Slowing vehicle sales are slamming the brakes on profits at major car
companies from Mumbai, India to Tokyo, Japan to Detroit, U.S..
Indian automaker Tata Motors says Friday the company lost $54 million between October and December as sales fell 32 percent.
Company
officials say the slowdown is forcing them to cut almost 500 jobs at
its luxury car division -- British-based Jaguar Land Rover -- which it
bought last year.
Japan's number two carmaker is also being pinched by the global recession.
Honda
cut its full-year profit forecast by almost 60 percent Friday, blaming
declining demand for its vehicles in Japan, North America, and Europe.
In the United States, automobile parts suppliers American Axle posted a more than $1 billion loss for 2008 Friday.
The company relies on General Motors -- the biggest U.S. auto company -- for about 75 percent of its sales.
Number three U.S. automaker Chrysler is asking the government for more money.
Chrysler
says it needs an additional three billion dollars in loans to complete
its deal with Italian carmaker Fiat. Chrysler has already gotten $4
billion in U.S. government bailout money, and is scheduled to
meet with officials in mid-February.
Rival Ford Motor Company
has not asked for government help despite posting a record loss for
2008. Still, Ford Chief Executive Allan Mulally tells the Detroit
News newspaper the government needs to do more to stimulate the
economy.
He says anything the government can do to "incentivize
the consumer" would be great because of how important the automotive
sector is to the economy.
Finally, the "Big Three" U.S.
automakers say they will not air any advertisements during the Super
Bowl (the American professional football championship game) on Sunday.
The
Super Bowl is one of the most-watched U.S. television events every
year. About 100 million Americans are expected to watch the game, and
one 30-second commercial costs about $3 million.
This
will be the first time in eight years none of the "Big Three" pay for
any Super Bowl commercials. Japanese car giant Toyota, Germany's Audi
and Korean carmaker Hyundai are buying Super Bowl commercials.
The London Daily Telegraph newspaper reports as many as one billion people may watch the game worldwide.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
