Sartorius Report

The Sartorius Report on the status of the auto maker PSA (Peugeot) blames poor management for the loss of market share in Europe:

Management may be to blame, but Emmanuel Sartorius is in no doubt that the company must shed workers in order to survive (and perhaps be acquired by another firm, its most likely fate at this point). And the government is--rightly, I think--not putting up a fight. It will seek to create new opportunities for the workers idled at the Aulnay site, but it won't try to force PSA to keep the plant open. L'État ne peut pas tout. Jospin lost the presidency because he said this out loud, but it remains true. Some potential investments are bad investments and should be avoided.

European Auto Industry

The Times looks at Europe's auto industry and sees overcapacity everywhere. Will the French strategy--promoting "clean" cars (hybrids and electrics)--work? It will be costly, with bonuses of up to €7000 euros per car. Montebourg thinks this will be "self-financing" because of the penalties attached to the purchase of highly polluting vehicles, but I'm not sure the arithmetic works out: if the plan is self-financing, it would be effective in stimulating a moribund industry or encouraging a shift to new technologies, and if it isn't self-financing, it will heavily burden the state. Meanwhile, PSA announced huge losses of nearly $1 billion for the quarter.

French Auto Industry

Mediapart has an informative article on the state of the French auto industry and the positioning of various firms vis-à-vis the global market.