While America Slept. Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

An overview of what happened in other parts of the world while you were in bed. TTAC provides round-the-clock coverage of everything that has wheels. Or has its wheels coming off. This column will be filed from Berlin until further notice—if & when time allows.

Time is money: GM Europe is running out of both, Carl-Peter Forster said to today at the Geneva Autoshow, Automobilwoche [sub] reports. GM needs the requested €3.3B “as soon as possible” Forster said. He’s not counting on private investors: “Each discussion with a private investor takes months, half a year at least, and we don’t have that kind of time.” Foster also said that GM has “three plants too many” in Europe. German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said today he will not be pressured into making a quick decision on granting state aid to General Motors’ Opel unit, Automotive News [sub] says. Germany is considering whether to support Opel after GM Europe unveiled a plan to spin off Opel and its UK sister brand Vauxhall to try to avert job cuts and plant closures.

Volkswagen expects an endangered species: They want to make a profit this year, CEO Martin Winterkorn said. VW reported preliminary full-year results for 2008 that showed a 3 percent rise in operating profit to a record €6.33 billion ($8 billion), Automotive News [sub] writes. VW finance chief Hans Dieter Poetsch has forecast Volkswagen could post a loss in the first quarter amid what will likely be one of the worst years for the auto industry since at least the Second World War. VW said its 2008 after-tax profit rose 14 percent to €4.7 billion. The group beat the wider trend in the car industry, but with current sales “extremely weak” at the start of this year, it would be “impossible” to match those figures in 2009, the company said. Group sales last year rose 4.5 percent to €113.8 billion. VW group brands include Volkswagen, Skoda, Seat, Audi and Bentley.

Nissan to make batteries in Portugal: Nissan plans to mass-produce automotive lithium ion batteries in Portugal by 2012, when the automaker intends to be manufacturing electric vehicles globally at full clip, says the Nikkei [sub]. Nissan will be the first Japanese automotive firm to announce plans to produce next-generation batteries overseas. Nissan will supply lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles to itself and French partner Renault SA. It plans to roll out electric vehicles next year in Japan and the US, with a goal of switching to their mass production in 2012. The Japanese automaker aims to hammer out preferential terms for the battery plant in discussions with the Portuguese government.

Hmmmm: Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc. will directly hire all of its temporary employees by making them either permanent or contract workers, the Nikkei [sub] says. “The move is aimed at better preparing the firm for future output increases and improving morale.” By directly hiring temp workers, the company will not have to pay commissions to staffing agencies. It is considering using the resultant savings to increase their wages. Sumimasen, – did we read right?

Toyota borrows yen to ease US credit: Toyota Financial Services Corp., the auto financing unit of Toyota Motor Corp. is seeking the equivalent of about 200 billion yen in dollar loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to secure funds for its US operations, the Nikkei [sub] says. Private-sector financial institutions are tightening lending standards amid the financial turmoil, significantly increasing the borrowing costs of their corporate customers. This has prompted the Toyota unit to seek dollar loans under the emergency program recently launched by JBIC to help Japanese firms operating abroad. No other automakers have sought loans under the program, but now that industry leader Toyota has applied, rivals might follow suit.

China hearts Land Rover: Tata Motors’ Land Rover division sold 11,108 vehicles in China in 2008, up 69 percent from 6,573 vehicles sold in 2007, says Gasgoo. This makes China the fifth largest market for the brand, following Britain, Europe, Russia and the US.