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Crunch watch Jan 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard, Ben Pulman and Gareth Evans Motor Industry 30 January 2009 12:39 Friday 30 January 2009• Honda is about to close the Swindon factory for four months when Friday's shifts are finished; the shutdown will affect 2500 of the 3700 staff, who will receive full pay for two months and then 60% pay for the next eight weeks (BBC News)• Porsche has announced a sharp drop in sales and likely profits. It forecasts a 27% drop in 911, Boxster, Cayman and Cayenne sales to around 34,000 units in the six months to the end of January 2009 (Financial Times, subscription required)• Ford wants Washington to do more to stimulate car sales, after posting a record loss of nearly $14.6 billion earlier this week (Detroit News)• Honda's quarterly profit has crashed by 90% – forcing the Japanese car maker to halve its annual profit target (Detroit Free Press)Thursday 29 January 2009• Ford of Europe is a bright spot in the Blue Oval's quarterly results today, making $1.06 billion pre-tax profit in 2008 (up from $997m in 2007). It's the first profit of more than $1bn since 1989 (Automotive News Europe, subscription required)• Volvo suffered a 'disastrous 2008' with a pre-tax loss of $1.46bn.

Mercedes-Benz S-Class W222

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its new S-Class W222 sedan flagship. At 5,246mm long, 1,899mm wide and 1,491mm high, sitting on a wheelbase of 3,165mm it is the latest model designed to convey ‘The Essence of Luxury', features the familiar Mercedes-Benz front with a larger, upright radiator grille. To the sides of the grille are two large, full LED headlights that mirror the outer contour of the grille, while the side view is dominated by the familiar dropping line, in the form of a sharp crease running from the trailing edge of the headlamps to a lower point above the rear wheel arches.

Record British car exports

By Ben Oliver Motor Industry 29 January 2008 11:27 Britain exported more cars in 2007 than in any previous year, with total production up six percent to over 1.5 million. A record 1.18m cars, or 77 percent of production, were sent overseas. Britain’s record year for car production was 1972, when 1.9m cars were produced.