The beginning of 2008 saw the US automobile industry under constant pressure. But when oil prices recorded all time high in July 2008, peaking at 147 dollar per barrel, it was the time when most of the car makers in US started to think of revising their policies. It was, however, all too late as the global melt down in financial market later in the year made severe impact on auto industry. As the recession started, demand for luxury cars of giant makers GM, FORD and Chrysler went down, that resulted in business loss of almost 60%. Big players were slipping into a possible bankruptcy case, and almost 3 million jobs were at stake, as the auto industry in US forms about 23% of GDP. There were ongoing discussions about making fuel efficient cars but this time it’s really at the point of serious consideration. All eyes are now looking at the US government’s bailout plan to save this industry.

There were rumors going on about financial assistance or a bailout plan recently, but now the present US president has clearly stated that all the car manufacturers who are seeking help from the government have to come up with strong viability plan which is in other words supposed to be in the form of big cut downs in the operational and productive expenses of these manufacturers in the years to come.

Let’s take a look at the financial results of all three manufacturers.

GM sold 9.37 million vehicles in 2007 globally (12% less than 2006) with revenue grossing $43.2 billion USD, but it has fallen to $37.9 billion this year (13% less than 2007). If we look at Ford’s financial figures for 2007, it shows a growth of almost 7% compared to 2006 with revenues touching $172 billion. It however slows down significantly in 2008 by about 11% with revenues reaching $154 billion. After that, comes Chrysler with a 3% loss of revenue in the current year as compared to 2006. Currently, unofficial sources say it is down to more than 20% from 2007.

Looking at the above financial results of all three giants, we can clearly see a bearish trend in the financial performance of all three manufacturers since the year 2006. Although Ford is fundamentally somewhat better then the two, it also seems to lose market share owing to strong competition from Toyota.  Their claims about the global financial crisis and credit freeze that are supposed to be causing all this trouble doesn’t sound meaningful, as in the same period from 2006 to 2008, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers increased their market share in US from 23% to 30% approximately. That makes sense when US president intelligently calls for viability plans rather than just aiding the industry after all it’s the stakeholders of these companies who need to diversify in this changing global market.