ford slashes its debt 38%

[ElFenix]

$9.9 billion in debt converted

alan mulally is really kicking ass up there in dearborn.



in other news, assuming chrysler makes it through to next year, it'll be buying batteries from a US firm.. the 200C is hotness.


edit: grammarfail

 

[MBrown]

Good stuff.

 

[BassBomb]

Smooth moves... but they still have tons of debt amirite?

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: BassBomb
Smooth moves... but they still have tons of debt amirite?

getting better at least...

 

[BassBomb]

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage

Originally posted by: BassBomb
Smooth moves... but they still have tons of debt amirite?

getting better at least...

One thing I am not too sure about, or do not understand... Did the japanese and european automakers go into debt too?

I know sales were way down, but did they actually end up in DEBT?

How did it work with American automakers, did they buy all the parts from suppliers with money they did not have, then expect to sell X amount of cars which did not happen. And after they could not pay the suppliers?

 

[JulesMaximus]

I hadn't seen the 200C concept. Looks promising! :thumbsup:

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

That's great news! Would be nice if GM could follow suit. Chrysler is still fucked.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: BassBomb

One thing I am not too sure about, or do not understand... Did the japanese and european automakers go into debt too?

I know sales were way down, but did they actually end up in DEBT?

How did it work with American automakers, did they buy all the parts from suppliers with money they did not have, then expect to sell X amount of cars which did not happen. And after they could not pay the suppliers?

i assume the japanese also have debt. most major businesses have long term debt. building and tooling factories and developing new cars costs billions, and most companies have never had enough cash on hand to sink it all into those costs. so, if the cost of capital is lower than the rate of return on the investment, you'll want to borrow to make that investment.

 

[desy]

Toyota has no debt they lost 5 bill last yr but have over 20 bill in the Bank
Honda was still profitable
Nissan with Toyota has ask the Japanese govt for some bailout type of $
I'm not too sure where Suzuki Mitsu Subar and Mazda fit in although Mazda had stock gains of 10% this morning!

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: desy
Toyota has no debt they lost 5 bill last yr but have over 20 bill in the Bank
Honda was still profitable
Nissan with Toyota has ask the Japanese govt for some bailout type of $
I'm not too sure where Suzuki Mitsu Subar and Mazda fit in although Mazda had stock gains of 10% this morning!

toyota had 59 billion in long term debt in march 2008

ford actually had more cash and cash equivalents than toyota did very recently.

 

[Skunkwourk]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I hadn't seen the 200C concept. Looks promising! :thumbsup:

Text

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I hadn't seen the 200C concept. Looks promising! :thumbsup:

It does look promising...but unless They can figure out how to properly bolt the thing together...it will still be an epic fail like the current Sebring/Avenger.

 

[desy]

Hmm I guess Toyota spent it all building truck plants in Texas and ramping up production globally.
They used to have a wad of cash

 

[angry hampster]

Chrysler should first figure out how to properly manufacture a gas-powered vehicle before they sink tons of money into projects that'll never see the light of day.

 

[PricklyPete]

Got to give it to Ford/Mulally. They are definitely making a lot of really good moves in this troubled economy. Still, if the economy does not pick up...I still see them having trouble in the long run without government help...but if things start looking up...Ford will come out of this recession stronger than they went in.

 

[franksta]

Originally posted by: BassBomb
Smooth moves... but they still have tons of debt amirite?

From what I read they had about $25 billion to start with.

Autoblog says they had about $26 billion at the end of last year. That's about a 40% reduction. There are more details in that link but one nugget I got from it was they'll be saving $500 million per year in interest alone.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: franksta
... they'll be saving $500 million per year in interest alone.

Most companies would just be happy to have that kind of revenue...can't imagine just "saving" that on loans a year.

 

[TraumaRN]

Good for Ford...and I am helping them somewhat, my new 2010 Fusion Hybrid should be in around mid-may, it gets built in 2 weeks.

 

[Bignate603]

Nice solid move. They're taking advantage of the situation because their debt is valued at so little to grab it. If it wasn't for the recession they wouldn't have been able to do that. While it doesn't completely make up for all the other issues it's good to see that they're at least doing the best with what they can. This could position them extremely well for when the economy recovers.