80% rise for China October sales

New-car sales in China rose 79.6 percent to 923,154 cars last month, state media reported on Saturday. That would suggest a month-on-month drop of about 9.8 percent from September, when sales rise 83.6 percent from a year earlier to 1. Nov. 7 06:01 CET

GREEN CARS
Fiat pulls the plug on Chrysler's ambitious electric car plans

Fiat S.p.A. has disbanded a team of Chrysler Group engineers dedicated to rushing a range of electric vehicles to showrooms and dropped ambitious sales targets for battery-powered cars. The targets were set as Chrysler was sliding toward bankruptcy and seeking U.S. government aid. Nov. 7 06:01 CET   

ANALYSIS
U.S. government switches role to shareholder

Automakers can expect the U.S. government to be attentive to its multibillion-dollar stake in their businesses next year and selective in its efforts to reshape the indus ...

Lutz will chair Opel board; Forster will leave

Bob Lutz, General Motors Co.'s top marketing boss, will chair the supervisory board of GM's Opel unit and help steer a restructuring plan there now that GM has decided to ...

Merkel wants GM's plan for Opel ready fast

General Motors Co. said it is readying a plan to restructure Opel and could pay off debt due this month. German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised concern over GM's decision ...

Magna focuses on core business after Opel defeat

Magna International Inc. is not looking at taking over any other automakers following the collapse of its deal to buy a stake in General Motors Co.'s European operations, ...

NHTSA probes timing of Honda airbag recalls

Honda Motor Co.'s recalls of 444,000 Accord and Civic vehicles for potentially lethal airbag defects are under investigation by federal safety regulators. The National Hi ...

Ford production suffers even as strike at Indian supplier ends

Workers at an India auto-parts maker have ended a six-week strike, which had hit transmission parts supplies to General Motors and Ford Motor Co. and caused the shutdown ...

Superior Industries Q3 loss narrows

Aluminum wheel maker Superior Industries International Inc. posted a narrower quarterly loss helped by cost cuts and increased production volumes. ...

Sirius loss narrows, sees growth as autos recover

Sirius XM Radio Inc. posted a smaller quarterly loss on Thursday, helped by subscriber gains and the success of premium programming on its pay radio service, and said it ...

U.S. Treasury needs more deliberation on GMAC

The U.S. Treasury intends to provide more taxpayer capital to finance company GMAC, but needs to deliberate further on the deal's structure, a senior U.S. Treasury offici ...

Magna ends hunt for automaker, eyes suppliers

Magna International Inc., thwarted this week in its bid to take over General Motors Co.’s Opel unit, won’t seek to buy another car company, co-CEO Don Walker ...

Porsche rushes to close 8.5B loan, bankers say

Porsche Automobil Holding SE is pushing to agree an 8.5 billion euro ($12.62 billion) loan by Nov. 10, two bankers close to the deal said on Friday. The loan has been red ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Bosch sees 11 million US auto sales in 2010

The head of the American unit of German autos parts supplier Robert Bosch GmbH said he expects U.S. light vehicle sales to improve to 11 million units in 2010, indicative ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
GM won't expand Volt as a brand, Dewar says

As General Motors Co. expands its offering of rechargeable vehicles beyond the Volt it will not look to brand them in a way that identifies them with the highly anticipat ...

Former GM metals executive pleads guilty to scam

A former General Motors Co. executive pleaded guilty Thursday to a kickback scheme involving bulk aluminum sales that cost the automaker some $83 million. Daniel Bealko p ...

Audi raises 2009 unit sales outlook, exec tells paper

Volkswagen AG's premium brand Audi expects its vehicle sales to fall less than previously thought to more than 920,000 vehicles this year instead of about 900,000, Audi s ...

Renault has no plans to raise AvtoVAZ stake

Renault SA has no plans to change it stake in AvtoVAZ even though Russia wants it to play a bigger role to help rescue the country's largest automaker. "We have no plan t ...

