- GERMANY: BMW lays out future PHEV hybrid strategy – Just-auto: BMW Group said it would follow up its all-electric and hybrid, plug-in range extender i3 and i8 models with plug-in hybrid versions of core-brand models.
- CHINA: China Automotive starts building Brazil steering plant – Just-auto: China Automotive Systems has begun construction of the first stage of a factory in Sao Paulo, Brazil which will assemble steering units sold to South American automakers.
- BELGIUM: Delphi mulls zero fatalities scenario with autonomous driving – Just-auto: Delphi says suppliers which achieve innovations towards autonomous transportation and boost the quest to end road deaths, will be the “winners” as technology towards self-driving moves relentlessly forward.
- BMW to roll out plug-in hybrid versions of top models – Automotive News: BMW plans to offer plug-in hybrid versions of all its main models, including the best-selling 3-series sedan, as the world’s largest maker of luxury vehicles reacts to tighter emissions regulations.
- Daimler to spend 100 million euros to expand German battery output – Reuters: FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Daimler will spend about 100 million euros ($125 million) in coming years to increase production of lithium-ion batteries in eastern Germany.
- Auto Sales Gain in November But Ford Slows as New F-150 Is Awaited – Yahoo:
- ‘Investors do not want to have anything to do with Takata shares’ – Automotive News: Investors are piling into bets against Takata as the U.S. pushes for nationwide recalls to replace its faulty airbags and members of Congress prepare to renew their scrutiny of defects linked to five deaths.
- I don’t believe youngsters have fallen out of love with driving – Autocar: Statistics suggest that today’s teenagers aren’t interested in passing the driving test, but my experience suggests otherwise Statistics are just numbers and you can interpret numbers any way you want – for good, for evil or just for fun.
- BRAZIL: Honda starts wind power generation – Just-auto: Honda, the first automaker in Brazil to start a wind power generation business, has started the turbines at Xangri-lá in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state in Brazil, approximately 1,000km (600 miles) south of the company’s production plant in Sumaré, São Paulo.
- CHINA: Chengshan takes control of Cooper tyre JV – Just-auto: China’s Chengshan Group has agreed to take full control of its tyre joint venture with US-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.
- Auto component industry to witness revival from 2015 – Via Google News: Experts said the auto sector is expected to witness a full-fledged revival from early 2015 and the automobile component industry is also expected to…
- France wants to phase out diesel-powered passenger cars – Automotive News: France wants to gradually phase out the use of diesel fuel for passenger cars and will put in place a system to identify the most polluting vehicles, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said.
- Maruti Suzuki Ciaz Recalled – Via Google News: These cars are among those manufactured till 7th November, 2014. … Service Campaigns are undertaken globally by automobile companies to rectify…
- Iran’s auto industry turnover hits $12B – Via Google News: The Islamic republic plans to produce annually 3 million cars by 2025, … Iran’s automobile output faced a 40 percent decrease in 2012 due to the…
- Taiwan players bet big on India – Via Google News: According to Taiwan customs’ data 2013, the export of auto parts and automobile electronics stood at $ 11.2 billion, of which only $ 35 million was…
- Flying car nears mass production liftoff – Via Google News: The promise of a mass-produced flying car has taunted aviation enthusiasts for … Twenty-five minutes ago, this was a street-legal automobile. Now, it’s…
- Tesla Stock To Lift Off After Battery Recharge – Yahoo:
- Toyota Hybrid Technology Takes World Endurance Championship – Toyota Thanks Fans for Support – Via Google News: Toyota launched its first hybrid car, the Prius, in 1997, a pioneering venture that surprised the automobile industry with its unrivalled combination of…
- Hyundai Motor Group to Finalize Indian Facility Expansion Plan Early Next Year – Via Google News: … to meet the explosive demand growth in India, where Modinomics is driving up automobile demand, and provide against the export of more cars.
- Saab parts sales thrive without showrooms – Via Google News: Saab Automobile Parts North America, which emerged from the Swedish … The parts division of Saab Cars North America had not replenished its…
- Toyota: Active safety for all – Automotive News: Toyota Motor Corp. will step closer to autonomous vehicles when it begins rolling out a range of advanced active safety systems across its mass-market lineup in early 2015.
