According to Forbes, many of the world's automakers are suffering from the impact of the coronavirus epidemic in the first half of 2020. The performance of BMW, Volkswagen and Ford shows that all three companies need to make radical changes, while GM and Tesla are profitable. In addition, Tesla did well in the first half, outperforming its competitors.

     Volkswagen, the two biggest carmakers by sales, has underperformed Toyota.

     BMW, Daimler, Volvo and Volkswagen lost an average of €1,134 per CAR in the first half of 2020, €599, €343 and €313 respectively, according to the Duisburg Centre for Automotive Research (CAR).

    Meanwhile, Tesla's profit per vehicle was 2,890 euros, GM's 780 euros, and Porsche topped the list with 9,853 euros per vehicle.

Ford, on the other hand, loses €1,088 for every car it sells.

     The report also suggested that Ford's European operations had not helped, and noted that GM had managed to escape losses at its Opel-Vauxhall unit a few years ago. James Farley, ford's incoming chief executive, may be turning his attention to Europe.

    The report's author, Professor Ferdinand Dudenhofer, said the FIGURES for BMW and other carmakers revealed previously undetected weaknesses and carmakers must take action to save their balance sheets.

    He also noted that BMW, which has traditionally performed well in profits, suffered its worst loss in its history in the second quarter. BMW has launched an austerity program and announced job cuts.

    BMW revealed some "hidden" problems during the coronavirus outbreak, the data showed.

    BMW has shocked the investment world by reporting its first big loss in more than a decade. The company lost €498m in the second quarter, while earnings before interest and tax fell to minus 10.4 per cent from 6.5 per cent a year earlier. The company is sticking to its May forecast that full-year earnings before interest and tax will fluctuate between zero and 3 per cent. BMW remained profitable throughout the first half.

    Moreover, VW lags well behind Toyota in the battle between the world's two largest carmakers.

    The VW brand lost 313 euros per car, while the group's car division lost an average of 415 euros per car. Toyota made a loss in the second quarter but remained profitable throughout the first half, making an average profit of 533 euros per vehicle.

     Volkswagen's sales fell 28% in the first half of the year, and Toyota's fell 29%, but the latter remained profitable.

    Mr Dudenhofer said vw would certainly have to make more changes than Toyota, and that it had benefited greatly from its China business.

    At the same time, Tesla is becoming a strong competitor at the high end of the market.

    Compared with BMW, Audi and Mercedes, Tesla's growth has been phenomenal. With the exception of Porsche, Tesla is far ahead of other high-end manufacturers in terms of profitability. The start-up, which has invested heavily in new factories in the face of the coronavirus outbreak, has dwarfed established high-end carmakers.

     The difference in performance between Ford, which focuses on global strategy, and GM, which focuses on regional development, suggests that the latter is adapting better to the crisis.

    Dudenhofer said GM has been focusing on North and South America, as well as China. Ford is more global in Europe, but by no means more successful, as was evident in the two companies' results for the first half of 2020.

    According to incomplete statistics, Volkswagen, Volvo and Renault are among the automakers that reported losses in the first half of 2020.

    Of that, Volkswagen lost nearly $1bn but is expected to remain profitable for the full year. Geely's Volvo made an operating loss of about 84 million euros in the first half of this year, after making a profit of about 4.6 billion euros in the same period in 2019. Renault posted a net loss of €7.29bn in the first half, compared with an operating profit of €1.5bn in the same period last year.

    Separately, Daimler, the parent of Mercedes, reported an operating loss of 1.68 billion euros for the second quarter. ,

    PSA group, on the other hand, has maintained a healthy profit. Psa Peugeot Citroen, which owns the Peugeot, Citroen, Opel and Vauxhall brands, is in merger talks with Fiat Chrysler. The group said net profit for the first half of the year fell to 595 million euros from 1.83 billion euros in the same period in 2019.