Hertz pays $2.3B for Dollar Thrifty originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

3 of 4 major rental car outfits won't pledge not to rent or sell recalled vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hertz offers $2.24B for Dollar-Thrifty originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 May 2011 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Study: Rental car companies increase customer satisfaction, Enterprise tops

Study: Rental car companies increase customer satisfaction, Enterprise tops originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 Nov 2010 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Indulge your Germanic car lust now, prices expect to rise originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Oct 2007 19:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How's this for a wake-up call on the state of the dollar: "If the dollar keeps slumping against the euro, the United States could become the next Mexico -- a low-cost manufacturing haven for European automakers and suppliers." With the dollar at $1.38 to the euro as of now, and expecting to drop further, European makes either need to raise prices, move production to "cheaper" countries like the US, become more efficient, or be happy with less profits. Fewer euros in the till isn't really an option, and price wars are already difficult enough to navigate. That leaves relocation or finding cost efficiencies in other markets.

The article in Automotive News goes on to detail how European manufacturers like BMW and Mercedes are actively moving production to their Spartanburg, South Carolina and Tuscaloosa, Alabama factories, respectively. VW is considering its options for an American plant, but will stick with Mexican operations for now. Audi's approach, since it only sells 10-percent of it's European product in the US, has been to find cost efficiencies in markets like China. Other companies looking for such natural hedges include Magna, which recently lost a huge amount of production at its Austrian plant. The Canadian supplier and manufacturer is looking at building a factory in America to ease the pain.

The market is being watched closely, and there are too many factors in play to know who will do what yet, but some analysts think the dollar might drop to $1.50 against the euro. If so, said John Lawson, chief auto analyst for Citigroup in London, "Either the dollar has to change, or the business model has to change."

[Source: Automotive News, sub req'd]

Euro vs. Dollar: More factories may be U.S.-bound originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 08:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Most people looking to purchase a Toyota or Nissan just don't care about the value of the Yen vs. the Dollar. It just isn't relevant. For automakers here and in Europe, however, it's a very big deal. The Auto Trade Policy Council estimates a Japanese auto manufacturer advantage of $9,000 on luxury vehicles imported from Japan and $2,000 on lower-end imports. Japanese manufacturers have smartly used the imbalance to add content to their products while maintaining the price of their competition. Customers are getting more for their money and Toyota, Honda and company are getting lauded for high quality materials.

The Yen is worth less than the Dollar because the current national interest rate in Japan is .5 percent, close to what the rate was in the US only a couple years ago. Right now, however, the US interest rate is at 5.25 percent. In Europe, the rate is 3.5%. Investors borrow Yen at low rates then sell the currency and put the money into higher interest accounts like US treasury bonds. As a result, the yen is devalued by up to 25% and Japanese goods are cheaper for Americans.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Continue reading Yen vs. Dollar/Euro: Both US and European automakers feeling the pinch

Yen vs. Dollar/Euro: Both US and European automakers feeling the pinch originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Feb 2007 09:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

General Motors CEO used the bully pulpit at GM's annual shareholders' meeting to repeat a complaint that has been made several times in the past few decades (and will likely will be heard many times again) - the Japanese government is artificially holding the value of the yen low relative to the dollar to help its exporters. The same complaint was recently issued by Chrysler's Tom LaSorda as well. A lower value for the yen makes it easier to stick a lower price tag on an auto that's imported from Japan; or, alternatively, it makes the sale of that vehicle more profitable at the same price.

The yen has experienced two significant slides in value relative to the dollar twice in the past ten years, but at this time it is close to trading near its strongest position over the same time period. While the Big Three do not enjoy the same relationship with their government as the Japanese automakers, it's unclear whether the Hill's financial policy of large federal and trade deficits would allow any significant manipulation of the dollar's value, even if the feds wanted to help the automakers.

[Source: Forbes]

GM's Wagoner joins chorus blaming weak yen originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Jun 2006 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

At the Mackinac Policy Conference in Michigan on Thursday, Chrysler president and CEO Tom LaSorda said he plans to call on George W. Bush to confront Japan about an artificially low yen rate that he maintains unfairly allows Japanese automakers up to a $3,000 advantage per vehicle over their American counterparts. LaSorda said that he, Rick Wagoner and Bill Ford plan to raise this topic, along with health care and energy policy, with President Bush in a meeting scheduled for later this month.

LaSorda drew attention to the 1.8 million Japanese vehicles that are still being imported into the United States, and although this number has decreased since years past, parts imported from Japan continue to exacerbate the issue.

[Source: Reuters]

Yen rate gives Japanese automakers unfair advantage, Chrysler's LaSorda says originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 03 Jun 2006 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.