Automobiles

Volkswagen's first half earnings beat forecasts, thanks in part to strength in China, and it said it was confident of improving its sales and margins even though the second half would get tougher. Global carmakers are building up their businesses in lucrative, fast-growing regions such as China to offset the shakier outlook in traditional markets, where government austerity measures might take a toll on nascent signs of recovery. By 0918 GMT shares were up 2.18 per cent, outperforming the ...

Nissan Motor Co, Japan’s third- largest automaker, swung to a first-quarter profit as auto demand recovered in North America and sales grew in Asia. Nissan posted net income of ¥106.6bn ($1.22bn) for the three months ended June 30, compared with a ¥16.5bn loss a year earlier, the Yokohama, Japan-based company said in a statement. The results beat the ¥58bn average of three analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg as sales rose to ¥2.05trn from ¥1.5trn. Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn ...

Ford Motor Co, last year’s biggest issuer of high-yield corporate debt, sold $1.25bn in seven-year notes a day after yields on its similar-maturity company debt fell to the lowest on record. The second-largest US automaker issued the 6.625 per cent notes at a yield of 6.9 per cent through its Ford Motor Credit Co unit, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Ford sold the securities less than a week after reporting its biggest first-half profit in 12 years and ...

German industrial group Man SE returned to profitability in its core European truck operations in the second quarter as promised and forecast a significant increase in group order intake for the full year. After demand for new trucks halved in size virtually overnight last year as a result of the global economic slowdown, truck makers are optimistic they are out of the trough of the cycle. Group operating profit rose to 278m in the second quarter, beating the 224m ...

Hyundai Motor Co, South Korea's top automaker, said on Thursday its quarterly net profit rose 71 per cent to a record high, beating estimates on healthy demand in the United States and China. Hyundai, which with its affiliate Kia Motors Corp is the world's No 5 car maker, may face a tougher road ahead in the second half on worries over the strength of the US and European economies as well as rising raw material costs. But new models, ...

The head of carmaker Fiat SpA demanded guarantees from unions on Wednesday that its Italian plants would be able to operate profitably, saying if no deal were possible the group would have to look elsewhere. Speaking at a meeting with representatives from unions and local authorities, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said the future of Italy's biggest automobile group and its €20bn ($26bn) investments in Italy depended on a workable outcome. "We reaffirm the importance of our investment in the ...

Nissan Motor Co will boost output capacity in Mexico to about 700,000 vehicles a year and may consider increasing exports from the US as the strong yen makes North American production more competitive. “Based on the currencies, there is a point in time where the competitiveness of those exports is going to increase,” Carlos Tavares, executive vice president and head of Nissan’s operations in the Americas, said in an interview yesterday in San Jose, California. He didn’t say ...

General Motors on Tuesday set a price of $41,000 for its electric Chevrolet Volt - $8,000 more than its nearest competitor, the Nissan Leaf. GM said on Tuesday it has begun taking orders for the Volt and would offer a $350 per month lease option for the much-anticipated vehicle as it launches in a handful of US markets starting with California. The biggest question surrounding the Volt has been its price and profitability given the cost of the lithium-ion ...

The Chevrolet Cruze is one of the fastest-growing vehicle nameplates in the world, with sales rising an average of 18 percent per month. On a global basis, customers have purchased 140,000 Cruzes in the first six months of 2010 and a total of 270,000 since the vehicle was launched in the spring of 2009 in Europe, followed by other major markets, such as China in the summer of 2009. Now, the Chevrolet team is gearing up for ...

Daimler expects rising demand for its most expensive Mercedes-Benz models to drive 2010 operating profit to €6bn ($7.8bn), its best result since the auto industry boom peaked three years ago. Luxury carmakers have been the primary beneficiaries of a rebound in the auto markets, and Mercedes and BMW both recently increased their earnings outlooks. Daimler has been a market favourite for months thanks to its added exposure to a budding recovery in the heavy truck market. A slide in Daimler's ...