- No letup in pickup wars among Big 3 – Automotive News: Officially, Ford’s two fiercest truck competitors had little to say about the fuel economy ratings for the new aluminum-body F-150 that underwhelmed some pundits. But behind the scenes, rivals’ wheels are in motion.
- Longing for the days of Hummer? – Automotive News: Cheap gasoline, Jeep’s rise and surging demand for pricey SUVs have some Hummer dealers and loyalists thinking about what might have been, and have rekindled talk about a new Wrangler fighter from GM.
- Buy-sells skyrocket, in dollars and deals – Automotive News: This year’s buy-sell market is on track to be the most active since 2004, in both number of deals and total dollars, two reports released this week said.
- GM Financial CEO sees big growth ahead – Automotive News: It has taken four years, but GM Financial is finally offering a full range of products to General Motors dealers, prompting the captive lender’s CEO to predict a “tremendous amount of growth” in 2015. says CEO Dan Berce.
- TLX delivering on sales and image, Acura says – Automotive News: With two full months of sales data behind it, Acura says the new TLX midsize sedan is beginning to fulfill its promise of reviving the luxury brand, whose U.S. sales and image have sagged in recent years.
- Diesel Mazda6 still on the map – Automotive News: Despite engineering delays, Mazda still plans to launch a diesel engine in its Mazda6 midsize sedan, the company’s top North American executive said.
- Why Takata rescue would be costly, slow – Automotive News: Some lawmakers want competing airbag suppliers to help Takata produce enough inflators to repair millions of recalled U.S. vehicles.
- China’s low-speed electric car industry sees bright prospects – Via Google News: New electric passenger car makers have to be registered in China and have … The measures are expected to directly benefit the automobile industry.
- Lower Used Car Prices Cut Both Ways – Yahoo: [at Forbes] – Used-car prices are in a general decline, despite some ups and downs, and despite the fact that used-car prices have remained higher, longer, than many analysts expected. In fact, the wholesale price of the average used vehicle actually increased a bit in October – the most recent month for which detailed
- The Week Ahead: Hearing on Takata Airbags, and U.S. Job Figures – NY Times: A House hearing on Wednesday will scrutinize the Takata Corporation’s airbag defects, and the Labor Department on Friday will release employment figures for November, which are expected to be strong.
- A Proposal for an Autonomous Vehicle Mobile Laboratory – Via Google News: Transforming stupid cars into smart cars is the end-game of the Mobile Autonomous Automobile Laboratory (MAAL) project. In his presentation…
- Your car has been built on an assembly line of broken fingers – Via Google News: Kumar works in Manesar, India’s leading automobile hub, about 50 km from Delhi, in Haryana’s Gurgaon district. Around 80,000 workers work here at…
- Car Talk: Sharp Turns Ahead – Via Google News: At first glance, it seems like an easy call: adopt technology that allows cars to … “We’re talking about a titanic shift in the fight for auto safety ? but it’s … describing it as “the next step in making automobile traffic smarter ? and safer.”.
- In Big-Game Setback, Car Brands Become Super Bowl Defectors – Yahoo:
- Ford’s New Truck Shouldn’t Be Pained at the Pump – Yahoo:
- Chile eyes Chinese investment – Via Google News: As cars, trucks and container vehicles keep increasing, Chile needs more … Automobile Group Motor Co, said his group started to sell passenger cars to Chile earlier this year and expects the sale to grow significantly in the future.
- Car thefts plummet 60 percent in Detroit – Via Google News: Detroit experiences the most auto thefts in the state, followed by Warren, Flint, Dearborn and Southfield, according to the Michigan Automobile Theft…
- Demand For Tesla Is Not The Problem, Switching The World To Electric Cars Is – Yahoo:
- Tesla Model S P85D Is Selling Like Hotcakes – Via Google News: Of course, a halo car draws attention to an automobile company with an outstanding version of the company’s top design. This halo car, however,…
- In Car-Loving Germany, A New Generation Foregoes Auto Ownership – Via Google News: On average, cars stay on the road for a good 13 years in Germany before … The Shell study calculates they’ll achieve some 60% in the automobile…
- Recalls Are Free; Other Work That Needs Doing, Not So Much – Forbes: An all-time record number of recalls are part of a booming service and partsbusiness at U.S. dealerships this year.
