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Due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, global automakers experienced a dismal first half of the year, resulting in a sharp decline in sales, operating income and profits, and even into a loss-making state of operation. According to incomplete statistics, more than a dozen automakers have reported losses in the first half of 2020, including Volkswagen, Renault, Nissan, General Motors, Volvo, Daimler and so on.

Volkswagen Group: loss of 11.5 billion

On July 30th Volkswagen Group announced results for the first half of 2020: Volkswagen Group's sales revenue was 96.1 billion euros, down 23.2% from a year earlier, and a pre-tax profit loss of 1.4 billion euros (about 11.53 billion yuan), compared with a profit of 9.6 billion euros in the same period last year. Among them, Volkswagen Group spent 700 million euros on special projects caused by the "emission gate" in the first half of the year.

Volkswagen Group said the operating loss was mainly due to reduced customer demand. In the first half of this year, Volkswagen sold a total of 3.8931 million vehicles worldwide, down 27.4% from the same period last year. Of these, sales in the Chinese market were 1.59 million, down 17% from a year earlier.

As the market gradually recovers, Volkswagen is cautiously optimistic about the second half of the year and expects to remain profitable for the full year, but well below last year's levels.

Renault: loss of 60 billion

According to the latest financial results released by French carmaker Renault, Renault achieved revenue of 18.4 billion euros (151.1 billion yuan) in the first half of 2020, down 34 percent from a year earlier, with an operating loss of 7.29 billion euros (60 billion yuan). The company recorded a record loss.

Renault blamed Nissan, a partner in the alliance, for the losses and renewed tensions between the two sides, which had previously eased. Renault said 4.8 billion euros of such record losses came from Nissan, including 4.29 billion euros in asset write-downs and restructuring costs. Renault did not release its full-year financial forecast, but said it was working to cut costs to tide it over.

Global demand plummeted as a result of the epidemic, with Renault selling 1.26 million vehicles in the first half of the year, down 35 per cent from a year earlier.

Nissan: quarterly loss of 19 billion

From April to June this year, Nissan's global sales fell 50.5% year-on-year to 1.1741 trillion yen, with a net loss of 285.5 billion yen (about 19 billion yuan), compared with a profit of 6.3 billion yen in the same period last fiscal year, Nissan reported quarterly results.

The sharp decline in sales was the main cause of the loss, with Nissan's global sales of just 643000 vehicles in the quarter, down 47.7% from a year earlier. Nissan president and CEO Uchida said that affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, the global automobile market demand plummeted, daily production and sales fell seriously, factory operating rate also dropped sharply, the business situation is very grim.

It is worth noting that Nissan has suffered a huge loss of 671.2 billion yen (44.7 billion yuan) in fiscal year 2019. Nissan expects to continue the same loss in fiscal 2020 as it did in the previous fiscal year.

Daimler: quarterly loss of 15.6 billion

Daimler Group reported second-quarter financial results: second-quarter revenue fell 29% year-on-year to 30.2 billion euros, a loss before interest and tax of 1.682 billion euros, and a net loss of 1.906 billion euros (15.65 billion yuan). Sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger and commercial vehicles fell 30 per cent year-on-year to 480800 during the reporting period.

Ola K ä llenius, Daimler's chairman, said he would further cut costs and improve the company's cost structure.

Mazda: quarterly loss of 3 billion

Japanese carmaker Mazda reported quarterly results for the April-June period, with net income of 376.676 billion yen, down 55.6% from a year earlier, and an operating loss of 45.3 billion yen (3 billion yuan), the worst in 11 years.

Mazda sold 244000 cars worldwide in the quarter, down 30.8% from a year earlier, mainly due to a sharp drop in car demand in Japan and Europe. In China, sales of Mazda bucked the trend by 13% as demand for cars recovered.

Volvo: a loss of 900 million yuan

In the first half of 2020, Volvo's operating income fell 14.1 per cent to 111.8 billion Swedish kronor; operating loss was 989 million Swedish kronor, compared with a profit of 5.519 billion Swedish kronor in the same period last year; and net income was minus 1.171 billion Swedish kronor (about 930 million yuan), down 134.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Volvo car sales have fallen rapidly this year because of the spread of the epidemic, especially in the most important European market, where Volvo has begun to recover in China. Volvo sold 269962 cars worldwide in the first half, down 20.8 per cent from a year earlier.

In addition, a number of automakers have lost money, including Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, Aston Martin, Mitsubishi Motors, Jaguar Land Rover and so on.

Among them, Fiat Chrysler Group released its results for the second quarter of 2020, showing that affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic, the net loss from continuing operations and the adjusted net loss were both 1 billion euros. Global car shipments fell 63 per cent to 424000 units in that quarter.

GM had revenue of $16.78 billion in the second quarter, compared with $36.06 billion in the same period last year, and a net loss of $780 million (5.44 billion yuan), down 132% from a year earlier.

Toyota, as a profit leader, has not yet released quarterly results, but the company also expects profits to plummet by 80% this fiscal year. Toyota expects operating profit to fall 80% to 500 billion yen (33.16 billion yuan) in fiscal 2020 (April 2020 to March 2021), its worst performance in nine years.

In the face of the strong destructive force of the epidemic, many automobile manufacturers have made losses. As the market gradually recovers in the second half of the year, they will make up for the losses in the first half of the year, but a serious blow to full-year profits is inevitable. Cutting costs and reducing losses has become a top priority for many carmakers.

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