And The Hits, They Keep On Coming: The World Carmaker Top Eleven
It’s the hottest road race of the year. Who are the champs and who are the chumps of the global auto industry? Everybody who’s somebody wants to become a statistic in “world motor vehicle production by manufacturer.” Officially, that race is not over until the fat lady at OICA, the “Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles” or International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, sings. OICA still has the 2007 numbers on their website. Yet, General Motors has already conceded the top post to Toyota. All other manufacturers have already announced their numbers. While OICA is taking their good old time counting, the Nikkei [sub] performed its own tally.
The Nikkei’s bottom line: “The three leading U.S. automakers fell backward in rankings of global auto sales in 2008, losing out to Japanese rivals specializing in subcompacts and to South Korean and German carmakers enjoying strong footholds in emerging markets.”
It’s already old hat that Government Motors relinquished its 76-year post as the world’s No. 1 automaker to Toyota. GM’s sales had dropped 10.8 percent for the year, while Toyota dropped only 4.2 percent. Last year GM could maintain its master of the universe status only with creative bookkeeping. Number 3 is Volkswagen, up from number 4 in the previous year. Volkswagen was the only maker in the top 5 with a gain, as slight as 0.6 percent may be. Hot on VW’s heels is Renault-Nissan. Ford has been tossed far away from the podium. With a loss of 17.5 percent in the year, Ford is now only Number 5, followed (the outrage, the shame) by Hyundai. Honda is 7, PSA 8, Suzuki ranks 9. Fiat proudly enters the Top 10 in 10th place. And lest we forget that there was something called the Detroit Three, the Nikkei rubs it in by showing the Top Eleven: With a whopping loss of 25 percent, the largest on the list, Chrysler, formerly Number 9, now plays in the Junior League in 11th place.
All in all, sales at the 10 top global automakers and their partners slipped 5.8 percent in 2008. The Nikkei: “The woes are likely to continue in 2009, when the rankings could get another shake-up depending on merger and acquisition activity.”
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Wow, I had no idea Hyundai was larger than Honda, and I am American, so there's some more anecdotal evidence for you, menno. As far as VW goes, this does lend some credibility to their claims. Overcoming GM shouldn't be too much of a hassle. GM is losing market share, VW is gaining, albeit only a little. While the same relationship is true for Toyota and VW, Toyota seems like more formidable competition. Arguably, though, cracks are appearing in their armor. I am excited to see what pans out.
@ Herr Schmitt, Then, surely, it'd be more logical to take the percentage of the sales figure relevant to the holding? Example: Renault's holding would entitle it to 44.4% of Nissan's sales figure and Nissan could take 15% of Renault's figures. That way, China's figures could be reported with everyone taking the sales figures they're entitled to? Also, since Renault and Nissan are separate entities (they haven't merged, despite what people say) how can they merge sales figures?