- Audi’s brain? Check in the boot – BBC: As a self-driven A7 comes to rest in Las Vegas, Nevada, ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show, a look back at the forbear that made it possible.
- Top Gear’s new dream car – BBC: TopGear.com calls Ariel “the coolest carmaker on the planet”. And with a machine like this, who would argue?
- Takata Still Exploring Causes of Air Bag Explosions – WSJ: The chief executive of Takata Corp. says the company is diligently working to identify the root causes of why some of its air bags have exploded, a problem linked to five deaths and more than 24 million recalled vehicles.
- US: Autonomous car market to be worth US$42bn in 10 years – BCG – Just-auto: Following on from Ford chief Mark Fields’ announcement earlier this week that driverless cars will be with us within five years, Boston Consulting Group has released a study which says that autonomous vehicles may be on the road in large numbers by 2017 creating a US$42bn market for the technology by 2025.
- Jeep Sales Trek Past 1 Million Mark in 2014 – thedetroitbureau.com: What Sergio Marchionne wants, Sergio Marchionne gets. He told reporters at the Detroit Auto Show last year that he thought Jeep could sell 1 million units in 2014 and it hit that lofty target.
- US: EV sales continue upward trend – Just-auto: Sales of plug-in electric cars in the US rose to more than 100,000 last year according to Green Car Reports, the third year-on-year sales increase since first going on sale in December 2010.
- GERMANY: Macan boosts Porsche sales – Just-auto: Porsche chief Mattias Mueller expects to hit the company’s 200,000 annual sales target in 2015, three years ahead of schedule, following record deliveries in 2014.
- UK: Bentley expects sales boom with new SUV – Just-auto: Bentley believes it will double sales by 2020 with the arrival next year of its new luxury SUV.
- JAPAN: Toyota union pushes for JPY6,000 hike – Just-auto: Toyota’s labour union is looking for a JPY6,000 (US$50) rise in monthly base pay at this year’s spring wage negotiations with management, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.
- Sirius XM Is Banking On The Used Car Market For The Next Wave Of Subscriber Additions – Via Google News: The company has contracts with nearly all major automobile manufactures such … In 2014, around 16.53 million new cars were sold, which reflected a …
- JAPAN: Honda to introduce ‘predictive safety cruise control’ – Just-auto: Honda says it is to introduce the world’s first predictive cruise control system known as Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control (i-ACC), capable of foreseeing and automatically reacting to other vehicles ‘cutting-in’ to the equipped vehicle’s lane.
- $70 Million: Amount Transportation Department Has Fined Honda for Not Reporting Injury and … – Via Google News: Automobile manufacturers are required to issue reports regarding such … the ability of the NHTSA to quickly identify flaws in the company’s cars.
- Luxury Car Sales Hit Record Levels in 2014 – WSJ: BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Audi hit record sales last year, but the pace and regions of growth for Germany’s four main luxury car makers varied.
- Valeo System Protects Pedestrians – Wards: The supplier can use headlamps to project warnings along the edge of road surfaces to pedestrians at night. The technology is another step toward smarter vehicles that ultimately will be able to drive themselves, Valeo says.
- BRAZIL: BorgWarner develops flex fuel turbocharger – Just-auto: BorgWarner says it has developed the first flex fuel turbocharger made in Brazil for the country’s growing passenger car market.
- Uber slashes prices in 48 cities – CNN: Uber is reducing fares in 48 cities including Miami, San Diego and Dallas.
- BMW keeps luxury sales crown, beats rivals in December – Reuters: BMW outsold Audi and Mercedes-Benz in December to round off a 10th year as global luxury car-sales champion but its two German rivals have reduced its advantage.
- US: Nissan and NASA partner on autonomous driving – Just-auto: Nissan and NASA say they have formed a five-year research and development partnership to advance autonomous vehicle systems and prepare for commercial application of the technology.
- HONG KONG: Infiniti global sales up 13.5% in 2014 – Just-auto: Infiniti says it recorded the global sales of more than 186,200 vehicles in 2014, up 13.5% from the previous year.
- UPDATE 1-BMW keeps luxury sales crown, beats rivals in December – Reuters: German premiums will grow 2015 volume at slower pace -analyst (Releads on peer comparison, adds Audi and Mercedes sales and analyst comment)
- CHINA: BMW rolls off 1m vehicles at Shenyang – Just-auto: Twelve years after the start of production of BMW cars back in 2003, the Chinese production site in Shenyang has reached a milestone: At the newest plant at the production site, Tiexi, the one-millionth vehicle produced in China has rolled off the assembly line.
- Lexus: No Expiration Date on Spindle Grille – Wards: The prominent and controversial nose of the luxury brand’s models will evolve as Lexus sees fit, says designer Yasuo Kajino.
- GM CEO Barra upbeat on US market prospects – Just-auto: General Motors CEO Mary Barra has said the company expects light vehicle sales in the US to reach 16.5m-17m units in 2015.
- Andy Priaulx to make British Touring Car Championship return with BMW – Autocar: Three-time World Touring Car Championship winner clinches deal to drive a WSR
- UK: Vehicles fate unknown as salvers toil in semi-darkness – Just-auto: Salvers working on the stricken car ship, Hoegh Osaka, are toiling in semi-darkness to establish the condition of the 1,300 vehicles on board as forecast winds of 55mph tomorrow (10 January) threaten to hamper any quick solution to the situation.
- VW brand sales down 2.4 percent in December on ‘challenging’ conditions – Reuters: Volkswagen said on Friday sales of its core passenger-car brand fell 2.4 percent in December to 529,500 vehicles.
- China Auto Show Looks to Cover Up Models – Via Google News: Organizers of the upcoming Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition told car makers on Friday to stop using models to promote their …
- Toyota Expects Slight Uptick in Sales in 2015 – Wards: 2015 Automotive Outlook Toyota’s North American CEO gives his thoughts on what cheap gas means for the green automaker, why he likes the Mirai and why a repeat of 2008 is not in the cards for the industry.
- Honda’s Ito vows to scrutinize operations, raise quality – Automotive News: Honda President Takanobu Ito, beset by record recalls last year, told suppliers the carmaker will examine operations to improve quality and safety standards.
- Jeep drivers still dying in gas tank fires 18 months into recall – Automotive News: Eighteen months into a recall of Jeeps with exploding gas tanks, drivers of the affected models are still dying and more than 1 million of the vehicles remain unfixed.
- Labor, Fuel Prices Threaten to Derail North American Auto Industry in 2015 – Wards: 2015 Automotive Outlook As automakers rush to meet growing demand they will need to keep labor costs down and supplies in line.
- Adaptive cruise control and other features: What automobile-makers showcased at CES 2015 – Via Google News: Coming sooner to a car near you: smartphone apps on dash displays, cruise control that adapts to cars around it, remote engine starting and more.
- Renault Samsung Hopes SM5 LPG-Fueled Taxi Fares Well – Wards: It may be the first time an automaker has targeted its flagship vehicle toward the taxi market to achieve its overall sales goal.
- Shanghai FTZ Starts Pilot Allowing Parallel Imports of Vehicles – Via Google News: The country imported 1.17 million vehicles in 2013, and 83,000 were … In the past, buyers of parallel import cars ran into difficulties with after-sales … parallel imports could be a way to push the domestic automobile industry to be …
- Car Sales Up 2.46% in 2014; SIAM Sees FY15 Growth at 1% – Via Google News: Passenger car sales during the January-December period rose to 18,51,475 … thus helping growth in sales,” Society of Indian Automobile Industry (SIAM) … “The industry sold 1.8 million cars in 2014, it is not a very significant growth …