Automotive News - April 21, 2008 - (Page 16)

16 • APRIL 21, 2008 ADVERTISING STAFF Magna exec: More suppliers will fail Robert Sherefkin rsherefkin@crain.com Canada light-vehicle sales, March & 3 months Canada sales by model available online at: www.autonews.com/datacenter March 2008 March 2007 3 mos. 2008 3 mos. 2007 DETROIT — The co-CEO of North American auto parts giant Magna International Inc. says deteriorating market conditions will accelerate auto supplier failures. Don Walker also said changes are needed in the U.S. bankruptcy process. Chapter 11 should be modified so creditors that receive court protection will not “end up crippling the car companies,” he said. How many troubled suppliers is Magna supporting? Don Walker said, “It is as high as we have ever seen in the past.” tition and an emphasis on cost cuts. Walker’s call for changes in the bankruptcy laws follows industry problems this year by Plastech Engineered Products Inc.’s filing Chapter 11. Court protection allowed Plastech to halt Chrysler LLC’s efforts to recover the automaker’s tooling and move business to more efficient rivals. Bleak forecast “If you look at the economy, sinking volume, the financial situation, the banks, the pressures on the car companies, I think we’re going to see acceleration in the number of auto parts suppliers that will fail,” Walker told Automotive News here at last week’s SAE 2008 World Congress. Asked about how many troubled suppliers the Aurora, Ontario, company is supporting, Walker said: “It is as high as we have ever seen in the past.” Like their automaker customers, large Tier 1 suppliers often must prop up key suppliers that run into financial trouble, to ensure uninterrupted parts delivery. The industry is witnessing a variety of pressures: tightened credit, weak demand, rising commodity prices, increased overseas compe- Exercising caution Walker said growing industry pressure has caused automakers to be more cautious. The car companies are more leery of awarding contracts to companies without a strong balance sheet or without a strong business model, he said. “The attraction of getting a low price from a weak supplier has been counteracted by all these bankruptcies,” Walker said. “They cost everyone a ton of money. “You have to put a triple whammy on the weak suppliers. They can’t win new contracts; they can’t survive.” c BMW division (D/I) Mini (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) BMW (D/I) Chrysler Division (D/I) Dodge Jeep Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) CHRYSLER LLC† Maybach (I) Mercedes-Benz (D/I) Smart (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) DAIMLER AG† FERRARI (I) Ford division Lincoln Mercury Jaguar (I) Land Rover (I) Volvo (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) FORD MOTOR CO. (D/I) Buick Cadillac Chevrolet (D/I) GMC Hummer Pontiac Saab (D/I) Saturn Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) GENERAL MOTORS (D/I) Acura (D/I) Honda Division (D/I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) HONDA (D/I) Hyundai division (D/I) Kia (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) HYUNDAI-KIA (D/I) MASERATI (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) MAZDA (D/I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) MITSUBISHI (D/I) Infiniti (D/I) Nissan Division (D/I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) NISSAN (D/I) Total car (I) Total truck (I) PORSCHE (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D) SUBARU (D/I) Total car (I) Total truck (D/I) SUZUKI (D/I) Lexus (D/I) Toyota Division (D/I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) TOYOTA MOTOR (D/I) Audi (I) Bentley (I) Volkswagen division (D/I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) VOLKSWAGEN AG (D/I) Domestic car Import car Total car Domestic truck Import truck Total truck TOTAL CANADA 1,584 296 1,405 475 1,880 3,338 13,659 4,748 5,951 15,794 21,745 1 1,730 324 1,632 423 2,055 9 19,624 423 3 135 234 465 4,795 16,089 20,884 1,355 641 14,458 4,879 110 7,341 79 1,188 14,298 15,753 30,051 2,088 14,197 11,572 4,713 16,285 7,029 3,156 5,679 4,506 10,185 15 5,554 3,501 9,055 1,065 756 1,821 828 7,513 5,388 2,953 8,341 99 58 157 1,539 100 1,639 802 305 1,107 1,126 19,523 15,058 5,591 20,649 781 12 3,531 4,132 192 4,324 50,615 28,378 78,993 58,791 12,418 