- GM Recalls Pickups for Air-Bag Issue – Yahoo:
- Cyberattacks Come to Cars – Wards: By attacking dealerships and service centers, perhaps by compromising an employee’s laptop, hackers could install malicious software on lots of vehicles.
- Nissan Rapidly Boosting US Production – thedetroitbureau.com: As the new 2015 Murano rolls into showrooms, buyers will find a lighter, more stylish and more fuel-efficient vehicle. But what few will notice is that the new model also is made in the U.S. A full 85% of Nissan vehicles sold here are now produced in N.America, and Nissan isn’t unique.
- GM shutters Opel plant in Bochum after 52 years – Freep: GM is trying to get Opel to break-even by mid-decade, and is plowing 4 billion euros ($5 billion) into the European business.
- BELGIUM: Punch files Genk jobs plan as unions turn fury on Flanders – Just-auto: Punch Metals is confirming it has submitted an offer to the Flanders government that could see 200 stamping jobs saved at Ford’s Genk plant in Eastern Belgium, although furious unions insist the administration could do far more.
- Honda says 3 million more cars need airbag fix in U.S. recall – Automotive News: Honda, the biggest customer of airbag maker Takata, said about 3 million more of its vehicles will need to be fixed in the United States after it widened a repair campaign to the entire country.
- Honda to recall 135,000 cars in Japan as Takata air bag fallout grows – Reuters: Honda Motor Co will soon recall 135,000 vehicles in Japan as recalls in the United States involving potentially defective air bags by Takata Corp expand, a Honda spokeswoman said on Friday.
- Takata fixing lapses at Mexico airbag plant – Automotive News: Takata said it will fix lapses identified by the Mexico government at the same airbag plant that Toyota prevented its own employees from visiting for unspecified safety concerns.
- Aston Martin’s next Bond car hints at future design – Automotive News: Aston Martin says that James Bond’s next car also previews the brand’s new look. The DB10 two-door coupe, built exclusively for the next installment in the Bond film franchise, Spectre, overhauls a design language first used in 2001.
- Cadillac Reinforces Commitment to China – GM: SGM President Dan Ammann and GM Executive Vice President and Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen today discussed the importance of China for Cadillac and upcoming plans for GM’s global luxury brand.
- London motor show set to return in 2016 after eight-year absence – Autocar: HRH Prince Michael of Kent confirms plans are underway to relaunch a British motor show at Battersea Park in May 2016. A traditional motor show is set to return to London in May 2016, HRH Prince Michael of Kent has revealed. The goal is to make the show “to rank alongside cities like Geneva and Frankfurt”.The show, early plans for which are already underway, is set to take place at Battersea Park. “Manufacturers are being invited now to attend,” Prince Michael said.London’s reborn motor show would have a big emphasis on electric and hybrid vehicles, Prince Michael said.
- Cooper Tire considers leaving China – FT: US tyre group looks at options after sale of stake in joint venture seized by workers
- Ford says Nov China auto sales up 2 pct y/y – Reuters: Ford Motor Co and its Chinese joint ventures sold 100,834 vehicles in China in November, up 2 percent from the same period a year earlier, the U.S. carmaker said on Friday.
- Audi Q7 will be VW Group’s 1st plug-in diesel – Automotive News: Audi’s Q7 will be the first model from VW Group to offer a plug-in hybrid diesel powertrain, an Audi source told Automotive News Europe. The variant gives Audi a technology edge over BMW and Mercedes, which currently offer gasoline plug-ins.
- Why Elon Musk’s Batteries Scare the Hell Out of the Electric Company – Yahoo:
- GM’s Cadillac aims to increase global annual sales to over 500,000 by 2020: senior executive – Reuters: SHANGHAI (Reuters) – General Motors Co’s Cadillac aims to increase its global annual sales to over 500,000 cars by 2020, a senior executive said on Friday.
- GM’s Cadillac aims to increase global annual sales to over 500,000 by 2020-exec – Reuters: General Motors Co’s Cadillac aims to increase its global annual sales to over 500,000 cars by 2020, a senior executive said on Friday.
- US carmakers aim for China luxury market – Via Google News: General Motors, the largest US car manufacturer, already sells more cars in China each month than it does in its home market and expects that to continue. … to Chrysler, with its Chinese partner Guangzhou Automobile Company.
- Undoing Detroit: Cadillac Yanks Ad Account From Motown Agency – Forbes: The new Cadillac brain trust continues to prove that they’re utterly serious about untethering Cadillac from traditional Detroit-bred thinking about the brand and that they’re intent on recrafting Cadillac into what they call a true luxury marque that just happens to sell automobiles.