Ford Increases Availability of Fuel-Efficient Tires Across Lineup

- Ford Increases Availability of Fuel-Efficient Tires Across Lineup



Jul 11, 2011

New fuel efficient, low resistance tires developed by Ford (NYSE:F) are expected to advance fuel economy by up to 2 mpg and are likely to be featured in Ford's up and coming C-Max Energi, C-Max Hybrid and the Focus Electric Cars.

David Rohweder, Ford's Global Chief Engineer for tire and wheel engineering said, "Tire technology, pressures and wear can make a big difference to a vehicle's fuel economy, so the company is working closely with leading tire companies to optimize performance with low-rolling-resistance tires." Ford Motor (NYSE:F) has a potential upside of 46.1% based on a current price of $13.5 and an average consensus analyst price target of $19.73.

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Toyota Motor Corporation Working On Truck Plant in Kenya

- Toyota Motor Corporation Working On Truck Plant in Kenya



Jul 5, 2011

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) announced it will establish a new truck assembly plant in Kenya.

As a part of the move, Japanese auto maker giant Toyota Motor Corporation is planning to acquire a 50 per cent stake in a local truck and bus assembly firm and then expand it with an investment of $35 million.

Toyota Motor Corporation made a move where they plan to acquire $0.50 per stake in a bus assembly and local truck assembly firm and increased with an addition of $35 million.

Denis Awori, the chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation in Kenya said, "Toyota Motor Corporation proposes to build the regional vehicle and parts centre in Nairobi and invest in the expansion of Associated Vehicle Assemblers to assemble Hino trucks and buses."

Shares of Toyota Motor are trading up 0.2% at $83.62.

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Toyota Motor Reports June Sales Down 24.1% From June 2010

- Toyota Motor Reports June Sales Down 24.1% From June 2010



Jul 1, 2011

Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) reported June sales of 110,937 units, a decrease of 24.1% from June of 2010.

The Toyota Division posted a sales decrease of 21.9%, while the Lexus Division reported Sales down 40.2%.

For the first half of the year, Toyota posted sales of 812,788 total units, down 4.6% from the first six months of 2010.

Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A said, "We can't say enough about the remarkable efforts our team members and suppliers have made here in the U.S. and in Japan to restore production. June marked a significant turning point for Toyota as sales moved up over last month. Toyota dealers now have a good supply of cars and trucks, and that selection is growing every day. Returning production and new marketing programs will put us in a great position to take advantage of the summer selling season and with an influx of new products slated this year, we're extremely optimistic about the second half of 2011."

Shares of Toyota Motor are trading up 1.17% at $83.38.

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Ford's June Sales Grow 13.6% Year-Over-Year

- Ford's June Sales Grow 13.6% Year-Over-Year



Jul 1, 2011

Ford Motor's (NYSE:F) June sales totaled 194,114, growing 13.6% from June 2010, the company reported today.

Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service said, "Strong demand for Ford's fuel-efficient cars and crossovers continues, and we now are seeing truck buyers return to the market with significant appetite for our fuel-efficient V6 engines. The Fiesta and Focus are driving Ford's retail share gains in markets beyond our traditional geographic areas of strength. In California, Ford's retail share is the highest since 2006. We also have seen gains in the East and Southeast."

Ford's small cars powered the sales figures, as the all-new Fiesta and the Ford Focus accounted for 26,920 sales in June, up 66% from a year ago. The Fiesta and Focus recently were named to Kelley Blue Book's 2011 Top 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000.

Ford's utilities were also strong, with 6-month sales now totaling 280,875, a 25% increase over the first six months of 2010, making it the top selling utility brand in the U.S.

Shares of Ford Motor are trading up 1.16% at $13.95.

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Ford Motor Marks Completion of $500 Million South African Investment

- Ford Motor Marks Completion of $500 Million South African Investment



Jun 30, 2011

Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) marked the completion this week of its $500 million investment in its South African operations.

The company has spent the last two years expanding its Struandale engine plant in Port Elizabeth, increasing its capacity to 75,000 diesels and 220,000 engine component kits, and its Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria to produce the all-new ford Ranger for export.

The Ranger will be exported from South Africa to 148 markets around the world. To meet that demand, capacity at the Silverton Plant was increased to 110,000 of the pickups annually.

