While America Slept. Saturday, January 17, 2009

Toyota shifting down in NA, again: Toyota will shut down all seven vehicle assembly plants in the U.S. and Canada on some days through early April, as part of an effort to cut growing stockpiles by half, the Nikkei (sub) reports. The number of non-operating days will vary by facility. The production line for the Sienna minivan at the Indiana plant will be stopped for 30 days. Toyota had shut down some production lines in the U.S. for three months starting last August. Toyota hopes to reduce inventories from the current 80-90 days to the desirable level of about 40 days by the end of June.

Nissan shifting down in Japan, again: Nissan will reduce Japanese domestic output by 64,000 vehicles in February and March from its earlier output plan, prompted by an increasingly decelerating global auto demand, the Nikkei (sub) says. The company had already announced reduced production as sales at home and abroad tank. Nissan had decided to dismiss all non-full-time workers by the end of March. Although it has no plans to shed any full-timers, it does intend to reduce their base pay for February by designating some of the days the plants will be idled as non-work days.

Honda shifting down in Japan, again: Honda will cut production in Japan for this fiscal year by 56,000 vehicles on the continued slump in auto sales, the Nikkei (sub) writes. The latest production cutback follows a domestic output reduction by a combined 86,000 vehicles that Honda already had announced. Japan’s second biggest car maker by volume now expects its domestic output to total 1.168 million vehicles in the fiscal year ending March, down 10% on year.

Red alert for Fuji Heavy: Fuji Heavy, maker of Subaru, expects to fall into the red for the first time in 15 years this fiscal year amid anemic sales and a strong yen, the Nikkei (sub) reports. Fuji Heavy expects a group operating loss of 9 billion yen, a 32 billion yen difference from the previously forecast 23 billion yen profit. Fuji Heavy posted a 45.6 billion yen operating profit for the previous fiscal year. U.S. sales are seen edging down only 2%, but Russian sales are expected to plunge 13% to 20,000 units. President Ikuo Mori said that the company has decided to reduce board member pay by 10 percent from January.

Brilliance delays U.S. entry by two years: Brilliance China will delay vehicle exports to the United States by two years, Gasgoo says. Their appearance at the Detroit Auto Show is now branded as a brand building exercise. Brilliance, the Chinese partner of Germany’s BMW, had earlier planned to sell sedans under its Brilliance brand in the US in the first quarter of this year.

VWs of China, unite! Times must be really tough if China’s bitter enemies, FAW-VW in the North and SVW in the South, “will form a close partnership to rival the two Sino-Japanese carmakers, Guangzhou Honda and Guangzhou Toyota” as Gasgoo reports. FAW and SVW are joint venture partners of Volkswagen. They make separate cars of the VW brand, and sell them through separate dealer networks. All previous attempts by Volkswagen to get the two to cooperate were unsuccessful.

German government signals compromise on VW law: Germany’s Minister of Justice, Brigitte Zypries (SPD) said she will enter discussions with the EU Commission about the VW law, Germany’s Automobilwoche (sub) says. The European Court had struck it down. Germany wrote a new one. It is just as bad as the old one, thinks Commissar Charlie McCreevy. He wants to drag Germany in front of the court again. Apparently, the German government is seeking a settlement.

Volvo cuts output in half: Volvo will make only 5000 cars a month in January and February, das Autohaus. Ford wants to sell Volvo, but could not find a buyer. Same with GM and Saab.