Toyota car sales up 5pc in Oct

Toyota Motor Corp's global vehicle sales rose 5 percent in October to about 640,000 units, marking the first year-on-year increase in 15 months, the world's biggest automaker said on Wednesday. Last month, Toyota's sales in its biggest market, the United States, fell 3.5 percent, but grew 15 percent in Japan and 45 percent in China.
Toyota executives had said sales in the United States would likely start picking up around October due to easier comparisons from the year before, when sales began to tank after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Toyota's shares were littled changed on the news, down 1.1 percent at 3,530 yen in late afternoon trade, in line with Tokyo's Topix index. - Reuters

PS: we will get to see quite a few such improvements, as the numbers had hit the lower levels in the last quarter of 2008 onwards...

Brandindex

According to a recent report, BRANDINDEX for UAE, which measures health of brand equity, automobile brands rank as follows:

• Toyota is at number five 
• Mercedes and BMW at eighth position and 
• Lexus at 10th slot 
  

Saudi new car sales seen rising 50% by 2013 - Retail - ArabianBusiness.com

Saudi new car sales seen rising 50% by 2013 - Retail - ArabianBusiness.com

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JEEP

JEEP is a vehicle with unique Gear system. It was invented during World War II (1939-1945). It was named 'General Purpose Vehicle (GP)'.GP was changed into JEEP later.

Cars our cricketers drive- News- Zigwheels

Check out what our Cricket heroes drive...

Cars our cricketers drive- News- Zigwheels

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Industry updates...

Indian automobile market performed better than the expected levels in August, 09 by clocking over 120 K units, a 26% jump compared to same month last year

This when some of the other leading asian markets continued to show lower numbers :
China, S Korea, Thailand... etc.

Suzuki, Hyundai will not be complaining !

Managing car dealership business

MD Johnson Inc and Compli will host a complimentary webinar on Buying, Selling and Valuing Automobile Dealerships in today's market, on Wednesday, September 9th. Mark D Johnson, President of MD Johnson Inc, will present the program and Lon Leneve, President and CFO of Compli, will host and moderate the presentation. Space is limited to 1000 participants and is strongly subscribed as of September 3rd. The webinar will include proprietary buy/sell checklists from MD Johnson Inc.

Source : Fox Business (http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/mark-d-johnson-president-md-johnson-compli-present-webinar-september---buying/)

Chevrolet Tahoe ranks top in Saudi Auto tests

Chevrolet’s full size Tahoe has been named as the 'Editor's Choice' in the latest issue of Saudi Auto, better than even Toyota Sequoia.

The Editor's Choice is a monthly comparative test drive feature conducted by Saudi Auto's expert editorial team involving both static and dynamic evaluation criteria.
Bakur Azher, publisher and editor in Chief of Saudi Auto, said: “In a closely fought contest, the Chevrolet Tahoe wins the editor’s seal of approval as the full size SUV of choice. Its ability to combine all its attributes together with excellent value puts it ahead of the competition.”

The Chevrolet Tahoe is available as…
•LS, LT and LTZ, with two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive option.
•With six speed transmission and 5.3-litre V8 engine with 355 hp at 5,200 rpm.

Some good news for GM, Middle East

Kia Offer

Kia dealer in KSA is making an 'irresistible offer' to their prospective customers for the Ramadan season.
They will match up to 25% of down payment or two lease rentals
Also other freebies such as insurance, road side assistance, extended warranty...

Is that a huge marketing budget or heavy discount ? What would be the re-sale value of these cars one year down the line ?


we will get to see lot more of Kia, principal sponsor, Fifa world cup at South Africa
Kia official website: http://www.kiamotors.com/

Toyota Fortuner

Toyota is planning to launch this model in India, shortly.

I wonder why ? It is one of the rare Toyota models, which has failed to catch the imagination, esp in Middle East (ME),!

Toyota entered India thru Qualis. It was a great vehicle, no doubt. But, the entry could have been with a better vehicle.

Innova was a good car. But, like qualis, the brand has been hijacked by the taxi/tour operators. Camry is a luxury car in Indian market, but a popular limousine in ME. In spite of big number of Camry sold in ME, this model suffers from the tag of being a taxi!

But, the plan to launch Fortuner is surprising! The vehicle can not boast of the legendary Toyota pedigree in terms of style as well as performance. The model may still succeed, but why the world no. 1 car brand is being quite negative about the Indian auto market/car buyer, which surely will become one of biggest soon...
A RAV4 would have been a lot better proposition. Lastly, if high tax structure is a constraint, Toyota need to find ways to make better offerings to the India buyer. That is Car Innovation



http://www.edmunds.com/suv/2009/recommended.html

General Motors outperforms industry in key Middle East markets in first half of 2009

This is a classic press release !!!

The entire article talks only in percentage, an old way to camouflage the absolute nos.
Check out the article and you will find it hilarious! All beating around the bush ! Read between the lines if you can !

VW Takeover of Porsche!?

I am passionate about brand-Porche...
So, the cover feature of Porche CEO on Fortune issue Feb09, is proudly displayed in my office. But in a matter of few months, he has been eased out.
Indeed,we are living in interesting times !

This may pave the way for creation of a new car giant... the brands under Porche/VW enjoy tremendous equity. Let us hope this turn out to be truly synergetic and the consumer benefits, as much as the automobile industry, employees/other stakeholders.

Auto Industry News @ India

According to a recent reports, Americans are looking at buying Chinese and Indian cars. Interestingly, the owners of South Korean brands are at the forefront to check out the cars from other Asian origins. Why not ?!

