A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (I)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry
---- The impact of financial crisis on global automakers and Chinese auto brands

Gasgoo Auto Industry Institute, July 2009

Gasgoo Auto Industry Institute

Gasgoo Auto Industry Institute is an independent third-party research institution under Gasgoo.com, and its mission is to provide people in the auto industry with highly efficient, well-structured explanations and analysis of the important, future and hot issues in the auto and component sectors.

Gasgoo Auto Industry Institute has its research and study based on the Gasgoo.com information / news channels (in Chinese and English), which command 200,000 hits each day by industry professionals. The channels are also a good platform for us to release the latest research findings and serve our costumers better.

Gasgoo.com has its ever-growing banks of industry experts and suppliers and these are another key condition for our highly effective research. These experts and suppliers are very cooperative in our interviews and survey and have facilitated the efficient research of Gasgoo Auto Industry Institute.

Foreword .......................................................................................................................................... 5

The major findings ......................................................................................................................... 6

Part One. The change in the global auto industry pattern …................................................... 8
1.  The global auto industry will not undergo structural change
2.  The strength of mainstream automakers has ups and downs in this change
3.  Automakers will be more cautious in their selection of expansion modes
4.  Auto-parts suppliers see another wave of mergers and acquisitions

Part Two. Analysis of the impact of the change on typical mainstream automakers ........ 21
1.   It remains to be seen whether GM will rise from the ashes or fall deeper in the mire
2.  Toyota's short-term losses may last one to two years
3.  Volkswagen and Hyundai may seize the chance for global expansion
4.  To sum up the assets status of major automakers amid the financial crisis and compare the changes in their R&D capabilities

Part Three. Analysis of the impact of the change on players in the Chinese market ……. 30
1.  The domestic Chinese market will be getting more fiercely competitive
2.  GM China business may have a big turn
3.  Chinese brands will meet with setbacks on the road of globalization
4.  Chinese brands will have good opportunities for development, but blind optimism will lead to failure

Conclusion, Acknowledgements, Data sources ......................................................................... 43

Forward

This research report was worked out when the auto industry suffered from global financial crisis and the global auto industry faced potential great changes.

At present, the financial crisis sweeping the world has considerably impacted on the global auto industry: two of the U.S. Big Three seeking bankruptcy protection, Toyota Motor, a benchmark of global auto industry, experiencing the first-time losses in 70 years, almost all of the mainstream global automakers seeing huge losses or profits decline, and auto-parts companies having more frequent bankruptcy or mergers and acquisitions.

Of course, in troubled times there are also heroes playing the role of "savior" -- Fiat buying Chrysler and seeking Opel to achieve the "World's Top 5" dream; China's automakers are also involved in the bids for Opel and Hummer. With a new series of fission and fusion still underway, how will the pattern of the global auto industry finally evolve in this round of major reshuffle?

While monitoring the development and trend of the global automobile industry, Gasgoo Auto Industry Institute has made full use of the interactive features of the Internet and the abundant resources of industry experts, and has completed this report after more than two months of survey and research.

Our research has combined the on-line surveys and off-line interviews. Our surveys on auto.gasgoo.com and autonews.gasgoo.com have drawn more than 5,000 voters and participants, most of whom (as the viewers of our Website) are from the auto industry. We have also interviewed different experts, including experts from several world-class consulting firms, top executives from auto and auto-parts companies, experts from various auto service agencies and renowned experts from the auto industry.

Here, as members of the research project team, we express our thanks to all those viewers who have taken part in the survey online and those experts and executives who have accepted our interviews off-line. The main views and opinions in this report are all based on the research results, with no commercial purposes and only for industry reference.

(To be continued)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (II)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (III)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (IV)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (V)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (VI)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (VII)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (VIII)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (IX)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (X)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (XI)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (XII)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (XIII)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (XIV)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (XV)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (XVI)

A Research Report on the Change in Global Auto Industry (XVII)