LUXURY CAR DEMAND SHORTENS THE HOLIDAY SEASON FOR GERMAN PLANT WORKERS

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

LUXURY CAR DEMAND SHORTENS THE HOLIDAY SEASON FOR GERMAN PLANT WORKERS

By Drew Johnson

The Christmas and New Year’s holidays are typically a slow time for the world’s automakers, but German luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW are working overtime to keep up with booming foreign demand.

New cars sales have actually declined more than 25 percent in Germany over the last 11 months, but strong demand from China and the United States is keeping production rolling along at full capacity. In fact both Mercedes-Benz and BMW are keep factories open during their normal Christmas to New Year’s shut down.

“2010 was expected to be a tough year all round,” John Lawson, a London-based analyst at Citi Investment Research, wrote in a report. “But rich China sales have leapt (and) foreign exchange has been very supportive.”

Mercedes’ U.S. sales are up 18.6 percent so far this year with BMW posting an 11.6 percent gain. Volkswagen’s Audi brand has seen even more success, increasing U.S. sales by 23.6 percent. As a whole, the U.S. market is up 11.1 percent.

China is also proving to be a booming market for German luxury car makers, with sales up there 40 percent.

Although we’re sure not all of the workers are thrilled about a the extra hours, it should give the luxury brands a boost going into 2011.

link:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/luxury-car-demand-shortens-the-holiday-season-for-german-plant-workers.html