Chryslers, Dodges to be Fiats, Lancias in Europe

The Chrysler badge will disappear from cars sold in Europe by 2011 leaving the U.S. carmaker with Jeep as its only nameplate in the region. Under Fiat S.p. ...

GM likely to outperform viability plan estimates

General Motors Co. is outperforming the targets set in its earnings viability plan outlined in April, CEO Fritz Henderson said today. Henderson declined to list the areas ...

Opel's German workers against protest GM move

Opel auto workers in Germany downed tools to show their anger at GM's decision to abandon a a sale of the German-based unit to Magna. They blame GM for mismanaging Opel i ...

UK's Mandelson says Opel decision good for taxpayers

General Motors Co.'s decision to keep its European unit Opel will benefit European taxpayers, especially in Britain, Germany and Spain, British Business Secretary Peter M ...

GM confident of financing Opel restructuring

GM is confident that it can find the financing to keep and restructure its European Opel unit, CEO Fritz Henderson said. GM can find ways to provide financing to Opel fro ...

Opel faces 'massive cuts,' Forster tells newspaper

GM Europe head Carl-Peter Forster expects massive cuts at Opel after GM decided to hold on to its European unit, he was quoted saying in a German newspaper. "We had negot ...

Magna posts profit, ends four quarters of losses

Magna International Inc. posted a $51 million profit after four straight quarters of losses, benefiting from cost reductions as sales fell. ...

Ford's Explorer to get airbags built into rear belts

The 2011 Ford Explorer will be launched with rear seat belts that include small built-in airbags. The inflatable belts will be optional on the Explorer, which is switchin ...

CHRYSLER'S 5-YEAR PLAN
Fiat-based models will begin rolling out in 2012, exec says

Starting in 2012, Chrysler Group's alliance with Italian automaker Fiat S.p.A. will bring a raft of new Fiat-based models to all four of Chrysler's brands. Joseph Veltri, ...

CASH FOR CLUNKERS
Carfax, Experian add clunker VINs to databases

The industry's two top vehicle history reporting companies have added to their databases vehicle identification numbers of the 700,000 trade-ins meant to be scrapped unde ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Chevy to get post-crisis marketing boost

The General Motors board has approved plans to boost ad spending on vehicles from its flagship Chevrolet brand that saw their recent launches overshadowed by the automake ...

Former GM ad exec Betsy Lazar goes to Kellogg

General Motors veteran Betsy Lazar is Kellogg's new vice president of global media, both companies have confirmed. Lazar was previously executive director of media and ad ...

Cadillac narrows list of finalists for creative work

Cadillac has narrowed the list of agencies in the hunt for its national creative account, and McCann Erickson has not made the cut. General Motors Co.'s luxury brand said ...

NHTSA slaps Toyota for ‘inaccurate' recall information

Toyota Motor Corp. was rebuked Wednesday by federal safety regulators for issuing “inaccurate and misleading information” about a safety recall involving 3.8 ...

Toyota denies allegations of floor-mat cover up

A senior Toyota Motor Corp. executive denied allegations the automaker tried to sidestep engineering or design defects that led to its unprecedented safety recall of 3.8 ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
GM aims to double Chevy sales in Europe

General Motors Co. aims to more than double sales for its flagship Chevrolet brand in Europe as part of a business plan that was presented to the company's board this wee ...

Henderson wants to mend fences with German labor

In the wake of General Motors Co.’s decision not to sell Opel/Vauxhall, GM CEO Fritz Henderson said today GM will need to repair relations with the German trade uni ...

Suzuki Kizashi starts at $19,734

American Suzuki Motor Corp. has priced its Kizashi mid-sized sedan from $19,734, including shipping. The price is for a model with front-wheel drive and a six-speed manua ...

SUPPLIERS IN CRISIS
Lear wins court approval of reorganization plan

Lear Corp. today received approval for its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, nearly four months after the company file ...

