Crunch watch Feb 09: the auto industry in crisis ByTim Pollard02 February 2009 16:24Monday 2 February 2009• German component supplier Edscha has filed for bankruptcy. The company makes convertible roofs, hinges and control systems for most major marques, employing 6000 people at 29 factories worldwide (Automotive News Europe, subscription required)• Ssangyong today resumed production as parts supply returned to normal. Delivery stopped when it filed for bankruptcy protection in January (Justauto, subscription required)• General Motors is at a loss with what to do with its weak brands, sources say. It has found no prospective buyers for Saab, Saturn or Hummer – and time is running out for the 17 February deadline to present its survival plan to the US Treasury (Automotive News, subscription required)• Saab is planning to remodel itself as an independent company – or the automotive equivalent of cool computing giant Apple Inc (Autocar)• Battery makers are among the businesses prospering in these hard times. Electronics specialists such as Toshiba and GS Yuasa are building new factories to meet the growing demand for high-tech batteries. Researchers at Fuji Keizai predict the lithium-ion battery market will more than double to $14 billion between 2007 and 2012 – and the overall battery market to grow by 37% (Financial Times, subscription required)• Ford has cut its global warranty costs by $1.2 billion during the past two years. Since 2004, the per-vehicle warranty repair rate has halved on Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles, the firm says (Automotive News, subscription required)• Confidence among British manufacturers slumps to its third-lowest ever reading (The Times)• Ford has been running business models to see how it would cope if gas prices hit $12 a gallon – sparking its new electric car scheme (Detroit News) • Nissan announces name of new Qazana concept crossover that will replace the Micra line at Sunderland UK plant, safeguarding 1100 jobs (CAR Online)>> Click here for the January 2009 Crunch Watch feature>> Click here for the December 2008 Crunch Watch feature>> What's your view on the downturn? Click 'Add your comment' and sound off on the economic crisis gripping the auto industry