The global auto industry shook itself off from the pandemic

The world’s leading automakers report rising sales and profits in the first quarter. The revenue of the American Ford increased by 20%, the European-American alliance Stellantis by 14%, the German Porsche – by 18%. Earlier, American General Motors and Japanese Toyota reported high results. Experts explain this by the fact that companies have finally managed to arrange the supply of components and chips, and from consumers, even against the backdrop of rising prices, there is a steady demand.

Today, the Italian-French-American alliance reported on the results of its activities in the first quarter Stellantis and German luxury car manufacturer Porsche. Revenue of Stellantis (brands Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, etc.) amounted to €47.2 billion, which is 14% more than a year earlier. Total vehicle deliveries for the quarter increased by 7% to 1.48 million units. The company attributed the increase to “an improvement in the semiconductor supply chain” as well as increased demand from consumers, especially in the electric vehicle segment.

The good results allowed Stellantis to set aside €1.5 billion to buy back its shares from the market.

Overall Porsche sales increased by 18% to €10.1bn and post-tax profit of €1.4bn, up 40% from a year earlier, thanks in large part to strong demand for Porsche vehicles even with price increases on them.

The American automaker also presented quarterly reports the night before. Ford. Revenue was $41.5 billion, up 20% from a year earlier and higher than analysts’ forecasts of $36.1 billion. Net profit was $1.8 billion, while the company posted a loss of $3.1 billion in the first quarter a year earlier. The company attributed its results to rising demand from US consumers, which helped Ford become a top selling brand in USA. Steady demand even in the face of rising prices has led to the fact that the company managed to reach a profit.

Presented statements of three major automakers continued the trend set earlier by other companies. At the end of April, the American automaker General Motors reported revenue growth of 11% to $39.9 billion, but a decrease in net income of 17% to $2.4 billion ($2.21 per share). Nevertheless, on both indicators, the company surpassed the forecasts of analysts surveyed Refinitive: $38.9 billion in revenue and $1.73 in earnings per share.

Also at the end of April, the Japanese Toyota reported that over the past financial year (ended with the company on March 31), it produced more than 9.1 million vehicles, which is a record result for the corporation. Car sales for the reporting period amounted to 10.6 million, of which 8.5 million were sold outside of Japan, which is also a record. Another achievement was the release of cars in March: in one month, the company produced more than 1 million cars.

Even in the UK, where Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic saw car production decline for many months and eventually fall to record low volumes, even in the UK, the market began to recover

In the first quarter, the total auto production in the country has grown by 6%, up to 220 thousand cars. UK car production in 2022 fell by 10% compared to 2021 and reached a minimum since 1956 – 775 thousand units. Before the pandemic, the annual production of passenger cars in the country was about 1.3 million units.

Evgeniy Khvostik