Chinese-Japanese Island War Won By Germany

Japanese carmakers and their Chinese joint venture partners lost big-time in the spat over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands. The winners are German carmakers and their Chinese joint venture partners. Oddly enough, the central government ends up with a shot in the foot. From Toyota (-48.9 percent), to Honda(-40.5 percent) and Nissan (-35.3 percent), all Japanese automakers reported drastically lower China sales for September, after smashed cars and torched dealerships turned a Japanese car into a sudden liability. (Data via Reuters.) Islands Row Scoresheet Losers Japan Co. China Partner Sept. Sales Toyota FAW, GAC -48.9% Suzuki Changan -42.5% Honda Dongfeng, GAC -40.5% Nissan Dongfeng -35.3% Mazda Changan -35.0% Winners Japan Co. China Partner Sept. Sales BMW Brilliance 55.0% Volkswagen FAW, SAIC 25.0% Audi FAW 20.5% Hyundai BAIC 15.0% Mercedes BAIC 10.0% GM SAIC 1.7% Source: Reuters and company data German brands emerge as the (not for TTAC readers) surprising winner of the war of words over uninhabited rocks. Sales of German branded cars rose between 10 percent in the case of Mercedes and 55 percent in the case of BMW. The biggest winner in terms of volume is Volkswagen. In September 2012, Volkswagen passenger cars sold 40,000 units more in China than in September 2011, Audi added 6,000 units. On a group level, Volkswagen should have increased its September sales by close to 50,000 units, about double its losses in Europe. GM missed out on a chance to take global market share from its Japanese rivals. Little contemplated: Each car lost for Japan's makers is a car lost for a Chinese company. Foreign automakers must have joint ventures with Chinese entities, and most of them are government-owned. A strange pattern emerges:  On the losing side are mostly central government owned companies: FAW, Changan, and Dongfeng belong to the central government. GAC is owned by the Guangdong province and its capital city of Guangzhou. On the winning side are (mostly) independent Brilliance, Beijing-owned BAIC, Shanghai-owned SAIC, and FAW. FAW loses on the Toyota side, but wins on the Volkswagen and Audi side, we'll call that a draw until better numbers come in. Translation: "Even if China becomes nothing but tombstones, we must exterminate the Japanese; even if we have to destroy our own country, we must take back the Diaoyu Islands." With Germany, and especially Volkswagen walking away as the winner, the banner in front of a Chinese Audi dealership that called for the elimination of all Japanese will likely be brought up again. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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