Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 32) 32 • NOVEMBER 17, 2008 GM Mexico plans Canada exports MEXICO CITY — General Motors plans to ship vehicles from its San Luis Potosi assembly plant in central Mexico to Canada by year end, the factory’s managing director said last week. Through October, the plant had produced “close to 20,000” Chevrolet Aveo sedans and Pontiac G3 hatchbacks, Walter Othero told Automotive News. Pontiac G3 hatchback production started a month ago and represents 25 percent of total output today, Othero said. GM dedicated the $1.03 billion operation, 260 miles northwest of Mexico City, in July and announced that vehicle production there would be for Mexico and South America. But Othero said in a telephone interview that 70 percent of the production today is for Mexico, 15 to 20 percent for Canada and the remainder for South America. A GM spokeswoman in Mexico said there are plans to start exports to Canada during the last quarter of this year. Othero said the plant is operating just one shift of 9.6 hours a day for a total of 48 hours a week, producing 30 vehicles an hour. He added: “We will keep it going on one shift for sure through 2008.” — Stephen Downer Production hums in Japan Hans Greimel hgreimel@crain.com Japan vehicle production, 3rd qtr. & 9 mos. 3rd qtr. 2008 3rd qtr. 2007 9 mos. 2008 9 mos. 2007 TOKYO — Suddenly, Japan’s chronically miserable auto market doesn’t seem so bad. Domestic light-vehicle sales fell 3.0 percent in the July-September quarter, to 1,199,154 vehicles. And for the first nine months, sales declined 2.1 percent to 3,898,973 units. Not pretty — but better than the 12.8 percent drop in the United States through September. Despite the overall sales slide, Japanese domestic auto production steamed ahead 5.8 percent to 2,913,839 vehicles in the third quarter, thanks to a big increase in exports. Calm before storm ACS Tops NADA Survey # Overall Dealership Satisfaction 1-800-227-8187 1 800 227 8187 Prompt 5 www.ACSaccess.com ACS ACCESS® – The Complete DMS Automotive Computer Services, Inc. Mobile, AL Analysts and automakers expect the global financial meltdown to start hammering Japanese sales in the coming months. But the third quarter, at least, was the calm before the storm. Honda Motor Co., Mazda Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor Corp. all moved more cars off domestic lots than they did last year. Honda gained the most, up 5.9 percent. But market leader Toyota Motor Corp. fell 3.2 percent to 514,876 vehicles. Toyota was hit by a 33.0 percent slump at Lexus as buyers snubbed pricey, gasoline-greedy rides. Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s No. 2 brand, also fell, sliding 6.1 percent to 170,231 units. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. suffered the worst decline as it struggled to cement a financial recovery. Sales there dropped 19.6 percent to 44,089. But exports kept Japan’s auto factories humming. Overseas shipments accounted for 59.4 percent of local output, up from 58.2 percent a year earlier. Car Truck TOYOTA Car Truck NISSAN Car Truck SUZUKI Car Truck HONDA Car Truck MAZDA Car Truck MITSUBISHI Car Truck DAIHATSU Car Truck FUJI HEAVY IND. (SUBARU) ISUZU (trk.) MITSUBISHI FUSO (trk.) HINO (trk.) NISSAN DIESEL (trk.) OTHER Total car Total minivehicle Total truck TOTAL Note: Buses are included with trucks Source: FOURIN Inc. 884,019 95,448 979,467 279,353 52,502 331,855 263,191 37,488 300,679 308,479 8,572 317,051 277,510 10,118 287,628 194,103 20,742 214,845 154,477 34,727 189,204 122,706 16,942 139,648 73,547 36,658 29,238 13,377 642 2,139,309 450,212 324,318 2,913,839 893,561 88,056 981,617 237,357 49,187 286,544 242,245 36,993 279,238 296,639 9,801 306,440 233,342 11,352 244,694 184,773 22,856 207,629 142,809 37,685 180,494 105,830 18,103 