글로벌 자동차업계 잇단 실적악화…GM 순익 87%↓, 적자는 면해
The COVID-19 pandemic has swept every industry worldwide and the automobile industry is no exception.
Car factories have been forced to power down their production lines across the world and demand has dried up making the first quarter of 2020 one they'll all rather forget, but the second quarter looks to be just as bad if not worse than Q1.
Kim Dami has the details.
Automakers across the globe had a rough first quarter because of the coronavirus crisis.
General Motors' net profit plummeted almost 87 percent to around 294 U.S. million dollars in the January to March period.
The Detroit-based automaker did better than expected.
But its revenue totaled around 33 billion dollars during the same period, down more than six percent on-year.
According to GM on Wednesday, figures in the second quarter are on track to be worse.
GM plans to resume most of its North American plants on May 18th after shutting them in March over the virus.
Fiat Chrysler will also restart U.S. production in two weeks after seeing a 1-point-8 billion dollar loss in the first quarter.
Its revenue also plummeted around 16 percent to just over 22 billion dollars during the first three months of 2020.
The pandemic hammered South Korean automakers last month.
According to South Korea's Pyeongtaek Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries, hundreds of thousands of cars are just sitting idle at ports...waiting to be shipped.
In fact, in April, Hyundai Motor's profits plunged more than 40 percent on-year in the first quarter.
Sales and operating profit were up 5-point-6 percent and 4-point-7 percent respectively, but analysts say those gains came from the weaker Korean won.
Kim Dami, Arirang News.