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EDWARD LAPHAM Engineers are born to rule »
LYLE FRINK Hyundai wins its cross-border gamble »
EDWARD LAPHAM U.S. designers play catch-up on cool small... »
WIM OUDE WEERNINK Could the Dacia Sandero be competition for... »
KEITH CRAIN The only thing permanent is change »
LUCA CIFERRI A summer of profit warnings to come? »
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UK June car registrations fall 6.1 percent
New car registrations in Britain fell 6.1 percent on a year ago in June to 209,190 units and private car sales were down even more sharply, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said on Friday. In the year-to-date, sales were down 1.6 percent on a year ago. [REG] July 4 15:00 CET
BASF buys out partner in Turkish JVGerman chemicals group BASF will take full ownership of its Turkish coatings joint venture, buying out its partner Yasar's 50 percent stake for an undisclosed sum. BASF said it expects double-digit percentage growth rates in the Turkish automobile industry. [REG] July 4 13:18 CET |
MG announces price of TF LE500 sports carThe MG TF LE500 will cost 16,399 pounds (20,700 euros) when it reaches UK dealers in September, NAC MG UK has announced. The price of the two-seater sports car from kits shipped from China, will include a body-colored hardtop, air conditioning and parking sensors. The TF will compete directly with the Mazda MX-5, which sells for 15,730 pounds in a 1.8-liter variant. [REG] July 4 11:09 CET |
Karmann to sell or shut down toolmaking opsGerman automotive supplier Karmann plans to sell or shut down its toolmaking division, affecting some 250 workers, a spokesman for the company said, confirming a report in Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung. [REG] July 4 10:00 CET |
Audi sales in China rise, plans to boost productionVolkswagen's premium brand, Audi, posted a 23 percent rise in first-half sales to China, delivering a record 60,509 luxury cars to customers thanks mainly to rising demand for its high-end exported models. [REG] July 4 10:00 CET |
Mercedes-Benz will end McLaren collaborationMercedes-Benz will end its partnership with British sports car manufacturer McLaren when its current agreement expires next year. The German automaker and the British sports car manufacturer built the SLR. [REG] July 3 16:10 CET |
Report: Deripaska not aiming for Magna majorityRussian investor Oleg Deripaska has not shown any interest in obtaining a majority stake in Canadian car parts maker Magna International, Magna's co-CEO Siegfried Wolf was quoted as saying on Thursday. "I have not noticed an interest from his side that he wants the majority," Wolf was quoted as saying in an interview with Austrian newspaper Die Presse. [REG] July 3 12:30 CET |
Chrysler, China's Great Wall sign MoU to study cooperationChrysler said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Great Wall Motor to assess the feasibility of developing a long-term, strategic relationship. Under the memorandum of understanding, the two companies will look into leveraging each other's distribution networks and component and technology capabilities, said Daphne Zheng. [REG] July 3 09:39 CET | UPDATED: 07/03/08 14:44 CET |
GM Belgium plant workers strike over more workGeneral Motors Europe workers stopped working at the company's Antwerp, Belgium plant this week because of complaints over an increased workload, union officials said. [REG] July 3 11:27 CET |
GM, Ford stock prices tumbleDETROIT -- Banks cut automaker ratings, oil climbed to a record high, and stock prices in the auto industry plummeted on Wednesday. General Motors shares closed at $9.98, their lowest close in more than 50 years after a Merrill Lynch analyst said bankruptcy is “not impossible” for the world's largest automaker if the U.S. auto market continues to slump. [REG] July 3 06:01 CET |
French tax gives low-CO2 cars a boostFrench new-car sales continue to be helped by the country's recently implemented CO2 tax system. New-car sales grew by 4.5 percent during the first six months to 1.12 million units compared to the same period of 2007, according to the French automobile manufacturers association, CCFA. [REG] July 2 06:01 CET |
Fiat will build new small engine in PolandFiat will build its new 900cc gasoline engine in Poland. The engine will be the smallest engine in a European car and the only two-cylinder engine on offer in Europe when it goes into the Topolino, a microcar that Fiat will build in Zastava, Serbia, starting late next year. [REG] July 2 15:46 CET |
