GM is still falling. The company’s shares are at a 57-year low thanks in part to the lamentable state of the global economy, high oil prices, and the exorbitant cost of raw materials. GM has announced that they will cut production on Opel cars in Western Europe, which will likely result in more losses. While GM was making significant gains in emerging Eastern European markets, they were offset by the losses in the U.S. and Western Europe.
We all know why auto sales in the US are crappy, and Western Europeans are saying “I veel just take zee metro.” But hey, at least Russians are buying GM vehicles like hotcakes. Sales rose in Eastern Europe by 43 percent from last year.
Here’s more, from the Wall Street Journal:
- The decline in Western Europe comes just as the region appeared to be getting back into black ink after billions of dollars and several years worth of restructuring. The weakness also comes as fresh concerns arise about the health of the global auto industry.
- Even as many emerging auto markets – including Russia, China and India – have recently offered GM growth opportunities, pressures on the global economy are either slowing the monthly sales increases being recorded in these countries, or leading to sales declines for the first time in several years.
Read the full story here.
