Suddenly, businesses across Europe are waking up to the realisation that the UK is currently on course to leave the European Union (EU) on 29 March next year, without a deal on trade and customs. As Katherine Bennett, the UK boss of aerospace giant, Airbus, warned on Friday: “This is not project fear, this is […]
Chemicals and the Economy
GM says owning a car in a city “is the last thing you should do”
Something strange is happening in the European auto market, as the above chart from the industry association shows: Normally there are seasonal patterns, with March seeing the highest sales of the year But the trend of increase or decline is normally fairly stable in either direction This year, however, both March and now June have […]
Average US auto loan term hits record 68 months in May
May was “another fantastic month for US auto sales”. Or, it took the industry “one month closer to an inevitable downturn”. All depends on which analyst you talk to: Ward’s Autos called May’s sales the best since July 2005 LMC Automotive suggested growth rates were slowing, and could possibly even contract next year It also depends […]
World Aromatics and Derivatives Conference next week
Our 13th annual World Aromatics & Derivatives Conference takes place in Berlin next week. Jointly organised as always by International eChem and ICIS, it features a must-hear list of speakers: ExxonMobil: Europe Business Director Tim Stedman will give a global market overview Dow Chemical: Global Business Director Pieter Platteeuw will discuss the future for benzene […]
Ageing BabyBoomers slow housing, auto markets
As promised yesterday, the blog today looks at the wider impact of the major changes underway in housing markets. Driven by the ageing BabyBoomers these changes are, in effect, like throwing a series of large stones into the middle of a pool of water – the ripples spread wider and wider as the impact grows. One key […]
Global auto industry enters “peak car” era
Q1 saw record global auto sales volumes, as the chart above shows: US and EU manufacturers cut prices and offered great financing deals to boost sales Chinese buyers raced to beat new quota restrictions on the main cities Japanese consumers brought forward purchases ahead of April’s sales tax increase Only India disappointed of the 5 major markets, […]
BMW says “pay to use” models will challenge US auto industry
Major change seems underway in the auto industry, as BMW joins the list of those entering the car-sharing market with its DriveNow electric vehicles. As BMW’s Tony Douglas noted at their launch: “Our core business in the ’70s was selling cars; in the ’80s, late ’70s came the great innovation of leasing and financing. Now […]
Rolls Royce prices start to slide
BMW, the world’s largest luxury car manufacturer and owner of Rolls Royce motors, today abandoned its August forecast of record auto sales and a 4% operating margin for 2008. CEO, Norbert Reithofer, was in downbeat mood, saying that “the financial crisis is by no means behind us yet, particularly its impact on the real economy […]
‘2009 – another difficult year’ says BMW
BMW, the world’s largest luxury car manufacturer, warned today that it is no longer immune from the global downturn: ‘Business conditions for the automobile industry deteriorated sharply again in the second quarter due to further ongoing steep rises in oil and raw material prices, the weakness of the US dollar, the impact of the international […]