From Akerson To Ghosn, The Mood Of Industry Leaders Darkens

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Industry leaders, usually known for their unfatiguing optimism, are more and more taking a cautious stance. GM’s CEO Dan Akerson predicts flat industrywide U.S. auto sales in 2012, while his colleague Carlos Ghosn, chief of Renault and Nissan, has feelings of “very great uncertainty” when he looks toward 2012.

In an interview with Automotive News [sub], Akerson said GM predicts “flattish” U.S. light-vehicle sales for next year. And that only if Europe’s debt crisis is not contagious and won’t affect the U.S. economy. Akerson sees the EU crisis as the biggest threat to auto sales and to the global economy.

For 2011, GM predicts U.S. light-vehicle sales will finish at around 12.7 million or 12.8 million, and for 2012, there won’t be much more: “As we go into ’12, we’re looking for kind of a repeat of ’11,” Akerson said. The pent-up demand will have to remain pent-up for a while.

Meanwhile in France, Carlos Ghosn said that “for 2012, we are all currently in a state of very great uncertainty for the time being.” Ghosn also fingered the debt crisis as a threat. Ghosn told Reuters that there “could be some grounds for optimism in 2012 if Europe managed to solve its sovereign debt crisis.” However, he does not see that happening anytime soon, because countries are not in agreement on the measures needed.

This time around, it also does not look like China will bail out the auto industry, as it happened in 2009 and 2010. At the Global Automotive Forum in Chengdu last week, none of the captains of the Chinese car industry doubted China’s long-term potential. But all were in agreement that next year, the industry won’t see much growth.

In Japan? Don’t ask.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

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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  • Brettc Brettc on Oct 19, 2011

    I don't plan on buying any new vehicles either. Maybe in 2-4 years but that's it. Our cars are still in decent shape and are low mileage for TDIs. Plus I just got brand new fenders on my wife's 2000 Jetta courtesy of VW's rust TSB. Instead of buying cars, we're working on building up a nice chunk of savings and will be refinancing our house to probably a 15 year mortgage. It'll be "Freedom 49" for me if I can pay off the house in 15 years.

  • Ez Ez on Oct 19, 2011

    As the baby boomers retire they will tend to back off on purchases. This is because they will be on a fixed income and dont' have expectations of higher income as time goes on. With Europe they are simply being dragged down by enormouse debt and spending that cannot be continued. The US is not far behind. Read this article by Micael Lewis at Vanity Fair(strange source for an article on economics) http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/11/michael-lewis-201111 to get a taste of what will be our fate if spending doesn't match our growth. There is a saying that What cannot go on forever will not go on forever.

  • Analoggrotto I am sick and tired of every little Hyundai Kia Genesis flaw being blown out of proportion. Why doesn't TTAC talk about the Tundra iForce Max problems, Toyota V35A engine problems or the Lexus 500H Hybrid problems? Here's why: education. Most of America is illiterate, as are the people who bash Hyundai Kia Genesis. Surveys conducted by credible sources have observed a high concentration of Hyundai Kia Genesis models at elite ivy league universities, you know those places where students earn degrees which earn more than $100K per year? Get with the program TTAC.
  • Analoggrotto NoooooooO!
  • Ted “the model is going to be almost 4 inches longer and 2 inches wider than its predecessor”Size matters. In this case there is 6” too much.
  • JMII Despite our past experience with Volvo my wife wants an EX30 badly. Small, upscale, minimalist EV hatch is basically her perfect vehicle.
  • Dukeisduke Is the Volvo EX30 even on sale yet? It was pulled from the NACTOY awards because they were having software problems with the vehicle.
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