Automakers and analysts disagree on when European passenger car sales will finally rebound from a six-year slump. Ford Motor Co. and Daimler see signs that the bottom will be reached this year.
“We’re not predicting any upturn yet, but there are certainly some good indications,” Ford of Europe CEO Stephen Odell said last month. “Our prediction would be that we’re at or close to the trough.”
In its push for more efficient auto factories, Ford Motor Co. is zeroing in a new manufacturing cost item: unhealthy Ford workers.
Demographic trends unfolding in China will ultimately lead Africa to replace the world’s most populous country as a global center of low-cost manufacturing, according to Ford Motor Co.’s official futurist.
That’s just one impact of changing demographics that will force automakers and suppliers to reconsider their future product and production plans, Sheryl Connelly, global consumer trends and futuring manager for Ford, said at the 2013 CAR Management Briefing Seminars on Wednesday.
GM’s Holden unit has cut jobs over the past two years amid export pressure from a strong Australian dollar, the reduction of import tariffs and declining demand for the large cars in which local automakers specialize.
Ford Motor Co. has developed technology to give police officers more protection against someone sneaking up behind their vehicle.
