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 »
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 »
Two Denso execs to plead guilty to price fixing, U.S. saysMay 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 saysMay 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 »
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 »
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 »
Magneti Marelli expands China production of lighting componentsMay 21, 2013 09:15 CET  Magneti Marelli has opened a plant in the southern China city of Foshan to produce rear lights, headlamps and other lighting components. The company aims to secure a 10 percent share of China's lighting market in the midterm.... Read More »
Schaeffler confirms 2013 outlook, net debtMay 21, 2013 11:14 CET German supplier Schaeffler has confirmed its annual forecast for revenue growth of about four percent and an operating profit margin of approximately 13 percent, despite a drop in first-quarter revenue of 3.6 percent to 2.8 billion euros ($3.6 billion).... Read More »
Ex-battery maker B456 wins court approval for bankruptcy plan 3:19 pm U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 B456 Systems, the bankrupt electric-car battery maker formerly called A123 Systems, won court approval of a plan to exit bankruptcy that pays creditors from the proceeds of selling virtually all its assets.... Read More »
Italy's Sogefi said to sell $115 million bonds in U.S. private placementMay 20, 2013 08:49 CET  Italian supplier Sogefi sold $115 million in bonds to U.S. investors in a private placement and is planning to sell another 25 million-euro ($32 million) note, a person familiar with the transaction said.... Read More »
Continental names veteran exec Cramer as China headMay 20, 2013 11:38 CET  German supplier Continental has named veteran executive Ralf Cramer to head its operations in China, which it sees as the main driver of its growing business in Asia. The company says it gets around 18 percent of its sales from Asia and wants to increase this proportion to more than 30 percent.... Read More »
Magna opens body, chassis plant in China's ChongqingMay 20, 2013 09:36 CET  Magna's Cosma unit has opened a plant in southwest China to supply body and chassis parts to automakers in the area including Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen.... Read More »
EDITORIAL GM, Chrysler are still working on supplier relations 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Are General Motors and Chrysler Group playing hardball with suppliers again? The latest automaker-supplier relations study by the consultant firm Planning Perspectives Inc. was troubling... 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 »
Used-hybrid prices down from '12 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 A more crowded market of electrified and efficient gasoline-powered vehicles is pushing down prices of used hybrids. Moderating gasoline prices are hurting, too.... Read More »
PRODUCTION LINE Chafing against engine friction 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Friction is enemy No. 1 for powertrain engineers striving to meet rising fuel-economy standards. Lower friction enables engines to efficiently produce more horsepower per liter of displacement.... Read More »
PRODUCTION LINE Q&A: AUDI'S BERND MARTENS Audi plans 90% local sourcing in Mexico 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  In September, Bernd Martens took over Audi purchasing as a member of the Audi management board. Martens, 47, gave Automotive News' German-language sibling publication, Automobilwoche, a look at how he and his team explored sourcing in Mexico.... Read More »
Toyota plans big hike in lithium ion battery output 12:22 pm U.S. ET | May 19, 2013  Toyota is planning to increase production of lithium ion batteries by six times, as the automaker prepares to eventually use them in its flagship Prius gasoline-electric hybrid cars, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.... 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 »
BorgWarner to expand UK production to supply Jaguar Land RoverMay 16, 2013 06:01 CET  U.S. supplier BorgWarner Inc. said it would build a new production line and engineering center in the United Kingdom to supply turbocharging systems to customer Jaguar Land Rover. The turbochargers would be used in JLR's family of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, due to launch in 2015.... Read More »
Continental kept in the dark over Schaeffler's decision to end investment agreementMay 15, 2013 14:35 CET  Continental said it was kept in the dark about the decision of Schaeffler to quit a five-year-old investment accord. Analysts suspect the accord's scrapping may be a prelude to Schaeffler restructuring Continental or reducing its stake.... Read More »
Survey: Consumers are ready for new tech ideas in cars 10:29 am U.S. ET | May 15, 2013 A new survey about what vehicle consumers want and don't want suggests that the auto industry is lagging consumers when it comes to technology ideas.... Read More »
Autoliv targets revenue gains of 5% on China, U.S. demandMay 14, 2013 10:19 CET  Swedish supplier Autoliv is targeting annual revenue growth of 5 percent or more in the next five years based on an increase in Chinese and U.S. car sales.... Read More »
Chrysler's crash course cuts waste 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013  Dakkota Systems' instrument panel factory is joined at the hip to Chrysler's Windsor minivan assembly plant. So as Chrysler works to wring costs out of its entire manufacturing operations, it's only natural for the company to examine its key suppliers. And the Dakkota plant here is the first guinea pig in a major experiment.... Read More »
Schaeffler to end Continental accord as merger project wanesMay 13, 2013 21:46 CET  Schaeffler, the largest investor in tire and components supplier Continental, plans to end an agreement between the two German companies as it continues to dismantle a plan for a gradual merger.... Read More »
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