Fiat's Melfi workers to start break earlyFiat will close its Melfi, Italy, factory four days before the carmaker's annual summer break to align inventories to a falling domestic market. Fiat makes the Grande Punto, Italy's best selling model, in Melfi. The Melfi plant will begin its summer break on July 28. Fiat's other Italian plants follow on August 1. [REG] July 2 15:22 CET |
Italy new car sales down 19.5 percent in JuneItalian new car registrations fell for a sixth month in a row in June, down 19.5 percent to 184,275 units, with those for Fiat falling nearly as hard, according to government figures published on Tuesday. The fall, which had been expected, was the steepest since January. [REG] July 2 09:00 CET |
German new car market on track for small 2008 gainDemand for new cars in Germany rose in June and remained on track to increase 1.6 percent in 2008, industry data showed on Wednesday. Production fell 1 percent in the month and 2 percent in the first half of the year. [REG] July 2 12:15 CET | UPDATED: 07/02/08 13:17 CET |
Toyota struggles to meet hybrid, small car demandThe surge in popularity for small cars and fuel-efficient hybrids has left Toyota facing an unusual problem: deepening shortages of popular models such as the Prius hybrid. A limited inventory of small cars hurt Toyota, which reported a 11.5 percent drop in U.S. sales in June. [REG] July 2 09:45 CET |
VW appoints new purchasing chief in MexicoRudiger Koch today becomes Volkswagen AG's purchasing director in Mexico. Koch, 50, has been Volkswagen Group China's head of procurement since 2004. He replaces Rafael Pinero, 59, who is returning to Germany after eight years in the job. Pinero will work at VW headquarters in Wolfsburg, a company spokesman in Mexico said. [REG] July 2 06:01 CET |
Spanish new-car sales plunge 30.8 percent in June
Sales of new cars plunged 30.8 percent in Spain in June compared with the same month last year after suffering an annual fall of 24.3 percent in May, the Spanish automobile manufacturers' association reported Tuesday. Sales came to 114,958 units last month. [REG] July 1 15:42 CET
Report: Ford's talks with Renault to sell VolvoFord Motor has had exploratory talks with French automaker Renault to sell Volvo, but the initial talks broke down due to price differences, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The two parties have spoken again after their initial discussions, which were held last fall, the sources said. [REG] July 1 06:01 CET |
Fiat importing cars into Chinese market amid delaysFiat is importing cars into the Chinese market after delays in winning approval from the Chinese authorities for its latest planned alliance with Chery Automobile, said a company spokesman. [REG] July 1 15:30 CET |
Audi cancels after-sales contracts across Europe
Audi has told its 4,600 European repairs and service outlets to reapply for their contracts with the automaker. An Audi spokeswoman said the automaker would redraft the contracts with new terms that aim to improve customer service standards. [REG] July 1 11:34 CET
Continental eyes electrical autos as diesel car demand declines
Continental plans to replace what it sees as an increasingly sluggish demand for diesel fuel cars with supplies to the future trend of electrical cars, board member Karl-Thomas Neumann told Handelsblatt. "Regarding diesel fuel, I'm more skeptical by now. There's not much happening in the U.S.," he said. [REG] July 1 09:26 CET
Paris dealer group exec to head VW brand salesA key Porsche-affiliated dealer group executive, Christian Klingler, will become the new head of Volkswagen brand marketing, sales and after sales effective August 1. Currently, Klingler, 39, is responsible for international sales at the Paris-based car retailer PGA Group, which is owned by Porsche Holding, Europe's biggest dealer group. [REG] July 1 06:01 CET |
BMW calls CAFE plan 'not feasible'
BMW of North America is calling on the Bush administration to create an alternative fuel economy program for companies that would be hardest hit by proposed new standards in the 2011-15 model years. The alternative would allow a company such as BMW to comply by raising the fuel efficiency of its products by 4.5 percent a year over the standards in effect in 2010, the automaker says. [REG] July 1 06:01 CET
