597 20 81 160 74 12,817 10,096 6,813 16,909 1,960 2,149 4,109 – 634 744 1,378 751 600 1,351 11,484 5,562 17,046 743 132 875 24 37 61 1,061 376 1,437 52 28 80 258 305 563 – – – 2,154 3,262 5,416 327 69 1 1,213 2 9,391 1,095 12,098 5,299 1,678 6,977 31,284 56,596 87,880 3,607 1,985 546 6,138 18 1,687 869 2,556 24,363 71,444 102 364 1,158 353 97,784 98,614 60,339 158,953 22,145 18,800 40,945 699 7,853 7,452 15,305 4,402 7,964 12,366 100,344 58,553 158,897 6,061 1,300 7,361 230 326 556 9,508 3,113 12,621 621 193 814 3,431 2,347 5,778 88 200 288 22,527 23,987 46,514 3,252 501 16 9,391 4 79,306 8,100 100,570 5,154 1,659 6,813 33,500 55,498 88,998 3,263 2,115 345 5,723 9 1,830 480 2,310 35,284 76,985 151 623 1,462 628 115,133 99,661 62,804 162,465 17,942 19,035 36,977 – 5,838 5,704 11,542 6,301 5,770 12,071 101,870 51,086 152,956 9,172 1,340 10,512 247 304 551 10,479 2,642 13,121 288 160 448 1,522 2,435 3,957 – – – 20,951 23,210 44,161 2,955 529 19 11,585 22 86,560 9,259 110,929 Mexico sales fall 10.7% in September Mexico’s new-car and light-truck sales fell 10.7 percent in September from a year earlier, to 77,267. In the first nine months of 2008, sales dropped 2.0 percent to 763,020. In September, sales of vehicles made in Mexico rose 10.1 percent to 33,065, fueled by a 26.5 percent jump in domestic truck sales to 10,647. But sales of imported vehicles slid 21.8 percent in September to 44,202. Nissan and General Motors remained the top two automakers in sales. Nissan’s September sales slipped 4.9 percent to 16,215, while GM’s fell 15.4 percent to 14,304. Volkswagen’s 5.2 percent sales drop, to 11,473, put it ahead of Ford Motor Co., where sales slid 19.1 percent to 10,363. Among major automakers, Toyota saw the largest decline in September sales, dropping 26.7 percent to 3,971. That put it behind Honda, whose sales rose 12.5 percent to 4,621. — Chrissie Thompson HEAT UP YOUR SALES! We approve every customer in writing in 30 seconds or less… so you can convert your turndowns into approvals and sales. Our Guaranteed Credit Approval Program allows you to eliminate customer turndowns and provides 3 different financing programs to meet your customers’ needs and your profit requirements. Isn’t it time for you to heat up your sales and profits with Credit Acceptance? NASDAQ: CACC Changing lives since 1972. creditacceptance.com or 1-800-873-0512 Domestic car Import car Total car Domestic truck Import truck 22,418 21,801 44,219 10,647 22,401 21,625 27,220 48,845 8,419 29,284 198,421 237,432 435,853 102,302 224,865 213,290 243,098 456,388 71,448 250,840 Total truck Total domestic Total import TOTAL MEXICO SALES 33,048 33,065 44,202 77,267 37,703 30,044 56,504 86,548 327,167 300,723 462,297 763,020 322,288 284,738 493,938 778,676 MSX International is the leading global provider of outsourced business solutions, integrating automotive best practices, processes, people & technology. †DaimlerChrysler sold the Chrysler group on Aug. 3, 2007; Chrysler LLC and Daimler AG totals through July 2007 are extracted from DaimlerChrysler. *Estimate ††Ford Motor Co. sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors on June 2, 2008; Jaguar's and Land Rover's sales are included in Ford Motor Co. totals through May 2008. Source: Automotive News Data Center and Mexican Automotive Manufacturers Association Honda to boost CR-V, end Civic output in Ohio Ralph Kisiel rkisiel@crain.com Integrated outsourced solutions that drive cross-brand business performance & signiﬁcant ﬁnancial improvements for dealers worldwide: Predict Customer Behavior and Expand Dealership Customer & Prospect Trafﬁc Maximize Service, Aftersales & Repair Revenues Increase New, Used & Certiﬁed Pre-owned Vehicle Sales Improve Parts & Accessories Sales Expand F&I and Aftermarket Revenues Develop Dealership Staff into Peak Performers Deliver Sustainable Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty Honda Motor Co., wanting to build more Honda CR-V small crossovers in its East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio, will end Honda Civic sedan production there in early 2009. That will leave Honda Motor Co. assembling the Civic in North America at a new plant in Greensburg, Ind., and in Alliston, Ontario. To better meet consumer demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, Honda has been shuffling cars and light trucks among its five assembly plants in North America. The Greensburg plant began Civic production Oct. 9. With this plant online, the East Liberty plant can focus on the CR-V and Element crossovers. “With the freed-up capacity in East Liberty, we will be able to increase CR-V production significantly,” says Honda spokesman Ed Miller. Capacity in East Liberty will remain at 240,000 units a year, he says. The move will be made even though the CR-V, equipped with a four-cylinder engine, has not been immune to the weak economy in the United States, Miller says. Through September, CR-V sales fell 5.5 percent to 158,024 from the same period in 2007. Other small crossovers have taken much harder hits — such as the Toyota RAV4, down 19.1 percent during the first nine months of 2008 to 106,738. About 41 percent of the CR-Vs sold in the United States were built in the East Liberty plant, with the rest imported from Japan. Civic sales are faring better. Through September, Honda sold 285,715 Civics, up 12.1 percent. c Let our worldwide automotive experts make our experience work for you: Tailored solutions that deliver, year after year, proven ROI to dealers worldwide Flexible pay-for-performance agreements tightly aligned with dealer expectations www.msxi.com North America (Global HQ) +1 248 829 6300 Asia Paciﬁc Benelux Eastern Europe France Germany (Euro HQ) +61 (0)3 9693 9900 +31 (0)318 58 03 40 + 420 222 191 378 +33 (0)1 47 60 44 00 +49 (0)221 947 000 Italy Scandinavia South America Spain & Portugal United Kingdom +39 +46 +55 +34 +44 06 91637 1 (0)31 337 88 40 11 2158 6900 (0)91 392 083 0 (0)1206 767 611 http://www.creditacceptance.com http://www.creditacceptance.com http://www.msxi.com http://www.msxi.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - November 3, 2008

