- 2007 Nissan Quest minivans investigated by U.S. for fuel gauge issue – Automotive News: Safety regulators have opened an investigation into an estimated 37,656 Nissan Quest minivans after receiving complaints about stalling due to inaccurate fuel gauges.
- Chrysler posts $690 million Q1 net loss on merger costs – Automotive News: Chrysler Group reported a net loss of $690 million as it paid transaction costs associated with its completed merger with Fiat.
- Nissan Profits Jump 5%, Sales Outpace Industry – thedetroitbureau.com: Its sales outpacing the rest of the global industry, Nissan’s earnings increased 5% during the quarter. The automaker also signaled that it expects further growth during the year contrary to arch-rival Toyota which issued a more cautious forecast for the coming year.
- Chrysler reports loss on merger items, maintains 2014 forecast – Reuters: U.S.-based automaker Chrysler Group LLC, a unit of Italian carmaker Fiat SpA , on Monday reported a first-quarter net loss of $690 million because of charges related to the merger of the two companies.
- Chrysler Group Reports First-Quarter 2014 Net Loss of $690 Million Including $1.2 Billion of Unfavorable Infrequent Items; Excluding Infrequent Items, Adjusted Net Income Was $486 Million – Wards: Chrysler Group reported a first-quarter net loss of $690 million, including a $504 million non-cash loss on extinguishment of debt related to the prepayment of the VEBA Trust Note and a $672 million charge.
- 2014 Annual Automotive OEM-Supplier Relations Study Shows Toyota and Honda on top; Nissan displacing Ford in the middle; Chrysler and GM falling behind – Wards: Results of the 14th annual automotive industry study on the major US and Japanese automakers’ working relations with their suppliers show the US Big Three
- Volkswagen Sales Boosted by China – WSJ: Volkswagen sold nearly two million VW brand passenger cars in the first four months of the year, as strong sales in China and Europe offset falling demand in Russia, the U.S. and Brazil.
- Rare Fiat land speed record car set for Goodwood – Autocar: Rebuilt Fiat S76 to make first dynamic appearance in more than 100 years at Festival of Speed in June.
- ROMANIA: Dacia more than doubles UK sales year to date – Just-auto: Renault owned Dacia more than doubled its sales in the UK in the first four months of 2014, to 8,800 cars, the biggest increase in an overall market that grew 12.54%.
- US: Tesla Toyota supply deal to end this year – Just-auto: Tesla Motors has said its contract to supply Toyota with battery packs and motors for a rechargeable crossover will conclude this year.
- US: Ford and Chrysler to conduct major recalls – Just-auto: Chrysler is recalling some 780,500 people carriers and Ford around 690,000 Escape and C-Max models in North America and Mexico.
- Nissan earnings boosted by North America gains – Automotive News: Net income at Nissan rose 5 percent in the January-March quarter, as higher sales and surging North American operating profit fueled earnings.
- Nissan warns of waning yen benefit – FT: Japanese carmaker undershoots profit expectations for the coming year as impact of weaker yen lessens while it stakes its future on emerging markets
- BRAZIL: New Fit seen as Honda’s new main model – Just-auto: Launching the redesigned Fit [Jazz] almost simultaneously with the US (which now gets its cars from Honda’s new Mexican plant), the new Brazil-built Fit will give Honda a boost here.
- Exports Picking Up Indian Auto Industry’s Slack – Wards: Automakers are working to expand not only by exporting but also by producing compact vehicles, increasing dealerships and promoting rural sales and service within India. The domestic manufacturers face the additional challenge of strengthening their technological capabilities.
- CHINA: Sales rise 9% in April – Just-auto: New vehicle sales in China increased 8.8% year on year to just over 2m units in April, driven by strong demand for light passenger vehicles, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
- US: BMW carbon fibre JV to triple production capacity – Just-auto: BMW is planning to triple production capacity at its US joint venture that manufactures carbon fibre body panels and BIW. It says it will also extend carbon fibre content to other models in its range.
- Cost of Owning and Operating a Car Dips Slightly – thedetroitbureau.com: At a time when prices seem to be going up for almost everything, here’s a pleasant surprise: the cost of owning and operating a car actually is expected to be down a bit this year, or so shows a new study by the AAA. More from TheDetroitBureau.com.
- INDIA: Fiat-Chrysler targets higher sales – Just-auto: Fiat-Chrysler plans to expand its presence in India after years of under-performance.
- Indonesia to become global relaunch hub – FT: Nissan’s Datsun and BlackBerry have chosen Indonesia, with its fast-growing and geographically concentrated consuming class for global relaunches
- Fiat Chrysler’s latest plan: Realistic or unreal? – Automotive News: The new five-year plan laid out last week by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles left many analysts and investors wondering whether the executive team was hallucinating for the second time in five years.
- Pay glitches plague Chrysler, its suppliers – Automotive News: Chrysler Group says it is working hard to unsnarl a new online invoice system for vendors that caused delays and nonpayments for dozens of suppliers.
- Chrysler for the masses; Dodge goes performance – Automotive News: Five years ago, Chrysler Group positioned Dodge to take on Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota and other mass-market brands in the United States. That didn’t pan out.
- Will Chevrolet’s bold advertising breakthrough lead to more spots targeting LGBT consumers? – Automotive News: When Chevrolet prominently featured gay and lesbian couples in a family-focused commercial titled “The New Us,” marketing experts saw it as a breakthrough. And they think other automakers will come to see it the same way.
- GM ranked worst automaker by U.S. suppliers: survey – Reuters: General Motors Co , already locked in a public relations crisis because of a deadly ignition defect that has triggered the recall of 2.6 million vehicles, has a new perception problem on its hands.
- Japanese Rebound in Supplier Survey, Widen Gap With Detroit – Wards: Ford, the top-ranked Detroit-based automaker in Planning Perspectives’ annual study, climbed to within 30 points of Toyota in 2012 but now trails by more than 50. Chrysler and GM are 70 points behind the Japanese automaker. read more
- Rolls-Royce eschews British-built V12 engines – Autocar: Rolls-Royce chooses to keep using German-built V12 engines instead of bringing production to the UK.