The last week was highly favorable for the auto industry. Most companies recorded a positive movement in the stock market. Tesla Motors, Inc. TSLA was leading the pack after it announced record-high first-quarter vehicle delivery volume and surprised investors with a new version of Model S. Another major headline grabber was Canada GEN Investment Corporation’s decision to sell the entire stake in General Motors Company GM.
Among other news, Toyota Motor Corporation TM started selling the partially redesigned Toyota Auris in Japan and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. HMC announced changes to its production strategy in North America. Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. F and General Motors announced improved China sales figures for March.
(Read last to last week’s recap here: Auto Stock Roundup for Apr 2, 2015)
Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories
1. Nearly 73.4 million shares of General Motors, which are currently held by Canada GEN Investment Corporation, will be sold to Goldman, Sachs & Co under an unregistered block trade. Canada GEN, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Development Investment Corporation, expects this deal to be completed by Apr 10, 2015. After this sale, Canada GEN will have shed its entire stake in General Motors (read more: General Motors' Shares to be Sold by Canada GEN).
2. Tesla has launched a new entry-level version of Model S sedan – the Model S 70D. The car offers all-wheel drive, 514 horsepower, and a 0-60 acceleration time of 5.2 seconds. It is also equipped with a dual motor, which is now a standard addition to all Tesla models. The Model S 70D will have a 70 KW-Hour battery life with a 240 mile driving range. The sedan will be packaged with Tesla's Autopilot hardware, allowing the car to mechanically speed up and slow down with moving traffic. It will also have a navigation system and blind spot detection among other features. Prices for the new car will start at $75,000, but buyers will be eligible for a federal tax credit that decreases the price to $67,500 (read more: Tesla Motors Debuts New $75,000 Model S 70D).
3. Ford and General Motors reported their China sales for Mar 2015. Ford sold 104,842 vehicles in China, up 1% year over year from 103,815 units sold in Mar 2014. Sales of Ford in the world’s largest automobile market totaled 296,825 units in the first quarter, up 9.4% from 271,321 vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2014 (read more: Ford's China Sales Rise 1% in March, 9.4% in First Quarter). General Motors and its joint ventures in China reported an 8% year-over-year increase in sales in the nation to 338,350 vehicles in Mar 2015. This is a record high for March sales.
4. Toyota started selling the partially redesigned Toyota Auris in Japan from Apr 6. The car offers new interior and exterior design along with a newly developed turbo engine and a new safety package. Toyota expects to sell 1,000 units of the car in Japan every month.
5. Honda is making certain changes to its production strategy in North America to meet the needs of customers and align its product portfolio with growth segments. The automaker will stop the production of Honda Crosstour from the 2016 model year at its East Liberty Plant in Ohio as it believes that the all-new 2016 Honda HR-V, launching later this spring, will offer greater value to customers in the crossover vehicle segment. It will also shift the production of Accord Hybrid from the Marysville Auto Plant to the Sayama Plant in Japan in order to optimize its global production capabilities.
Performance
Most auto stocks recorded gains in the last one week due to company-specific factors and improvement in the broader market. General Motors was the only major auto stock to record losses over the week following news of Canada selling its stake in the company and year-over-year decline in U.S. auto sales in March.
Meanwhile, Tesla gained the maximum on the news of a new version of Model S and the announcement of record high vehicle delivery volume for the first quarter of 2015. However, the electric carmaker was the biggest loser in the last six months, while AutoZone, Inc. AZO once again retained its position as the biggest gainer during the period.
|
Company |
Last 1-Week Period |
Last 6 Months |
|
GM |
-1.7% |
+12.2% |
|
F |
+0.4% |
+12.5% |
|
TSLA |
+10.7% |
-19.9% |
|
TM |
+1.1% |
+20.4% |
|
HMC |
+3.4% |
+2.9% |
|
HOG |
+3.4% |
+5.7% |
|
AAP |
+3.5% |
+8.8% |
|
AZO |
+0.8% |
+34.9% |
What’s Next in the Auto Space?
A few automakers will report their Europe auto sales for March in the coming days.
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