manufacturingFord to reduce summer shutdowns at most N.A. plants 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 22, 2013  Ford Motor, aiming to boost output of key models, is scaling back its annual summer shutdown to one week from two weeks at 20 North America plants.... Read More »
Ford to maintain Canadian factory footprint despite high labor costs 12:49 pm U.S. ET | May 21, 2013  Ford is confident it can preserve its manufacturing profile in Canada despite uncompetitive operating costs tied to the high Canadian dollar, the company's top executive in the country said today.... Read More »
Lutz's VL Automotive, Chinese supplier bid for Fisker, report says 2:02 pm U.S. ET | May 21, 2013  A boutique carmaker led by a former GM executive Bob Lutz and China's largest auto parts supplier submitted an offer to buy cash-strapped automaker Fisker Automotive, people familiar with the matter told Reuters today.... Read More »
Two Denso executives to plead guilty to price fixing, U.S. says 10:54 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2013  Two executives at Toyota-affiliated supplier Denso have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix prices and have agreed to cooperate with an ongoing criminal investigation, the federal Justice Department said today.... Read More »
Mercedes workers end strike in S. AfricaMay 21, 2013 10:00 CET  A two-day strike at Mercedes-Benz's East London car plant in South Africa ended following crisis talks between management and a workers union.... Read More »
Magneti Marelli expands China production of lighting componentsMay 21, 2013 09:15 CET  Magneti Marelli has opened a plant in the southern China city of Foshan to produce rear lights, headlamps and other lighting components. The company aims to secure a 10 percent share of China's lighting market in the midterm.... Read More »
Schaeffler confirms 2013 outlook, net debtMay 21, 2013 11:14 CET German supplier Schaeffler has confirmed its annual forecast for revenue growth of about four percent and an operating profit margin of approximately 13 percent, despite a drop in first-quarter revenue of 3.6 percent to 2.8 billion euros ($3.6 billion).... Read More »
Infiniti: Raise quality, sales will follow 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Infiniti President Johan de Nysschen, poached last summer from Audi, aims to push into new segments, restore profitability to Nissan's luxury marque and fix lackluster quality rankings. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has ordered de Nysschen to make the brand a top-tier premium player and boost global sales to 500,000 by 2016 from just 170,000 last year.... Read More »
Ex-battery maker B456 wins court approval for bankruptcy plan 3:19 pm U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 B456 Systems, the bankrupt electric-car battery maker formerly called A123 Systems, won court approval of a plan to exit bankruptcy that pays creditors from the proceeds of selling virtually all its assets.... Read More »
Italy's Sogefi said to sell $115 million bonds in U.S. private placementMay 20, 2013 08:49 CET  Italian supplier Sogefi sold $115 million in bonds to U.S. investors in a private placement and is planning to sell another 25 million-euro ($32 million) note, a person familiar with the transaction said.... Read More »
Continental names veteran exec Cramer as China headMay 20, 2013 11:38 CET  German supplier Continental has named veteran executive Ralf Cramer to head its operations in China, which it sees as the main driver of its growing business in Asia. The company says it gets around 18 percent of its sales from Asia and wants to increase this proportion to more than 30 percent.... Read More »
Magna opens body, chassis plant in China's ChongqingMay 20, 2013 09:36 CET  Magna's Cosma unit has opened a plant in southwest China to supply body and chassis parts to automakers in the area including Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen.... Read More »
CARS & CONCEPTS NSX's electric motors will help handling 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Technical details on the Acura NSX coming in 2015 are scarce, but large-project leader Ted Klaus offered a few nuggets last week as Honda officials announced that the sports car will be built in Ohio.... Read More »
CARS & CONCEPTS Sources: Chrysler plans high-hp Hellcat V-8 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Chrysler Group is developing a supercharged Hemi V-8 with power approaching the 640 hp of the SRT Viper's V-10.... Read More »
FINAL ASSEMBLY And the condo elevator goes from 0 to 60 in ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Pininfarina, the Italian design house famous for styling Ferrari cars, also does condos.... Read More »
Used-hybrid prices down from '12 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 A more crowded market of electrified and efficient gasoline-powered vehicles is pushing down prices of used hybrids. Moderating gasoline prices are hurting, too.... Read More »
Industry: EU trade deal would lift exports 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 U.S. auto exports to Europe could quadruple within 15 years if regulators get rid of tariffs and adopt standard vehicle-safety rules, automaker associations say.... Read More »
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Snap-Happy 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Donna Gebers, general manager of East Bay BMW and East Bay Mini in Pleasanton, Calif., makes no apologies for including at least 60 photos of each used vehicle. The 60 photos per used-car listing required of Hendrick-owned stores is at least three times the average number that appear in listings on many third-party shopping sites.... Read More »
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Veteran Texas dealer mines data to sell pickups 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  It takes something special to get Hayden Elder's attention now that he has run a Chrysler dealership in Texas for decades. But software installed at Elder Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in the past month has turned his head.... Read More »
Cost is key to fate of talking cars 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Cars that communicate with each other to avoid crashes or traffic jams will save lives, but the cost of the systems will determine consumers' acceptance, the U.S. transportation secretary said last week.... Read More »
Acura seeks image boost by reviving NSX in Ohio 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Honda officials hope the revived Acura NSX, an advanced hybrid sports car scheduled to arrive in 2015, will strengthen Acura's luxury footing. Honda said last week that it will invest $70 million in Ohio to assemble the NSX.... Read More »
PRODUCTION LINE Chafing against engine friction 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Friction is enemy No. 1 for powertrain engineers striving to meet rising fuel-economy standards. Lower friction enables engines to efficiently produce more horsepower per liter of displacement.... Read More »
PRODUCTION LINE Q&A: AUDI'S BERND MARTENS Audi plans 90% local sourcing in Mexico 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  In September, Bernd Martens took over Audi purchasing as a member of the Audi management board. Martens, 47, gave Automotive News' German-language sibling publication, Automobilwoche, a look at how he and his team explored sourcing in Mexico.... Read More »
Akerson's global goal: Rebuild GM into an IT powerhouse 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 General Motors is hiring thousands of workers and spending hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild the in-house information technology capability it began dismantling nearly two decades ago.... Read More »
Toyota plans big hike in lithium ion battery output 12:22 pm U.S. ET | May 19, 2013  Toyota is planning to increase production of lithium ion batteries by six times, as the automaker prepares to eventually use them in its flagship Prius gasoline-electric hybrid cars, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.... Read More »
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