Eastern EuropeGM extends summer production shutdown at Russian plant as market coolsJune 17, 2013 14:22 CET  General Motors will extend the summer shutdown at its factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, as the country's car market growth slows down. The Russian market is expected to decline by 5 percent in 2013.... Read More »
Opel will build Corsa in Belarus for Russia, other marketsJune 13, 2013 14:45 CET  Opel will begin kit production of its Corsa subcompact in Belarus for Russia and neighboring markets. Together with its local partner, the carmaker will use semi-knockdown kits from Opel's plants in Germany and Spain, helping to boost output at its European plants.... Read More »
GM denies it will build Chevrolet Cruze at Poland plantJune 13, 2013 12:52 CET  General Motors will start building the Chevrolet Cruze at its Opel plant in Poland, a report said, drawing a denial from GM.... Read More »
Audi sees sedan becoming best-selling A3 variantJune 12, 2013 09:19 CET  Audi says it expects half of future A3 customers will opt for its new sedan variant after the model goes on sale in the third quarter.... Read More »
Rolls-Royce is counting on the Wraith to lift Russia salesJune 11, 2013 13:28 CET  Rolls-Royce is counting on its sporty Wraith model to boost sales in Russia, even as lawmakers debate raising a high-end car tax. The ultra-luxury carmaker sells around 100 cars a year in Russia.... Read More »
Russian car sales forecast to fall 5% in 2013June 10, 2013 17:31 CET  Russian car sales suffered a double-digit percentage drop in May, prompting the Association of European Businesses (AEB) to slash its forecast for the full year to a decline of 5 percent.... Read More »
Polish car production falls 7% in MayJune 10, 2013 11:01 CET Car production in Poland -- where Fiat, GM and VW Group have plants -- fell 7 percent in May, industry monitor SAMAR said. The group added that weak European demand and a run of public holidays had reversed a rise in the previous month. In Poland, nearly 99 percent of cars assembled are for export, mostly within Europe.... Read More »
Mercedes, BMW to skip summer breaks to meet demand outside EuropeJune 6, 2013 06:01 CET  Daimler will largely refrain from taking a traditional summer break at its car factories with models like the revamped Mercedes E class and new CLA keeping assembly lines busy. BMW Group is also either preparing for new models or keeping plants churning out cars to meet demand.... Read More »
NICK GIBBS Ford Ka faces uncertain future 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 5, 2013  The future of the Ford Ka appears uncertain after a senior marketing executive said that the minicar has been left out of a new, brandwide advertising campaign.... Read More »
KEITH CRAIN The more things change 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 3, 2013  It doesn't seem that long ago that a lot of us were driving station wagons. It looks to many like we have slowly migrated back into three-row vehicles.... Read More »
Acura eyes emerging markets 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 27, 2013  Honda's Acura Division has mostly been a North American entity during its 28 years of existence, but Honda plans to take its upscale brand onto the global stage. Honda has announced plans to introduce Acura in Russia and the Ukraine in 2014 and move into Brazil and the Middle East in 2015. There is now a fledgling Acura sales operation in China that Honda aims to expand.... Read More »
Nissan readies Datsun brand for IndiaMay 24, 2013 06:01 CET  Nissan will introduce its first Datsun model in India by March 2014 as the carmaker offers cheaper vehicles in a push for a fivefold increase in its share of Asia's third-biggest auto market. CEO Carlos Ghosn revived the brand to widen Nissan's appeal to customers in countries such as India, Russia and Indonesia.... Read More »
Russian car sales down 8% in AprilMay 17, 2013 06:01 CET  Russia's year-on-year car sales fell 8 percent in April after a decline of 4 percent in the previous month, the Association of European Businesses (AEB) said.... Read More »
Ford will build EcoSport in Russia for local marketMay 15, 2013 08:57 CET  Ford's Russian joint venture will begin building the EcoSport compact SUV in Russia next year for the local market, at a time when the demand for small SUVs is gaining traction in the country..... Read More »
Ford's Russian joint venture will build engine plantMay 14, 2013 14:13 CET  Ford's Russian joint venture will invest $274 million to build a new powertrain plant in Tatarstan. The plant will manufacture three different versions of 1.6-liter Duratec engines starting in December 2015.... Read More »
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE E-MAGAZINE Kia Europe boss sees growth despite tough marketMay 9, 2013 06:01 CET  Kia Europe President Brandon Yea believes the brand will continue its growth in the region this year despite tough economic conditions. Kia is sticking to its target of boosting annual sales to 420,000 by 2016 in the EU and EFTA markets from 338,000 last year. The brand's vehicle sales were up 3.5 percent in the first quarter in a market down nearly 10 percent.... Read More »
Growing Audi demand prompts TRW to boost output at new Romania plantMay 7, 2013 11:09 CET  TRW will boost production at a new eastern European factory on growing demand from Audi and other automakers. The U.S. supplier plans a fivefold output boost at a steering wheel leather wrapping plant in Baia Mare, Romania, that opened in January.... Read More »
Opel to cut CO2 by 27% with new powertrainsMay 3, 2013 06:01 CET  Opel/Vauxhall says new powertrains will cut its average CO2 output 27 percent by 2020, helping the automaker comply with tougher EU emissions regulations. With 13 new engines, Opel will renew 80 percent of its engine portfolio between 2012 and 2016.... Read More »
Daimler plans 300 million euro expansion in RomaniaApril 24, 2013 15:08 CET  Daimler will invest more than 300 million euros to build a factory in Romania to assemble transmissions for its Mercedes-Benz brand after reaching full capacity at its main powertrain plant near Stuttgart.... Read More »
Daimler said to plan transmission plant in RomaniaApril 23, 2013 09:21 CET  Daimler plans a large investment to build transmission components in Romania at the site of an existing joint venture, a German newspaper reported.... Read More »
AvtoVAZ to lower sales forecast on weak Russian marketApril 18, 2013 15:57 CET AvtoVAZ, Russia's largest carmaker, will cut its 2013 sales and production forecasts due to the weak state of its home market, the company's CEO said. "We saw a certain decline in sales in March," Igor Komarov said. "We expect that in April the [growth] result will be also negative compared to April of 2012."... Read More »
VW, BMW, Daimler plan $25 billion hedge by building more autos abroadApril 16, 2013 08:34 CET  Volkswagen and its German peers are planning to spend more than $25 billion by 2017 to expand production outside their home region and insulate themselves from currency convulsions.... Read More »
Opel to push growth in Russia, Akerson tells paperApril 15, 2013 10:07 CET  General Motors' Opel brand will push growth in Russia and Turkey to offset slumping European slumping business but steer clear of China, GM CEO Dan Akerson said.... Read More »
LATEST LAUNCHES CLA is halo car of Mercedes compact rangeApril 12, 2013 06:01 CET  Mercedes is aiming the CLA coupe-styled four-door sedan at younger buyers, especially those in the United States and China where sedans are popular.... Read More »
Ford 1.5-liter EcoBoost engine to debut on 2014 Fusion 6:00 pm U.S. ET | April 11, 2013  When the 2014 Ford Fusion debuts this fall it will be offered with a new 1.5-liter, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, the fifth member of Ford's EcoBoost family, Ford said Thursday.... Read More »
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