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

4.  To sum up the assets status of major automakers amid the financial crisis and compare the changes in their R&D capabilities

In addition to focusing our analysis on four representative vehicle business, we have also chosen 14 of the world's major car companies to analyze their changes during and after the financial crisis, from two perspectives: the "assets status -- the ability to maintain good operation" and the "R&D capabilities -- the timely introduction of products to the market."

Our approach is to break the assets status and R&D capabilities down into five distinctive states: very good, good, average, poor, very poor. On this basis, we have invited the industry executives and professionals to select the state of each automaker before and after the financial crisis.

Based on our comprehensive survey of the judgments made by 30 industry experts, we have set up the "assets status -- R&D capabilities" two-dimensional matrix.

The "assets status -- R&D capabilities" matrix conveys the following information:

More affected by the crisis are mainly American and Japanese car companies, such as General Motors, Chrysler, Toyota, Renault-Nissan, and others. This corresponds to the first part of the survey results;

Most other carmakers, as industry experts have cautiously judged, have not seen obvious problems or progress;

The Fiat-Chrysler Alliance, first of all, is shown to have boosted its technological superiority, mainly by Fiat's world-class technology, platform and power system in the small- and medium-sized car segments. This will be conducive to the setting up of more expansive product lines in the new Chrysler.
  
This round of change has brought the major carmakers closer to the center of the matrix, namely their overall strengths are getting closer, which means that competition between these automakers will become more intense.

(To be continued)

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

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 (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)