Chrysler wants sales outside N.A. to quadruple by 2014

Chrysler Group's sales outside North America will grow to 500,000 by 2014 from an estimated 144,000 this year, international sales chief Mike Manley said Wednesday.Sales ...

All dealerships will have 3 brands by 2011

Chrysler Group plans to finish the consolidation of its dealerships into three-brand stores by the end of 2011, Peter Grady, the automaker's vice president of network dev ...

Toyota says U.S. business still 'severe'

A top Toyota Motor Corp. executive said today its U.S. operations remain difficult, adding that the automaker must reduce fixed costs further to battle a strong yen that ...

Marchionne, in his own words

DETROIT -- Here are comments made by Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne during a question-and-answer session at the conclusion of an eight-hour presentation Wednesday o ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
CAW deal saves Ford labor costs, union says

The deal reached between the Canadian Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co. last week cut around C$4 to C$5 an hour from the labor costs of Ford's Canadian workers, CAW Preside ...

Scrappage helps boost UK Oct car sales by 31.6%

The U.K. today joined other Western European countries in reporting a big rise in new-car sales in October. Car sales in Britain rose an annual 31.6 percent in October, t ...

Russia's Putin slams 'scornful' GM Opel U-turn

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that GM's U-turn over the sale of Opel showed the generally "scornful" approach of U.S. companies when dealing with ...

CHRYSLER'S 5-YEAR PLAN
Marchionne sets bold Chrysler plan, targets net profit in '11

Chrysler Group's new CEO Sergio Marchionne offered an ambitious outlook for the automaker on Wednesday, saying it would more than double sales, roll out a dozen new model ...

Toyota surprises with Q2 profit; raises outlook

Toyota reported a surprise quarterly profit and slashed its annual loss forecast by more than half as sales and cost cutting beat its forecasts, putting it on track to fo ...

Customers can call Chrysler for service answers

Chrysler Group will establish call centers for each brand in January to resolve customers’ service problems. Each brand will have a separate 800 number. Pietro Gorl ...

REUTERS AUTO SUMMIT
Slowdown pressures entire auto sector

The global meltdown and resulting implosion in vehicle sales over the past year have pressured everyone in the automotive sector, creating opportunities for some players ...

Up to 140 Chrysler dealers still need floorplan financing

About 130 to 140 Chrysler Group dealers have not been approved for permanent floorplan financing because of lingering issues with Chrysler Financial, Peter Grady, the aut ...

Dodge planning seven-passenger crossover

For the fourth quarter of 2010, the Dodge car brand is planning a seven-passenger crossover. Dodge also plans updates next year for the Avenger sedan, Journey crossover, ...

Fiat, Chrysler will share more than two-thirds of suppliers

Fiat S.p.A. and Chrysler Group will share more than two-thirds of their suppliers by 2014, up from about half currently, Chrysler purchasing chief Daniel Knott said today ...

Fiat dual-clutch transmissions coming to N.A.

DETROIT -- During the next five years, Chrysler Group's powertrain lineup will be transformed from one dominated by larger-displacement engines to one dominated by Fiat-d ...

Chrysler expects to break even in 2010, then make profits

Chrysler Group says it will break even on operations next year on its way to generating a net profit of $3 billion in 2014. The advances will be driven by the launch of 2 ...

Chrysler chairman wants ‘compelling' brand, products

Chrysler Group's top priority is to create a compelling brand and product offering, Chairman Bob Kidder said during Chrysler's five-year plan presentation today. ...

Germany regrets GM's Opel decision, wants money back

The German government regrets a decision by the board of General Motors Co. to retain Opel, a government spokesman said. Germany expected GM to repay 1.5 billion euros in ...

German Opel workers upset at GM; union promises protests

Bitterness, anger and disbelief mixed with betrayal and even resignation are just some of the emotions boiling within Germany following Tuesday's news that General Motors ...

GM will return Opel loan to Germany, economy minister says

GM will return the money it was loaned by Germany to help Opel, German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said on Wednesday after the U.S. carmaker decided to keep its Eur ...

