Renault-Nissan May Overtake Ford to Become #3

[Variance]

Renault-Nissan May Overtake Ford to Become #3

Just about everyone in the auto industry knows that Toyota Motor Corp. ™ is on pace to pull ahead of General Motors Corp. (GM) as the world's largest carmaker this year or next. But less noticed has been a race just down the ranking tables, where another storied U.S. giant is facing similar pressure: Ford Motor Co. (F) is on the verge of being edged out by Renault (RNSDY)-Nissan (NSANY) for the No. 3 spot globally. As Ford shrinks to projected sales of 6.3 million vehicles for 2007, the French-Japanese alliance is likely to grow to 6.4 million, according to data from Morgan Stanley (MS) and UBS (UBS).

Ford's catastrophic $12.7 billion loss in 2006, and impending production cuts this year, have shifted it into reverse, letting Renault-Nissan catch up fast. (Ford owns 33% of Mazda, which sold 1.3 million cars last year, but doesn't include those sales in its total.) Carlos Ghosn, chief executive at both Renault and Nissan, has pushed the two companies to collaborate on engineering and research and development. It's a formula that seems to be working. As Detroit has struggled, Ghosn has quietly boosted design and quality, cut costs, and attacked high-growth Asian markets.

It hasn't always been easy for Ghosn, who saved Nissan from near-bankruptcy in 1999. Last year was filled with setbacks and troublesome distractions, such as failed talks on expanding the Renault-Nissan alliance to include GM. Ghosn ordered improvements in new models, causing costly delays. But getting it right was essential, especially in the wake of earlier quality problems. All told, 2006 sales for the Renault-Nissan alliance fell 3.6% worldwide.

Now the repair work seems largely done, and both companies are poised to rebound. Nissan's U.S. third-quarter sales rose 1%, reversing a first-half slide. For the next fiscal year, Nissan's global sales will rise 7%, Standard & Poor's forecasts. That's largely thanks to the launch of nine new models, including revamped versions of high-volume cars such as the Altima, Sentra, and Infiniti G35 sedan. Renault's global sales are also expected to jump 7% this year, Morgan Stanley estimates, as the Twingo subcompact, a revamped Laguna sedan, and a minivan version of the low-cost Logan all hit the market. That should help Ghosn start delivering on his promise of 6% margins at Renault in 2009.

BusinessWeek

[regfootball]

that's because Nissan keeps putting out new models.

[Drew Dowdell]

and the fact that the Crown Vic is now outselling the 500

[Robert Hall]

and the fact that the Crown Vic is now outselling the 500

But the CV is 90% or so fleet sales, isn't? It would be interesting to see a comparison of consumer sales between the two..

[SoCalCTS]

obviously, this story came out before Nissan went into a tailspin.

Oh well...

[Variance]

obviously, this story came out before Nissan went into a tailspin.

Oh well...

What tailspin? Their profit dropped some in the 3rd fiscal quarter; they aren't losing money.

[Sixty8panther]

and the fact that the Crown Vic is now outselling the 500

Soooo... in some cases BOF, RWD conservative sedans DO sell better than

modern FWD/AWD unibody ones. Is it still unrealistic to expect that a fully

hydroformed, thoroughly modern (& 30 years newer than Panther cars')

BOF sedan from GM could not be a viable and profitable venture???

I expect a full apology for all the anti-BOF & anti-RWD posts I've had to

read pver the past 2 years on this forum.

[Sixty8panther]

But the CV is 90% or so fleet sales, isn't? It would be interesting to see a comparison of consumer sales between the two..

Sales are sales... why is such a big deal made of retail versus fleet sales thing.

A sale is a sale, maybe they make a little less money on fleet but in the end it

all balances out. I think you guys underestimate the value of fleet sales.

[SoCalCTS]

What tailspin? Their profit dropped some in the 3rd fiscal quarter; they aren't losing money.

Well Renaults car sales were down 4% last year, its profits were down 15%.1 Nissan lost 8% of its market capitalization in one day and is expected to lose another 10%.

Renault is claiming that they may start to grow again this year2 so unless ford drops a ton of market share I dont see Renault-Nissan becoming #3 anytime soon.

[GXT]

Well Renaults car sales were down 4% last year, its profits were down 15%.1 Nissan lost 8% of its market capitalization in one day and is expected to lose another 10%.

Renault is claiming that they may start to grow again this year2 so unless ford drops a ton of market share I dont see Renault-Nissan becoming #3 anytime soon.

But market cap has nothing to do with sales.

New Sentra + New Altima + New G35 = Big Sales Increase.

And Ford will likely drop more than their production cuts show. They still seem to be in denial. Renaming the 500 to the Taurus is one of the more futile and telling acts I have seen in some time.

[bcs296]

Soooo... in some cases BOF, RWD conservative sedans DO sell better than

modern FWD/AWD unibody ones. Is it still unrealistic to expect that a fully

hydroformed, thoroughly modern (& 30 years newer than Panther cars')

BOF sedan from GM could not be a viable and profitable venture???

I expect a full apology for all the anti-BOF & anti-RWD posts I've had to

read pver the past 2 years on this forum.

It is quite annoying, isn't it?

[ellives]

But market cap has nothing to do with sales.

New Sentra + New Altima + New G35 = Big Sales Increase.

And Ford will likely drop more than their production cuts show. They still seem to be in denial. Renaming the 500 to the Taurus is one of the more futile and telling acts I have seen in some time.

Market cap actually has more to do with profit than revenue.

Renaming the 500 to the Taurus actually makes sense to me. Killing the Taurus to begin with was stupid. For the lemming crowd who don't research anything and buy what they've heard others talk about, the Taurus was perfect. They just need to make the product and price competitive. Remember it took Toyota 20 years to build a competitive Camry. They never changed the name of the model.