Japanese carmakers fall behind German, U.S. and Korean counterparts

The Nikkei newspaper said that Japanese car makers fell behind their counterparts from Germany, U.S. and South Korea in net profits for the third quarter of 2011. The Nikkei tabulated yen-denominated group earnings of the 10 major carmakers in the world from July to September 2011. German automakers Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG and BMW AG all saw their profits exceed ¥100 billion (US$1.3 billion). U.S. automakers General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., and South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. also reached the 100 billion yen mark, but none of Japan’s top three reached that level. Out of the 10 global carmakers tracked by the Nikkei, only Toyota and Honda did not exhibit increased sales volume and revenues for the third quarter. Toyota Motor Corp.’s net profit was ¥80.4 billion (US$1 billion ), down by 19% on the year, while Honda Motor Co.’s net profit fell by 56% to ¥60.4 billion (US$783.7 million). Nissan Motor Co., which was able to recover faster from the effects of the March 11 earthquake, posted a 9% increase in global sales volume and had a 1% gain in revenue. But the company’s net profit was weighed down by the strong yen and fell 3% to ¥98.4 billion (US$1.27 billion). VW had a net profit of ¥732 billion (US$9.49 billion), while U.S. car giant GM’s net profit was ¥135 billion (US$1.75 billion), down by 12%. U.S.-based Ford also posted a 2% decrease in net profit to ¥128.6 billion (US$1.66 billion). Hyundai’s net profit was up by 21% to ¥134.2 billion (US$1.7 billion). While the Japanese automakers were having supply disruptions after the March 11 earthquake, Hyundai expanded its market share in various countries including the U.S. Together with its subsidiary Kia Motors Corp., Hyundai had more vehicle sales than Ford, which puts the Korean automaker on par with GM and Daimler in terms of profit level. (December 7, 2011)