Japanese Cars VS German cars ... Who wins?
The German automotive industry is facing a major shake with top manufacturers range such as Porsche and Mercedes sales reports as one-third and more than half of the 740,000 people employed in the sector currently working a short week .
Daimler was particularly hard hit with CEO Dieter Zetsche announced last week that employees should contribute ten percent through the pay cut from the card to a package of cost reduction of four billion euros.
With every five jobs in Germany depends on the car and related industries, it is clear that the largest economy of Europe is currently facing a decline of up to six percent.
The manufacturer of small Porsche sports cars, which there are only a few months seemed immune to the crisis and has acquired a majority share of mass- producer Volkswagen, is now in big trouble The case has cost the automaker expensive in just three months it needs refinancing of a 3-A5 3 billion euros 92 billion debt package and it now appears that Porsche will become part of the Volkswagen concern headed by CEO Martin Winterkorn and controlled by President board Ferdinand Piech.
The new turn of events comes after dramatic behind the scenes who deal with the clan of the Porsche family and its managers Wendelin Wiedeking and Holger Haerter battle Piech and Winterkorn Porsche desperately wanted a 75 percent majority control of VW and so get access the billions in reserves held by the company.
In the race to buy more shares Porsche increased its share in VW to over 50 percent in January this year But the case began to falter with at least nine major foreign banks withdraw in the crisis aftermath global financial.
Porsche is the debt service of its running activities but that becomes more difficult in these times VW could open its coffers for Porsche to finance debts of over ten billion euros but this would probably mean that Porsche would end by becoming part of the VW family.
At the other end of the market, Opel, part of General Motors concern in difficulty, is looking for an automaker Italian partner Fiat and Canadian parts supplier Magna Austrian are eager to take over Opel.
Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne, who failed to reach a cooperation agreement with Daimler, is convinced that only automakers that produce between 5 5 to six million vehicles annually will survive long term Currently Fiat would run for a takeover reaching a figure of about two million cars a year, including labels such as Alfa and Lancia.
Marchionne was still negotiating for a takeover of Chrysler when he also made an offer for Opel The Opel management board and workers immediately reacted by saying that the patient rather Fiat concern was seeking a rescue himself even getting his fingers on the money from the German government in an Opel Opel takeover managers favor a Magna takeover because it would benefit the automaker with more capital and technology, they say.
Meanwhile, the Federation German automotive industry expects the local automotive industry, although facing a difficult time in the current economic climate, is well positioned for the future because these automakers like Daimler, VW and BMW are better off than most of their rivals.
But it is likely that all major automakers will form in the near future, more alliances and cooperative research agreements for own drive technology and new mobility systems intensifies.
German economics professor Christian Homburg, University of Mannheim, meanwhile advises car manufacturers to reduce production overcapacity throughout the manufacturing process if it wants to avoid worsening problems in the next decade could be cooperation agreements a way out, but he warns that government money for automakers struggling might aggravate or extend the crisis.
German car industry rattled by crisis, German industry crisis.