Asian carmakers begin to recover, but still struggle

• Source: Global Times
• [08:38 October 22 2009]
• Comments

The US government's cash-for-clunkers scheme also helped Asian carmakers grab a bigger share of the US car market in the past quarter, although the effect proved short-lived with a sales drop in September.

The biggest winner from the scrappage schemes, from the US to Europe, has been South Korea's Hyundai, which attracted customers with new models, clever marketing tools and competitive prices.

But analysts cautioned that the rising Korean won could reduce their ability to offer attractive deals going forward and potentially rein in sales growth further out.

"I am really worried about the next year given the firmer won as well as the end of governments' (stimulus) measures," said Lee Sok-je, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.

The won gained 8.1 percent against the dollar in the three months ended September 30, after an 8.6 percent jump in the previous quarter.

Hyundai is due to report third-quarter results today, followed by Honda on Tuesday, Nissan on November 4 and Toyota on November 5.

Reuters