Chrysler will be American on outside, lots of 'Fiat' on inside

Chrysler Group's new vehicles will be American on the outside with a lot of Fiat on the inside. In a wide-ranging presentation today, Chrysler executives unveiled a two-p ...

Nissan boosts forecast after profitable quarter

Nissan Motor Co., Japan's third-largest automaker, revised its annual outlook to a profit from a loss today as soaring sales in China helped drive quarterly earnings beyo ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Auto execs tout higher fuel taxes

There's a simple way to get Americans to drive fuel-efficient cars, but they are not going to like it -- sharply hike the gasoline tax. ...

In Japan, foreign brands lead in satisfaction

Foreign brands are losing market share in Japan, but as a group they still outclass the far larger local automakers when it comes to customers' satisfaction with the serv ...

What GM's move means for Opel

General Motors Co. has abandoned a deal to sell its European operations to a group led by auto supplier Magna International Inc. GM's decision to keep Opel and UK-based s ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
AutoNation's Jackson says Chrysler products key

Chrysler's turnaround plan, being announced today, needs to show long-term product development and financial stability for the largest U.S. auto dealership group to even ...

Chrysler sees Fiat aiding gains in Canada, Mexico

Chrysler Group expects steady growth in Canada and Mexico over the next five years as the influence of Fiat S.p.A. helps produce cars that are better suited to consumers ...

Chrysler's cash on hand has grown, Marchionne says

Contrary to what some might think, Chrysler Group is not burning cash and has improved its cash position since the Italian automaker Fiat S.p.A. took the company over in ...

Chrysler puts motorsports program under review

Chrysler has put its motorsports program, which includes NASCAR, under review as part of a restructuring announced today, but does not plan to cut spending at this time. ...

Lear seeking court's OK to replace 6 directors

A crew of auto industry veterans and financial executives will replace six of Lear Corp.'s nine board current members when the world's second-largest seat supplier emerge ...

Lawmaker asks GMAC to extend Chrysler dealer floorplans

GMAC Financial Services should extend a six-month program of interim floorplan financing for Chrysler Group dealerships to help keep many of them from going out of busin ...

GMAC narrows losses in Q3; auto operations profitable

GMAC Financial Services reduced its third-quarter net loss to $767 million from $2.5 billion for the same period last year and from $3.9 billion in the previous quarter t ...

NEWS ANALYSIS
Chrysler gives Marchionne chance to prove skeptics wrong again

Tell most analysts that Chrysler Group's sales are going to rise to about 3 million in 2014 from roughly 1.5 million this year and here is the reaction you will get: No c ...

Chrysler using Fiat manufacturing system, Garberding says

To improve quality, Chrysler Group is adopting the same manufacturing system that Fiat S.p.A. has used since 2005. “We are taking a totally different view of how we ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Auto market will stabilize in 2010, Moody's says

The worst of the automotive industry crisis is over, and world sales are set to stabilize next year, a Moody's analyst told the Reuters Auto Summit today. ...

Chrysler collapse signals need for product

On the eve of CEO Sergio Marchionne's unveiling of his five-year turnaround plan for Chrysler, the U.S. automaker did something it had done for each of the past 22 months ...

GM’s plan for Opel will be similar to Magna’s

General Motors Co.’s restructuring plan for Opel will be similar to the plan Canadian supplier Magna International Inc. had for the company, a top GM executive said ...

Ram brand may expand into heavy trucks

The new Ram truck brand, which will operate separately from Dodge cars, might expand into the heavy-truck, 18-wheel segment, said Ram CEO Fred Diaz. The brand will add Fi ...

New Chrysler logo gets patent approval

The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office this week approved a new winged logo for the Chrysler brand, according to the Detroit Free Press. As reported last month by ...

Jeep will rely on Fiat platforms starting in 2013

Jeep’s small SUVs will use Fiat-supplied platforms starting in 2013, Jeep brand CEO Mike Manley said today. Jeep will eliminate the Patriot and Compass crossovers a ...

