Ford’s Europe Expansion & 2 Auto Stocks Making Headlines Now

Ford (NYSE:F): The company has intentions to import its EcoSport compact crossover from India for the European market, where the vehicle is to compete in a growing segment, stated a top executive on Tuesday. The EcoSport was showcased at the Geneva car show, and it is to be built in Ford’s factory in Chennai, India, stated Stephen Odell, chief of Ford of Europe. The vehicle is scheduled to be launched in Europe during late 2013. The EcoSport is a main part of Ford’s strategy to hold its market share in Europe, where an economic downturn sent vehicle sales into a decline. Ford will expand its SUV lineup, and it has intentions to sell 1 million SUVs in Europe by 2017.

Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM): The company’s Camry sedan has been the top-selling car in the United States for 11 years, but February’s sales results that were announced last week indicate that Camry sales saw a 9.5 percent drop from the previous year, which is the biggest drop in 16 months. This brings Toyota’s sales growth to only about half of what analysts predicted. The rough month shows that there is rising competition for Toyota, which regained the title of world’s largest automaker in 2012. The mid-sized car segment makes up 22 percent of U.S. light-vehicle sales, and now Camry faces models that were revamped during the past year. This includes the Ford Fusion and Nissan Altima, which both came with bigger discounts last month, claims researcher Edmunds.com.

General Motors (NYSE:GM): Karl-Thomas Neumann, Opel’s new CEO, has named three priorities explaining his reasoning behind taking the job at General Motors’ money-losing European subsidiary due to its improved vehicles and GM’s commitment to spend billions of dollars in an attempt to turn the business around. Today, during a meeting with reporters, Neumann stated that he believes GM executives will follow through on a 10-year growth strategy with the intention of reversing the billions in losses that Opel suffered for over a decade. “We have a new leadership team, a 10-year plan … and we have financing from GM in Detroit that not only allows us to cover our losses but also to invest billions of euros into new product,” Neumann stated.

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