Manufacturing

N.H. legislators pass amendments to Dealer Bill of Rights

4:15 pm U.S. ET | May 24, 2013
A bill that would further regulate the relationship between New Hampshire auto dealers and their factories is a step closer to becoming law despite opposition from automakers.... Read More »

 

Ford to retain 1,000 jobs at French plant after deal

3:50 pm U.S. ET | May 24, 2013
Ford plans to retain 1,000 jobs at a plant in southwest France after striking a deal today with local authorities to share the burden of new investments needed to keep the factory operating.... Read More »

 

Volvo marketing boss Speck is leaving; sales VP Visser named successor

May 24, 2013 16:03 CET
Doug Speck, Volvo's senior vice president for marketing, sales and customer service, is leaving his post effective July 1, the company said today. Speck, 54, will be replaced by Alain Visser, 49, vice president of sales and marketing, the company said.... Read More »

 

Volvo marketing boss Speck is leaving; sales VP Visser named successor

10:03 am U.S. ET | May 24, 2013
Doug Speck, Volvo's senior vice president for marketing, sales and customer service, is leaving his post effective July 1, the company said today. Speck, 54, will be replaced by Alain Visser, 49, vice president of sales and marketing, the company said.... Read More »

 

Ford will retain 1,000 jobs at French plant

May 24, 2013 20:57 CET
Ford will retain 1,000 jobs at a transmissions plant in France after striking a deall with local authorities to share the burden of new investments needed to keep the factory operating.... Read More »

 

BMW hints at superluxury coupe with Pininfarina's touch

May 24, 2013 19:13 CET
BMW unveiled a concept for a superluxury coupe to rival the Mercedes- CL. The BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe marks the first time Pininfarina has cooperated with the automaker.... Read More »

 

Daimler, Ford exchange information on gasoline engines

May 24, 2013 06:01 CET
Already collaborating with Ford on the development of fuel cell vehicles, Daimler and the U.S. automaker recently exchanged information about their gasoline engines. Daimler got a closer look at Ford's award-winning EcoBoost engine while Daimler shared details on its stratified lean-burning powerplants.... Read More »

 

BMW hints at new superluxury coupe with Pininfarina's touch

1:13 pm U.S. ET | May 24, 2013
BMW unveiled today a concept for a superluxury coupe to rival Daimler's Mercedes-Benz CL model. The BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe -- gran lusso is Italian for superluxury -- marks the first time the famed Italian design house Pininfarina has cooperated with the German automaker.... Read More »

 

Henrik Fisker joins Hong Kong tycoon on Fisker bid, report says

May 24, 2013 16:59 CET
Henrik Fisker is working with an investor group to salvage Fisker Automotive, the plug-in hybrid automaker he co-founded nearly six years ago that is now struggling to stave off bankruptcy, people familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.... Read More »

 

Henrik Fisker joins Hong Kong tycoon on Fisker bid, report says

10:59 am U.S. ET | May 24, 2013
Henrik Fisker is working with an investor group to salvage Fisker Automotive, the plug-in hybrid automaker he co-founded nearly six years ago that is now struggling to stave off bankruptcy, people familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.... Read More »

 

EU trade deal would lift U.S. exports to Europe

May 24, 2013 06:01 CET
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 »

 

Q&A

Audi plans 90% local sourcing in Mexico, says purchasing boss Martens

May 24, 2013 06:01 CET
Audi purchasing chief Bernd Martens says the automaker aims to buy 90 percent of its components for its new Mexico factory from local sources. So far no other Audi location has done that... Read More »

 

LaSorda, Penske launch venture fund for tech startups

1:00 pm U.S. ET | May 23, 2013
Tom LaSorda, the former CEO of Chrysler and Fisker Automotive, has started a new venture capital fund -- with investors that include auto racing and retailing executive Roger Penske -- that will invest in startup companies in health care, clean energy, transportation, information technology, software and applications.... Read More »

 

Small BMW team rethought electric cars for huge cities

May 23, 2013 06:01 CET
Nearly six years ago, BMW's Project i began to position the automaker for the future. Project i chief Ulrich Kranz explained how the idea of a carbon-body car for megacities emerged from his team.... Read More »

 

Nissan will recall 841,000 vehicles globally due to steering wheel glitch

May 23, 2013 09:44 CET
Nissan will recall about 841,000 vehicles worldwide, including UK-built Micra subcompacts, as a result of a steering wheel glitch that could result in a loss of steering. The automaker said no accidents have been reported.... Read More »

 

Ford to shutter Australia car, engine plants in 2016

May 23, 2013 06:01 CET
Ford will close its Australian car and engine assembly plants in 2016, ending almost nine decades of manufacturing in the country.... Read More »

 

Ford to shutter Australia car, engine plants in 2016

8:04 pm U.S. ET | May 22, 2013
Ford, citing high operating costs, falling sales and financial losses, will close its Australian car and engine assembly plants in 2016, ending almost nine decades of manufacturing in the country. Ford, the smallest of the country's three manufacturers after Toyota and GM, will shut its assembly plant in Broadmeadows in northern Melbourne and an engine plant in Geelong to the west of the city, Ford Australia CEO Bob Graziano said.... Read More »

 

Gentex CFO leaves but will work with supplier as consultant

4:02 pm U.S. ET | May 22, 2013
Gentex, a maker of rearview mirrors and electronics parts, said its CFO and vice president of finance has left the company but will remain a consultant with the supplier.... Read More »

 

Ford, Chrysler to reduce summer shutdowns at most N.A. plants

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 22, 2013
Ford Motor and Chrysler Group said today they are scaling back annual summer production shutdowns this year in hopes of boosting output of key models in North America. General Motors declined to disclose specific summer plans.... Read More »

 

PSA will close r&d site to reduce spending

May 22, 2013 09:49 CET
PSA will shut a French r&d facility as part of a program to reduce spending.... Read More »

 

Two Denso execs to plead guilty to price fixing, U.S. says

May 22, 2013 06:01 CET
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 U.S. Justice Department said.... Read More »

 

Lutz's VL Automotive, Chinese supplier bid for Fisker, report says

May 22, 2013 06:01 CET
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.... Read More »

 

Opel keeps Bochum logistics center open to fulfill contract

May 22, 2013 06:01 CET
Opel will keep a spare-parts distribution center open until 2016 at its plant in Bochum, Germany, as long as two years after car production ends at the site. The plant, which makes the Zafira minivan, is scheduled to close by the end of 2014 after workers rejected a restructuring plan in March that would have extended manufacturing there for another two years.... Read More »

 

Lutz's VL Automotive, Chinese supplier bid $20 million 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 of $20 million 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 »