Chrysler will align engineering with Fiat

Chrysler will more closely align its engineering organization to Fiat Group to take advantage of common architectures, systems and components, said Scott Kunselman, senio ...

Chrysler vows better quality at launch, adds 200 to staff

Chrysler Group’s efforts toward quick improvements in quality include adding 200 engineers to its quality division, said Doug Betts, Chrysler’s quality chief. ...

GM right to keep Opel, German politician says

General Motors Co. is right keep Opel, Dirk Pfeil, a member of the trust overseeing the German-based GM division, said. "I consider it to be the right move," Pfeil said. ...

Russia's Putin signals battle for Opel not over

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hinted the battle for carmaker Opel was not over, saying it was the trust overseeing Opel, not the board of General Motors Co., its ...

UK's Mandelson wants meeting with GM

British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said on Wednesday he wanted talks soon with General Motors Co. after the U.S. automaker scrapped plans to sell its European Ope ...

Daimler to cut 1,000 jobs at Mercedes-Benz

Daimler plans to cut 1,000 jobs at its Mercedes-Benz Cars premium division by offering a variety of buyout packages to staff, the German carmaker said on Wednesday. ...

Toyota, in a race to cut costs, quits Formula One

Toyota Motor Corp. pulled out of Formal One racing today, as it battles a second straight year of red ink and races to cut more than $9 billion in costs this year. Toyota ...

Supplier Hayes Lemmerz wins bankruptcy plan OK

Hayes Lemmerz International Inc., a century-old maker of aluminum and steel wheels for cars and trucks, said it won approval of its bankruptcy reorganization plan on Tues ...

Opel puts best face on GM decision to keep unit

General Motors Co.'s Opel unit put the best face on its parent's decision to reverse course and keep its European arm rather than sell it to a group led by Magna Interna ...

Delphi forms new board led by ex-DuPont chairman

Delphi Automotive LLP, the U.S. auto-parts maker that emerged from a four-year bankruptcy in October, said it is forming a new board of managers that will be led by forme ...

AUTOMOBILWOCHE CONGRESS
Skoda to launch Logan fighter, CEO says

Skoda plans to build a low-cost family sedan, CEO Reinhard Jung said. The car would compete with the successful Logan, which is produced by Renault's Dacia subsidiary. ...

UK union welcomes GM's decision

Britain's Unite union on Wednesday welcomed the decision by General Motors Co. not to sell its European Vauxhall unit, saying it was a "far better deal" and that it expec ...

Toyota pulls out of Formula One

Toyota Motor Corp. said on Wednesday it will pull out of Formula One racing. Toyota, the world's largest carmaker, was the last Japanese team left in the sport following ...

GM Europe expects countries to help finance Opel

General Motors Europe said it plans to secure the bulk of financing to secure Opel's future from European loan guarantees after GM decided not to sell the European unit t ...

Automotive News' coverage of Chrysler's 5-year plan

Automotive News will provide you with minute-by-minute reports Wednesday from a team of reporters and editors at Chrysler Group headquarters as CEO Sergio Marchi ...

GM, citing improved financial health, decides to keep Opel

General Motors Co. has decided to keep Opel, undoing months of painstaking negotiations to sell the European unit to a Russian-backed group led by Canada's Magna Internat ...

OCTOBER U.S. SALES
U.S. sales, aided by GM, show some real spark

U.S. light-vehicle sales -- bolstered by General Motor Co.'s first gain in 21 months -- declined less than 1 percent in October as the industry showed signs of a recovery ...

Administration not involved in Opel decision, Treasury says

The Obama administration did not get involved with General Motors Co.'s decision to keep and restructure its Opel carmaking operations in Europe, a U.S. Treasury spokeswo ...

‘They need that volume' – Reactions to GM's decision

Here are some analysts' reactions to General Motors Co.'s decision to keep Opel, undoing months of negotiations to sell the European unit to a Russian-backed group led by ...

