- SWEDEN: Autoliv to settle US price fixing lawsuits for $65m – Just-auto: Swedish auto safety systems supplier Autoliv on Monday (2 June) said it had agreed to settle three antitrust class actions in the United States for US$65m.
- US: Nissan recalls 2014 Rogue for steering bolt check – Just-auto: Nissan’s US unit has announced a recall of a small number of locally made 2014 Rogue crossovers, a model line about to be launched in the UK and Europe as the (Japan-assembled) redesigned X-Trail.
- U.S. investigates ’12 Chrysler air bag recall – DetN: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said today it is investigating Chrysler Group LLC’s 2012 recall of more than 740,000 SUVs for air bag problems — after six owners reported inadvertent air bag deployments after recall fixes were completed.
- New Government Boosts Indian Automakers’ Optimism – Wards: Rising production costs, interest rates and sale prices, plus a decline in availability of financing, have damaged Indian automakers in the past 24 months. Investments have been delayed, jobs have been curtailed and worker unrest is widespread.
- Audi reveals facelifted RS7 Sportback – Autocar: A series of styling tweaks for performance version of Audi’s RS7 V8 liftback, which will come to the UK towards the end of this year. The Audi RS7 has received a series of subtle styling modifications 18 months after it was first revealed at the 2013 Detroit motor show.
- New Honda Spirior will be launched on the Chinese auto market in Q4 – CarNewsChina.com: The 2015 Honda Spirior sedan will be launched on the China car market just before the end of this year, giving Honda an up-to-date entry in the competitive compact-sedan segment. The new Honda Spirior was previewed by the Honda Spirior Concept that debuted in April on the 2014 Beijing Auto Show.
- Japan’s domestic auto sales weaken in May – Via Google News: Japan’s domestic sales of new cars, trucks and buses declined 5.6% from a year earlier in May, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association …
- South Korean Auto Makers Join Race for Diesel – Via Google News: South Korean car companies are racing to keep up with local drivers’ passion for German diesels. Korean auto buyers have traditionally favored …
- Inside GM’s path to survival – Automotive News: Five years ago this week, General Motors Corp. — long a symbol of America’s industrial might — sought bankruptcy protection. Work on what would become the bankruptcy road map began within GM before outgoing President George W.
- Google’s vision upends notions of car and driver – Automotive News: Everything about the new test program that Google co-founder Sergey Brin revealed last week points toward a personal transportation system that directly challenges the driver-centered, ownership-based business model the auto industry has relied on…
- Minivan meltdown, maximum margins – Automotive News: Judging by minivan sales, the segment has crashed over the past decade. Volume, shmolume, retailers say. Many consumers buy loaded, higher-end models, so minivans deliver good margins. And minivan buyers often become a dealership’s loyal customers.
- A flurry of activity in aluminum – Automotive News: The auto industry’s love affair with weight-saving aluminum is just warming up. In the pipeline is a growing list of vehicles with all-aluminum bodies or with more aluminum body panels, such as doors, roofs and trunks.
- GM dealers: Recalls put bonus at risk – Automotive News: Some General Motors dealers worry that an onslaught of safety recalls could jeopardize their quarterly incentive bonuses. GM told dealers in recent weeks to stop delivering several high-volume models that later were recalled to fix safety defects.
- States vow to juice ZEV demand – Automotive News: Eight states, in a coalition including California and New York, have signaled that they’re willing to meet automakers part way in an effort to put 3.3 million zero-emission vehicles on their roads by 2025.
- Penske store tests no-haggle pricing – Automotive News: Penske Automotive Group Inc. has begun no-haggle pricing at a Toyota dealership near Phoenix on new and used vehicles, trade-ins and finance and insurance products.
- Going after the Car again: China to “eliminate” 5.33 million vehicles – CarNewsChina.com: The Chinese government has announced plans to “eliminate’ 5.33 million very-polluting vehicles in a bit to fight air pollution. Most cars will be killed in Beijing and surrounding provinces, with 330.000 cars slated for destruction in the capital and 660.000 in Hebei Province.
- Venucia e30 will be launched on the China car market in September – CarNewsChina.com: The Venucia e30 EV will be launched on the China car market in September and that is much earlier than previously expected.
- Kahn to make Aston Martin-inspired sports car and bespoke Defender – Autocar: Range Rover tuner says it will look to build its own version of the Land Rover Defender and a new Aston Martin-inspired sports car.
- Silent revolution in automobile manufacture – Via Google News: In car manufacturing, his dream is to churn out cars that would sell for about a million Naira. He hopes to push Secondhand cars out of the market by …
- Nissan Outsells Competitors in Moscow’s Shrinking Car Market – Via Google News: Asian car makers generally fared well in the Moscow automobile market, with Korean manufacturer Hyundai coming second with 17,356 sales and Kia …
- Mini plant armed with future proof robots – FT:The 1,000 robots that build Minis at BMW’s Oxford plant is flexible enough to build models for decades to come, removing the need for costly overhauls
- Race On, for Driverless Cars – Via Google News: Google this week unveiled the latest iteration of its driverless-car experiment, a prototype vehicle with no steering wheel or brake pedal. Reactions …
- Hyundai Unveils Luxury Sedan in Korea to Compete With BMW – DetN: Hyundai Motor Co. unveiled a new luxury sedan in South Korea last week, as the country’s largest automaker seeks to defend its most profitable market from Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz.
- Comparison: New BMW i8 vs Porsche 911 – Autocar: Can the i8 plug-in hybrid, the most sophisticated BMW ever, make Porsche’s 911 feel outdated? You might have already read our first drive verdict on the BMW i8 and think you know what direction this test is set to take: the Porsche 911 walks it.
- The longest Ford Raptor in the World lives in China – CarNewsChina.com: A super long Ford F-150 Rapor limousine, Spotted in China inside a supercar shop on the Beijing Tuning Street. The good Raptor is stretched by some ten meter and fitted with a heightened roof.
- Next task for UAW: Elect a new president – DetN: The United Auto Workers, which just went through four years of labor concessions, organizing campaigns and battles over ‘right-to-work’ legislation, elects a new president next week who will face challenges of his own.
- Extra May weekend likely to boost vehicle sales – DetN: New car and truck sales could rise 7 percent in May as manufacturers benefit from an extra weekend of sales.