Archive for the ‘China’ Category

The government of China may be angling hard to unseat the U.S. as the world's dominant economic power (case in point: itsstrong support of a plan to end oil trading in U.S. dollar formats), but China's homegrown companies don't have quite as much weight to throw around. As an example, look no further than Chinese automaker Geely and its drawn-out attempt to purchase Volvo from Ford. Today, Geely faces a bidding war with a consortium of former U.S. auto executives, and although the Americans' offer isn't quite as generous as Geely's is, they do have some distinct advantages at the bargaining table.

The U.S. consortium calls itself Crown, and...

Despite the general unpleasantness that's plagued the auto industry for over a year, Ford is doing comparatively well these days. In fact, given the gradually rebounding global economy and Ford's new strategic alliances in Asia, CEO Alan Mulally feels fairly optimistic about the next two years.

Mulally expects Ford to finish 2009 with a 16% share of the American auto market, based on estimated industry-wide U.S. sales of 10.5 to 11 million units. Although Ford hasn't posted an annual profit since 2005, Mulally says the company is on target to at least break even by calendar year 2011. The company recently instituted a $10 billion...

Interesting news from HUMMER today: spokesman Nick Richards says that the company's potential new owners in China plan to keep HUMMER's headquarters in the U.S. -- specifically, near Detroit.

Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corporation had also been considering sites in South Carolina and Tennessee, but ultimately chose Michigan because of a $20.6 million state tax credit offered by the Michigan Economic Development Authority. If all goes as planned, the new HUMMER headquarters will provide jobs for around 100 individuals, with plans to grow the rolls to 300 over time. Economists predict that the office would help create an...