Quote |
"The heavy duty vehicle market is definitely a much bigger
market, much better, and much more profitable market for all of us." |
| Read the CEAR™ to find out more about this opportunity. |
CEAR™ Auto News Briefs
Auto News Briefs are a sampling of those news items included in our weekly email report AutoNewsFast™. If you would like to receive our most current information and all the items included in our information packed report, subscribe today.
UT AUTOMOTIVE OPENS NEW WIRE HARNESS
PLANT IN POLAND
On June 18, 1998, UT Automotive opened its new wire harness plant in Mielec, Poland. The
12,000 square meter facility, located in Mielec's Special Economic Zone, will employ 500
workers.
UT Automotive has been making wire harnesses in Poland since 1995, operating out of
temporary facilities in Mielec. In 1997, the company's exports from Poland totaled $20
million. By the year 2000, UT Automotive plans to expand capacity in Poland and achieve
exports of $100 million.
HAYES LEMMERZ SOLIDIFYING CZECH PRESENCE
Hayes Lemmerz is pouring $26 million into a new wheel plant in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
The company has operated a wheel manufacturing plant in the Czech Republic since 1993.
Hayes's main customer is Skoda Auto, and later in 1998 the company will start supplying
Ford. Hayes also plans to supply Opel's new Polish car assembly plant.
NEW CAR SALES UP 10% IN POLAND
During the first five months of 1998, new car sales in Poland totaled 234,000 units, up
10% compared to sales during the same period in 1997, according to figures released by
SAMAR.
Fiat sold 71,886 cars, capturing a 30.62% market share. Close behind is Daewoo with sales
of 64,512 units and a market share of 27.48%. GM/Opel sold 19,103 cars for a market share
of 8.14%.
Daewoo's Tico model was the most popular make with sales of 20,437 units, closely followed
by Fiat's Palio/Siena with sales of 19,633 units. Sales of Daewoo's Lanos model total
18,566 units, and Fiat's 126 model saw sales hit 18,451 units.
CEAR JULY 1998 ISSUE ARTICLE INDEX
Best Selling Brands in Poland (YTD April 1998)
Exhibitions, Conferences, and Shows in 1998 & 1999
Fastest Sales Climbers in Poland (YTD April 1998)
Poland Plans Excise Tax on Import & Sale of Cars
Sales Loss Leaders in Poland (YTD April 1998)
Facing the Intellectual Capital Challenge -- Part II
Regional Market Highlights
Investment Opportunities
Regional Distribution of Cars in Slovakia
Slovakia's Car Park: Big Variances; Western Region Owns Half of Cars
Comparative World Car Density Figures (1998)
Car Density by District in Slovakia
Slovakia's Car Density (1997)
Polish Fund Reorganizes Auto Holdings to Take on Aftermarket
Plenty of Power in Central Europe: Auto Powertrain Review
Magyar Suzuki's Key Figures
Suzuki Opens Throttle in Hungary; Co-op With GM
Chrysler Saves $20 Million Per Assembly Plant With Virtual Manuf. System
Quality in Action
Quality Expectations of the Global Automotive Industry Part II
New Car Registrations Growth in Europe (YTD April)
Top Selling Passenger Car Brands in Romania (1st Q)
Romanian Car Exports (1st Q)
Romanian Car Production & Assembly (1st Q0
Romanian New Vehicle Sales (in units)
Russia's Auto Sector Investment Incentive Decree Explained
Sales of New Cars and Commercial Vehicles in Poland
Polish Vehicle Market Segmentation
Audi Assembling Engines & Autos in Hungary
Tax, Customs, & Finance Review
Overheard in Poznan
Best Selling Models in Poland (YTD April 1998)
5 Questions With Detlef Wittig, Vice Chairman & CFO of Skoda Auto
CZECH SUPPLIERS GRAB MAJORITY OF SALES TO SKODA AUTO
In 1997, Skoda Auto a.s. purchased parts and components from 260 Czech suppliers valued at
CZK 37.5 billion ($1.1 billion). The remaining supplies were obtained from 488 foreign
suppliers who racked up sales to Skoda of CZK 14 billion ($411 million), and 19 Slovak
suppliers provided Skoda with supplies valued at CZK 3.3 billion ($97 million). "Our
intention is to maintain this favorable ratio," said Skoda board chairman Vratislav
Kulhanek at the company's annual press conference on March 19, 1998.
VW BRATISLAVA TO START BUILDING NEW VW VENTO
Volkswagen Bratislava will start production of the new generation Volkswagen Vento, a
four-door modification of the VW Golf A4. The Ventos produced in Slovakia will be
custom-made, all wheel drive Syncro models, a specialty of the Bratislava plant.
A new assembly line -- ML 2 -- is currently being prepared for the production launch. This
will be the second assembly line at the VW Bratislava plant, and estimated daily
production will reach 200 units. The VW Golfs produced on the line will have their bodies
varnished in Germany.
This past February, Volkswagen Bratislava produced 5,849 cars, a 54% increase compared to
January when 2,053 units were made. Since the beginning of 1998, the company has produced
9,645 cars, including 8,289 VW Golf A4s and 1,356 Golf A3 Syncro Variants.
In 1998, VW Bratislava plans to produce 120,000 cars, three times more than production
last year, and expects its employee ranks to swell to 4,500 people.
NEW CAR SALES OFF IN POLAND
New car sales in Poland dropped almost a percentage point during the first two months of
1998. Sales totaled 84,447 units at the end of February. Although local production was up
26% to 62,258 units, imports were off over 38%. Sales of new commercial vehicles also
dropped, slipping over 8%. CV sales were hurt by an almost 13% drop in domestic
production.
Fiat is the best selling brand in Poland with a market share of 34.39%. Daewoo continues
to strengthen its position in Poland, inching its market share up to 27.98%. GM, who's
market share in Poland stood at 9.21% in 1997, has watched it share drop to 7.54%.
At the end of February, strong sales performances were turned in by the Daewoo Tico whose
sales were up 44.80% and the Opel Astra with sales jumping 43.43%.
For more on these and other stories, see the next issue of the CENTRAL EUROPE AUTOMOTIVE
REPORT-CEAR.COM(TM), or if you want the most current automotive news on the region,
subscribe to AutoNewsFast™, the weekly email news service of
the CEAR™.