Archive for the ‘industry consolidation’ category

The Global Car Industry and Refinance Car Loan Packages

September 20th, 2011

Even with the recent financial crises happening all over the world, even with the devastating earthquake and tsunami catastrophe that hit Japan in March 11, 2011, the global auto industry is still seeing growing sales in car units all over the world. According to the Scotiabank Group’s Global Auto Report, car sales are still going strong all around the world, with more than 60 million vehicles expected to be sold in 2011 alone. Booming car sales worldwide mean that people, even in the midst of recessions and catastrophes, are still getting the vehicles they want through financial products such as used car loan and refinance car loan packages.

According to the same report, the economic environment in the United States is improving, with the job market expanding and allowing more companies to provide much higher incomes to the typical employee. The rate of job creation has also increased, and is now the fastest in five years, reducing unemployment significantly. This means that people are getting more money to spend on buying new cars or replacing their old models. Households with older model cars are also looking for more fuel-efficient cars to counter rising fuel prices, which today are averaging at $4.00 per gallon.

With the rosy economic outlook, people are still cautiously optimistic nonetheless. Many people are wary of buying new model cars that can be quite expensive, and quite a large number of people are choosing to buy fuel efficient vehicles, which is why there has been a surge in the sales of hybrid cars. Another way people are getting the cars they want but without breaking the bank is through used car loan packages that help them get cars without having to pay for the vehicle’s full sticker price upfront. This allows the typical employee to have a car without stretching their budgets too much.

A used auto loan works by letting a person pay for a vehicle over a period of time, usually through monthly installments. People can get these financial products from a number of providers, which include automakers, banks, and especially through companies specializing in auto loans. This is all well and good, but there will be times when a person will want to adjust the terms under which he is paying for his car.

This can be because of a number of reasons; for instance, a person might want to restructure their car loan so that they can have a much more convenient time paying. When this happens, people can get their car loans restructured (or refinanced) through companies who can refinance auto loan packages. For those who want to acquire the services of these companies, all one has to do is go online, as there are a great number of these businesses operating websites which enable you to do much of the refinance auto loan process online, allowing for an easier time in restructuring your car loan.

Rising global car sales are an indicator that people the world over still have the need for cars, and with companies that help refinance car loan packages, this is made all the more easier.

Will the Global Auto Industry Consolidate?

September 12th, 2011

The global automotive industry is going through some big changes with some manufacturers merging while others are forging important alliances.

Getting Together

In 2009, Fiat acquired a stake in bankrupt Chrysler while Toyota continues to hold shares of Daihatsu, Subaru and Mazda. Recently, Daimler agreed to form a small car alliance with Renault-Nissan, itself a Franco-Nippon agreement hatched in 1999. Spyker now owns Saab while China’s Geely Automotive is acquiring Volvo.

What on earth is going on with the car industry?

Consolidation is the word as rapidly shifting consumer demand, stressed out economies and too much capacity weigh in. And don’t think for a moment that this trend will abate. Likely, we’ll be hearing of additional mergers, acquisitions and alliances formed in a bid to help companies profit from these changes.

Marchionne Opines

According to Sergio Marchionne, chief executive for the Fiat Group and Chrysler Group, LLC, automakers need to produce approximately 5.5 million cars annually in order to be profitable. That scale of operation is currently reached by a handful of companies right now, but as mentioned by The Auto Writer in December 2008, a few changes here or there and you’ll have the consolidation Marchionne has envisioned taking place.

Not all consolidations or collaborations work out according to plan. Most recently, the Daimler-Chrysler hook up was an abject failure not the merger or acquisition originally conceived in 1998.

Still, that didn’t stop Daimler from pursuing a small car alliance with Renault-Nissan, with each company taking token stakes in each other to seal the deal. Daimler was burned once so don’t expect this agreement to go beyond small car component sharing with perhaps some commercial vehicles thrown in.

Emerging Markets

All across Europe, there are too many manufacturing plants to justify production. The strongest growth markets are China, India and Brazil and those are the places where capacity is being expanded. One only has to look at the major players operating in each country to realize that the stakes are high. Meanwhile, contraction of sorts is taking place in Europe and North America which means that some companies are shrinking, making it more difficult for them to go it alone.

One likely scenario is this one: as emerging markets continue to fuel demand, local manufacturers will continue to look abroad for alliances. Just as Geely snapped up Volvo, expect other Chinese companies to do the same. For many years, China’s auto industry has consisted of local-foreign alliances, perhaps a telling sign of what the rest of the world may soon see.

Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in North Carolina. Matt is a contributing writer for Andy’s Auto Sport an aftermarket supplier of quality parts including Nissan parts and Scion parts.