LOS ANGELES: General Motors Co. , less than two years after declaring bankruptcy, is poised to reclaim the global auto sales lead from a Toyota Motor rattled by both natural disasters and reports of slipping quality. GM may retain the top spot after auto-parts production in Japan recovers from the March 11 earthquake. Detroit-based GM plans to invest at least $5 billion in China to double sales to 5 million vehicles by 2015. After years of losing ground in the U.S. to cars like Toyota's Camry, GM's Malibu has won better reviews and a new version is coming.
Add it up and GM may retake the sales crown lost in 2008, when the U.S. automaker lost $30.9 billion and sought a federal bailout following Toyota's most profitable fiscal year. Today GM is on the mend while Toyota confronts a slumping reputation, a stronger yen that hurts profit on U.S. sales, and the prospect that its production in Japan won't recover until November. "It's safe to say that GM is crawling back in the mature markets and growing quickly in emerging markets," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of forecasting for J.D. Power & Associates , a research firm in Westlake Village, California. "It's a challenging road ahead for Toyota. They face some real issues in the U.S."
Toyota President Akio Toyoda in March said he would start a campaign to rebuild the company's image in the U.S. following recalls that totaled more than 10 million vehicles. Toyota had to repair the cars because sticking accelerator pedals and faulty floor mats led to some sudden acceleration claims.
Add it up and GM may retake the sales crown lost in 2008, when the U.S. automaker lost $30.9 billion and sought a federal bailout following Toyota's most profitable fiscal year. Today GM is on the mend while Toyota confronts a slumping reputation, a stronger yen that hurts profit on U.S. sales, and the prospect that its production in Japan won't recover until November. "It's safe to say that GM is crawling back in the mature markets and growing quickly in emerging markets," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of forecasting for J.D. Power & Associates , a research firm in Westlake Village, California. "It's a challenging road ahead for Toyota. They face some real issues in the U.S."
Toyota President Akio Toyoda in March said he would start a campaign to rebuild the company's image in the U.S. following recalls that totaled more than 10 million vehicles. Toyota had to repair the cars because sticking accelerator pedals and faulty floor mats led to some sudden acceleration claims.
The Toyota City , Japan-based automaker, this week plummeted to 43rd place from No. 20 in a Harris Interactive's annual poll assessing the reputation of 60 corporations.
TOI
No comments:
Post a Comment