Top News:
- Porsche Earnings Set to Shift to Lower Gear – WSJ: Porsche, the German sports-car maker, warned that it won’t repeat the robust sales and profit growth of recent years this year, citing heavy investment in electric-car technology and possibly sluggish global luxury-car demand after record earnings in 2015.
- Germany has ‘great trust’ in VW to clear up all affairs – Reuters: Germany’s Economy Ministry has “great trust” that carmaker Volkswagen will clear up all allegations and achieve a solution with U.S. authorities in the car emissions probe.
- Britain’s diesel drivers ‘should pay up to PS800 more in road tax’ – Autocar: Study shows that large number of diesel vehicles exceed emissions limits; pressure to reduce environmental impact spurs support for new tax structure
- BMW regains ground in February in global luxury sales race – Automotive News: Mercedes-Benz is the world’s best-selling luxury brand after two months even as last year’s leader BMW regained lost ground in…
- Former GM executive proposed to lead Kongsberg Auto’s board – Reuters: OSLO, March 11 The election committee of Norwegian car parts maker Kongsberg Automotive has proposed former General Motors executive …
- Mercedes Faces Growth Test as E-Class Brings Revamp Full Circle – Bloomberg: The next sales-boosting loop of vehicle revamps won’t get going until 2018, when Mercedes will also face stronger competition as BMW AG and Audi…
- VW-Brand February Sales Drop as Scandal Weighs on US Demand – Bloomberg: Volkswagen AG’s namesake brand sold 4.7 percent fewer vehicles last month as the diesel-emissions rigging scandal deterred purchases in the U.S….
- Porsche boosts 2015 revenue and profit by 25% – Just-auto: Porsche booked record results for2015, its fifth consecutive record year.
- Porsche Profit Rises 25% to Record as Macan SUV Lifts Sales – Bloomberg: Porsche, the maker of the 911 sports car, reported that profit last year jumped 25 percent to a record, providing much-needed support to parent…
- Nissan Qashqai will be company’s first model in Europe to get self-driving technology – Automotive News: Nissan will debut semi-autonomous driving technology in Europe in the … The Qashqai will offer Nissan’s so-called Piloted Drive 1.0 technology…
- GM Invites Hackers to Uncover Cybersecurity Gaps – WSJ: General Motors Co. is turning to hackers to strengthen car firewalls, inviting computer researchers to search for software vulnerabilities in its vehicles and websites.
- Tesla says will ‘vigorously defend’ plan for second Virginia dealer – Reuters: Tesla Motor Co said it will “vigorously defend” against a lawsuit filed by the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association (VADA) that seeks to keep the electric carmaker from opening and operating a second company-owned dealership in Virginia.
- VW Plans to Cut Thousands of Administrative Jobs – WSJ: Volkswagen plans to cut thousands of administrative jobs in Germany to trim costs as it grapples with an emissions-cheating crisis and shifts new hiring to more strategic skills such as software programming and technology.
- Loss of US boss seen hitting VW turnaround, but not talks with regulators – Reuters: * Analysts say his departure a blow to US turnaround efforts (Adds comment from U.S. National Automobile Dealers Association)
- Car crashes into Hyundai Motor building ahead of shareholder meeting – Yonhap: A vehicle crashed into the front doors of Hyundai Motor Co.’s main office building in Seoul on Friday, witnesses said.