Americas

Japanese automakers march into Mexico, set up export base

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 10, 2014
When three-tiered car haulers packed with Mazda3s pulled out of the dusty rail yard in Mexico last month, they represented the latest volley in a south-of-the-border blitz by Japanese automakers.... Read More »

 

Mazda's challenges in crucial Mexico plant ramp-up

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 10, 2014
Some of the biggest challenges for Mazda Motor Corp.'s first factory in Mexico came from the smallest details. Consider the tiny metal brackets used to secure wire harnesses.... Read More »

 

KRISHNAN ANANTHARAMAN

All hail the New York City taxicab

9:21 am U.S. ET | March 9, 2014
Nissan's NV200 cabs began hitting the streets of New York last fall, two years after Nissan won a bid to design the Taxi of Tomorrow under a plan that would have made it the exclusive supplier to the city's taxi fleet. Presumably, if the NV200 could make it there, it could make it anywhere. But why presume?... Read More »

 

BMW will expand car-sharing unit in Europe, U.S.

March 9, 2014 06:15 CET
BMW plans to expand its DriveNow car-sharing program to as many as 25 new cities to lure younger customers in Europe and the U.S.... Read More »

 

Fiat-Chrysler expects new plant to boost Brazil profitability

March 7, 2014 10:18 CET
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles expects a new plant in Brazil to boost its profitability in that market by 2017 after a cut to subsidies and currency effects hit profits there last year.... Read More »

 

Mazda’s O’Sullivan on new Mexico plant

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 7, 2014
Mazda’s Jim O’Sullivan says the automaker’s new small-car assembly plant in Salamanca, Mexico, ‘makes good business sense’ as Mazda expands its global manufacturing footprint. The factory, which currently builds the Mazda3, will export vehicles to regions as far away as Europe. O’Sullivan spoke to Automotive News reporter Ryan Beene during the plant’s official opening on Feb. 27, 2014.... Read More »

 

Ford to move medium-duty truck line from Mexico to Ohio

7:34 am U.S. ET | March 7, 2014
Ford, which plans to cease making the Econoline van later this year, will revive the Ohio factory where the vehicle is made by investing $168 million to move truck production there from Mexico early in 2015.... Read More »

 

Audi superstore opened by Sonic in Houston

10:04 am U.S. ET | March 7, 2014
A unit of Sonic Automotive has opened the largest Audi dealership in the United States -- a glitzy 142,000-square-foot store in Houston.... Read More »

 

BMW details specifications for X4 ahead of New York debut

3:13 pm U.S. ET | March 6, 2014
BMW has unveiled details and photos of its new X4 crossover with coupe styling. The vehicle is scheduled to make its world debut next month at the New York auto show, with production beginning this spring in South Carolina.... Read More »

 

General Motors to build Lansing stamping plant, add 65 jobs, paper reports

3:38 pm U.S. ET | March 6, 2014
General Motors plans to invest $162 million at its Lansing Grand River site in Michigan to build a stamping plant and create 65 jobs, the Lansing State Journal reported today.... Read More »

 

Toyota's new subcompact will use Mazda's Skyactiv engine

11:08 am U.S. ET | March 6, 2014
Toyota will add Mazda’s fuel-efficient Skyactiv engine to its tiny stable of borrowed powerplants when it sources a new Mazda2-based subcompact from Mazda’s just-opened assembly plant here. The car will get Toyota-designed sheet metal on the outside but Mazda’s high-compression, fuel-injected Skyactiv gasoline engine under the hood.... Read More »

 

Mercedes, Infiniti to pool small cars, plant, sources say

March 5, 2014 15:15 CET
Mercedes and Infiniti plan to pool development of compact cars to cut costs, expand the German carmaker's North American production and broaden the Infiniti lineup, sources said.... Read More »

 

BMW considers expanding car-sharing program to 10 U.S. locations

6:50 am U.S. ET | March 5, 2014
BMW plans to expand its DriveNow car-sharing program to as many as 25 new cities to lure younger customers in the United States and Europe.... Read More »