- Turkey can produce own car, businessman says – Via Google News: It is “not difficult or insane” to produce a domestic car, Turkish businessman … Every one of them produces their domestic cars. … Since then, Turkey has not made any significant attempt at reestablishing a Turkish automobile brand.
- BMW to launch pay-as-you-go in London – FT: Carmaker looks to tap potential of the ‘sharing economy’ with DriveNow scheme
- Inside Takata, tantrums, but little sense of crisis over airbag recalls – Automotive News: Shigehisa Takada, the third-generation head of Takata, shows little sense of the crisis engulfing the Japanese airbag maker at the center of one of the auto industry’s biggest safety recalls, say people who have met him recently.
- Improved police work, high-tech auto security lower crime numbers in Detroit – Via Google News: As a restaurateur a decade ago, Lee Padgett worried about auto thefts. … “A lot of the new cars have the push-button start where you have to have a key fob. … executive director of the Michigan Automobile Theft Prevention Authority.
- Nissan Sales to Fall 9% – Yahoo:
- Chrysler Discounts Reach 18% – Yahoo:
- Iranian carmaker Saipa manufactures 75% of parts domestically – Via Google News: He added that 20 percent of Saipa cars are manufactured under the license of renowned … Saipa is the second largest Iranian auto manufacturer. Saipa … The automobile industry, the biggest non-oil sector of the Iranian economy,…
- Many Americans Are Literally Addicted To Texting While Driving – Forbes: Compulsion — even addiction — are appropriate terms for the nearly irresistible urge to respond to a text message, even while driving, an expert said.
- 2016 Mazda CX-3 Poised To Stand Out In Crowd Of Compact SUVs – Forbes: Blessed with Mazda’s design mojo and fun driving dynamics, the CX-3 is a distinctive new entry in what is quickly becoming a much more crowded segment: subcompact crossovers. This 2016 model debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show along with the Honda HR-V and several other competitors.
- Mowtown pushes for extension of excise duty cut – Via Google News: New Delhi: Car makers have asked the government to extend excise duty relief, which is ending on December 31, saying removal of this incentive…
- Driver’s Seat: Now, for a car that will get you noticed – Via Google News: Conventional wisdom: Automobile magazine calls it “a far more emotional car” than the 12C that preceded it. And it likes the “more urgent delivery of…
- Automakers seek share at Iran’s car market – Via Google News: Men work on a Peugeot 206 at the Iran Khodro auto plant, west of Tehran. … Sanctions on Iran’s automobile industry have been lifted following an…
- Flying car nears mass production liftoff – Via Google News: Twenty-five minutes ago, this was a street-legal automobile. … Dietrich is closer to a mass-produced flying car than anyone since pilot Moulton Taylor’s…
- Black Friday, Year-End Deals Boost U.S. Auto Sales In November – Forbes: Black Friday discounts and year-end deals will probably bring down the average profit per unit for the next few weeks, but U.S. auto sales in November were shaping up to produce both high volumes and high revenues, analysts said.
- Auto industry pitches for continuation of excise duty relief – Via Google News: Industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) Director General Vishnu Mathur said the continuation of the excise duty relief would…
- High hopes for Motor Show 2014 – Via Google News: Earl Jarrett (left), general manager, Jamaica National Building Society, and Automobile Dealers Association chairman Kent LaCroix cut the ribbon to…
- 2015 will be big year for small SUVs – Freep: Automakers are expanding with new small SUVs, the fastest growing segment worldwide
- Battle over Takata air bag recall likely to escalate – Freep: Takata may need to lean on competitors to help resolve crisis
- Why Takata rescue would be costly, slow – Automotive News: Some lawmakers want competing airbag suppliers to help Takata produce enough inflators to repair millions of recalled U.S. vehicles.
- Is NHTSA nominee up to the task? – Automotive News: As an expert on human fatigue, Mark Rosekind is well-suited to steer NHTSA toward the era of autonomous driving and connected-car technologies.
