Karel Martel B
22 juli 2014, 21:07
http://online.wsj.com/articles/in-venezuela-old-cars-become-investment-vehicles-1405972426
Car makers, including global giants like Ford Motor Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., have cut output by more than 80% in the first six months of the year compared with a year earlier because of a lack of dollars to pay parts suppliers, according to data compiled by the Automotive Chamber of Venezuela, which represents car makers.
...
Ford's 2,500 workers still arrive each workday, their jobs protected by stringent labor laws, said Gilberto Troya, secretary-general of the Ford union who led a Wall Street Journal reporter on a tour. But the factory churns out just a few Fiesta compacts and Explorer sport-utility vehicles a day.
A Ford spokesman said the auto maker has been in talks with Venezuela to obtain more dollars to import needed parts. He declined to elaborate on the discussions or provide details about the state of Ford's operations except to say that the Dearborn, Mich., auto maker is focused "on getting all operations in Latin America back to profitability."
Across Venezuela, car production and sales has been sliding fast. Balance sheets have been battered, with revenue vulnerable to devaluation and trapped in Venezuela because of currency controls. Auto makers built 36,919 vehicles through June of last year. But only produced 6,161 during in the same period this year, about what Argentina produces in a few days.
Car makers, including global giants like Ford Motor Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., have cut output by more than 80% in the first six months of the year compared with a year earlier because of a lack of dollars to pay parts suppliers, according to data compiled by the Automotive Chamber of Venezuela, which represents car makers.
...
Ford's 2,500 workers still arrive each workday, their jobs protected by stringent labor laws, said Gilberto Troya, secretary-general of the Ford union who led a Wall Street Journal reporter on a tour. But the factory churns out just a few Fiesta compacts and Explorer sport-utility vehicles a day.
A Ford spokesman said the auto maker has been in talks with Venezuela to obtain more dollars to import needed parts. He declined to elaborate on the discussions or provide details about the state of Ford's operations except to say that the Dearborn, Mich., auto maker is focused "on getting all operations in Latin America back to profitability."
Across Venezuela, car production and sales has been sliding fast. Balance sheets have been battered, with revenue vulnerable to devaluation and trapped in Venezuela because of currency controls. Auto makers built 36,919 vehicles through June of last year. But only produced 6,161 during in the same period this year, about what Argentina produces in a few days.