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Toyota is planning on increased demand for its Tundra pickups, investing $140 million in a new facility in Tijuana which will build 20,000 pickups per year as well as 170,000 truck beds for Toyota's other plants. Toyota has increased its range of truck and SUV models in response to American buying habits and the higher profits (due partly to lower regulation) of light trucks when compared with passenger cars.
DaimlerChrysler has promoted two deputy board members, Wolfgang Bernhard, 42, and Ruediger Grube, 51, to ordinary board member status. The company's management board now consists of 11 Germans and two Americans.
As number two at Chrysler, Bernhard has overseen cost-cutting measures. Most of his DaimlerChrysler career has been at the corporation's German holdings.
DaimlerChrysler also appointed Thomas Weber, 48, as board member in charge of research and technology to replace Klaus-Dieter Voehringer, who is retiring.
Chrysler has consolidated Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge brands at 18 U.S. urban dealerships and is in talks with 80 more in an effort to boost sales at each outlet and discourage them from selling other manufacturers' cars and trucks.
Chrysler began the voluntary program last year and hopes to combine as many as 1,000 of its 4,259 franchises into 500 outlets. In return for the extra franchises, the dealerships agree not to sell non-Chrysler vehicles at those locations.
About a third of Chrysler's dealers now also sell other brands, accounting for about 460,000 sales a year. Chrysler wants to cut that by half.
(Courtesy Bill Cawthon)
Bill Cawthon wrote:
I read "Mr. Source's" comments from Sept. 17. While the Freightliner Sprinter will also appear under the Dodge nameplate (with the Freightliner badge disappearing by 2006), the "light van" may well be the next-generation Vito van, coming out in 2004. [Mr. Source only mentioned a light van on its way, we assumed it was the Sprinter.]The Vito, currently the next-to-smallest van in Mercedes' four-model collection, is assembled at the Mercedes plant in Vittorio, Spain. Current plans call for both the Sprinter and Vito to be built in the new DaimlerChrysler Vans, LLC, facility to be located somewhere in the southeastern US. I have heard both van models will carry the Dodge badge.
The Vito is slightly smaller than a standard Dodge Caravan. It is produced in both cargo and passenger configurations. There was also a now-discontinued special luxury model called the V-Class. However, the US is likely to see only the cargo version to avoid siphoning sales from the Chrysler minivans.
Incidentally, the whole reason DCAG is building the new plant is to avoid the 25% duty on foreign-built trucks. Passenger vans are exempt. The Sprinter bus is fully assembled in Germany, while the cargo version is shipped as a CKD kit to the Freightliner Custom Chassis plant in Gaffney, South Carolina, for final assembly.
Congress has enacted ever-so-slightly tougher regulations which may increase gas mileage of light trucks, minivans, and SUVs by almost one mile per gallon - by 2006. Though the United States imports most of its oil from politically volatile regions, many of which support terrorism, lawmakers have been reluctant to actually limit use of oil through gas mileage regulations. The new laws will continue the "flexible fuel loophole," which gives credits to automakers for building vehicles that can also run on mixes of ethanol or other fuels. The flexible fuel program has been criticized since making ethanol is energy-intensive, while other alternative fuels, such as soy-derived diesel, are not especially supported. Ethanol, however, has the support of well-funded lobbying.
Just-Auto has confirmed that DaimlerChrysler will buy 43% of Mitsubishi Motors' spun-off commercial vehicle business for around 760 million euros. In addition, DCX will buy half of Hyundai Motors' spun-off commercial vehicle business for around 400 million euros.
Bill Cawthon wrote:
For a bit of perspective on the AutoPacific survey, check out my comments in the Forum at just-auto.com. While I have not seen the details of the study, past experience makes me wonder about its validity.In particular, AutoPacific seems to be addicted to the word "aspirational." ...Aspirational is nice, but I wonder how meaningful it is. I might aspire to a new Mercedes E-Class, but DaimlerChrysler would make a big mistake marketing to me, as my income and four children practically guarantee I will never actually own one. They would be far wiser to target me for a Sebring or Caravan.
Please note it was an AutoPacific analyst who described Taurus as "non-aspirational" and Taurus customers as an undesirable demographic. These are the folks who have kept the Taurus [one of] America's best-selling car[s] since 1989.
I am also wondering about GMC ranking ahead of Dodge. Did AutoPacific break down trucks into SUVs, pickup, etc. If not, the fact GMC has SUVs not offered by Dodge may have skewed the numbers. Certainly sales figures indicate when it comes down to money changing hands, Dodge is "considered" far more often.
I personally would want to know more about the methodology before I got too bummed about Toyota replacing DaimlerChrysler.
AutoPacific's study makes good press, but does it make good sense?
Chrysler is not only out of today's customers' Big Three, but apparently just about out of the running. The AutoPacific study of what customers want finds that Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota now make up the Big Three, with the top ten brands then including, in order, Honda, GMC, Dodge, BMW, Lexus, Acura and Nissan. Trucks had an influence on this study (which is why GMC is listed, and probably why Dodge is in the top ten).
The ranking for the top three is the same for each major age category, though with those over 70, Buick bumps Toyota as #3. For those over 60, BMW drops out of the top 10, and for those over 70, Lexus drops out; these older respondents included Cadilalc in their top ten. Mercedes only figures in for drivers in their 40s.
The survey results varied by region, with Toyota and Honda doing better in New England and the South. (Thanks, just-auto.com)
Historically, Chrysler has rarely had a brand with sales in the Top Three - but when it has, that brand was usually Plymouth, which is no longer sold.
Bill Cawthon clarified the prior story:
"Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese daily, reports DaimlerChrysler will probably announce on Friday that it will become the majority owner of Mitsubishi's Fuso truck operation. The truck group, regarded as the strongest of the Mitsubishi automotive operations, will be spun off as a separate company with a German CEO, likely Wilfried Porth, currently head of management personnel development at DaimlerChrysler.
"DaimlerChrysler will own 43% of the new company, which will be called Mitsubishi Truck/Bus in Japanese. Mitsubishi will own 42% and the remainder will be split among various other Mitsubishi companies.
"Mitsubishi and Toyota's Hino are said to be the strongest of the Japanese truckmakers."
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