123,933 64,324 36,945 27,889 13,673 594 2,027,574 422,524 303,916 2,754,014 2,845,911 292,216 3,138,127 888,995 156,670 1,045,665 806,843 115,242 922,085 892,852 22,716 915,568 821,965 31,703 853,668 599,660 64,030 663,690 482,331 117,201 599,532 351,553 49,479 401,032 205,840 99,048 85,312 39,282 2,034 6,645,235 1,374,713 950,935 8,970,883 2,816,476 276,371 3,092,847 688,234 139,988 828,222 778,081 112,475 890,556 950,116 32,142 982,258 681,004 33,296 714,300 548,285 67,077 615,362 488,635 101,125 589,760 301,261 55,121 356,382 181,263 102,678 78,505 33,528 1,822 6,154,108 1,431,868 881,507 8,467,483 Japan vehicle exports, 3rd qtr. & 9 mos. 3rd qtr. 2008 3rd qtr. percent change 9 mos. 2008 9 mos. percent change Toyota cuts back Every Japanese carmaker boosted production in the quarter, except Toyota. And Toyota trimmed its output by a meager 0.2 percent to 979,467 vehicles. Total Japanese exports climbed 8.0 percent in the third quarter to 1,731,831 units. Booming business with Asia, eastern Europe and the Middle East kept the factories humming. The Middle East, Japan’s thirdbiggest export destination, saw shipments soar 32.6 percent to 262,217 units. Vehicles bound for mainland Asia climbed 22.2 percent to 132,313. As expected, slumping U.S. and western European markets sullied the picture. Exports to the United States sank 8.8 percent, while shipments to the European Union fell 6.9 percent. c United States Canada N. America European Union Europe (all) Middle East Asia Oceania Africa South America Central America Other TOTAL 493,262 67,023 560,285 196,857 434,819 262,217 132,313 115,993 85,862 73,085 63,861 3,396 1,731,831 –8.8 21.3 –6.0 –6.9 19.1 32.6 22.2 10.9 –1.4 1.3 –9.0 42.0 8.0 1,624,636 190,936 1,815,572 638,014 1,271,222 696,422 416,087 366,272 260,355 207,227 195,978 8,501 5,237,636 1.2 7.5 1.8 –7.0 13.7 29.8 34.9 18.3 8.5 –0.9 –2.6 20.1 11.1 Source: Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association and FOURIN Inc. Japan’s 3rd qtr. 2008 exports Selected companies; % change from 2007 To North America To Europe Total Japan’s top 10 sellers 3rd quarter 2008 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Suzuki Wagon R* Honda Fit Daihatsu Move* Daihatsu Tanto* Toyota Corolla Toyota Vitz Honda Freed Daihatsu Mira* Honda Life* Suzuki Alto* 47,687 44,413 42,460 39,574 34,317 30,478 23,558 23,534 20,708 19,576 Nissan Honda Mazda Mitsubishi Source: FOURIN Inc. 30.5 –38.6 2.9 7.7 72.9 38.1 33.8 –11.4 35.8 19.6 4.6 0.8 See our Web site for 3rdquarter, year-to-date sales. autonews.com *Minivehicle with engine under 660cc Source: JADA (car), Zenkeijikyo (minicar) and FOURIN Inc. obituaries Jesse Boyce Jr. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A pioneer in import-car sales in Mesa County, Colo., died here Oct. 29 at age 90. Jesse Boyce Jr. began selling Volkswagens in 1963 at Jesse Boyce Motors, later adding Audi and Porsche franchises. For three years Boyce was a member of Colorado’s dealer licensing board. He also was an officer of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. Boyce sold the dealership and retired in 1984. Don Schimmer MENDOTA, Ill. — Don Schimmer, co-owner of Schimmer PontiacBuick-Chevrolet here, died here Oct. 6. He was 79. His father established Schimmer Pontiac Co. in Mendota in 1945, and Don Schimmer took over the dealership in 1950 at age 21. Buick and Oldsmobile franchises were awarded in 1978, and the Chevrolet franchise was added in 1982. Schimmer was on the Buick dealer council in the 1980s. His son, Jeff, and daughter, Dona, now operate the dealership. The family also owns a dealership in Peru, Ill., that sells Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Hyundai vehicles. http://www.ACSaccess.com http://www.actionim.com http://www.autonews.com
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