Quality is helping US auto makers

Now, after the end of the economic recession, auto makers are expecting a return to their good old days. The bad news is only for Toyota and it seems that the business of Toyota is going to hurt for quite some times. This is becoming good for US auto makers and I found a report on Los Angeles Times that good quality is helping US auto makers to do better in business.

Toyota is working very hard to regain its market share but I think it will be some difficult because its good image has suffered a lot in the current crisis. 

December 2009 Sees Healthy Growth in Auto Sale in Japan

It was a very bad year for the Japanese economy because of economic recession. However, Japanese government board poured some money and it seemed to have paid some good results for the auto industry. In December, 2009, the number of cars sold in the Japanese market was more than 30% more compared to the same month of 2008. The main growth came thanks to companies like Toyota and Honda.

It will also have some positive impact on the economy of Japan. So, people will be more optimistic for the year 2010. However, still there is the problem of high unemployment rate for a country like job Japan.

In 2010, we will understand whether the growth in auto sales was artificial or not.  

Auto Sales Growth in Japan Continued in November

Auto market in Japan is gradually getting over the recession and is now in its way to retain the market strength. The market has seen sales growth in November which has been the fourth straight rise in sales. Incentives by Japanese government helped the domestic auto market regain its strength as demand has been increased significantly since August. Demands fell in Japanese market last year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September 2008. Naturally, the last few months of the last year was largely affected by global economic recession. So, the year-on-year performance of the same period this year seems to be better now. However, it is also true that government subsidies were instrumental behind the sales growth of the Japanese market.

Bloomberg reported:

Sales of cars, trucks and buses, excluding minicars, rose 36 percent to 293,410 vehicles in November from a year earlier, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said in a statement today. Toyota sold 147,513 units, excluding Lexus-brand cars, up 39 percent.

November sales jumped 73 percent at Honda, while Nissan Motor Co., the nation’s third-largest automaker, sold 33 percent more vehicles.

Well, it is good news for the Japanese automakers. Global auto market has struggled a lot when economic recession was rife and demand fell significantly leading many companies to yearly loss. US government also provided some incentives to help the auto market as did the Chinese government. Overall, it seems that global auto market is gradually getting over the recession.

Auto Sales in April 2009: Toyota Suffered in USA and Japan

Few people can think of buying a car in the time of economic recession. Of course, in USA and Japan, car is not considered to be a luxury item like many poor countries in Asia and Africa. Still, when you are in the economic recession spending money for this commodity is perhaps does not come to your mind easily. Yes, this is the thing that is happening now and Toyota is suffering a lot because it is now the largest auto maker in the world.

Auto sales stats of April 2009 has now come to the media in both USA and Japan. In USA, Toyota suffered a major setback. The reason is still not clear but it is clear that Ford is catching up with the Japanese company. In America, at this moment, the main problem is that most people are worried about their future. Nearly 6 million people have lost job in the last few months due to recession. Not only that because of the credit crunch fallout and banking sector problem, now it is becoming more difficult to get car loans easily like the past. The banks and financial institutions are struggling themselves. So, they have to act cautiously about giving new auto loan. The only thing that is perhaps good for the time being is that the price of oil is much cheaper compared to a year ago.

In Japan, almost a similar picture exists. Many people have lost jobs and consumer confidence is low. So, fewer people are interested to buy a car here. Toyota sales plummeted in April 2009 and many workers in the company are perhaps worried for their future.

Some people thought that the stimulus packages offered by US government, Japan government and G20 countries would boost the global economy. However, the stimulus packages surely have not increased consumer confidence.

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