Cars and the crisis

Cars and the crisis

Car makers worldwide have been affected severely by the economic slowdown. However, the situation seems to be improving in some regions, with governments taking steps to help recovery.

August 26, 2009 11:26 by Aarti Nagraj

Russia has also taken some steps to protect its carmakers; it has announced that it will create a new firm called Rosavto to manage the top three auto companies in the country, which are facing problems because of the crisis. The new company will include car giant Avtovaz, truck maker Kamaz and engine-builder Avtodizel, reports AFP.

Falling sales forced both Avtovaz and Kamaz to suspend production in August this year, and according to reports, Avtovaz is also planning to cut a number of jobs.

Austrian vehicle manufacturer KTM was also forced to cut down production of its X-Bow sports car after falling short of its sales target. The company reportedly planned to build around 1000 X-Bows a year, but now says that it is planning to reduce that number to between 200 and 300 cars a year. KTM has stopped production at its Graz facility, although work is expected to resume in January 2010.

Meanwhile, automobile production in Argentina plunged 24.1 percent in July compared with the same period a year ago, the Argentine Automobile Manufacturers Association said last week. But demand does seem to be increasing slowly, with the production increasing 6 percent from June this year.

Last week, General Motors (GM) also announced that it would increase production and hire new workers at two of its plants in Mexico because of increasing vehicle demand in the US. The company will increase output at its pickup truck plant in Silao to 45 vehicles per hour from 40 from this month end, and boost that to 47 by the end of October, reports CNN.

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Tags: cars, demand, falling, Financial Crisis, GM, production, Russia, Toyota, UK