It's Official: Toyota is #1
Reuters reports that Toyota sold 4.8m vehicles in the first half of 2008, while GM managed to move 4.54m. It's official: GM is no longer the world's largest automobile manufacturer. GM's spinmeisters promptly bragged that it reached record numbers in three of its four regions in the second quarter of 2008. Unfortunately, GM's 116k-unit growth outside of the U.S. was swamped by a 236k-unit decline in the home market. Also, GM continues to take full unit credit for sales in China– even though the Chinese business is majority-owned by Chinese partner SAIC. (For example, GM owns only 34 percent of the unit which builds the high-volume Chevrolet Spark.) GM's decision back in 2000 to ramp-up trucks and SUVs whilst eviscerating their US car efforts in order to boost profit margins has come home to roost.
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Ok, here's the story on Wuling. Wuling is a nameplate only used in China. By Chinese law, no foreign company can own more than 49% of a Chinese automaker. So, the choices are: 1. Include all sales from automakers owned at least 49% (or 30% or whatever) by the company you are counting. 2. Include all sales from nameplates owned by the company you are counting, including those from automakers owned at least 49% (or 30% or whatever) by the company you are counting. 3. Only count companies owned 51%+ (or 100% or whatever) by the company you are counting. This means you have to exclude Chinese auto sales completely from the totals. GM is stronger than Toyota in China; therefore, if you throw out China completely, Toyota wins. Wuling is a Chinese-only nameplate and only owned 34% by GM. If you count Wuling, GM won in 2007. If you don't, even if you count the nameplates that GM and Toyota use in China and also own complete worldwide rights to (Buick, etc.), Toyota wins.
How about keeping this on topic dudes? Farago? Where are you? I say this is ultimately a good thing for the General. It should help stifle some of the management arrogance that comes with being top dog for nearly a century. When an entity gets too big--it will right size: Roman Empire, Soviet Union, Kirstie Alley, General Motors.....it will happen to Toyota as well. Oh don't forget Starbucks...
Union politics is the same as politics everywhere else. The incompetent, lazy and crooked flock to positions of power in the union since it's easier than actually working hard. The existence of the union, like any bureaucracy, rewards this behavior and chases away really productive people. The UAW is like a giant welfare state where everyone expects more and more for less and less effort.
WOWA, the pearls of wisdom from 2000! Some personal favorites: 1. This year GM expects truck sales to equal car sales for the first time. Next year's projection is for truck sales to hit 54 percent, increasing to 57 percent in 2002 and 60 percent within five years. Actually, not a bad plan, at the time. But where was the Plan B, you know the one labelled "Risks to our current approach"? 2. Zarella said it would be wrong to assume that, because GM was shifting to larger, more profitable vehicles, the company is shying away from pushing its share of the U.S. market back above 30 percent. The automaker captured 27.9 percent of U.S. sales in May, down from 29 percent in the year-earlier month and from about 34 percent in 1995. 30%? Those were the days... 3. As for world market share, GM's target of 28 percent would put it far ahead of its rivals, said Wagoner. Ford Motor Co. has about 15 percent of global sales, DaimlerChrysler AG has about 12 percent and Toyota Motor Corp. about 10 percent, he said. GM @ 28%, Toyota @ 10%! My, how the mighty have fallen... So Farago, here are some targets to measure Wagoner against...