Top News:
- GM fund approves 3 more serious-injury claims – Automotive News: Three more serious injuries have been linked to General Motors defective ignition switches, the office of attorney Kenneth Feinberg said.
- U.S. appeals court rejects apartheid case against Ford – Detroit News: A federal appeals court has rejected lawsuits accusing Ford and IBM of supporting apartheid in South Africa decades ago
- Dodge significantly increasing Hellcat production – Detroit News: The Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat models produced unprecedented buzz for the mainstream muscle car brand
- Fiat Chrysler Buying Back Cars as Part of Record Penalty – Bloomberg: … violations found by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Bloomberg’s Jamie Butters reports on “Market Makers.” (Source: Bloomberg)…
- FRANCE: Authorities underline State role in auto sector – Just-auto: Northern French regional authorities say they will continue to offer State support to automotive companies in the region as the area maintains its position as one of the sector’s most influential employers.
- GM Korea reaches tentative wage deal with union – Automotive News: General Motors’ South Korean unit tentatively reached an annual wage deal with its labor union today, averting a major strike at one of its key Asian production bases, a union spokesman told Reuters.
- Fiat Chrysler’s Recall Penalty Makes Merger Search Even Tougher – Bloomberg: On top of tarnishing the image of Fiat Chrysler cars and trucks, the conditions of the punishment, including an estimated $7.5 billion to buy back…
- Automakers Struggle to Keep Hackers Out of Increasingly Automated Vehicles – Detroit Bureau: Jeep last week recalled 1.4 mil SUVs vulnerable to hackers. But that’s only a hint of just how serious a problem automakers – and buyers – could be facing as the latest vehicles add new features that will soon include autonomous and semi-autonomous technology
- U.S. automakers leery of Pacific trade deal as talks near end – Automotive News: U.S. automakers typically back trade agreements that open markets for their products, yet they aren’t cheering for a pact among 12 Pacific nations that’s entering its final negotiations.
- US: Kelly Blue Book calls July sales increase 2.6% – Just-auto: New vehicle sales in the United States are expected to increase 2.6% year on year to 1.47m units in July 2015, resulting in an estimated 17.1m seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), according to Kelley Blue Book.
- 2017 Porsche Pajun to be previewed with Frankfurt concept – Autocar: This Autocar image shows how the Porsche Pajun could look
- China’s Biggest Taxi App Offers Substitute Drivers – Bloomberg: It began express bus routes in Beijing this month and also runs vehicle-for-hire and car-pooling services, competing with Uber Technologies Inc.
- Mitsubishi to close Illinois auto plant – Reuters: Mitsubishi Motors has announced they will close their only U.S. factory and will move production back to Japan as the automaker shifts its focus to…
- Apple in negotiations to use BMW i3 as platform for Project Titan car – Ibtimes: Apple has entered negotiations with BMW to use its electric i3 car as the platform for its own vehicle, known as Project Titan. CEO Tim Cook reportedly…
- GM Korea, trade union reach tentative wage deal – Reuters: General Motors’ South Korean unit tentatively reached an annual wage deal with its labour union on Monday, averting a…
- UK CV and engine production rise in June – Just-auto: British commercial vehicle manufacturing grew by more than a quarter in the first six months of the year, according to Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) data.
- VW’s Audi aims to raise China sales with revamped A4 – Reuters: Audi hopes that the redesigned top-selling A4 saloon will shore up its fortunes in China where the premium brand is…
- BOJ’s Nakaso warns of China slowdown impact on exports – Reuters: Japan’s exports rose at the fastest pace in five months in June due to a pick-up in sales of cars and electronics. Though shipments to China picked up,…
- Mitsubishi Motors plans Japan, South East Asia, Russia output focus after U.S. pullout- Reuters: T) said Japan, SouthEast Asia and Russia will become the automaker’s principal production hubs after it calls time on making cars in the United States….
- As sales climb, margins slide – Automotive News: On the surface, second-quarter results from five publicly traded dealership groups last week were solid. But behind the gains lurked a disturbing trend: At all five, profit margins on new-vehicle sales fell.
- Honda flexes research muscle with new Silicon Valley center – Automotive News: Honda last week opened to journalists its new 35,000-square-foot Silicon Valley randd lab, where it has united once-disparate strands of its research work and connected them with a technology incubator for other potential research partners.