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A few days ago I mentioned that huge changes/progress are acomin' in the way we connect (to the office, to clients, to each other..) and asked:
The answer in both cases is... Nokia!
This was an eyeopener to me and really serves to underscore the direction things seem to be moving towards powerful multi-purpose devices.
This week, the Boston Globe reported a news item that brings closer the reality that Chinese cars will soon be on U.S. roads:
Malcolm Bricklin, who through his Visionary Vehicles company will bring Chinese Chery brand cars to the U.S., just announced a partnership with a Rothrock Motor Sales, a major East coast dealership.
Rothrock has pledged to begin selling the cars through a retail network towards the end of 2007. They currently have stores in Pennsylvania and Delaware, and are already expanding to several communities in several major states: Virginia, Florida, and California.
The writing was on the wall but still it is surprising to see it finally happen: sales of foreign-based brands have overtaken domestic models in the U.S., as of May 2006.
According to R.L. Polk & Co., foreign made vehicles now make up 53% of sales, excluding fleets.
Huge changes/progress in the way we connect (to the office, to clients, to each other..) are acomin'... 2 quick questions for you that should serve as eye-openers and give you an idea of what I'm talking about:
I'll post the answer in a few days...
The focus on the Chinese automotive industry as depicted in U.S. media seems to sway every few weeks from potential growth market (China is now the world's second vehicle market with 5.92 million units sold in 2005), to a competitive threat in the North American market, and back again.
These scenarios are obviously not mutually exclusive... although it might be difficult for any one company to maintain a dual focus based on the necessary investments involved. Several news items over the past few days caught my eye, and I think help paint a clearer picture of things to come:
Item #1: Several North American port cities area already moving to woo Chinese automakers. Representatives from the ports of Tacoma, Washington and Vancouver, Canada visited Shanghai in June to better understand the needs of exporters.
Item #2: Ocean carrier China Shipping has leased 4 ships capable of transporting cars. The ships are to be delivered in 2008... this seems to be "the" year when things will begin to really move.
Item #3: The parallel to Korean manufacturers Kia and Hyundai's path to success in the U.S. is cited more and more. Kia began operations in 1994 with sales of 12,000 cars, and reached 275,000 in 2005. Hyundai has grown in similar fashion. The main obstacle to U.S. acceptance of Chinese cars will be consumer quality expectations, say some experts, but didn't they say the same about Kia and Hyundai?
Item #4: Three new Chinese carmakers are planning to exhibit at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, adding to last year's sole participant, Geely Automotive.
A cool tip from Guerrilla Marketing guru Jay Conrad Levinson...
A Saab dealer recently scored a huge advertising success by publishing his ads not in the Automotive section, but rather in the Stereo and TV section, thus completely eliminating his competition from the reader's attention.
Toyota is also interested in some kind of alliance with GM, in order to forestall a possible Renault-Nissan-GM triumvirate, says Business Week.
The article also quotes an unnamed Toyota exec: "Toyota has no interest in seeing an alliance like this [linking Renault, Nissan and GM] take place."
At the same time, several GM execs have stated that they've yet to hear anything from Toyota. And Toyota's spokesman says any talks about this kind of offer are "pure speculation."
Congratulations to international consultancy firm Satyam, our implementation and training partner, on the very favorable comments by AMR Research in a recent report by Bruce Richardson. To quote, "Satyam has the largest India-based SAP Practice, and has become a fierce competitor to the largest global integrators".
Satyam currently has 3000 SAP consultants, and they have delivered more than 550 projects for SAP customers.
If an alliance between Renault, Nissan and GM goes through, Carlos Ghosn, current CEO of Renault-Nissan, has no desire in running GM. He stated this during a CNBC interview yesterday.
Two items of note also came out of said interview:
1. A serious alliance would require that Renault-Nissan hold a substantial equity stake in GM, presumably more than the 10% that Renault and Nissan would each take as initially reported.
2. An alliance might avert some GM layoffs as Nissan is interested in producing cars in North America.
Ford and Suzuki's Chinese partner, Chang'an Motor, 
announced that they will begin producing hybrid (petrol-electric) cars in 2008, for the local market. Toyota (with First Automotive Works) and Geely Automobile have already announced similar plans.
This will be done as part of the company's project to develop own-brand cars, the same path that all of the major Chinese manufacturers are following.
Chang'an is China's fourth largest auto group.
Read on People's Daily.
