A loss of $387 million in the third quarter of 2014 isn’t keeping General Motors down, as The Truth About Cars reports that the corporation is claiming that its European Opel and Vauxhall brands are still expected to emerge from the red soon enough.
The largest contributor to Vauxhall and Opel’s losses this past quarter? Russia, apparently. General Motors lost $194 million in write-downs in the Russian market – that is, its assets there were deemed overvalued to the tune of $194 million.
The Russian rouble also took a hit, contributing about $100 million to the duo’s losses. But as The Truth About Cars reports, Capital Analyst Brian Johnson of Barclay’s believes that despite the Russian-related losses, Opel and Vauxhall are still on-track to break-even in Europe; General Motors is projecting 2016 as the year for that to occur.
That seems entirely plausible, as Q3 this year actually saw a 2 percent increase in sales despite everything, and sales for the year through September are up an impressive 8 percent.
30,000 pre-orders for the new Corsa – as well as the upcoming replacement to the current-generation Astra – ought to help solidify their market share, too.
Comments
Opel should not be loosing money but is the victim of the bean counter’s shell game. While Opel is landlocked in Europe, GM loots Opel for both Buick, Holden & at times Chevrolet. The licencing money never goes back to Germany but, instead, North America.
Opel will only be viewed by both Wall Street and the Media as a “winner” when the division is linked to Buick, much like Vauxhall, so that a fair accounting of value and profit can be represented. This means GM will lose all of those great German tax breaks.
In addition, Russia will harm GM Europe for the next five or more years and belongs packaged with international to mitigate losses.
Opel is one of the more valuable parts of GM do to platform (kit) production and the appeal of it’s vehicles (size, mpg) globally. This is why so many of the world’s Chevy cars have really been Opels.