Credit? Come and get it, industry groups say GM's product delays signal dire health Ford sticks with small-car plans Mitsubishi CEO: Let's halt Galant production in U.S. A dealer â and his reputation â on the ballot Help vehicles shed pounds American Axle posts loss UAW hires bailout adviser Ford to spend $200 million to upgrade 2 Ky. plants No off-lease cars? Certified will find others Arlena Sawyers China's stock market plunge has spooked car shoppers Advantage, Ford: Mulally likes owning Ford Credit Supplier execs join innovation panel at congress Quietly, Mini seeks 500 drivers to lease electric car for a year Reynolds bolsters document business Winterkorn: Audi needs to build in U.S. The great revenue drop of 2008 Bidders bet they can rebuild Heard 1 size fits all NADA: Give us tax incentives, dealer loan guarantees Campaigns' climate, energy plans hit economic wall Detroit 3 need and deserve U.S. help now Chrysler needs a buyer, but not GM Dealers pay fair share of taxes Washington hurts, not helps, electrics Compressed natural gas is the best fuel New ads aim to raise Suzuki's low profile Suzuki's new ad strategist: This brand has soul Fuel efficiency is coming â it just takes time Electrics edge closer by 2010 Tougher CAFE standards loom R&d chiefs shift gears for an electric future Japan carmakers lead charge into electrics Buffett backs BYD's sketchy plan for U.S. electric car Q&A: BYD envisions 2010 exports to U.S., Europe Girding the power grid for an electric fleet Hype powers plug-in vehicles Coachbuilders see salvation in electric cars Electric vehicles are charging into Europe Expect stop-start's big start to arrive in 2010 Flexibility will help Honda survive the storm Nardelli: Bailout not perfect â but needed Audi goes high-tech to boost service Acura offers quick service to win business Toyota's fashion fan Picture this Hondaâs N.A. operating profit falls 80.6% in quarter Aug. RV shipments fall 44% VW drops hints about car for new Tenn. plant Mexico sales fall 10.7% in September Honda to boost CR-V, end Civic output in Ohio Ford and GM jockey for steel discounts Dealers Ford Credit seeks to tap $700 billion package GM will end a used-car incentive early Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda recast fiscal 2009 forecasts Metaldyne to bondholders: Take 30% or Chap. 11 looms Detroit 3 ties hurt profits of dealer groups GM takeover would eviscerate Chrysler ranks, model lineup Mitsubishi plans electric hauler To match Toyota, Nissan offers 0% loans Sticker, sticker at the mall, what's the cheapest of them all? The Versa Waiting is what it's all about, Alfa Buy Chrysler? GM should sell Buick to SAIC Pickups pumped up by pump price plunge Chrysler hybrids, we hardly new ye Ghosn: Your best partner is a president in your pocket Sonic wins, but Mercedes wants last word

Automotive News - November 3, 2008

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