Executives

New wave of American design stokes Detroit 3 market share gains

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 25, 2013
From the fires of Detroit's descent into near-death, GM, Ford and Chrysler have forged some of the most distinctive designs since tailfins were soaring in the halcyon days of the postwar-era. Models such as the Cadillac ATS sports sedan, Ford Fusion family car and Jeep Grand Cherokee are turning heads and stoking sales.... 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 »

 

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 »

 

Stuart Frey, former Ford VP, dies at age 88

1:51 pm U.S. ET | May 24, 2013
Stuart Frey, a former vice president of Ford Motor, has died at the age of 88. He died March 6 in Ann Arbor, Mich., according to his family.... 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 »

 

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 »

 

Nissan readies Datsun brand for India

May 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 »

 

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 »

 

NICK GIBBS

Why Victor Muller has painful memories of running Saab

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 23, 2013
Reports say Sweden wants to question former Saab Chairman Victor Muller about suspected tax offenses. Muller defended payments he received from the automaker in a recent interview and talked about how he has moved on from Saab.... Read More »

 

NICK GIBBS

Muller says Saab period was painful

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 23, 2013
Reports say Sweden wants to question former Saab Chairman Victor Muller about suspected tax offenses. Muller defended payments he received from the automaker in a recent interview and talked about how he has moved on from Saab.... 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 »

 

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 »

 

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 »

 

Tesla pays back balance of DOE loan

10:48 am U.S. ET | May 22, 2013
Tesla Motors 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 »

 

DAVE GUILFORD

Why Infiniti, Lincoln face the same challenge

2:51 pm U.S. ET | May 22, 2013
The luxury marque hasn't lived up to its dreams. In fact, there was talk that its parent company might kill it. Now with a dynamic new leader, it's trying to build buzz with a more exciting lineup.... 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 »

 

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 »