western europe

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 »

 

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 »

 

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 »

 

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 »

 

Former Saab Chairman Muller to be summoned in tax inquiry, report says

May 23, 2013 09:34 CET
A Swedish prosecutor wants to question former Saab Automobile Chairman Victor Muller as part of an inquiry into suspected tax offenses at the automaker, a Swedish newspaper reported.... Read More »

 

Lamborghini's Egoista concept highlights edgy design

May 23, 2013 06:01 CET
The Lamborghini Egoista concept shown earlier this month at the company's 50th anniversary celebration in Bologna, Italy, isn't planned for production, but it does have a purpose: countering critics who think Lamborghini has lost some of its design edginess.... Read More »

 

Marchionne will face gov't pressure to commit to Italy

May 23, 2013 06:01 CET
The Italian government plans to meet with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne over concerns he's shifting the carmaker and heavy truck manufacturer Fiat Industrial away from the country. Fiat Industrial plans for tax purposes to have its fiscal headquarters in the UK, but Fiat has said a move for the carmaker is not on its agenda at the moment.... Read More »

 

Daimler may sell company-owned German dealerships to cut costs

May 22, 2013 13:19 CET
Daimler may sell four company-owned Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Germany to cut costs and help close a profitability gap with rivals BMW and Audi. Daimler owns 98 Mercedes car showrooms that account for about half of its car sales in Germany, the brand's second-biggest market after the United States.... 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 »

 

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 »

 

French car orders fall 0.5% in April, survey says

May 21, 2013 15:06 CET
The decline in French car orders slowed to 0.5 percent in April, showing signs of stabilization in the auto market, according to a dealership survey by trade publication La Lettre Auto K7. The survey said orders were helped by the launch of several new models last month.... Read More »

 

M-B redesigned S class with China in mind

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
The redesigned Mercedes-Benz S class made its world debut last week in Hamburg, Germany, but Shanghai might have been more appropriate. Why? China accounted for 49 percent of all 2010-12 S-class sales.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Sporty Bentley models in the works

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Bentley plans to launch a 650-hp Continental Supersports as early as 2014, featuring carbon-fiber panels and a stiffer chassis, sources told Autoweek.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Lambo's design exercise

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
The jet fighterlike Lamborghini Egoista concept shown this month at the company's 50th anniversary celebration in Bologna isn't planned for production, but it does have a purpose: countering critics who think Lambo has lost some of its design edginess.... 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 »

 

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 »

 

Small BMW team rethought electric cars for huge cities

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Nearly six years ago, BMW AG's Project i began to position the automaker for the future. In an interview with Automobilwoche, a German language sibling to Automotive News, Project i chief Ulrich Kranz explained how the idea of a carbon-body car for megacities emerged from his team.... Read More »

 

Europe car sales rise for first time in 19 months

May 17, 2013 08:34 CET
European car sales rose for the first time in 19 months on strong demand in the UK and a rebound in Germany. Registrations in April increased 2 percent to 1.08 million vehicles from 1.06 million cars a year earlier, industry association ACEA said.... Read More »

 

Fiat says headquarters shift to U.S. is not on agenda

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
Fiat said the idea of moving the group's legal headquarters to the United States following a planned merger with Chrysler Group is not on the company's agenda.... Read More »

 

VW Group sales increase 7% in April

May 17, 2013 12:06 CET
Volkswagen Group's global monthly sales picked up pace again in April after growing at their slowest rate in more than three years a month earlier. VW Group said on Friday that deliveries to customers rose 7 percent to 784,600 vehicles last month.... Read More »

 

Tariff played a role in Mexico winning Audi plant

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
At the groundbreaking for the Q5 plant in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler offered another explanation for deciding not to locate in the United States: The European Union slaps a 10 percent tariff on U.S.-built vehicles.... Read More »

 

Audi Q7 will shed weight

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
The redesigned Audi Q7 that debuts next summer in Europe will weigh about 363kg less than the current model, company insiders said, adding that Audi is also planning a hybrid version of the next-generation large SUV.... Read More »

 

Fiat: Shift of headquarters to U.S. not on agenda

8:04 pm U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
Fiat said the idea of moving the group's legal headquarters to the United States following a planned merger with Chrysler Group is not on the company's agenda.... Read More »

 

Toyota plant in France starts Yaris output for U.S.

May 16, 2013 14:48 CET
Toyota Europe has started making the Yaris for North American export at its plant in Valenciennes, France, marking the first time the automaker's European-built models have been exported to the United States and Canada.... Read More »