AUTOMOBILWOCHE CONGRESS
Opel Chairman Forster leaves open his future role at automaker

Opel Chairman Carl-Peter Forster left open questions about his future role at General Motor Co.'s European unit at an industry conference here. Media reports have suggest ...

Magna gets Opel labor to OK plan to cut costs by 265M euros a year

Opel workers have agreed to contribute 265 million euros ($390 million) in annual savings if General Motors Co. finally sells a majority stake in its European arm to a gr ...

Saturn launches marketing campaign, spiffs to clear inventory

General Motors Co. is launching a new marketing campaign and incentives to push out its remaining Saturn inventory, which means the brand could be wound down within three ...

BMW sees slight market rebound for 2010

BMW AG gave a tepid outlook for the markets and predicted the euro would stay strong after third-quarter earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) shrank 86 percent to 55 m ...

GM reports $13.6 billion cash in escrow account

General Motors Co. had $13.6 billion remaining in its U.S. government-funded escrow account as of October, after making payments related to the restructuring of its forme ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Fisker, UAW aim to reach labor deal

Fisker Automotive, a California-based start-up car company, expects to complete a deal with the UAW before year-end for the union to represent workers at an old General M ...

Dana’s Q3 loss narrows, despite lower sales

Driveline supplier Dana Holding Corp. narrowed its third-quarter net loss to $38 million from a loss of $256 million in the year-earlier period. The Maumee, Ohio, supplie ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Fisker picks distributor for Europe

Fisker Automotive Inc., the builder of luxury plug-in hybrids, has picked a large distributor to sell its vehicles in Europe and is looking to sign a similar deal in Chin ...

24% rise for German car sales in October

Germany's new-car market grew by 24 percent year-on-year in October even after a car scrapping scheme for old autos ran out of money in September, the VDIK foreign carmak ...

ANALYSIS
Honda creates Crosstour instead of Accord wagon

First question: Is the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour as unattractive in the flesh as it is in photographs? Answer: Pretty darned close. Directly from behind -- and directly ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Dura eyes suppliers, sees consolidation

Dura Automotive Systems Inc. is looking at acquiring the assets of an Asian and a European auto parts supplier and will consider more opportunities as supplier valuations ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
UAW hopes for GM IPO 'sooner rather than later'

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said today the union would like to see an initial public offering by General Motors Co. "sooner rather than later" and said the projected l ...

Red Flags Rule delayed for 4th time

The Federal Trade Commission has again postponed enforcement of the Red Flags Rule -- a regulation designed to protect consumers from identity theft. Enforcement has been ...

Hinrichs will head Ford’s Asia, Africa operations

Joe Hinrichs, Ford Motor Co.’s manufacturing and labor relations chief and one of the company’s fastest-rising executives, will run Ford’s Asia and Afri ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
U.S. auto supply sector must shrink

The U.S. auto supply industry averted catastrophe during the implosion of vehicle sales this year but more than half of the private companies still standing are distresse ...

NUTS AND BOLTS
Audi close to signing 100 million euro deal with Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich is close to an investment and sponsorship deal with Audi worth more than 100 million euros ($147 million), club manager Uli Hoeness said. ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Group 1 says it may buy more Ford dealerships

Group 1 Automotive Inc., the No. 4 U.S. auto dealership, has been looking at possible acquisitions over the past few months and would consider buying more Ford Motor Co. ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Credit troubles may keep U.S. auto demand low

Just as subprime lending set the stage for the housing crisis that set off the economic downturn, easy credit played a major role in inflaming demand for high-priced spor ...

How low will PSA stake in Faurecia will go?

Faurecia CEO Yann Delabriere did not rule out PSA/Peugeot-Citroen lowering its stake in the partsmaker below 50 percent. "(PSA CEO) Philippe Varin has said there is no ma ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Jerry York cautious on Chrysler prospects

A former top executive at Chrysler said on Monday that the No. 3 U.S. automaker, which emerged from bankruptcy in June by selling most of its assets to Italy's Fiat S.p.A ...