Jeff Nemeth, president of Ford Motor Co. of Southern Africa, said in an interview Tuesday with the Detroit News that "somewhere down the pike, Africa will hit that growth curve as well,"

Ford currently has about 10% market share in South Africa, behind Toyota, Volkswagen, and General Motors, Nemeth said. The company employs 2,900 workers in the country and has 127 dealers.

Shares of Ford Motor are trading up 3.84% at $13.94.

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U.S. Retail Sales Fall 0.2% In May, Smaller Drop Than Expected

- U.S. Retail Sales Fall 0.2% In May, Smaller Drop Than Expected



Jun 14, 2011

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated retail and food services sales for May at $387.1 billion today, down 0.2% from April, but up 7.7% from May of 2010.

Economists had expected a drop of 0.7% for May. The increase from March 2011 to April 2011 was revised down from 0.5% increase to a 0.3% increase.

Excluding slumping motor vehicle sales, which fell 2.9% from April, total retail sales rose 0.3%.

Core sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, and building materials, increased 0.2% in May from April.

For the first five months of the year, retail sales have totaled $1.87 trillion, an 8% increase over the same period in 2010.

Sales at gasoline stations, up 17.5%, lead the pack, followed by sales of motor vehicles, which despite slumping in April and May due to the Japanese earthquake, are still up 13.3% so far this year.

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Honda Motor Projects 65% Drop in Profit For the Year

- Honda Motor Projects 65% Drop in Profit For the Year



Jun 14, 2011

Honda Motor Co. (NYSE:HMC) forecast a 65% drop in annual profit for its year ended March 2012 this morning, as vehicle production continues to be hampered due to the March 11th earthquake.

The company said it expects total production for the year to drop 6% to 3.3 million total vehicles for the year, down from 3.51 million in its year ended in March 2011.

Honda is projecting a profit of $2.4 billion, down sharply from the $6.6 billion recorded last year, and far lower than the post-quake consensus estimate for $5.0 billion. Revenues are projected to fall 7.1% to $104 billion.

The estimates are based on an average exchange rate of 80 yen to the dollar and 110 yen to the euro.

The company said it expects Japanese production to nearly normalize by later this month, while overseas production could take until August or September. That isn't very encouraging, considering the company manufactures over 70% of its cars outside of Japan.

Honda Motor has a potential upside of 27.9% based on a current price of $36.13 and an average consensus analyst price target of $46.2.

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Toyota Motor Estimates 31% Drop Full Year Net Profit

- Toyota Motor Estimates 31% Drop Full Year Net Profit



Jun 10, 2011

Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) said today it expects its net profit to fall by almost a third this year, as production continues to be disrupted 3 months after the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11th.

The company predicted its profit for the full year ending in March 2012 would decline 31% to $3.5 billion.

Analysts had been expecting a profit of $5.28 billion, and the company reported $5.1 billion in profit for the year ending March 2011.

The company expects full year sales to decline 2%, and said global production wouldn't recover completely until November.

Toyota Motor has a potential upside of 14.3% based on a current price of $80.84 and an average consensus analyst price target of $92.4.

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Ford Predicts 50% Global Sales Growth by 2015

- Ford Predicts 50% Global Sales Growth by 2015



Jun 7, 2011

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) said on Tuesday that it expects global sales to rise 50% by 2015 to 8 million vehicles annually, driven by rapid expansion in Asia and Africa as well as strong growth in sales of small cars.

Last year, Ford sold 5.3 million vehicles globally, predominantly in the U.S. and in European markets.

In contrast, the company's share in China, now the largest motor vehicle market by volume, is just 2.4%, while rival GM's share is 10%.

Ford is building a new plant in the city of Chongqing, China, with joint venture Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co, and plans to set up a new engine plant there as well.

The company currently sells the Focus compact and Fiesta subcompact in China, but it plans to introduce 15 models and double the number of dealerships in the country to 680 by 2015.

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Ford Focus Receives IIHS "Top Safety Pick" Award

- Ford Focus Receives IIHS "Top Safety Pick" Award



May 26, 2011

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced today it has awarded Ford Motor Company's (NYSE:F) 2012 Focus a "Top Safety Pick" rating.

It is Ford's twelfth vehicle to earn the award. The announcement comes a day after the Euro NCAP gave the new Focus its maximum 5-star overall safety rating after concluding its tests on the car.