 

Chrysler says it will keep minivan production in Canada

10:05 am U.S. ET | March 4, 2014
Chrysler Group will keep minivan production in Windsor, Ontario, and has withdrawn a request for government help, but warned today that Canada must become a cheaper place to do business to be considered for future products.... Read More »

 

Mercedes considers expanding production in North America

March 4, 2014 13:38 CET
Daimler is looking to add production capacity in North America to meet strong demand for its compact and rear-wheel-drive models, CEO Dieter Zetsche said.... Read More »

 

Average U.S. fuel economy up slightly in Feb.

2:39 pm U.S. ET | March 4, 2014
The average fuel economy of new U.S. light trucks, cars, SUVs and vans sold in February rose 0.1 mpg from the revised figure for January, to 25.2 mpg, according to a monthly report from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.... Read More »

 

THE VOLKSWAGEN VOTE

Corker: Don't let the UAW silence public officials

1:11 pm U.S. ET | March 4, 2014
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal today, accused the UAW of trying to silence public officials as part of the union's appeal of a failed organizing vote at Volkswagen AG's Tennessee assembly plant last month.... Read More »

 

Chrysler near announcement on minivan production

11:13 am U.S. ET | March 4, 2014
Chrysler Group has made a decision on the future of minivan production at its Windsor, Ontario, plant and will make it public within two days, CEO Sergio Marchionne said today.... Read More »

 

Mercedes considers expanding production in North America

7:38 am U.S. ET | March 4, 2014
Daimler AG is looking to add production capacity in North America for both its compact and rear-wheel drive models, CEO Dieter Zetsche said today. Plans are in the "very early" stages for the rear-wheel drive vehicles and "it is totally open," Zetsche said at the Geneva Motor Show.... Read More »

 

In Canada, trucks offset sliding cars

3:18 pm U.S. ET | March 3, 2014
TORONTO (Reuters) -- Record-setting truck sales in Canada helped offset weaker demand for cars in February, automakers said today, as Chrysler Canada reported a 10 percent jump in monthly sales.
Canadian auto sales nudged just 0.3 percent higher as severe winter weather took a toll. Total sales rose to 95,639 vehicles, with truck demand increasing 4.7 percent and passenger car volume falling 5.9 percent.... Read More »

 

EPA orders clampdown on tailpipe emissions

11:41 am U.S. ET | March 3, 2014
In the Obama administration's latest push to clean up the new-car fleet and deal with America's lingering air pollution problems, the EPA today finalized stricter tailpipe emissions standards that will get ramp up from 2017 to 2025.... Read More »

 

HANS GREIMEL

In Mexico, drug lords throw just-in-time Japanese off schedule

6:44 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 28, 2014
The inauguration of Mazda's assembly plant in Mexico last week started nearly an hour-and-a-half late. And there was a lot of irony when the ceremony finally got underway.... Read More »

 

Penske to open 7th U.S. Porsche store

12:34 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 28, 2014
Penske Automotive Group signed a letter of intent to open its seventh Porsche dealership in the United States. The store is scheduled to open in Davie, Florida, in the second quarter of 2015.... Read More »

 

Mazda's Mexico plant 'most important' base, chairman says

12:30 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 27, 2014
Mazda Chairman Takashi Yamanouchi opened the company's new small-car assembly plant in Mexico today, calling it the company's “most important global strategic base”. The factory, which will ramp up to annual capacity of 230,000 vehicles, is a cornerstone of the structural reform plan “upon which the very future of company hinges,” Yamanouchi said in remarks prepared for the opening ceremony.... Read More »

 

GM ignition defect recall extended to include Opel GT

Feb. 27, 2014 12:37 CET
GM extended a recall over an ignition-switch defect to the Opel GT roadster. U.S. regulators are investigating why GM took years to recall 1.6 million cars over the defect linked to 13 deaths in crashes.... Read More »

 


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