Massive Leap In Indian Car Sales
Car sales in India rose by 41 per cent in May, following an excise duty cut of eight per cent. Unit sales in May totalled 55,166, compared with 39,150 units for May last year.
Car sales in India rose by 41 per cent in May, following an excise duty cut of eight per cent. Unit sales in May totalled 55,166, compared with 39,150 units for May last year.
The cornerstone has been laid for Peugeot Citroen’s new factory in Trnava, Slovakia. Vehicle production should begin in 2006, with an annual capacity of 300,000 units, employing 3,500 staff. The project represents an investment of 700 million Euros and is part of PSA’s strategy to move manufacturing closer to expanding markets. In March this year, PSA’s market share in the six Central European countries of Croatia, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia was 13.6 per cent, compared to five per cent five years earlier.
Market analysts MorganStanley have downgraded Michelin from “Overweight” to “Equal Weight” status. This is despite the fact that Michelin has outperformed the Autos industry by 15 per cent since February and is in response to an expected cyclical slowdown in the industry. Michelin itself has said that it expects a marked slowdown in the European market, with only winter tyres showing increased volumes, and a continued fall in the North American market.
Shares in Bridgestone rose 3.5 per cent on the news that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had decided not to re-open an investigation into 27.5 million Firestone Steeltex tyres. Bridgestone shares out-performed the Nikkei index in Tokyo, which rose 2.1 per cent to break through the 9,000 barrier for the first time.
Hayes Lemmerz has released figures for fiscal 1Q, ending April 30th. Net sales rose 5.9 per cent to $515.3 million (1Q 2002: $486.7 m). Earnings from operations were $1.3 million, against a loss of $14.6 million a year earlier. The company recorded a net loss for 1Q of $22.6 million, compared with a net loss for 1Q in the prior year of $587.4 million, although this included a net charge of $555.4 million, resulting from a change in accounting principle. Without this, the 1Q net loss for 2002 would have been $33.0 million.
At the Paris Air Show, Goodyear has announced three major contracts for bias-ply aircraft tyres. These are FedEx Corp’s 350+ jet fleet, ExpressJet Holdings (200 aircraft) and American Airlines’ 362 Boeing MD-80 jets. Despite these, Goodyear is convinced that the future lies in radial aircraft tyres, as they are more cost-effective. Russian carrier Aeroflot has chosen Goodyear radials for its new fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.
It is better to be a tyre manufacturer in Western Europe rather than the USA, say analysts from the Deutsche Bank. The main reason is that raw material prices, billed in US$, have risen 20 per cent in Dollar terms, but only 3 or 4 per cent in Euro terms. Another advantage is in the performance of the respective tyre markets, with the European replacement truck tyre market in the first four months up 5 per cent (US market up 2 per cent) and the car tyre market in Europe rising 8 per cent, against a 5 per cent decline in the USA.
Deutsche Bank has downgraded shares in Nokian Tyres from “Buy” to “Hold”, although the analysts say that their positive view of the company remains unchanged and, compared to other European manufacturers, Nokian trades at a clear premium.
At its AGM, which coincided with the company’s 100th anniversary, Ford shareholders rejected proposals that would have weakened the Ford family’s hold over the company had they been accepted. Ford family members own four per cent of the company’s shares but control forty per cent of the voting rights. A further proposal, to set up a committee to investigate possible conflicts of interest between the Ford family and other shareholders, was also rejected, but attracted almost twenty per cent of the vote.
Continental A.G. has said that it cannot give any information concerning the identity of the seller(s) of 1.5 million of the company’s shares last week. These were sold on Wednesday at 18.4 Euros per share and, when news of the sale leaked out, shares in Continental fell by 0.4 per cent to 18.33 Euros. Traders believe that the seller may have been a fund.
History was made at the Le Mans 24 Hour race, with Bentley Speed Eights coming first and second – the first time since 1930 that Bentley has been on the podium. Guy Smith drove the car over the finishing line – the first time he had finished a Le Mans race, in contrast to team-mate Tom Kristensen, for whom this year’s victory made it four in a row. The drivers paid tribute to the Michelin tyres, saying that they “played a big part”. Bentley’s victory ended three years of domination by Audi, who had to settle for third and fourth this time around.
Bridgestone Europe is best-known as a supplier of high performance tyres, thanks largely to its presence in Formula 1, but the company has reported that it is gaining OE business in all sectors of the car market, from micro cars to off-road vehicles. The latest OE successes for Bridgestone include the Peugeot 307 and Land Rover Freelander.
SmarTire Systems Inc. the leading developer of tyre pressure and temperature monitoring technology, has announced results for the third fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2003. Gross revenue for the third quarter totalled 638,323 US Dollars, an increase of 234,393 US Dollars or 172% over the same quarter in 2002. Year-to-date revenues for 2003 of 1,182,674 US Dollars represent an increase of 52% over 2002 revenues of 779,687 US Dollars. SmarTire recorded a quarterly net loss of 1.54 million US Dollars or loss per share of 0.06 US Dollars compared to a net loss of 1.51 million US Dollars or loss per share of 0.09 US Dollars for the same quarter last year.”The positive revenue results achieved during the third fiscal quarter reflect SmarTire’s continued success in establishing a distribution network that penetrates global markets at the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and aftermarket levels with new and existing products,” says Robert Rudman, President and Chief Executive Officer of SmarTire Systems.
The merger between Sumitomo Rubber Industries and Ohtsu Tire & Rubber, which began in late 2001, is now complete, making SRI Japan’s second largest tyre manufacturer. The move will see the disappearance of the Ohtsu name as its activities are integrated into the new holding company Falken Tire Trading in an attempt to generate new synergies and reduce costs. Falken tyres will continue to be marketed independently and compete with other brands within the SRI group.
Nokian has purchased the Eurobandag retreading plant, situated in St. Petersburg, Russia. Last year, net sales at the plant totalled 0.5 million Euros and the factory retreaded 2,000 truck tyres. Nokian is also re-arranging its retreading materials operations, bringing together the personnel employed at its Vianor retreading plants in Finland, Sweden and Norway under one profit centre.
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