Germany

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 »

 

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 »

 

M-B redesigned S class with China in mind

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
The redesigned Mercedes-Benz S class made its world debut last week in Hamburg, Germany, but Shanghai might have been more appropriate. Why? China accounted for 49 percent of all 2010-12 S-class sales.... Read More »

 

Small BMW team rethought electric cars for huge cities

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Nearly six years ago, BMW AG's Project i began to position the automaker for the future. In an interview with Automobilwoche, a German language sibling to Automotive News, Project i chief Ulrich Kranz explained how the idea of a carbon-body car for megacities emerged from his team.... Read More »

 

Europe car sales rise for first time in 19 months

May 17, 2013 08:34 CET
European car sales rose for the first time in 19 months on strong demand in the UK and a rebound in Germany. Registrations in April increased 2 percent to 1.08 million vehicles from 1.06 million cars a year earlier, industry association ACEA said.... 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 »

 

F-1 racing boss Ecclestone denies bribing German banker, lawyers say

May 16, 2013 09:49 CET
Lawyers for Formula One racing boss Bernie Ecclestone repeated that he had not bribed a German banker during the 2005-2006 sale of a stake in the motor-racing business, after a German newspaper reported he had been charged by prosecutors.... Read More »

 

Continental kept in the dark over Schaeffler's decision to end investment agreement

May 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 »

 

BMW's Reithofer tells Germans to embrace EVs

May 15, 2013 06:01 CET
BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer told his fellow Germans to set aside their worries and embrace EV technology as the carmaker gears up to launch the i3 electric city car.... Read More »

 

GM will move Opel Zafira production to German plant

May 15, 2013 11:58 CET
General Motors will move production of the Opel/Vauxhall Zafira minivan to Ruesselsheim in Germany from its Bochum factory. Ruesselsheim and Vauxhall's plant in Ellesmere Port, England, had been in the running to gain Zafira production after Bochum closes.... Read More »

 

Porsche SE to seek dismissal of legal claims filed in Germany

May 14, 2013 12:04 CET
Porsche SE says legal claims by plaintiffs in Germany seeking more than 1.36 billion euros ($1.77 billion) in connection with its failed attempt to takeover Volkswagen in 2008 are unfounded. The family-controlled holding company that owns a majority of VW, says it will file a motion to dismiss the claims.... Read More »

 

Schaeffler to end Continental accord as merger project wanes

May 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 »

 

Schaeffler to end Continental accord as merger project wanes

3:46 pm U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
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 »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Audi Q7 will shed weight

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
The redesigned Audi Q7 that debuts next summer in Europe will weigh about 800 pounds less than the current model, company insiders tell German sibling publication Automobilwoche.... Read More »

 

LUCA CIFERRI

Europe will end 18-month sales slump with positive April

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 10, 2013
Strong April UK car sales and a solid rebound in Germany last month will help western Europe end 18 consecutive months of year-on-year declines, analysts predict. Despite this, market watchers have stopped short of saying Europe is on the verge of an extended turnaround.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

VW plans fuel-saving 10-speed tranny

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Volkswagen's new 10-speed DSG transmission will be paired with V-6 and V-8 engines and will replace conventional torque converter automatics in some of the company's vehicles.... Read More »

 

German car market returns to growth

May 3, 2013 12:10 CET
Germany's new car market returned to modest growth in April as sales to private customers picked up and the month had one business day more than the year-earlier period.... Read More »

 

Opel to cut CO2 by 27% with new powertrains

May 3, 2013 06:01 CET
Opel/Vauxhall says new powertrains will cut its average CO2 output 27 percent by 2020, helping the automaker comply with tougher EU emissions regulations. With 13 new engines, Opel will renew 80 percent of its engine portfolio between 2012 and 2016.... Read More »

 

Porsche says 12 additional hedge funds withdraw U.S. suit appeal

May 1, 2013 06:01 CET
Porsche SE says an additional 12 hedge funds have dropped a U.S. court appeal in a market manipulation suit focusing on the company's failed attempt to takeover Volkswagen in 2008.... Read More »

 

Porsche SE is optimistic of prospects in German investor lawsuits

April 30, 2013 11:04 CET
Porsche SE, the family-owned company that controls a majority stake in Volkswagen, remains confident of success in lawsuits in a German court over alleged market manipulation during a failed takeover of VW in 2008.... Read More »

 

In Germany, incentives rise to combat falling car sales

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 27, 2013
With the German auto market in free fall, at least one dealer is offering Groupon coupons to boost sales.... Read More »

 

German Ford dealer offers Groupon coupons to combat falling car sales

April 27, 2013 06:01 CET
With the German auto market in free fall, at least one dealer is offering Groupon coupons to boost sales.... Read More »

 

VW, board member Garcia Sanz under investigation

April 25, 2013 12:34 CET
VW Group and management board member Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz are under investigation by German prosecutors over allegations they failed to prevent corruption at the company.... Read More »

 

Opel rejects new vote for Bochum workers on plant's restructuring

April 25, 2013 18:10 CET
GM's Opel division is against giving workers another vote on a restructuring deal at the automaker's embattled plant in Bochum, Germany. The head of the United Auto Workers union, Bob King, had suggested in an interview on Tuesday that Bochum staff should vote again to accept the deal they previously rejected to keep some of their jobs for a little longer.... Read More »

 

Schaeffler said to consider 2014 initial public offering

April 25, 2013 13:04 CET
German supplier Schaeffler is exploring an initial public offering next year in Germany, three people familiar with the matter said.... Read More »