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Agencies
Stuttgart/ Frankfurt
The coronavirus crisis cost the automotive industry billions of dollars worldwide and inflicted heavy losses on companies, according to a study by the EY consultancy group.
It found operating losses among the world’s 17 biggest carmakers amounted to almost $12.9 billion (11 billion euros) in the second quarter of this year, when restrictions to stem the pandemic took their toll on the global economy.
In the same period last year, there was a combined profit of almost 22 billion euros.
Only six manufacturers managed to stay in the black, with US e-car company Tesla even managing to post a year-on-year improvement, allowing it to jump to the top of the rank as the most profitable automaker, EY said.
But no carmaker was able to avoid falling revenues in the second quarter, according to the study. Combined earnings amounted to just under 177 billion euros, plunging by 41 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2019.
However, this also varied significantly depending on the company, with Tesla’s revenue down 5 per cent while Japan’s Mitsubishi saw a 57-per-cent drop.
Germany’s auto giants, Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, ranked in the middle, with revenue falling by 37, 29 and 22 per cent, respectively.
“We have never seen such a collapse in revenue, profit and sales,” said Constantin M Gall, head of automotive and transportation at EY’s branch for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
“The pandemic at one point almost brought the global auto industry to a standstill - bringing with it catastrophic consequences for sales and profit development,” he added.
Schaeffler cuts 4,400 jobs
German car and industrial supplier Schaeffler said Wednesday that it will cut 4,400 jobs due to the impact of the coronavirus on the automotive sector.
The company said it will downsize capacity and close several factories to save around 300 million euros ($354.5 million) annually by 2023.
The jobs cull will focus mainly on 12 locations in Germany and two elsewhere in Europe, the Bavaria-based firm said.
Chief executive Klaus Rosenfeld said the restructuring was “unavoidable in order to improve Schaeffler’s long-term competitiveness and ability to realise future opportunities”.
It is the latest blow for the beleaguered car sector which is struggling to recover from weeks of lockdowns earlier this year that disrupted production lines and kept dealerships closed around the globe.
Even after the lockdowns, demand has been slow to pick up as customers fret about economic uncertainty.
Fellow German parts supplier Continental announced last week that more than 30,000 jobs worldwide -- around 13 percent of its workforce -- would be “modified, relocated or made redundant” to cope with the pandemic fallout.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with car industry bosses Tuesday to discuss their plight but the high-level talks ended without concrete steps to help the sector.
Stuttgart/ Frankfurt
The coronavirus crisis cost the automotive industry billions of dollars worldwide and inflicted heavy losses on companies, according to a study by the EY consultancy group.
It found operating losses among the world’s 17 biggest carmakers amounted to almost $12.9 billion (11 billion euros) in the second quarter of this year, when restrictions to stem the pandemic took their toll on the global economy.
In the same period last year, there was a combined profit of almost 22 billion euros.
Only six manufacturers managed to stay in the black, with US e-car company Tesla even managing to post a year-on-year improvement, allowing it to jump to the top of the rank as the most profitable automaker, EY said.
But no carmaker was able to avoid falling revenues in the second quarter, according to the study. Combined earnings amounted to just under 177 billion euros, plunging by 41 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2019.
However, this also varied significantly depending on the company, with Tesla’s revenue down 5 per cent while Japan’s Mitsubishi saw a 57-per-cent drop.
Germany’s auto giants, Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, ranked in the middle, with revenue falling by 37, 29 and 22 per cent, respectively.
“We have never seen such a collapse in revenue, profit and sales,” said Constantin M Gall, head of automotive and transportation at EY’s branch for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
“The pandemic at one point almost brought the global auto industry to a standstill - bringing with it catastrophic consequences for sales and profit development,” he added.
Schaeffler cuts 4,400 jobs
German car and industrial supplier Schaeffler said Wednesday that it will cut 4,400 jobs due to the impact of the coronavirus on the automotive sector.
The company said it will downsize capacity and close several factories to save around 300 million euros ($354.5 million) annually by 2023.
The jobs cull will focus mainly on 12 locations in Germany and two elsewhere in Europe, the Bavaria-based firm said.
Chief executive Klaus Rosenfeld said the restructuring was “unavoidable in order to improve Schaeffler’s long-term competitiveness and ability to realise future opportunities”.
It is the latest blow for the beleaguered car sector which is struggling to recover from weeks of lockdowns earlier this year that disrupted production lines and kept dealerships closed around the globe.
Even after the lockdowns, demand has been slow to pick up as customers fret about economic uncertainty.
Fellow German parts supplier Continental announced last week that more than 30,000 jobs worldwide -- around 13 percent of its workforce -- would be “modified, relocated or made redundant” to cope with the pandemic fallout.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with car industry bosses Tuesday to discuss their plight but the high-level talks ended without concrete steps to help the sector.
