Asia

HANS GREIMEL

Exchange rate windfalls a mixed bag for Japan's Big 3

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 12, 2015

After trading at record highs for several years, the Japanese yen has tanked against the dollar and many other foreign currencies. The shift is generating huge windfalls for Japan's Big 3 automakers: Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. But the jackpot won't benefit the rivals equally....
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Volvo mulls U.S. plant; Chinese-made 'strategic flagship' may be exported to U.S., report says

1:22 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 11, 2015

Volvo is considering building an assembly plant in the United States and also may export a "strategic flagship" sedan made in China to the US, people familiar with the Chinese-owned automaker's plans told Reuters....
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HANS GREIMEL

Could record Honda fine stoke Japan backlash?

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 10, 2015

Japanese regulators have fretted that the Takata airbag recalls might spur a backlash against the country’s carmakers. Honda's $70 million in US fines could feed those concerns....
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BMW says tensions with Chinese dealers an industry-wide issue

2:32 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2015

Demands for compensation from Chinese car dealers hit by a market slowdown have become an industry-wide issue, BMW's board member for sales said today, adding relations were not simply about "holding hands and walking into the sunset."...
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Chinese automaker Guangzhou will tout autonomous hybrid, SUV

12:24 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2015

China's Guangzhou Automobile Group will show an autonomous hybrid concept and an SUV at the Detroit auto show Monday afternoon. The autonomous concept, called the Witstar, is powered by a battery and a gasoline engine....
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Shanghai may ban sexy show models so focus stays on cars

10:42 am U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2015

Shanghai may ban sexy models from posing at its auto show this year so that visitors to the biennial event can focus on the vehicles on display....
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Ford, GM post double-digit sales gains in China

7:03 am U.S. ET | Jan. 8, 2015

Ford and General Motors posted double-digit sales gains in China last year, the automakers reported this week....
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Honda misses China sales goal as Japan carmakers lose traction

6:44 am U.S. ET | Jan. 8, 2015

Honda missed its 2014 sales target in China amid a cooling economy and greater competition, the last of Japan's three biggest carmakers to report fewer than expected deliveries in the country....
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China launches pilot 'parallel imports' for foreign cars

Jan. 8, 2015 10:53 CET

China will allow selected dealers to import without the consent of foreign carmakers in a move that analysts warn could lead to a weakening of foreign automakers' control over pricing....
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Takata stock rises after lender expresses support

6:33 am U.S. ET | Jan. 8, 2015

Shares in Takata, the maker of airbags that led to millions of vehicle recalls by global carmakers, rose to the highest price in more than two months as a major lender said it would support the troubled supplier should it fail....
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Turkey's auto sales fall 10% in 2014

Jan. 8, 2015 11:20 CET

Turkish auto sales fell 10 percent in 2014, the ODD industry body said. The result was in contrast to the year before when auto sales in the market rose 10 percent year-on-year....
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Hyundai Motor Group plans to invest $73 billion by 2018

6:38 am U.S. ET | Jan. 7, 2015

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest automaker, said it would spend $73 billion over four years on expanding capacity, building a new headquarters and developing new vehicles....
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BMW agrees to pay $820 million to China car dealers, group says

Jan. 5, 2015 11:30 CET

BMW agreed to pay $820 million to its distributors in China to help cover their losses after the retailers stopped ordering cars from the automaker, a dealers' group said. Dealers in China have complained of meeting unrealistic sales projections to qualify for year-end bonuses....
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NEW PRIORITIES

Mercedes chases BMW and Audi in China

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 5, 2015

Mercedes-Benz could become the first luxury carmaker to launch new models in China before rolling them out in Europe and the U.S....
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Explosions at auto-parts plant in China kills 17

1:34 am U.S. ET | Dec. 31, 2014

An explosion at an auto-parts factory in southern China's Guangdong province killed 17 people and injured 20 others, the official Xinhua News Agency said....
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Toyota dealer group in China warns up to 10% may quit as losses mount

12:19 am U.S. ET | Dec. 30, 2014

As many as 10 percent of dealers for one of Toyota's China ventures are poised to drop out of the network because they can't make money on the cars they're told to sell, a dealer's group warned....
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China sacks senior officials for deadly factory blast

10:52 pm U.S. ET | Dec. 30, 2014

China's government sacked two senior officials and will prosecute 18 others following an explosion in August at a car parts factory that killed 146, the country's worst industrial accident this year, state media reported....
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China extends green vehicle subsidies until 2020

3:40 pm U.S. ET | Dec. 30, 2014

China will extend subsidies for new energy "green" vehicles to 2020, according to draft rules published on Tuesday, extending the current incentive plan, which expires at the end of 2015....
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Hyundai to build 2 factories in China to better compete with VW, GM

7:41 am U.S. ET | Dec. 30, 2014

Hyundai will build two factories in China, its first new manufacturing plants since 2012 as the South Korean automaker bets on growth in the world's biggest car market even as the economy slows....
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China's Shenzhen caps new-vehicle plates to control smog, congestion

8:04 am U.S. ET | Dec. 29, 2014

China's southern city of Shenzhen capped new car license plates at 100,000 a year, becoming the latest city to curb vehicle purchases to control smog and traffic congestion in the world's most populous country....
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Hyundai, Kia promote younger execs, with eye on succession planning

7:57 am U.S. ET | Dec. 26, 2014

Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors promoted younger executives in moves analysts said would help smooth an eventual leadership succession at the family-owned conglomerate....
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Tesla to help Chinese buyers trade in their old cars for Model S

8:10 am U.S. ET | Dec. 26, 2014

Tesla Motors will help Chinese buyers trade in their old cars if they buy a Model S, part of the automaker’s latest efforts to spur sales of its all-electric sedan in the world’s biggest vehicle market....
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Subaru scraps plan to shift Crosstrek production to U.S., report says

7:50 am U.S. ET | Dec. 25, 2014

Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru brand cars and SUVs, has scrapped a plan to shift production of the new XV Crosstrek to its plant in the United States and will instead make the SUV in Japan, a source familiar with the company's production plans told Reuters....
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