- Title: SWITZERLAND: Oil price spike casts shadow over Geneva motor show
- Date: 3rd March 2011
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (MARCH 2, 2011) (REUTERS) LAKESIDE TOWER . CYCLIST IN ROAD MAN SEATED IN CAR AT MOTOR SHOW AUDI ON DISPLAY PEOPLE AT MOTOR SHOW (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIM URQUART IS A SENIOR ANALYST WITH I H S AUTOMOTIVE, SAYING: "The spike continues then eventually that will have quite a marked effect and maybe turn to the kind of market we saw in 2008/2009 when
- Embargoed: 18th March 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Switzerland, Switzerland
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Transport,Energy
- Reuters ID: LVA9DLHK5XLVVKD2L46SC6M5LAB2
- Story Text: Motor industry representatives at the Geneva Motor Show on Wednesday (March 2) expressed concern over soaring oil prices caused by political unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.
Tim Urquart, is a senior analyst with I H S Automotive, said if the oil price spike continues then "eventually that will have quite a marked effect and maybe turn to the kind of market we saw in 2008/2009 when there was a definite downshift towards smaller vehicle segments."
Stephen Girsky, Vice Chairman of Corporate Strategy, Business Development at General Motors, said there were three new products on the North American market and preparations had been put into effect for a return to the market conditions of 2008.
"We're certainly much better prepared than we were in 2008. I'd rather be lucky than smart, any day, but we have three new products on the market in North America. We have a new Volt which is very heralded as an electric vehicle, we have a cruise which gets 42 miles per gallon on the highway and we have a new Sonic which is hitting the market later this year which is another small high mileage vehicle."
Carl-Peter Forster, Chief Executive of JaguarLandRover said his company was bringing in a smaller Range Rover.
And the Jaguar's supercharged XKR-S, with a 5 litre V8 petrol engine and a top speed of 186 mph, is the fastest Jaguar model ever, Forster said.
Sales of all types of vehicles remain sluggish in Europe - so the question is where manufacturers will look to next.
Forster believes joint ventures with China and India provide the solution.
"We focus more on China, we are clearly a bit of a late starter. We're looking at going into a joint venture with a local partner in China in order to boost our business. The other market we are focusing on is India. We will start producing Freelanders in India," Forster said.
Urquart said the Russian market could see growth this year.
"They took a massive hit in that market in 2009 and they were probably the worst affected of all the major global markets in the recession. But they're bouncing back strongly," he said.
On Wednesday, the Brent crude price traded up 1.57 U.S. dollars to 116.99 U.S. dollars a barrel, off the session high of 117.81 U.S. dollars.
Brent hit a 2-1/2 year high near 120 U.S. dollars a barrel on Feb. 24 on the Libyan crisis.
Some fear troubles in the Middle East could disrupt fuel supplies.
Combined with stagnant sales in developed economies, the auto industry's bumpy ride isn't over yet. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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