Interestingly, two prominent Indians recently acquired the iconic American automobile, HUMMER. Two popular cricketers, MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh are the proud owners of the gaz-guzzlers :) This could generate more demand for this model. Southern Superstar, Chiranjeevi, was one of the earlier owners of an Hummer.

Film stars and cricketers can influence the brand-preference of cars in India.
While Shah Rukh Khan gave a dream entry for Hyundai, SUV's such as Mitsubishi range command a lot of aspirational value. Fiat's strategy to use Sachin Tendulkar as their brand-ambassador gave them high visibility too. Yuvraj has been roped in for Fiat Punto!
Jag and RR may consider this route to make their recently acquired brands more popular.

Of course, price will be a big factor. Toyota's Landcruiser is pegged at over Rs 80Lac, while it costs equivalent of RS 30 lac in Gulf, a market which enjoys low duties and taxes.

Used Car slump in Middle East

If new car industry has been going through a lean phase, the cascading effect on Used car can not be far behind. If other catalstic effects added, like Saudi ban on very old used cars and restrictions in certain African countries due to pressure on foreign exchange, the slump speeds up...

Read on
http://www.business24-7.ae/Articles/2009/7/Pages/15072009/07162009_1142df791c10493cb8720b7c144775eb.aspx

New General Motors

Indeed... how can US Government ensure more Americans buy the New GM brands ? Moreso, when 1/5 customers prefer GM now.
This is going to be the challenge for all involved in the bail out. It is wrong to fix the responsibility with just President Obama. He would have been happy to note many GM cars on Saudi roads, during his brief visit. Middle East will continue to be a key market for New GM.

PS : New GM almost sounds like the minor enhanced products rolled out in the market as part of brand extensions ( New/Improved/etc soap/detergents !!)

GM Files Chapter 11

It had to happen... GM had to file for bankruptcy, as it was clear that was the only way out.

GM has $172 billion in debt and $ 82 billion in assets ! This fallen icon of American industry will need additional 'stimulus' in form of $ 30 bn additional financial assistance. ( over and above the 20 bn low cost loans)
With 60% ownership with federal govt, 12.5 % with canadian govt and balance with UAW union, how is GM different from a chinese owned car company ? It becomes a state owned car company ! That too, in US !
What went wrong ? Leadership, for sure. Then other factors such as Government policies, customers' attitude, workers, competetion, etc., etc.
GM is a popular brand in ME. But, losing the preference among car buyers. No wonder, GM came out with full page PR release. The news is this will not affect key markets such as ME, China and India. May not affect directly..

The NEW GM is expected to rise like a Phoenix bird... with car buyers postponing their purchase, only time will tell...

Best Job in the World

• Role : Caretaker of a tropical Australian island - dream assignment to swim, explore and relax on Hamilton island for six months, write a blog to promote the area.
• Ben Southhall, 34 yr old Briton, has been selected out of nearly 35K applicants !
• A charity worker, his love for adventure and other interests ( bungee jump, ostrich-riding, marathon-running, trekking, etc ) helped him.
• He gets to live for free in a oceanfront villa.... COOL...... !!

Best wishes for Ben, in the new role. Let us hope, he comes back with a stronger resolve to do more charity and selfless service

PS:Happiness does not lie in doing what you like, but liking what you do-anonymous

Chrysler files for bankruptsy

Chrysler files for bankruptsy. The Chapter 11 filing, as it is popularly known as, will send shock waves across automobile markets, world-wide.
Fiat will pick up 20 % stake. Fiat had come out of a slump recently. Bold move, it will give Fiat access to North American market.
President Obama is confident of saving over 30,000 direct jobs and many more at suppliers/dealers, etc. A key factor in these tough times and a key deliverable for government.
The US government will provide up to $3.5 billion in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing and up to $4.5 billion in exit financing.
As the world economy throws up not-so-encouraging statistics regarding its performance, sectors such as automobile will face the brunt of its impact. Tough times ahead…

Al-Saif Motors inaugurates new showroom designs in Jeddah and Dammam

Al-Saif Motors Land Rover and Jaguar importer for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has officially unveiled the new look for its main Jeddah and Dammam showrooms.

The refurbishments, which were completed over the last four months, will ensure that Jaguar and Land Rover customers receive the very best buying experience in the Kingdom.

Extensively redesigned and encompassing a total space of X square meters, the showrooms feature large, spacious lounge areas with complimentary refreshments, new lighting and entertainment options, as well as a larger show space for the latest models from Jaguar and Land Rover.

Obama's 'yet another' speech, on US CAR INDUSTRY

PRESIDENT delivered yet another speech... now on US Auto Industry !

Politicians can not run business. They should not interfere. But, these are different times. Difficult times. Still, Obama team should not get into micro management.

The administration is clear they should not let the ‘US auto industry’ to vanish
The two manufacturers have been given strict deadlines of 60 days to GM and 30 days to Chrysler, submit new plans for recovery. He feels the US Auto industry is not moving in the right direction ( did anyone have doubt, as they were producing their gas-guzzlers when Toyotas of the world wee focusing on more fuel-efficient cars). He confessed the car firms had run into problems due to ‘lack of leadership’ ( sign of humility… though we all are universally intelligent to judge the past !But the challenge is to learn and move on...)

It is a collective failure by one and all, even the consumers who continued to patronize these gas guzzlers instead of creating a public opinion to move to better cars.

Indeed, US Auto Industry is a critical component of American society, values and character. Too many jobs are dependent on it. The International car industry also needs a vibrant US auto industry. Let us hope these initiatives will help them recover, and recover fast.

Obama's car