Retail
Strong Russian, German and French sales boost FordA record month in Russia and strong sales in Germany and France and helped Ford of Europe increase sales by eight percent in April. The automaker achieved sales of 161,140 across Europe including Russia and Turkey during the month, up from 149,400 for the same month in 2007. [REG] May 15 21:31 CET |
Skoda to set new sales record in 2008Skoda is on track to sell 700,000 units this year, a new sales record for the automaker. [REG] May 14 16:01 CET |
Analyst: GM needs to raise $9 billion over next two years
General Motors needs to raise about $9 billion over the next two years to refinance debt, and may seek more for operational cash burn as it faces production headwinds and commodity price increases, Lehman Brothers analyst Brian Johnson said. GM will need to refinance close to $8.7 billion of debt due between now and January 2010, as well as absorb additional cash burn of close to $11 billion, Johnson said. [REG] May 14 14:50 CET
Nissan earnings up on strong offshore sales
Nissan today said its operating profit in the fiscal year to March rose 1.8 percent on brisk sales outside Japan, especially in emerging markets, which more than offset weak domestic sales and higher procurement costs. But the third-largest Japanese carmaker said it expects a steep decline in profit in the current fiscal year. [REG] May 13 13:12 CET
Lamborghini picks L.A. for U.S. HQ
Turns out you can't spell Lamborghini without L.A. Automobili Lamborghini has created a separate sales arm for its North American operations --the first such business unit outside of Italy. It will be headquartered in the beachside Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica. [REG] May 12 06:01 CET
Winners? Losers? Block exemption has bothWho won and who lost as Europe's retail landscape adjusted to new EU regulations? It depends who you ask. Six years after Europe's car-retailing rules changed, sorting out the winners and the losers corresponds directly with the sales history of the brands. Simply: The new guys won. The traditional brands did not do as well. Small dealers lost. [SUB] May 12 06:01 CET |
GM to give Opel an image makeoverIn an effort to stand out in an increasingly competitive segment, General Motors Europe is repositioning its Opel brand. GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster said GM will try to move its volume division slightly upmarket by emphasizing design and engineering superiority based on traditional German manufacturing attributes. [SUB] May 12 06:01 CET |
Market turmoil worries premium brands
BMW and Daimler may be in for a more difficult year than expected, as a slowing North American economy overshadows strong growth prospects in many emerging markets. Both German premium carmakers reported falling first-quarter profits. They were hurt by turmoil in the US credit market, the weakness of the dollar against the euro and the rising cost of raw materials. [SUB] May 12 06:01 CET
Booth wants Volvo out of 'in-between land'Volvo Chairman Lewis Booth said last week that he is making progress repositioning the Swedish brand. Booth, who also is chairman of Ford of Europe, said he is working with Volvo management to make the brand, a division of Ford Motor, more distinctive and a little more premium. [SUB] May 12 06:01 CET |
Audi, BMW seek to match Lexus with 8-speed transmissionsAudi and BMW want to catch up with Lexus by offering eight-speed automatic transmissions on their top-of-the-range cars, company sources say. Audi is testing vehicles equipped with an eight-speed transmission, a company source told Automotive News Europe. [SUB] May 12 06:01 CET |
VW, Sanyo to develop lithium-ion battery
German carmaker Volkswagen and Japan's Sanyo Electric Co. will jointly develop a lithium-ion battery to be used in hybrid and electric cars, the Nikkei financial daily reported on Sunday. Volkswagen will aim to start importing and using the battery in its hybrid and electric cars by 2012, the newspaper said. [REG] May 12 06:01 CET
BMW will increase dealers in ChinaBMW plans to add 30 more dealers in China this year to realize ambitious sales goals, a senior executive said. The German premium car maker also wants to provide better service to car buyers and owners. “One of our main focus points is customer service,” said Karl-Heinz Schmid, president of BMW China. [SUB] May 12 06:01 CET |
Barbara RichmondBarbara Richmond is group finance director for Inchcape. [SUB] May 12 06:01 CET |
Sometimes rules are OKI don't like regulations. In fact, I really hate them. Especially when the “brief” introduction comes in 90 pages of legal jargon. So when I tried to understand the European Union's block exemption rules on car retailing, I was instinctively opposed John Revill is staff reporter at Automotive News Europe. [SUB] May 12 06:01 CET |
