Friday January 13, 2006

Big Three sales skid again

canada.com :

Struggling automakers continued to suffer last month, posting lower sales and capping a tumultuous year in which Detroit's Big Three faced changing consumer tastes and high gasoline prices. GM and Ford Motor Co., both facing deepening financial crises, said December sales were down 10.2% and 8.7%, respectively.

In sharp contrast, Toyota Motor Corp. - which may soon unseat General Motors Corp. as the world's largest automaker - posted an 8.2% increase in December sales and likely grabbed more market share from U.S. rivals.

Mark Field, Ford's vice-president of U.S. sales, said at a Los Angeles auto show yesterday that the Big Three must "change or die." John Murphy, an analyst with Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York, said "September's hurricanes and US$3-a-gallon gasoline served as a turning point in consumer preference."

GM lost US$4.8-billion in North America in the first nine months of 2005 and has had its credit rating reduced to "junk" status. It has launched a massive restructuring and some analysts are not ruling out a possible bankruptcy filing.

Google Base :
american auto-makers

(2006-01-13 08:22:26 SGT) [Biz] Permalink Comments [1]

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