Asia

3 years later, rebounding from quake, tsunami

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 11, 2014
The March 11, 2011, earthquake-tsunami and torpedoed the entire Japanese auto industry for the better part of a year. The disaster left 18,000 dead or missing. But as Japan marks the three-year anniversary, the country's carmakers have rebounded to precrisis highs. Last year, Japan churned out 9.6 million vehicles, just topping 2010's prequake result.... Read More »

 

Chrysler near China Jeep deal

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 9, 2014
Fiat Chrysler executives say they expect to complete an agreement this month for Jeep production in China.... Read More »

 

Mercedes closes gap with Audi by one-third on China sales surge

March 7, 2014 12:34 CET
Mercedes slashed second-place Audi's luxury-car sales lead by almost one-third in the first two months on surging demand for its models in China.... Read More »

 

Mazda snaps up engineers in latest sign of rebound

1:44 pm U.S. ET | March 7, 2014
Mazda is embarking on a hiring binge in Japan, the latest sign that the former money-losing carmaker is bouncing back. The surge in new recruits will come in engineering as Mazda doubles down on future product.... Read More »

 

Citroen adds DS5 sedan for China

March 7, 2014 06:01 CET
Citroen has added a sedan to its DS line, the DS5 LS. The model has been designed for the Chinese market and will initially only be sold there.... Read More »

 

GM weighs increasing South Korean car exports to Australia

12:45 pm U.S. ET | March 6, 2014
General Motors may increase exports of cars built in South Korea to Australia to offset production declines after the automaker decided to pull its Chevrolet brand from the European market.... Read More »

 

GM, Ford post double-digit gains in China

11:34 am U.S. ET | March 6, 2014
GM and Ford both reported double-digit sales gains in China for February -- GM jumped 20 percent and Ford rose 67 percent from a year earlier period.... Read More »

 

Renault-Dongfeng China JV to rely heavily on Nissan

March 6, 2014 06:01 CET
Renault will rely heavily on alliance partner Nissan for manufacturing staff in China when it starts producing locally built crossovers with Dongfeng in 2016.... Read More »

 

Tesla expects Europe, Asia sales to nearly double N.A. by end of the year

6:27 am U.S. ET | March 5, 2014
Tesla said it will open more than 30 new service centers and stores in Europe as it anticipates a jump in sales in that region and Asia.... Read More »

 

EcoMotors forms second China joint venture

8:54 pm U.S. ET | March 4, 2014
EcoMotors, a Michigan-based engine maker backed by Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, has formed a joint venture in China with a subsidiary of First Auto Works.... Read More »

 

Subaru of America names Nakamura CEO

2:21 pm U.S. ET | March 4, 2014
Subaru of America has named Tomomi Nakamura as CEO effective April 1, taking over from Takeshi Tachimori. Tachimori will return to Japan, where he will be responsible for global sales, including those in the United States, for Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries. He spent three years as CEO of Subaru of America.... Read More »

 

EDITORIALS

Honda takes baby steps toward a diverse board

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 3, 2014
Honda Motor Co.'s belated moves to inject some diversity into its top ranks deserve two cheers.... Read More »

 

Freescale seeks Japan toehold with motorsports marketing

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 3, 2014
How does an underdog American supplier break into a Japanese market dominated by a homegrown rival? Freescale Semiconductor Inc. is going racing with the most Japanese of Japanese automakers in one of the most Japanese of Japanese cars.... Read More »

 

RICHARD TRUETT

Brit savvy makes this Chinese car a winner

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 1, 2014
The most credible car yet to emerge from China wears an unlikely badge: MG.... Read More »

 

Global vehicle sales will likely peak in next decade, analysts say

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 1, 2014
The planet that Henry Ford put on wheels is poised for a stall. The world will reach "Peak Car" -- a point at which annual global sales growth will top out -- in the next decade, analysts predict.... Read More »

 

YANG JIAN

Why the PSA-Dongfeng deal does more harm than good

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 27, 2014
The bailout that PSA negotiated with the French government and Dongfeng will prop up the French automaker in the short term but could cripple its competitiveness in the long run.... Read More »

 

Autoliv preps new China airbag plant to supply Great Wall

Feb. 25, 2014 10:34 CET
Autoliv will start building an airbag plant in the second half of this year in the north China city of Baoding, where Great Wall Motor Co. is headquartered. The plant will make airbags mainly for Great Wall's Haval SUVs.... Read More »

 

BMW plans to double engine capacity in China to close Audi gap

Feb. 25, 2014 09:34 CET
BMW is expanding engine production in China to potentially double capacity as it seeks to close the gap with Audi in the world's largest car market. A new plant will build four-cylinder gasoline engines for locally built cars starting in 2016.... Read More »

 

Nissan's Ghosn goes to edge of world for EV showcase

9:40 am U.S. ET | Feb. 21, 2014
Carlos Ghosn, CEO of zero emissions pioneer Nissan, is going to the ends of the world -- quite literally -- to gain traction for his Leaf electric vehicle. Today he gave two Leafs to the Kingdom of Bhutan in honor of the king's birthday and pledged more EVs to help electrify the government fleet and taxi pool.... Read More »

 

Bosch Mahle to produce turbos in China

Feb. 21, 2014 09:30 CET
Bosch Mahle Turbo Systems is building a plant and headquarters in Shanghai to produce turbochargers for automakers in China. The plant will make more than 1 million turbochargers annually, with production scheduled to begin late this year.... Read More »

 

China may ease caps on foreign stakes in JVs

Feb. 21, 2014 09:21 CET
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology wants to loosen ownership restrictions on foreign automakers' joint ventures despite strong opposition from state-owned automakers.... Read More »

 

China will ease limits on foreign stake in JVs

1:48 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 20, 2014
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology wants to loosen ownership restrictions on foreign automakers' joint ventures despite strong opposition from state-owned auto companies.... Read More »

 

'Car guy' Tavares will become PSA chief on March 31

Feb. 19, 2014 12:36 CET
Industry analysts say former Renault executive Carlos Tavares, who will succeed Philippe Varin as PSA CEO on March 31, is the right man to lead the automaker.... Read More »

 

Fisker wins approval to sell assets to China's Wanxiang

Feb. 19, 2014 06:01 CET
Fisker Automotive Holdings has won court approval to sell its assets to China's Wanxiang Group for an offer valued at $149.2 million, almost six times what the U.S. hybrid carmaker sought when it filed for bankruptcy.... Read More »

 

Toyota says union demand for pay hike is surprisingly high

6:31 am U.S. ET | Feb. 19, 2014
Toyota, Japan's largest manufacturer and employer, said the wage increases labor unions have demanded going into annual negotiations this year were "surprisingly high."... Read More »

 


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