Industry News
European and U.S. manufacturers lobby for yen revaluation
12th Febuary 2007
The Automotive Trade Policy Council in Washington DC, echoing some voices in the U.S. Congress, says the weakness of the Japanese yen vis à vis the U.S. dollar and the Euro gives Japanese automotive manufacturers a cost advantage in the U.S. market of 15-20% over their U.S. and European competitors. The Council is a Washington-based lobbying organisation representing General Motors, Ford Motor Co., and DaimlerChrysler.
Media reports late last week quoted the German trade association VDA’s president Dr. Bernd Gottschalk uttering similar views on the competitive position of European exporters to the U.S. market in relation to Japanese OEMs.
Mustafa Mohatarem, General Motors’ chief economist, has reportedly calculated that the weak yen gives Japanese imports to the U.S. a per-unit cost advantage over domestically-produced cars of between $4,000 for small cars and $9,000-10,000 for larger/premium models.
(Wall St. Journal, FT, 9 February)
News Headlines
