OEM Coverage

Hyundai, Kia losing ground to luxury imports at home as tariffs fall

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 19, 2013
Foreign brands have seen their share of South Korea's market for premium vehicles surge to 41 percent from 28 percent in the past two years, according to Korean industry groups, as lower tariffs make their cars cheaper and local buyers abandon a decades-long preference for domestic brands.... Read More »

 

Behind the scenes, Straubel keeps Tesla running at pivotal time

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 18, 2013
Elon Musk was fresh off the sale of PayPal and starting another business, commercial rocket service Space Exploration Technologies, when he met kindred spirit JB Straubel. Their shared belief that consumer electronics advances could be applied to more earthly modes of transport is a cornerstone of Tesla Motors.... Read More »

 

Audi overtakes BMW as India's top-selling premium brand

May 18, 2013 06:01 CET
Audi has overtaken BMW as India's top seller of luxury vehicles, and Audi executives say the success is due to the automaker's rapid expansion outside large urban centers, as well as the Q3 SUV introduced last year.... Read More »

 

LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE

2 million extra doors was the best call Daimler made during 'marriage of equals'

12:35 pm U.S. ET | May 17, 2013
It's easy to criticize the way Daimler AG ran and ultimately left Chrysler during the disastrous "marriage of equals" era. I know because I've done it on a regular basis. But even the worst marriages can produce spectacular kids -- or in this case, products.... Read More »

 

GM shares return to $33 IPO price on optimism for truck sales

10:19 am U.S. ET | May 17, 2013
Shares in GM topped its $33 initial public offering price for the first time in more than two years as the automaker prepares to introduce redesigned full-sized pickups.... Read More »

 

UAW study chides Nissan for tax breaks at Miss. plant

3:37 pm U.S. ET | May 17, 2013
A research study commissioned by UAW labor organizers claims that Nissan could receive four times the previously reported level of state and local incentives and tax breaks to operate its assembly plant in Canton, Miss.... Read More »

 

BRADFORD WERNLE

In the Land of Many Buicks, one in particular stood out

3:59 pm U.S. ET | May 17, 2013
If you were an alien from another world and your spaceship landed in Shanghai, you would immediately conclude that Buick is a planetary titan among automotive brands.... Read More »

 

Tesla expands share, debt offering to repay U.S. loan, hike cash

10:34 am U.S. ET | May 17, 2013
Tesla Motors increased the size of its equity and debt offerings by 30 percent to as much as $1.08 billion to repay its U.S. loan and build up cash reserves.... Read More »

 

Cadillac to offer new twin-turbo V-6 on XTS for 2014

8:11 am U.S. ET | May 17, 2013
Cadillac is adding a new 410-hp, twin-turbo 3.6-liter V-6 engine as an option on the XTS sedan for 2014.... Read More »

 

Dow Chemical ordered to pay $1.2 billion in urethane price-fixing probe

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 17, 2013
A federal judge in Kansas City, Kansas, ordered Dow Chemical to pay $1.2 billion in a price-fixing case involving chemicals used to make foam products in cars, furniture and packaging, according to court documents.... Read More »

 

PSA workers end four-month strike over car plant closure

May 17, 2013 15:05 CET
Workers at a PSA/Peugeot-Citroen factory near Paris have agreed to end a four-month strike in protest at its planned closure.... Read More »

 

In boost to GM and VW, China resumes incentives for foreign auto investment

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 17, 2013
A surprise policy shift in China is expected to give a boost to GM, Volkswagen Group and other foreign automakers planning to expand in the world's largest car market.... Read More »

 

ANALYSIS

New S class key to boosting Mercedes profit margins, China sales

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche was leaning back in the rear seat of a prototype Mercedes-Benz S-class sedan in 2010 when he realized it didn't recline far enough.... 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 »

 

VW, GM, others get unexpected boost in China

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
A surprise policy shift in China is expected to give a boost to VW Group, GM and other foreign automakers planning to expand in the world's largest car market.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Jaguar ponders XQ name

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
Based on documents submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Jaguar may name the all-wheel-drive compact crossover it has in the works the XQ, and call a new compact sedan the Q-Type, according to news reports.... 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 »

 

Subaru, Mitsubishi small crossovers top new crash test

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
The Subaru Forester and Mitsubishi Outlander Sport have won top honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, becoming the only small SUVs to ace the group's new "small overlap" crash test.... Read More »

 

Ford to shift Fiesta output to Thailand from Mexico, report says

4:07 pm U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
Ford, moving to ease production constraints in North America, plans to shift output of the Fiesta subcompact from Mexico to Thailand in 2016, The Detroit News reported today.... Read More »

 

ANALYSIS

New S class key to boosting Mercedes profit margins, China sales

9:00 am U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche was leaning back in the rear seat of a prototype Mercedes-Benz S-class sedan in 2010 when he realized it didn't recline far enough.... Read More »

 

DIANA T. KURYLKO

With Mercedes, there's nothing bigger than S-class launch

10:46 am U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
If you're going to unveil a flagship that will sell for nearly $100,000 in the United States, go big -- really big. That's what Mercedes-Benz did for the debut of the 2014 S class here on Wednesday. The launch was staged in a customer delivery center used for the Airbus A380 -- a plane its creators modestly call the "queen of the skies."... Read More »

 

In boost to EVs, report sees surge in charging outlets worldwide

2:42 pm U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
The steady growth in sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, along with public and private investment, is expected to drive a sharp rise in the number of charging stations worldwide by 2020, a new study says.... Read More »