China poised be one of Ferrari's top 5 markets

Fiat S.p.A.'s Ferrari supercar unit said on Tuesday that it expects China to become one of its top five global markets in five years. ...

Ford to extend credit and raise $3 billion in equity

Ford Motor Co. said Monday it would pay back in part and extend by two years $10.7 billion of secured debt and issue some $3 billion of stock and equity linked securities ...

GREEN CARS
France to get Renault battery plant, paper says

Renault SA and its partner Nissan Motor Co. plan to jointly build a plant in France to produce batteries for electric vehicles starting in 2012, with an annual capacity o ...

REUTERS AUTO SUMMIT
French carmakers see strong year-end

French carmakers expect strong sales in the final months of 2009 as drivers flock to take advantage of government scrapping schemes before year-end. ...

REUTERS AUTO SUMMIT
Renault to support AvtoVAZ shake-up

Renault Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata said the company was backing near-bankrupt Russian carmaker AvtoVAZ with financial support for a shake-up, but had refused ...

Magna wants ex-Fiat CEO to run Opel, report says

Magna favors Herbert Demel, one its top executives and former CEO of Fiat and Audi, to head Opel, Germany's WirtschaftsWoche said. Carl-Peter Forster, Opel chairma ...

Ford, Ford Credit get higher Moody’s ratings

Moody's Investors Service today raised its debt ratings on Ford Motor Co. and its finance arm, citing the automaker's progress in cutting costs and boosting market share. ...

GAO questions if Treasury can monitor GM, Chrysler

The Obama administration's ability to decide when and how to sell its stakes in General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group is undercut by the rapidly declining staff of the au ...

Jeep may be only Chrysler brand sold outside N.A.

Fiat S.p.A.'s plans for Chrysler will scrap the U.S. automaker's plans to peddle its brands outside North America with the exception of Jeep, people with direct knowledg ...

Gettelfinger wanted to lock in Ford commitments

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said today that the Ford-UAW contract modifications rejected overwhelmingly by Ford's 41,000 hourly U.S. workers would have saved the autom ...

October car sales rise in Spain, France and Italy

New-car sales in Spain, France and Italy rose sharply in October, helped by subsidies for buyers. Spanish car sales jumped 26.4%, French sales rose 20.1% and Italy sales ...

Faurecia to buy U.S. exhaust control firm

French car parts supplier Faurecia SA has signed a deal to buy EMCON Technologies, a U.S. company with 2008 sales of 2.4 billion euros ($3.6 billion) and a key presence i ...

Tata may let others make Nano, report says

Tata Motors Ltd., India's largest vehicles maker, may allow local car assemblers to put together its Nano and sell it under their own brand, the Business Standard ...

Suzuki CEO denies reports of pending VW tie-up

Suzuki CEO Osamu Suzuki said there was no truth to reports it was in talks to tie up with Volkswagen. "There's a saying that there's no smoke where there's no fire, but y ...

Ford could export Kuga, Fiesta to Europe

Ford could export Fiesta and Kuga cars from North America to Europe as a way to exploit its manufacturing flexibility, global vehicle platforms and the weak dollar. Ford ...

Ford boosts Q3 Europe profit; Volvo narrows loss

Ford increased its Q3 pre-tax operating profit in Europe while Volvo narrowed its loss for the quarter. Ford said Q3 pre-tax operating profit in Europe was $193 million, ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Peugeot sees strong year-end in Europe

Peugeot sees a strong end to 2009 as drivers flock to take advantage of scrapping schemes while they still can, deputy managing director Nicolas Wertans said. He expects ...

Ford posts $997 million Q3 net profit, boosts cash

Ford Motor Co. posted a surprise $997 million net profit in the third quarter and boosted cash reserves while saying it will be “solidly profitable” in 2011. ...

