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PSA Peugeot Citroen gets temporary approval for bailout by European Union
SYF77 posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Ailing PSA Peugeot Citroen Group has just been granted temporary approval by the European Union for 1.2 billion euros (S$1.9 billion) of French-backed bonds. As part of the deal to obtain final approval, PSA will have to submit a restructuring plan within the next six months to show how the group and its bank unit (Banque PSA Finance) intend to return to profitability without state help. "Now one needs to know what the commission will ask in terms of restructuring for the group and this remains unclear," said Pierre Bergeron, a credit analyst at Societe Generale in Paris. The temporary approval will allow the bank to pay back this year's maturities of 500 and 750 million euros in July and September respectively. In early 2012, PSA Group and General Motors announced the creation of a global strategic alliance to co-develop engines and a global purchasing joint venture for the sourcing of components and other goods and services. The alliance is expected to contribute to cost savings for both car manufacturers. -
Engulfed by recession and high unemployment rate, Spain's new car sale for 2012 has plunged by 13.2%. According to Spanish car makers' association ANFAC, it was a dismal December when new car sales plunged 23% from a year ago, which led to this steep annual decline last year with little expectation of improvement in 2013. This is the lowest level ever recorded since data collection began in 1989. A similar situation is affecting France as well, where new car registrations hit a 15-year low in 2012. ANFAC commented that the figures could have been worse if not for a new car subsidy scheme introduced by the government on 1 October 2012 in an attempt to offset the effect of a 3% hike in value added tax that was introduced in September 2012. Most economists expect the Spanish unemployment rate to remain above 25% in 2013 and its economy to endure another year of recession. Spain, which is the Eurozone's fourth-largest economy, has been hit particularly hard by the collapse of the country's housing market, which forced the government to bail out the Spanish banking sector with assistance from the EU.
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If you think that the global economy is on its way to recovery, think again. Cumulative car sales in the European Union (EU) from January to November 2012 have fallen to a 19-year low. It dropped 7.2 percent to 11.7 million units, the lowest figure since 1993. The decline was propelled by a 10 percent plunge in November. The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association expects a full-year market contraction to about 12 million cars, the fewest cars sold in Europe since 1995. Below are the November statistics of some of the affected car makers: Brand Renault: -27.4 percent PSA Peugeot Citroen: -16 percent GM (Opel, Vauxhall, Chevrolet): -13 percent Ford: -10.2 percent VW: -2.5 percent However, BMW and Mercedes managed to buck the market trend and recorded sales growth of 0.4 percent and 1.5 percent for November respectively. Perhaps, workers in Fiat and Peugeot should start looking for job opportunities with the two German car makers as their companies have announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs each.
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Kia hit with a preliminary injunction over use of Quoris name in Europe
SYF77 posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Kia's new flagship saloon, the K9, will be called the Quoris in international markets but perhaps with the exception of the European Union (EU). China's car brand, Qoros has filed a lawsuit to prevent Kia from using the name Quoris in the EU. As a result, a preliminary injunction has been imposed on Kia over the usage of the word. A preliminary injunction can be defined as an order by the court requiring the defendant to do or refrain from doing some action while pending a full trial on the merits of the lawsuit. The court determined that consumers could become confused about the 'similar named' car maker and a car model. On the court's judgment, Qoros vice chairman, Volker Steinwascher, commented, "We are pleased with the decision of the court as we succeeded in our first step towards protecting our brand name. We look forward to the first public debut of our vehicles at both the Geneva and the Shanghai auto show in 2013." Qoros was established four years ago from a partnership between Chery and Israel Corporation, a global industrial holding firm. The new brand promises to focus on state-of-the-art technology with high level of user-friendly in-car connectivity and safety standards. It shall target young consumers in Europe and China. The first product from Qoros will be a 4-door compact sedan. Kia has yet to issue a statement regarding the court's decision. -
The European Union imposes new tyre label regulation effective November 2012
SYF77 posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Effective from November 2012, the European Union (EU) made it a requirement for tyres sold in the EU market to include a tyre label that specify their fuel consumption, wet grip and noise ratings. The label will use a classification from the best (green category 'A') to the worst performance (red category 'G'). The new initiative is part of the Energy Efficiency Action Plan drafted in 2009, which is designed to improve the energy performance of products, buildings and services to reduce energy consumption by 20% until 2020. The measure is believed to be a way to disadvantage the lower cost Asian tyre brands in the EU market. They are usually a lot cheaper than the European-made tyre but pales in comparison with the European brands in most aspects. According to the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers