Business and Finance

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 »

 

At Fiat-Chrysler 'it's all about differentiating the brands'

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
Olivier Francois, chief marketing officer for Fiat and Chrysler, has helped rehabilitate Chrysler Group's image since its 2009 bankruptcy. Chrysler has racked up 37 consecutive months of year-over-year U.S. sales increases, thanks in part to memorable commercials, such as rapper Eminem's coup during the 2011 Super Bowl.... Read More »

 

Audi shifting to high-performance models to propel sales

May 16, 2013 10:34 CET
Audi is counting on bigger sales of high-performance cars like the RS5, as well as the new version of the A3 compact, to propel volume this year amid intensifying economic headwinds.... 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 »

 

Audi shifting to high-performance models to propel sales

4:34 am U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
Audi is counting on bigger sales of high-performance cars like the RS5, as well as the new version of the A3 compact, to propel volume this year amid intensifying economic headwinds.... 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 »

 

Toyota plant in France starts Yaris output for U.S.

May 16, 2013 14:48 CET
Toyota Europe has started making the Yaris for North American export at its plant in Valenciennes, France, marking the first time the automaker's European-built models have been exported to the United States and Canada.... Read More »

 

Porsche says 918 Spyder will influence future models

May 16, 2013 13:21 CET
Porsche's says its 918 Spyder hybrid supercar, which begins production in September, will have a big influence on the automaker's sports cars of the future.... Read More »

 

Honda returns to F1 racing as engine supplier

3:49 am U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
Honda will return to Formula One racing as an engine supplier to help develop vehicle technology after exiting the racing series in 2008.... Read More »

 

DOUGLAS A. BOLDUC

How a pope inspired Zetsche to become a Mercedes man

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
A religious experience set Dieter Zetsche on his path to becoming CEO of Mercedes-Benz.... Read More »

 

AMY WILSON

For AutoNation's Jackson, Penske sets pace for retirement

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson's employment contract with the country's largest dealership group is up in September. Jackson will turn 65 next February, but he has no intention of walking out the door any time soon.... Read More »

 

Toyota plant in France launches Yaris output for U.S.

8:48 am U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
Toyota Europe has started making the Yaris for North American export at its plant in Valenciennes, France, marking the first time the automaker's European-built models have been exported to the United States and Canada.... Read More »

 

Skoda's global April sales hit by switch to new Octavia

May 16, 2013 16:10 CET
Skoda said today that its global sales fell 4.6 percent to 77,600 in April due to a switch to a new Octavia compact model and continued weak demand in some European markets.... Read More »

 

Volkswagen starts construction of 300,000-vehicle plant in China

May 16, 2013 09:04 CET
Volkswagen has begun construction of a new factory in Changsha, China, with an annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles, the company said in a statement today. The plant is one of seven factories being built by the company as it seeks to expand annual capacity in China to 4 million vehicles by 2018 in order to meet growing demand.... Read More »

 

Renault expects 5% dip for European car market

May 16, 2013 09:34 CET
Renault expects the European car market to shrink 5 percent this year over last year, Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares said. The French carmaker foresees the European market being "slightly better" in the remaining three quarters of this year than the first three months, when European market sales fell 10 percent after a "very poor performance," Tavares said.... 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 »

 

DOUGLAS A. BOLDUC

How a pope inspired Zetsche to become a Mercedes man

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
A religious experience set Dieter Zetsche on his path to becoming CEO of Mercedes-Benz.... Read More »

 

BorgWarner to expand UK production to supply Jaguar Land Rover

May 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 »

 

Tesla issuing stock, debt to accelerate repayment of U.S. loan

5:34 pm U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
Tesla Motors plans to issue 2.7 million new shares and debt to repay its U.S. Energy Department loan faster than a five-year plan.... Read More »

 

DOUGLAS A. BOLDUC

Is the S in the new Mercedes S class for Shanghai?

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
The new Mercedes-Benz S class made its world premiere today in Hamburg, Germany, but Shanghai might have been more appropriate. Why? China accounted for nearly half of all S-class sales from 2010-2012.... Read More »

 

Mercedes makes new S class leaner, greener

May 15, 2013 23:50 CET
The new Mercedes-Benz S class is 100kg lighter than the model it will replace and its greenest variant will emit less CO2 than a Smart ForTwo. The brand's flagship sedan also has six eyes and six ears that allow it to see and hear enough to drive itself at speeds up to 60kph.... Read More »