The world’s largest carmakers viewed a rich slump together in the first half of the year. As can be seen from a study by the exam and consulting company EY published on Sunday, the operational profit (EBIT) of the 19 largest carmakers is almost halved (minus 49.2 percent). From January to June it was 42.8 billion euros, after 84.3 billion euros in the previous year. Sales stagnated in total.
In the second quarter, the decline in profits “even accelerated” – profits slipped by 55 percent. Only Chinese manufacturers developed better. The established western auto industry is in a deep and structural crisis, said Ey car expert Constantin Gall. Electric cars sold significantly weaker than assumed, and there would be a ruinous price competition on important sales markets.
“The problems in China If the buyers are increasingly turning to national brands there, “said Gall. In addition, high transformation and restructuring costs, recalls and supply chain disorders caused problems.
Renault, Nissan, Stellantis and Mazda with losses
The declines are particularly clear Renault,, Nissan, the Opel-Mother Stellantis And Mazda failed who slipped into the loss zone in the first half of the year. According to EY, the German car companies recorded a total of 38 percent, the decline for US manufacturers was 43 percent.
Chinese manufacturers, on the other hand, have developed “slightly positive overall”: Geely, Great Wall Motor and Byd According to the evaluation, their profit increased by one percent in the first half of the year. In terms of sales development, the Chinese car companies were also ahead with a increase in sales of 20 percent, “albeit with smaller total volumes”.
The German corporations recorded a sales of 4 percent, the US corporations shrank 2 percent, Stellantis and Renault together by 9 percent.
Suzuki, Kia and Toyota most profitable
Even with the margins – to put it simply, the profit that remains after deduction of costs – it does not look rosy for many car manufacturers: According to Ey, seven of the manufacturers examined were at the margin in the second quarter, four would have even “even a negative operational margin”. The most profitable in the first half of the year was the Japanese car company Suzuki with a margin of 10.4 percent, the South Korean car manufacturer Kia (10.1 percent) and Toyota (9.3 percent); BMW is fourth with a margin of 8.6 percent.
The weak phase of the industry will continue for the time being, forecasted Gall. “The storm won’t be stopped,” he said. The expert justified this, among other things, with a weakly lasting economy, and the geopolitical situation and customs policy would not be foreseeable. “For many manufacturers, the complete business model is at stake, for some manufacturers the question of existence will arise in the medium term,” said Gall.
It is all the more important that the car companies make tough decisions. “The good old days don’t come back, the industry has changed fundamentally, and the automotive industry has to find an answer,” said Gall.
The car companies would have to separate from contaminated sites, reduce it much too large portfolio and focus – on clearly defined customer segments, on a delimited, competitive range of models. “Size is not everything, size can also prove to be a brake block when it comes to adapting to new circumstances,” said Gall.