71,209 150,202 2,128 323 1,682 769 2,451 2,688 14,549 3,774 5,470 15,541 21,011 1 1,755 205 1,636 325 1,961 10 19,691 572 23 101 228 1,029 5,671 15,973 21,644 1,427 969 16,115 5,978 121 8,691 196 2,375 15,738 20,134 35,872 1,927 13,242 10,303 4,866 15,169 6,600 2,829 5,457 3,972 9,429 8 5,190 2,918 8,108 766 660 1,426 730 7,412 5,566 2,576 8,142 138 45 183 1,501 71 1,572 804 438 1,242 1,215 17,047 12,589 5,673 18,262 678 24 3,619 4,164 157 4,321 50,695 25,998 76,693 63,709 10,409 74,118 150,811 3,835 697 3,215 1,317 4,532 9,244 33,762 12,142 15,491 39,657 55,148 2 3,993 754 3,783 966 4,749 27 45,667 1,091 19 212 632 1,423 11,739 37,305 49,044 3,611 1,733 39,193 12,804 271 21,553 243 3,520 40,479 42,449 82,928 5,013 35,361 28,148 12,226 40,374 16,229 7,159 12,757 10,631 23,388 35 11,886 7,711 19,597 2,540 1,761 4,301 1,882 16,930 11,762 7,050 18,812 216 190 406 3,666 343 4,009 1,751 637 2,388 2,854 41,952 30,713 14,093 44,806 1,934 33 7,765 9,266 466 9,732 123,004 64,470 187,474 147,568 29,234 176,802 364,276 4,517 698 3,532 1,683 5,215 7,590 35,770 9,729 14,538 38,551 53,089 1 3,595 383 3,171 808 3,979 30 43,916 1,364 52 207 544 2,102 12,854 35,331 48,185 2,795 2,125 37,858 14,137 324 18,896 425 4,822 34,783 46,599 81,382 4,205 26,152 20,142 10,215 30,357 15,302 6,225 11,494 10,033 21,527 20 11,885 5,864 17,749 1,606 1,664 3,270 1,624 16,998 12,315 6,307 18,622 285 121 406 3,533 175 3,708 1,526 906 2,432 2,817 36,384 26,721 12,480 39,201 1,616 51 8,222 9,473 416 9,889 111,058 56,850 167,908 146,054 25,099 171,153 339,061 Circulation 313-446-0450 Advertising 313-446-6790 Classified Advertising 313-446-6065, 800-388-1800 E-mail lschlagheck@crain.com Web site www.autonews.com ADVERTISING AND SALES DETROIT 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48207-2997 313-446-6790 Fax: 313-446-8030 †DaimlerChrysler sold the Chrysler group on Aug. 3, 2007; Chrysler LLC and Daimler AG totals through July 2007 are extracted from DaimlerChrysler. *Estimate Note: (D) = produced in North America; (I) = imported to Canada; vehicles are domestic unless noted Source: Automotive News Data Center and Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada Canada sales off 0.4% in March Car and light-truck sales in Canada slipped 0.4 percent in March to 150,202 vehicles. Through the first three months of 2008, sales totaled 364,276 vehicles, up 7.4 percent over the same period a year ago. In March, Chrysler LLC posted a 3.5 percent gain to 21,745 vehicles. Through the first three months, its sales grew 3.9 percent to 55,148. General Motors’ sales dropped 16.2 percent in March to 30,051 vehicles. Sales fell by double-digit percentages at Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac and Saturn. GM sales rose 1.9 percent in the first quarter to 82,928 cars and light trucks. Ford Motor Co. sold 20,884 cars and light trucks, a 3.5 percent drop compared with March 2007. Through March, Ford sold 49,044 vehicles, a 1.8 percent gain. Every Asian automaker except Suzuki posted a sales gain in March. Toyota Motor Corp. sales rose 13.1 percent to 20,649 vehicles. For the first three months, Toyota sales increased 14.3 percent to 44,806 vehicles. Suzuki’s March sales fell 10.9 percent to 1,107. — Ryan Beene Larry Schlagheck, Advertising Director lschlagheck@crain.com, 313-446-6790 Rick Greer, rgreer@crain.com 313-446-6050 Kathleen C. Lightbody, klightbody@crain.com, 313-446-6037 Russ Procassini, rprocassini@crain.com 313-446-0350 Karen Rentschler, krentschler@crain.com 313-446-6058 Jerry Salame, jsalame@crain.com 313-446-0481 Regional Sales Managers Bryan Foster, Marketing Director bfoster@crain.com, 313-446-6013 Ellen Dennehy Director of Relationship Marketing edennehy@crain.com, 313-446-6039 Cheryl Rothe, Marketing Manager crothe@crain.com, 313-446-6767 Lance Graves, Promotion Art Director lgraves@crain.com, 313-446-0469 Brandi Johnson, Marketing Coordinator bnjohnson@crain.com, 313-446-0326 Marie Hingst Classified Advertising Manager mhingst@crain.com, 313-446-6065 Dolores Lanivich, Denise Hendricks Classified Advertising Sales LOS ANGELES Justus Breese jbreese@crain.com, 323-370-2446 Pacific Region Sales Manager Lauren Ford, lford@crain.com 323-370-2447 Todd Landau, tlandau@crain.com 323-370-2466 Regional Sales Managers 6500 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048-4947 Fax: 