Automakers and Suppliers

GM prices Chevy Spark EV below $20,000 after tax credits

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 23, 2013
GM will price its new Chevrolet Spark electric vehicle at $27,495, including destination charges and before federal tax credits, placing it among the cheapest EVs on the market.... Read More »

 

Ford to shutter Australia car, engine plants in 2016

8:04 pm U.S. ET | May 22, 2013
Ford, saddled with high 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 »

 

Tesla says it paid back entire DOE loan today

10:48 am U.S. ET | May 22, 2013
Tesla Motors today said it paid off the entire balance of its federal government loan given as part of a Department of Energy program to spur development of alternative energy vehicles.... Read More »

 

Michael Stanton, longtime D.C. advocate for automakers, to retire in 2014

11:50 am U.S. ET | May 22, 2013
Michael Stanton, a longtime lobbyist and a driving force for automakers in public policy, plans to retire as president and CEO of the Association of Global Automakers in early 2014.... 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 »

 

JIM HENRY

Are worries over slower, smaller tax refunds overblown?

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 22, 2013
Some lenders complained in first-quarter earnings reports about smaller and later tax refunds. IRS refund statistics weren’t down by much, but any change is important because tax refunds contribute to the annual peak in subprime financing, according to dealers and subprime lenders.... Read More »

 

GM moving treasury office to Detroit headquarters from New York

9:35 am U.S. ET | May 22, 2013
GM said it will move its treasury office to its Detroit headquarters from New York in mid-2014, affecting about 70 employees.... 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 »

 

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 »

 

VW to modify late-model diesels in N. America to prevent improper fueling

May 22, 2013 06:01 CET
Volkswagen plans to refit more than a quarter million 2009-12 diesel cars to prevent North American customers from mistakenly pumping gasoline into the fuel tanks.... 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 »

 

NADA, automakers reach out with aid for tornado victims

7:23 pm U.S. ET | May 21, 2013
The National Automobile Dealers Association and several automakers are reaching out with assistance to dealers and victims affected by Monday's tornado in Oklahoma.... Read More »

 

Marchionne apologizes for 'wop engine' comment

11:44 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2013
Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has issued a written apology to an Italian-American anti-bias organization for saying at the Detroit auto show that an Alfa Romeo needed a "wop" engine.... Read More »

 

VW to modify late-model diesels to prevent improper fueling

4:36 pm U.S. ET | May 21, 2013
Volkswagen plans to refit more than a quarter million 2009-12 diesel cars to prevent North American customers from mistakenly pumping gasoline into the fuel tanks.... Read More »

 

Subaru Forester tops Honda CR-V in small SUV review

9:38 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2013
The Subaru Forester small SUV beat the Honda CR-V and other rivals in testing by Consumer Reports, which ranked the model as its top pick in that segment.... 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 »

 

Marchionne apologizes for 'wop engine' comment

May 21, 2013 17:44 CET
Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has issued a written apology to an Italian-American anti-bias organization for saying that an Alfa Romeo needed a "wop" engine.... 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 »

 

Automakers, dealers remain opposed to bill preventing rental firms from renting recalled vehicles

6:34 pm U.S. ET | May 21, 2013
Major automakers and auto dealers told a Senate panel Tuesday that they remain opposed to legislation that would prohibit rental car companies from renting or selling vehicles that are subject to a federal safety recall.... Read More »

 

Auto dealers escape worst of tornado's wrath

3:06 pm U.S. ET | May 21, 2013
Car dealers were recovering from damage and organizing aid to survivors today after a two-mile-wide tornado ravaged an Oklahoma City suburb, but there were no reports of the massive twister directly hitting dealerships.... Read More »

 

2 congressmen ask Treasury for details on 2008-09 dealership closures

2:36 pm U.S. ET | May 21, 2013
Two congressmen -- one a former Ohio auto dealer and the other a Pennsylvania new- and used-car dealer -- have asked the U.S. Treasury Department to release materials detailing how General Motors and Chrysler dealerships were selected for closure during the 2008-09 restructuring.... Read More »