Toyota.vs.GM

Nissan reported a decline in profit for the July-September quarter on one-time expenses and higher taxes that eroded overall sales growth and improved earnings in core auto operations.Profit at Nissan Motor Company for the fiscal second quarter totaled 120.1 billion yen($1.05 billion),down from 164 billion yen in the previous year. Sales at Japan's Number 3 automaker surged 13 percent on year to 2.618 trillion yen($22.9 billion),as sales grew in the U.S,Europe,Russia and China.Nissan sold 941,000 vehicles worldwide,up 6.6 percent compared with a year ago.Nissan maintained its forecast for the full fiscal year ending March 2008 at 480 billion yen($4.20 billion) profit. Analysts say how the company holds up for the rest of the year may be critical. If Nissan falls short of its targets for the rest of this fiscal year,it would be the second straight year of missing its goal,said Tsuyoshi Mochimaru,auto analyst with Lehman Brothers in Tokyo.And that's at a company that has built its management reputation by meeting commitments"he said,referring to Ghosn's style of setting clear goals to assess performance.For the half-year,Nissan's profit fell 23 percent to 212.4 billion yen($1.86 billion).Sales for the first six months of the fiscal year rose 12 percent to 5.064 trillion yen($44.31 billion) as vehicle sales edged up 6 percent to 1.82 million vehicle around the world. More here.

Toyota:moving backwards

General Motors, which fell behind Toyota in global sales for the first time in the first three months of this year ,has eged narrowly ahead of its Japanese rival in terms of 2007 sales.Toyota global sales for the first nine months of the year hit 7.05 million vehicles, up 7 percent from a year ago,the Japanese automaker announced early Monday.GM released figures last week which showed global sales of 7.06 million, which was up 2 percent from a year ago. Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco had no comment on the comparison to GM sales.GM spokesman John McDonald also said the company wasn't particularly concerned with whether it was in first or second place in the sales count. We're not focused on being Number 1 and who's Number 2 said McDonald.We like being Number 1,We've been number 1 for 76 years on an annual basis.But while it's a real interesting story to the media,I don't know a single customer who uses that criteria when making the decision on where to buy . Tom Libby,senior director of industry analysis for JD Power,agreed with McDonald that there is limited significance to which automaker is Number 1 in global sales and which is Number 2.But he said that the fact that GM moved back in front of Toyota is a sign that it was wrong for many industry experts to write it off earlier this year because of past problems.:More at the link

The Cobalt will not be on Gamma II,and it won't be made in the U.S.

Chevrolet Lambda Pickup?

Renault's Ghosn still sees tie-up with GM .Renault's CEO Carlos Ghosn said a tie-up with General Motors is not currently on the cards,but the 'strategy is inevitable in the long-term. Speaking in an interview with Le Figaro,Ghosn said conditions for a merger are not right at present time because there seems to be little appetite for it at GM. Renault and GM previously considered an alliance,but abandoned discussions last year.

General Motors Corp sales dove 19 percent in July to 320,000 cars and trucks,according to sales data announced today.Sales where down across each of GM's eight brands.Trucks sales where down 16 percent and cars sales fell 24 percent.One bight spot:GM managed a 15 percent increase in retail sales to individual customers.The automaker has worked to increase retail sales while pairing back less profitable sales to rental fleets.More at this link.