"We were committed from the beginning with the new Focus to design and engineer a vehicle that leads the way both in terms of technology and safety," said Gunnar Herrmann, Global C Car vehicle line director. "The inherent strength of the new Focus is the structural rigidity of the body and its extensive use of high-strength steels."

The body of the vehicle is comprised of 55% high-strength steels, of which 31% is the ultra-tough boron steel. That percentage is higher than any other Ford vehicle built to date.

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Toyota Motor Said It Will Increase Production Capacity At Its Indonesian Plant

- Toyota Motor Said It Will Increase Production Capacity At Its Indonesian Plant



May 25, 2011

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) said it will increase production capacity at a plant in Indonesia in its first manufacturing investment deal since the earthquake in Japan as the company continues efforts to bring output operations back to normal.

Toyota plans to lift annual output capacity at Karawang to 140,000 vehicles, up from the current 100,000.

Toyota Motor has a potential upside of 14.4% based on a current price of $80.76 and an average consensus analyst price target of $92.4.

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Ford Invests $72 Million to Expand Chennai Powertrain Facility

- Ford Invests $72 Million to Expand Chennai Powertrain Facility



May 17, 2011

Ford Motor (F) announced today that it will invest $72 million to expand its powertrain facility in Chennai. The move is expected to further support the company's sales and export growth plans in India.

The company stated further that the expansion program will be completed in mid-2012. By then, it noted, the engine plant's production capacity will have increased from 250,000 to 330,000 units per year, an additional output of 80,000 diesel engines annually.

The expansion of F's diesel engine production capacity will bring its total investment in India to more than $1 billion, the company added.

Shares are down 1.55% to $14.90.

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Toyota Announces Temporary Shutdown of All North American Factories "Inevitable" (TM)

Toyota Announces Temporary Shutdown of All North American Factories "Inevitable" (TM)




Toyota Motor Co (NYSE:TM) announced earlier today that they will have to close down all of their North American factories by the end of this month due to a parts shortage caused by the damage from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

The temporary shutdown of the company's 13 factories in North America is inevitable, the company said. How long the production stoppage will last is unknown. 25,000 workers will be affected, but no layoffs are expected.

The factories have been using parts from their inventories and those that were shipped before the disaster, but those supplies are running out.

Spokesman Mike Goss said, "We're going to get to a point this month where that gap in the pipeline starts to show up. So we'll have to suspend production for a while,"

Toyota gets about 15% of the parts for cars and trucks built in North America from Japan, "but still you have to have them all to build the vehicles," Goss said.

Shares of Toyota Motor are trading down 1.29% at $79.47.

Constellation Energy Reached Deal To Manage Toyota's Natural Gas Needs (CEG,TM)

Constellation Energy Reached Deal To Manage Toyota's Natural Gas Needs (CEG,TM)



Constellation Energy (NYSE:CEG) said it reached a deal with Toyota Motor Corp.'s (NYSE:TM) North American engineering and manufacturing operations to manage its natural gas needs.

The company will handle natural gas supply, risk management, hedging, budget analysis, energy market monitoring and other services for Toyota manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It will also provide risk management services to 14 facilities and will supply natural gas to nine Toyota sites in North America.

Honda Motor, Mazda Will Resume Limited Production At Japanese Factories In April

Honda Motor, Mazda Will Resume Limited Production At Japanese Factories In April



Honda (NYSE:HMC) and Mazda said they will resume limited production at several Japanese factories in April, but full production will depend on the availability of parts, which is another sign that the Japanese auto industry is starting to come back from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Industry analysts say it could take until summer before factories are back at full output.

Japan is the second-largest supplier of cars in the world, and is also a major parts producer. The impact of the earthquake is already causing production cuts in other countries, including the U.S. Few plants were seriously damaged in Japan but water and electricity supplies have been hampered.

General Motors to develop Buick plug-in hybrid

General Motors to develop Buick plug-in hybrid



General Motors (GM) is developing a Buick using the Chevrolet Volt's plug-in hybrid technology, reports Bloomberg. According to two people familiar with the project, designers are working on a version of the hybrid Opel Ampera scheduled for sale in Europe this year. The Buick version would go on sale in 2013 if it receives final approval.