Currency

Falling yen lifts outlook for Japanese

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
For five years, a rising yen undermined Japanese automakers' profits. Now the currency's sudden weakening has delivered dramatic gains, especially in the January-March quarter.... Read More »

 

In boon for Japan's automakers, yen tumbles over milestone

10:21 pm U.S. ET | May 9, 2013
Toyota's half-decade of fighting the yen is over, at least for now. The weakening yen breached 100 against the dollar in U.S. trading on Thursday, paving the way for Japanese automakers to emerge from an unprecedented stretch where the currency's appreciation roiled their ability to sell cars overseas at a profit.... Read More »

 

Canada's grasp on auto investments wanes as loonie strengthens

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 27, 2013
Within the past five years, GM moved the production of its trucks and Buick LaCrosse sedan in Oshawa, Ontario, to the United States. While the 323-horsepower Camaro is still made in Canada, GM said the next generation of its top-selling sports car will be built in Lansing, Mich.... Read More »

 

Honda quarterly profit rises 6.6% on strong U.S. sales, falling yen

April 26, 2013 09:00 CET
Honda posted a 6.6 percent rise in quarterly net profit, helped by strong U.S. sales of its Accord and CR-V models.... Read More »

 

Reuss: GM faces 'real threat' from yen's decline

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 22, 2013
General Motors isn't facing pricing pressure from Japanese rivals yet, but the Japanese yen's falling value poses a "real threat" that could undercut GM's campaign to boost market share, a top executive said last week.... Read More »

 

GM's Reuss: No price pressure yet, but falling yen is a 'threat'

3:04 pm U.S. ET | April 16, 2013
The falling value of the Japanese yen poses "a real threat" to General Motors as it seeks to gain U.S. market share this year amid a slate of new-vehicle launches, GM North America chief Mark Reuss said today. Reuss said GM has not yet faced pricing pressure from Japanese competitors and so far has maintained strong pricing power, which it has enjoyed for the last two years.... Read More »

 

VW, BMW, Daimler plan $25 billion hedge by building more autos abroad

April 16, 2013 08:34 CET
Volkswagen and its German peers are planning to spend more than $25 billion by 2017 to expand production outside their home region and insulate themselves from currency convulsions.... Read More »

 

Ghosn, Mulally revive touchy Japanese currency issue

April 2, 2013 06:01 CET
A long-distance debate last week between two CEOs -- Ford's Alan Mulally and Renault-Nissan's Carlos Ghosn -- reignited a hot-button debate in the industry over the value of the Japanese yen. Is the weakening value of the yen giving the Japanese an unfair edge?... Read More »

 

YIN AND YANG OF YEN

Mulally, Ghosn revive touchy Japanese currency issue

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 1, 2013
A long-distance debate last week between two CEOs -- Ford's Alan Mulally and Nissan-Renault's Carlos Ghosn -- reignited a hot-button debate in the industry over the value of the Japanese yen. Is the weakening value of the yen giving the Japanese an unfair edge?... Read More »

 

Detroit 3 raise alarm as yen weakens, aiding Japanese profits

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 16, 2013
Toyota, which last year overtook GM to become the world's largest automaker even as its profit margins lagged behind the industry, is riding a weakening yen that has Detroit executives concerned. The currency's slide gives Toyota and other Japanese automakers a financial gain on every car, which they can use to cut prices, boost advertising and improve products.... Read More »

 

JAMES B. TREECE

Yen and the art of baseball card trading

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 11, 2013
Are you confused by currencies? Do you, along with most other Americans, wonder why the yen is considered "stronger" at 80 to the dollar and "weaker" at 90? Here's an easy way to make sense of currency gyrations: Think of baseball cards James B. Treece is industry editor for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

NADA CONVENTION

Stop whining about yen, Honda exec tells Detroit 3

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 18, 2013
Tough talk from Detroit about the weakening yen giving Japanese automakers an unfair advantage in the United States "doesn't pass the sniff test," says American Honda's top sales executive.... Read More »

 

Tata Motors Q3 profit falls as Jaguar Land Rover cash boom shifts into reverse

Feb. 14, 2013 11:49 CET
Hit by falling margins and rising capital expenditure, roaring Jaguar Land Rover may be heading for a speed trap. Rising investment is eating into the luxury carmaker's cash pile and raising the prospect of fresh borrowing, as falling profitability saw parent Tata Motors Ltd post its first drop in profits in five quarters.... Read More »

 

Strong sales, weaker yen buoy Toyota

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 11, 2013
Booming U.S. sales and a weaker yen have led Toyota Motor Corp. to raise its full-year forecast.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Falling yen is a friend to Toyota

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 11, 2013
What a difference a yen makes. Toyota Motor Corp. stands to make some big windfall profits on the yen's current retreat against the dollar.... Read More »

 

JLR profit growth stalls on Evoque's growing share of sales

Jan. 24, 2013 06:01 CET
Jaguar Land Rover said fiscal third-quarter profit growth probably stalled because of currency shifts and its cheaper Evoque SUV model attracting a higher share of buyers.... Read More »

 

JAMES B. TREECE

Japan's currency crybabies

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 14, 2013
Japanese automakers are whining about the yen again. Those crybabies should admit that the pendulum swings and stop complaining when it swings against them. They were certainly quiet enough when it swung in their favor for most of the past decade and a half James B. Treece is industry editor for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

Ghosn presses Japan's new prime minister to weaken yen, mend China ties

10:34 am U.S. ET | Dec. 31, 2012
Don't count Nissan President Carlos Ghosn among those impressed with new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ability to weaken the yen against all major global currencies. Ghosn's dissatisfaction with the exchange rate, echoed by Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda, underscores the frustrations of manufacturers in a country where the yen surged almost 40 percent over four years to a postwar high in 2011.... Read More »

 

Toyota posts $3.7 billion quarterly profit, hikes sales forecast

4:02 am U.S. ET | Aug. 3, 2012
Toyota reported a big increase in first-quarter profit and raised its vehicle sales forecast on demand for its cars in North America and Japan. The automaker said vehicle sales at its Toyota, Daihatsu and Hino brands would increase to 9.76 million from January to December, raising an earlier target of 9.58 million.... Read More »

 

Toyota's profit bucks downward trend in Europe

Aug. 3, 2012 11:00 CET
Unlike mass-market rivals GM and Ford, Toyota posted a quarterly profit in Europe. The Japanese automaker reported a first-quarter operating profit of 35.6 million euros compared with a 68.8 million euro operating loss in Europe during the same period last year, when it was reeling from the effects of natural disasters in Japan.... Read More »

 

Maruti Suzuki mulls options to remain India's No. 1

July 30, 2012 13:34 CET
Maruti Suzuki is weighing options to restore output of its most popular models as recurring labor disputes at one of its plants threaten the company's lead in Asia's third-largest car market.... Read More »

 

Marchionne cuts 500 million euros from Fiat's European investments

June 15, 2012 08:19 CET
Fiat is cutting investments in Europe by 500 million euros ($632 million) on expectations that the region's auto market won't recover in the second half. "The capital expenditure reduction is about half a billion euros from what we planned last year for 2012 in Europe," CEO Sergio Marchionne said.... Read More »

 

Toyota CEO voices concerns over Europe, yen, U.S. slowdown

June 4, 2012 07:04 CET
The European debt crisis, the appreciating yen and slowing automobile demand in the United States are among the concerns facing Japan's automobile industry, Akio Toyoda, CEO of Toyota, told reporters in Tokyo today.... Read More »