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July 7, 2010
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – July 7, 2010 – Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: Ford Motor Co. (F), American Electric Power (AEP), Exelon Corp. (EXC), NorthWestern Energy (NWE) and Xcel Energy (XEL).
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Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
Ford Posts Best Sales Growth in China
Ford Motor Co. (F) posted its best-ever total sales in China during the first half of 2010. During the period, the automaker sold 301,524 vehicles, up by a robust 53% from the year-ago level.
Ford’s passenger car sales growth in China was driven mainly by the popularity of the compact car Ford Fiesta. Sales of Fiesta rose a staggering 113% to 38,669 units during the first half of the year.
The other car nameplates that did well in the country include Ford Focus, Ford Mondeo and Ford S-MAX. Ford’s passenger car joint venture in China, Changan Ford Mazda Automobile, showed an impressive 46% gain in sales to 205,563 vehicles through the first 6 months of 2010.
Ford Transit led the sales growth in the commercial vehicle sector. The brand sold 25,227 units during the period, up by a whopping 78% from the year-ago period. This helped the automaker’s commercial vehicle joint venture in China, Jiangling Motors Corporation, to achieve a 66% sales growth to 88,363 units during the period.
Ford also gained attention by posting its best monthly performance in a decade in June in Canada. The automaker’s June sales in Canada rose 15.7% to 31,707 vehicles. The company’s car sales in the country went up 23.3% while truck sales increased 13.2%.
In the U.S., Ford witnessed a 15.4% rise in sales to 170,900 vehicles (excluding Volvo cars). This was mainly driven by strong sales of F-Series pickup (58%) and the new Ford Mustang (37%).
American Electric JV Progressing
The transmission joint venture (JV) between the subsidiaries of American Electric Power (AEP) and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, Electric Transmission America (ETA), has announced Phase One results of the Strategic Midwest Area Transmission Study (SMARTransmission Study). The study evaluates the extra-high voltage (EHV) transmission alternatives for new transmission development in the Upper Midwest. It also studies the transportation system required for transporting energy to population and electricity load centers.
Electric Transmission America had sponsored the study along with American Transmission Company, Exelon Corp. (EXC), NorthWestern Energy (NWE) and Xcel Energy (XEL) and MidAmerican Energy Company, a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. The sponsors chose Quanta Technology LLC for conducting the study.
In Phase One, Quanta evaluated eight transmission alternatives designed to support the integration of 56.8 gigawatts of wind generation within the study area. The region of study includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. This translates into enough energy to power more than 15 million households.
Furthermore, the Phase One results suggest three alternatives for further study based on a rigorous reliability assessment and stakeholder input. The three alternatives include a 765-kilovolt (kV) EHV transmission, a 765 kV combined with limited use of high-voltage direct current transmission lines, and a combination of both 345-kV and 765-kV transmission lines.
The JV plans to further evaluate these three alternatives in the second phase of the study. The second phase is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2010.
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