UAW rejects Ford deal by wide margin; CAW OKs cuts

U.S. factory workers at Ford Motor Co. overwhelmingly rejected proposed concessions it has said it needs to stay competitive, while union workers in Canada on Sunday acce ...

Ford was profitable without clunkers program, Mulally says

Ford Motor Co.’s surprise profit in the third quarter “absolutely” would have happened even without the cash-for-clunkers program, CEO Alan Mulally said ...

Analyst says dealer cuts ‘didn't make any sense'

General Motors Co.'s and Chrysler Group's dealer cuts will erode the companies' market share in small- and mid-sized markets, auto industry researcher David Cole said las ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
BMW sees slower 2010 U.S. rebound

BMW AG expects a slower recovery in 2010 U.S. auto sales than anticipated just a few months ago with consumer debt remaining a drag on the developing rebound, the automak ...

REUTERS AUTOS SUMMIT
Toyota predicts 2010 U.S. sales will top 11 million

Toyota Motor Corp. expects industry-wide U.S. light vehicle sales to range between 10.3 million and 10.4 million units in 2009, and top 11 million in 2010, the automaker' ...

Faurecia buys exhaust system supplier Emcon

French auto supplier Faurecia SA said today it plans to acquire Emcon Technologies to create the world's largest exhaust systems supplier -- with $7.7 billion in annual r ...

Suzuki quadruples forecast on soaring India sales

Suzuki Motor Corp. today quadrupled its annual operating profit forecast as sales soared in its main Indian market, setting it apart from other Japanese automakers that h ...

Mazda recalling B-series trucks

Mazda Motor Corp. is recalling as many as 39,600 B-series pickup trucks because of leaky cruise control switches that can lead to engine fires -- the same kind of problem ...

UAW holds out hope to save Chrysler plants

The UAW remains engaged in talks to persuade Fiat S.p.A. to reverse plans to shutter Chrysler plants scrapped in the U.S. automaker's bankruptcy, a union executive said F ...

Ford of Europe boss fears affect of Opel-Magna deal in Russia

Ford of Europe's boss fears the company's business in Russia will be hurt if rival General Motors Co. decides to sell a majority stake in its Opel brand to Magna Internat ...

Ford seen narrowing loss; focus will again be on cash burn

Ford Motor Co. is expected to post a narrower quarterly loss with support from the U.S. government "cash for clunkers" program, but the focus will be on the outlook for t ...

GREEN CARS
Sanyo to supply batteries for PSA diesel hybrids

Sanyo Electric said it would supply nickel-metal hydride batteries to PSA/Peugeot-Citroen's hybrid cars, broadening the pool of customers for its green car batteries. ...

German cross-shareholding system unwinds as Deutsche Bank exits Daimler

Deutsche Bank has sold its remaining stake in Daimler AG in a step toward unwinding a system of cross-shareholdings in Europe's largest economy that once gave the bank th ...

China's "Henry Ford" drives Geely onto global stage

Li Shufu, the founder of China's Zhejiang Geely Holdings, has much in common with Henry Ford, from a childhood on the farm to a scrappy determination to build an automaki ...

NEWS ANALYSIS
Renault's partner troubles highlight need for tech focus

Renault's falling sales in India and Russia and tension with its partners underline the risks of auto sector tie-ups and suggest that an infusion of technology, rather th ...

Mitsubishi will unveil 'baby' Outlander in Geneva

Mitsubishi has released a sketch of a new crossover that it plans to unveil at the Geneva auto show next year. The carmaker said European sales of the car will start earl ...

Jaguar sporty hatchback is inspired by R-D6 concept

Jaguar plans to add a dramatically styled sporty hatchback to its lineup beginning in 2014. Viewed in some quarters as a replacement for the X-Type, the new model has bee ...

GREEN CARS
Electric cars predicted to boost Finnish power use

Finnish electricity consumption may rise by some 28 percent from current levels by 2030, powered in part by growth in electric car use, but the growth will be slower than ...