Posted on February 1, 2012, at 2:43 pm
 Although January often is the weakest sales month of the year in the US auto market, many automakers posted double-digit sales gains over the same month in 2010, indicating a good beginning for 2012. It appears that total light-vehicle sales might rise by more than 11% over January 2011 and that would translate to a 14.1 million-unit seasaonally adjusted selling rate (SAAR), according to J.D. Power and LMC Automotive analysis.*
All multi-franchise automakers, except for General Motors, posted increases, as did two of four independents—Mazda and Subaru. Fiat-Chrysler and Volkswagen Groups led the January gains with year-over-year increases of 48% and 44%, respectively. Not only did Chrysler Group LLC report stronger sales for its Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands than a year ago, but the company also said it earned a net profit of $183 million in 2011 vs. a loss of $652 million in the prior year.** VW Group sales in January were bolstered by strong demand for the Passat, now built in Tennessee. Among the independents, Mazda was a star with deliveries soaring 68%. Continue reading ›
Posted on January 18, 2012, at 7:47 am
 Three large pickups*, four midsize sedans and three compact models, including two compact conventional cars and one compact crossover (CUV), made up the 10 best-sellers in the US auto market in 2011. Three of the models, including the Ford F-Series, which was the top-volume model in the U.S. for the 30th straight year, were Ford products, while General Motors and Toyota Group each produced two of the 10 models with the highest sales volumes in the US market last year. Renault-Nissan Group and Fiat-Chrysler’s Ram brand each built one of the best-sellers, according to data collected by J.D. Power’s Power Information Network® (PIN) and LMC Automotive.
Some highlights for the 20 best-sellers in the US auto market in 2011:
• Half of the 20 best-sellers were domestic-brand models. Continue reading ›
Posted on January 13, 2012, at 11:29 am
 David Sargent Think small, electric and more fuel-efficient. This could be a theme for more than 50 new products and concepts touted and displayed during this week’s press preview at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, MI. The first auto show of the year, which was first held in 1907 at a local beer garden, is housed in Cobo Hall, where more than 1 million sq. ft. of space is devoted to exhibit stands that show off models for automakers around the world. David Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power, attended the preview and offers his thoughts:
“The Detroit Auto Show was an upbeat affair this year, reflecting the turnaround that the industry has achieved since the dark days of 2008-2009. All three Detroit automakers are investing heavily in new products, and each had something new and exciting to show. Continue reading ›
Posted on December 29, 2011, at 7:00 am
 Marvin Zhu After two years of strong growth, the car market in China has begun to slow. Chinese brands, which have grown considerably over the past few years, seem to have lostmomentum faster than their joint-venture counterparts. According to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2011 China New Vehicle Intender Study,SM the purchase intent toward local brands has fallen from 26% in 2009 to just 20% this year.
Although the local OEMs have continued launching new products, more and more car buyers are voting with their feet, as they find most of those “new models” are facelifts or copies of other popular models. Meanwhile, the joint ventures are offering cars of similar size at increasingly competitive prices. Continue reading ›
Posted on December 23, 2011, at 7:00 am
 David Sargent Earlier this month, BMW and Toyota Groups announced that they will work together to develop lithium-ion batteries for electric and hybrid cars. In addition, BMW will supply diesel engines to Toyota in Europe. Officials from both automakers signed a MOU at the Tokyo Auto Show for mid- to long-term collaboration on next-generation environment-friendly technologies.
The cost of new powertrain technology is very high and so it makes sense for automakers to form alliances in order to share development costs. This is especially so when the two automakers concerned have complementary strengths. BMW produces some of the most highly regarded diesel powertrains, which have been extremely successful in Europe. In turn, Toyota is a clear leader in electric and hybrid powertrains. Therefore, the agreement seems to make a lot of sense. Continue reading ›
Posted on December 14, 2011, at 8:47 am
 The introduction of Hyundai’s all-new small car, the Eon, which was previously known by its code HA H800, will heat up the mini car battle in India. The Eon is expected to be a strong challenger to market leader Maruti Suzuki’s Alto. The Eon, an entry-level hatchback aimed at capturing first-time car buyers in India, was developed over 4 years at a cost of INR 9.56 billion (US $181 million).
