Auto Industry | featured news

Toyota Motor Co. wrapped up one of the worst fiscal year’s in the company’s history with an unexpectedly strong final quarter in which it saw earnings more than quadruple.

A few years ago, rising gasoline prices pretty much destroyed the market for the big trucks, but they have become popular again.

Despite an unexpected slowdown in sales earlier this year, the Chinese auto market is expected to hit an industry-record 20 million vehicles this year – prompting manufacturers to announce billions of dollars in new factory investments designed to keep up with booming demand.

GM (GM) posted a profit of $1 billion in the first quarter, beating Wall Street expectations on strong demand in its key North American market. GM also said the U.S. economy was improving and it expected its core North American results in the second and third quarters to largely match the first quarter due to scheduled downtime at its large truck plants.

Chrysler sales rose 20 percent last month, its strongest April in four years. General Motors and Ford reported slight dips for the month. Overall, the U.S. auto industry appears strong.

When it comes to the economic recovery, timing is everything — and so far, it’s been off. Take the market performance of housing and autos, two big-ticket purchases that traditionally have moved in tandem. But new data released this week showed housing prices and new home sales dropping off at the same time that auto sales were peaking.

The recovery of the U.S. automotive industry got another shot in the arm Tuesday, when Fitch Ratings hiked its rating on Ford Motor and its credit arm to investment grade.

In seeking support in Michigan, Obama speaks frequently about how the federal bailout of General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group led to GM's resurgence as the world's No. 1 automaker and 32,000 more auto-related jobs in the state since the companies emerged from their 2009 managed bankruptcies. Romney opposed the move, even writing a New York Times opinion piece in 2008 that carried the headline "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt."

After several years of heavily discounting their products, automakers are finding themselves back in the driver’s seat – pushing prices to record levels.

Saab Automobile left behind debts of $2 billion backed by assets of just $500 million, a final indication of the scale of the defunct company's collapse last December.