Detroit based automaker, General Motors is planning on a massive revamp, to improve the fuel economy of its vehicles and at the same time, create jobs in its corporate units. It will invest about $494 million and create nearly 565 jobs, at three U.S. plants making its revamped four cylinder Ecotec engine.
GM is spending a major portion, $425 million of the total, and recalling 470 employees at its engine factory in Tonawanda, New York, Kimberly Carpenter, a GM spokeswoman, said today.
Hot on the heels of the disappointing news from Toyota (TM) to recall 4.6 million cars worldwide, comes a similar news from the Honda Motor Co. (HMC), who are recalling 646,000 cars over safety concerns. The recall includes all Fit, City and Jazz models made in 2007 and 2008. The Toyota fiasco already has the car’s owners fuming and now they will be joined in the ranks by Honda owners. The news comes as a double blow for the Japanese automotive market.
Posted in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, South America 
Tags: Asia, Europe, Ford, Honda, North America, Toyota 
No Comments »In the wake of the Toyota fiasco, Ford Motors Co (F) is certainly making hay while the sun shines. The American automaker today announced annual earnings of $2.7 billion (86 cents per share), its first profit in the last four years. The quarterly net income soared at $868 million, or 25 cents per share. The company managed to finish way ahead of analyst expectations which predicted it to be in the red. Last year it had recorded dramatic losses to the tune of $14.6 billion.
This is attributed mainly to the aggressive cost cutting and an increased market share. Ford reduced its structural costs by $5.1 billion, far outdoing its goal of $1.1 billion. It also managed to gain market share in North America, South America, and Europe. It may be reiterated that Ford is the only major U.S. automaker, not to reorganize under a US government-funded bankruptcy despite having debt twice in value to that of General Motors.
What’s more, it is expected that after the Toyota recall, consumer interest in Ford will rise, since it produces several vehicles comparable to the recalled and suspended cars.
Posted in North America Tags: Annual Revenue, Ford, North America, profit, Toyota, Toyota Recall, United States 3 Comments »In an unexpected turn of events, the world’s largest automaker, Toyota Motor Corporation, halted the sales of its 8 of its most popular models, including Camry, Corolla and the RAV4. Though it had been experiencing fractures in the form of high product recall in the market, this move seems to have broken the backbone of the company that built its customer base based on its core competence – unmatched quality for the customer. Toyota also said it will stop producing the affected vehicles at several North American plants for one week starting Feb. 1.
The models being recalled include 2009-2010 RAV4, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 Camry, 2010 Highlander, 2007-2010 Tundra, 2008-2010 Sequoia.
Posted in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, South America Tags: Akio Toyoda, Asia, Business, customer loss, dropping revenue, Europe, Katsuaki Watanabe, loss in revenue, market share, news, North America, recall, revenue loss, Stocks, stop production, Toyota, Toyota Motors Corp., Toyota Recall, Toyota stop production, Toyota vehicle recall, United States, unmatched quality, US 5 Comments »
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