The automotive industry was injured even since oil prices jumped frantically to a record high in the mid 2008, and the knockout strike was given to this sector by the most severe credit crisis, since the great depression; however, while the economic meltdown is continuing to hurt luxury and large car manufacturers, others found that this crisis is more beneficial than previously thought…
The first signs of trouble in the automobile industry started to appear when oil prices and raw material prices, witnessed a frenetic jump that not only increased vehicle prices but also made people obliged to spend more on their cars, since fuel reached to a record high, as oil prices reached in the mid 2008 to a 147 dollar per barrel, range.
At that time more and more customers started to change their consumption habits and started to be more interested in smaller, less fuel consuming cars, which increased revenues for manufacturers who had such models in their production lines; such as Toyota, which in 2008 managed to maintain its title as the world’s number one vehicle manufacturer by volume of sales that reached to 9.237.780 million units.
While the US car manufacturer, General Motors, which was the leading vehicle manufacturer for 77 years from 1931 to 2007, was obliged to file for bankruptcy on June 1st 2009, to the be the forth biggest bankruptcy in the US, since the company lost an important market share, since this industry became more competitive with new car models that had become more attractive than the big fuel consuming cars, produced by GM.
The crisis that started in the automotive manufacturing industry, which began in 2008 in the US, expanded fast to the rest of the world; especially, in Europe and Japan, and what triggered the last strike was the credit crisis that make it difficult for people to have access to credit, though which they can purchase cars through; and that was the point at which many car manufacturers started their downfall.
The first affected were the big car sales and luxury cars manufacturers, because with higher unemployment levels consumers started to get more oriented towards cheaper cars that at the same time offer some comfort standards; therefore, since some heavy names see sharp falls in sales, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Fiat witnessed a rise in new vehicle registrations during May by 25.0%, 3.1% and 2.0%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the most rated luxury cars manufacturers; BMW and Daimler, witnessed a fall in sales during May, since its new vehicle registrations fell by 14.0% and 8.9% respectively. While, Toyota the world’s largest, witnessed a fall by 8.9%; however, even if some manufacturers like Renault saw a decline in May by 4.4%, where some of its models were not met with great success.
Renault benefited a lot from the strong rise in demand with its Romanian brand, Dacia; which doubled its sales in May from a year earlier, to reach 24.894 thousand units; the companies that managed to fulfill their present client needs, offering them the best comfort and fuel efficient cars with the least cost, were able not only to survive but also to flourish during these challenging times.