United States auto makers were on the defensive at the Detroit Auto Show this week as Asian rival Honda captured the prestigious car and truck of the year awards and disgruntled auto workers protested outside.
In a year when Ford Motor Company is planning to announce major layoffs and plant closures and analysts are speculating that General Motors (GM) could declare bankruptcy, domestic automakers offered vague financial forecasts to the thousands of journalists gathered at one of the most important auto shows of the year.
GM chairperson Rick Wagoner would say only that his company will return to profitability “as soon as we can”. Ford chairperson Bill Ford told reporters he hopes to “stabilise our market share this year”.
Those weak assurances meant little to the hundreds of auto workers who braved bitter winds on Sunday to remind the executives inside the Detroit auto show that their restructuring plans have a human cost.
“We can’t buy what we build with a 60% pay cut,” said Michele Carriere (46), who works for auto-parts supplier Delphi, which is also threatening to default on its pension obligations as a means to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
“It’s not going to stop with Delphi. It’s going to go to GM and to Ford and it’s already happened with some companies like the airlines.”
While GM and Ford tried to focus attention on a slew of new vehicles being presented, Toyota forecast 2006 US sales would surpass the 2,3-million vehicles it sold last year.
Analysts are expecting Toyota to overtake top-ranking GM in global sales volume this year, and it ought to get a big boost from the introduction of a hybrid version of its popular Camry this week, already the best-selling vehicle in the US.
Honda, meanwhile, forecast growth of about 3,4% in the US to 1,5-million vehicles in 2006 with a nice boost coming from the prestigious car and truck of the year awards, a first for the Japanese auto maker.
“It will be a great plus in terms of marketing,” chairperson Takeo Fukui said in an interview.
The auto show opened for press previews just days after annual sales figured showed that Asian automakers now command 36,5% of the massive US market.
One reason for their recent success has been a sharp drop in demand for gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles, a mainstay of now-struggling Detroit-based auto makers Ford and GM.
That trend is set to continue in the new year, said Volkswagen chairperson Wolfgang Bernhard.
“We see the American consumer is going to buy more small, fuel-efficient vehicles,” he said on the sidelines of the show. “That means cars are making a comeback and crossovers are coming back and anyone who’s positioned for that is going to do well.”
China is also getting ready to dive into the US market. Chinese mainland’s pioneering private carmaker Geely was exhibiting at the auto show — a first for Chinese auto makers — in preparation for the 2008 introduction of a five-passenger sedan.
Nearly 40 new vehicles would be introduced on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at the 2006 North American International Auto Show as automakers vied to capture the attention of more than 6 800 journalists from 63 countries.
Among the new vehicles introduced would be 12 “concept” cars that would only go into production if they received a good response from the media and public.
One that created some buzz was the Toyota F3R minivan with stylish, modular seats that rotate and swivel to transform the car into a lounge equipped with two track-mounted, flat-panel video screens. — AFP