Word: honda
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...After all, Japan's own big three - Toyota, Honda and Nissan - have battled for decades to surpass once mighty GM, Ford and Chrysler. Now it would appear victory is at hand. Even if lawmakers bail out all three, the U.S. companies will require major restructuring that will leave them smaller and weaker, making it easier for their Asian rivals to gain market share both in the U.S. and globally. (See the 50 worst cars of all time...
...While no Japanese automaker is on the brink of bankruptcy, Toyota's executive vice president Mitsuo Kinoshita calls the sharp contraction of global sales "unprecedented." Toyota, Honda and Nissan are slashing earnings estimates, firing workers and trimming production. In November, the Japanese auto industry saw its worst month in more than three decades, as domestic sales fell 27.3% compared with the same month last year. Sales of Japanese cars in the U.S. fell more than 30% last month...
...profit it made the previous year. "You are looking at the deepest downturn that Japanese automakers have ever seen," says Chris Richter, senior research analyst at CLSA, a Hong Kong-based brokerage house. "They've faced downturns before, but not downturns in virtually every global market simultaneously. Even Honda Civics and Toyota Priuses aren't selling well...
...This bleak outlook could get even worse, at least in the short term, if GM, Ford or Chrysler went bust. That's because of a domino effect that would probably result in the subsequent failures of parts suppliers that also sell to factories operated by Toyota, Honda and Nissan in the U.S. Vehicles built on American soil accounted for 63% of Japan's total U.S. sales in 2007, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. A sudden parts shortage could force companies to shut down some of those assembly lines, generating major losses...
...ordinary times, gaining market share was Job One for Japan. But now executives are trying to figure out how to cope under circumstances they have never faced before. Sacred cows are being sacrificed to preserve earnings: Honda announced today that it was pulling out of Formula One racing to focus on its core business. Toyota, which has seen its stock drop more than 50% since the beginning of the year, established an Emergency Profit Improvement Committee chaired by company president Katsuaki Watanabe. Since forming the committee last month, Toyota has planned cuts to production, as well as layoffs...