- Wheels: An Automobile for the Ages, but Maybe Not for 2015 – Via Google News: Granted, most of us don’t buy cars with Internet connectivity in mind. But the simple fact is, such cars exist. The Wi-Fi in those automobiles works…
- Porsche plans more high-end special editions – Autocar: With all 100 units of the Panamera Turbo S Executive Exclusive selling out in just 48 hours, Porsche is considering other premium specials Porsche is likely to produce more high-end special editions, after all 100 of the £180,000 Panamera Turbo S Executive Exclusive models sold out within 48 hours of going on sale.The Panamera Executive Exclusive is based on the long-wheelbase version of the car – which is 150mm longer than the standard Panamera – and has a new graduated two-tone exterior colour scheme in black and chestnut brown metallic.Other high-end modifications include hand-finished pain
- The connected car is a spy on wheels! – Via Google News: The principles, crafted by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the … There are also security implications when cars can in the near future…
- David Beckham and son Brooklyn ‘shaken’ after car crash following Arsenal training session – Via Google News: David Beckham and his teenage son Brooklyn escaped badly shaken from a car crash on Saturday in which they were spared serious injury by the…
- GM China to recall more than 40,000 faulty Buick LaCrosses in March – Reuters: SHANGHAI, Nov 29 (Reuters) – General Motor Co’s main Chinese joint venture will recall 40,496 Buick LaCrosses in March next year due to faulty headlights, China’s top quality watchdog said.
- Jeep Sales Surge Drives Chrysler to November Sales Gain – Yahoo:
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) Offering Zero Interest on Cars This HolidaySeason – Via Google News: This holiday season, Fiat (NYSE:FCAU) will be offering a deal which gives the customers an opportunity to buy a car at zero percent loan for 84…
- Import car companies aim to sell 215000 units in 2015, up 10 pct from this year – Via Google News: In a meeting with the local automotive press, Yoon Dae-sung, executive managing director of the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors…
- BUI? Drunken Riding, No Helmets And Other Reasons Why Bicyclist Deaths Are Growing – Forbes: The number of bicyclists killed in crashes on U.S. road is on the rise, particularly among adult males and urban riders, groups that now represent most of the deaths, a new report shows. Failure to wear helmets, alcohol impairment and an increase in urban commuting were among the factors sited as reasons for the recent spike in deaths. . . Fatalities among bicyclists in motor vehicle crashes increased 16 percent from 2010 to 2012, while overall motor vehicle fatalities increased just one percent during the same time period, according to Spotlight on Highway Safety: Bicyclist Safety, released
- Kenny star Shane Jacobson on why he loves Holdens – Via Google News: I have a love and a passion for cars and a desire to drive every kind I can. … I’ve driven a whole bunch of cars, everything from one-off supercars, … and she’s now a fine automobile, not that for any moment in her life she wasn’t.
- Iran plans to prevent low-quality foreign cars import – Via Google News: These cars will not be imported within the plan, he explained. … The Iranian automobile industry, the biggest non-oil sector of the economy,…
- On the road: Ford Mustang Fastback GT ? car review – Via Google News: There’s such a bond between America and the automobile, some of which is to do with individualism, and a lack of decent public transport, and,…
- Cadillac to chart new brand course in N.Y. – Automotive News: Uwe Ellinghaus doesn’t like to see Cadillac explicitly comparing itself to German luxury competitors in its ads. But he’s determined to see Cadillac adopt the marketing strategies used by those rivals, including his former employer, BMW.
- Industrial output down 1.8% in Oct. – Via Google News: Sales, exports and the registration of new cars has been down this year and the … The automobile industry plays a fundamental role in output and…
- A Conundrum for Saudis: Women at Work – NY Times: A group of academics is joining the Saudi government in a project to lower the hurdles keeping women from becoming employed.
- Free Fall in Oil Price Underscores Shift Away From OPEC – NY Times: The inability or unwillingness of OPEC to curb production showed that it was no longer the dominating force behind global fuel supplies and prices.
- The top 50 cars on sale today – picture special – Autocar: What’s the best car on sale in the UK? Our expert team of road testers heads to Wales