Credit is being crunched, buyers are deserting dealerships in droves and the motor industry appears to be in turmoil. These are dark days in the car market – yet I can’t help feeling you can’t beat a good old-fashioned crisis to shake up an established market that’s rested on its laurels for too long.
On a human level, I naturally feel for people whose livelihoods are at risk, whether they work for Lehman Brothers or Lamborghini. But isn’t the current financial whirlwind gusting through the world’s economy going to blow down some dead wood? Only the nimblest, fittest businesses will survive in a market that’s as topsy-turvy as today’s – and there can only be a stronger industry as a result of these tumultuous events.
It’s a cruel double whammy of economic circumstance that’s crippling car makers’ access to cash and their share value, while buyers are simultaneously disappearing into the woodwork. Yesterday’s news that the UK market is a fifth lower than at this time last year is a miserable message you’ll hear echoed around the world. There’s a palpable sense of panic in many boardrooms across the globe.
So what next?
It can only be a matter of time before we see the industrial consequence of these hard times. Rumours abound of new deals between the major car makers, as they seek to shake up old business structures just to survive.
Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn told CAR there’s no truth in the rumours that his company is readying an emergency deal with Chrysler and GM. Ford maintains it will persevere with Volvo, while GM is reportedly pinning its hopes on its revolutionary new plug-in hybrid tech as premiered on the Volt.
But with stumbling sales and crippling finances, it’s surely just a matter of time before we see the car industry map redrawn again. Tata has already snaffled Britain’s crown jewels with its purchase earlier in 2008 of Jaguar and Land Rover, and I’d predict further shifts from west to east in the coming months.
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