In order to meet the requirements of car buyers in this growth market, Hyundai Motor’s research and development team in Hyderabad worked with Hyundai’s engineers in South Korea to design and develop the Eon exclusively for India. The result is a model that is stylishly designed and promises fuel economy of 21 kilometers per liter (equivalent to 13.05 miles per liter or about 79.38 miles per gallon)under test conditions. Powered by an 814 cc 3-cylinder gasoline engine, the Eon is also competitively priced from INR 285,309 (US $5,400) for the base model Eon D-Lite to INR 396,262 (US $7,500) for the top-end Sportz version, which has additional features such as keyless entry and a driver air bag. Continue reading ›
Posted on November 12, 2011, at 8:39 am
 Mohit Arora Vehicle owners in Australia who wait less than 3 hours to have their vehicle serviced at an authorized service center are much more satisfied with the service experience than are those owners who are forced to wait longer, according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2011 Australia Customer Service Index (CSI) Study.SM
In fact, service satisfaction* for shorter vehicle service wait times is 41 points higher (817 points on a 1,000-point scale) than for wait times of 3 or more hours (776). At the same time, the study reveals that nearly six in 10 customers (59%) have to wait more than 3 hours before their vehicle is returned to them after service, and customers wait an average of 6 hours for their vehicle to be serviced. Continue reading ›
Posted on November 7, 2011, at 8:19 am
  Robust light-vehicle sales in the US market during the final days of October helped push the month’s sales totals higher than anticipated, according to J.D. Power and LMC Forecasting analysis and data.* Retail deliveries averaged a 10.5 million-unit selling pace in October, which matched September’s retail sales pace. Fleet sales averaged nearly a 2.7 million-unit rate, which was up by 900,000 units from October 2010.
Total October deliveries (including retail and fleet) rose 11.5% from the same month a year ago to 1.02 million units from nearly 950,000 unit sales in the same month last year. The annual selling rate (SAAR) in October averaged 13.2 million units, which was 1 million units stronger than last October’s 12.2 million-unit pace. It was the strongest selling pace since February 2011. Continue reading ›
Posted on November 1, 2011, at 12:51 pm
 In early reports, a few multi-franchise automakers posted stellar light-vehicle sales results in the US market in October vs. a year ago, in spite of a weak economy and lower consumer confidence levels. J.D. Power predicted in mid-October that the average annual sales pace for October would come in at 13.1 million units, and total US deliveries would rise almost 11% from October 2010.
Two of three Detroit-based automakers, General Motors and Ford Motor Co., posted single-digit gains from a year ago. GM and Ford’s small year-over-year sales gains were bolstered by strong performances from crossovers and trucks. Two of the big three Japanese automakers—Toyota and Honda Groups—posted lower totals than last year, partly due to constrained inventories, although Honda, hit by a recent shortage of parts following flood damage to one of its plants in Thailand, posted nearly flat sales. Continue reading ›
Posted on November 1, 2011, at 10:53 am
 Models from Japanese automakers rank highest in seven of 11 award segments in this year’s China Initial Quality Study. Models of Chinese domestic brands rank highest in initial quality in the mini van and lower premium midsize segments. The study features analysis on 155 different passenger-vehicle models covering 56 different makes. Continue reading ›
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Although January often is the weakest sales month of the year in the US auto market, many automakers posted double-digit sales gains over the same month in 2010, indicating a good beginning for 2012. It appears that total light-vehicle sales might rise by more than 11% over January 2011 and that would translate to a 14.1 million-unit seasaonally adjusted selling rate (SAAR), according to J.D. Power and LMC Automotive analysis.*