323-655-8157 NEW YORK Scott Ghedine sghedine@crain.com, 212-210-0126 Henry Woodhouse hwoodhouse@crain.com, 212-210-0125 Regional Sales Managers 711 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-4036 Fax: 212-210-0489 CHICAGO Jim Farnan, Regional Sales Manager jfarnan@crain.com, 312-649-5257 360 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60601-3806 Fax: 312-649-5265 CONFERENCES Libby Irwin, Conference Director lirwin@crain.com, 313-446-0420 Shauna Vercher-Morrow Special Events Manager svercher-morrow@crain.com, 313-446-0485 WWW.AUTONEWS.COM John Fitzgerald, Director of Business Planning and Online Commerce jfitzgerald@crain.com, 313-446-1679 DEVELOPMENT J Ferron, Director of Strategic Development jferron@crain.com, 313-446-0434 CIRCULATION subs@crain.com 888-446-1422 (U.S. & Canada) 313-446-1662 (all other locations) Fax: 313-446-6777 To subscribe via the Web www.autonews.com/subscribe.htm Patrick Sheposh, Circulation Director Lauren Cialella, Circulation Manager Jennifer Natone, Circulation Coordinator Subscriptions U.S. 1 year, $155; 2 years, $266. Canada $239 (U.S.); other countries, $395. Single copy sales, $5 per issue plus shipping. Reprints Mike Shober, The YGS Group, 800-494-9051, Ext. 100 automotivenews@theygsgroup.com Microfilm ProQuest Information and Learning Co. 800-521-0600 PRODUCTION Terry Driscoll, Production Manager tdriscoll@crain.com, 313-446-6062 Larry Williams, Production Supervisor AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE www.autonewseurope.com Jason Stein, Publisher jstein@craincom.de/+49-8153-907522 Nina Sauer, Sales and Marketing Director nsauer@craincom.de/+49-6992-884646 AUTOMOBILWOCHE www.automobilwoche.de Helmut Kluger, Publishe http://www.autonews.com http://www.autonews.com/datacenter http://www.autonews.com http://WWW.AUTONEWS.COM http://www.autonews.com/subscribe.htm http://www.autonewseurope.com http://www.coloniallabel.com http://www.automobilwoche.de

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - April 21, 2008

Automotive News - April 21, 2008 Reorganization plan gives more muscle to 4 sales-channel execs Hummer plummets, Saturn soars in sales per franchise Chrysler-Nissan: Loads of partnership potential LIFESTYLE PICKUPS Strike averted Friday at GM transmission plant Hyundai to phase out Tiburon Veteran lobbyist looks back on decades-long mpg battle Autonews.com offers news customization GM offers free digital marketing package to dealers Lithia extends vehicle repair warranty to 3 years/50,000 miles With new products, is there life in Saturn? Ford plans $100M-plus F-150 launch Ford broadens its diesel strategy GM pitches its management system to dealers Supplier to help Mahindra offer diesel hybrid Transplants top 40% of N.A. output in March Geely chief: 'We are still an ant' Honda could import cars from China GM redirects efforts to serve emerging markets Beijing showstoppers New Challenger is appetizer for full line in 2009 Last week, I got a glimpse of the future Service contracts: Federal oversight is needed Delphi mess drags on Can't we stop importing oil? Ryan revolutionized this business An editorial glass ceiling? Driving on hydrogen — pros and cons BMW should build even more here Not what New York ordered Magna exec: More suppliers will fail Canada sales off 0.4% in March Bosch pushes crash avoidance Chrysler plans hybrid Dodge Ram Honda engineer is honored by SAE for safety efforts Panel: Diesels may hit 20% of U.S. market by 2020 Automotive News PACE Awards: Night of black ties, trophies, praise PACE Awards honor innovation Truck sales drop 31% in March Honda's new Pilot is bigger, more upscale In China, GM looks to fresh vehicles in 2009 U.S. economic woes hurt shareholder values Judge refuses to toss GMC franchise-award case Dealers Farley: Ford's marketing team is ready to roll Landry: Chrysler's consolidation will spawn service-only stores Profits up at Johnson Controls Hyundai to fix airbag problem GM to build $200 million Brazil plant Convis is CEO of Dana Holding Denso names Katoh CEO Stephen Feinberg speaks! Hogan eyes CEO spot in startup Chrysler reviving its global dreams? How I saved Delphi: A work in progress Tesla Motors' lawsuit: Designer Fisker ripped us off Concert in the key of C-3PO

Automotive News - April 21, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.