Top News:
- BMW CFO says China market has bottomed out, U.S. now a concern – Reuters: BMW’s Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner said that after taking out inventories to restore demand in China in the fourth quarter, the market appears to have bottomed out.
- Renault design boss to preview latest styling language with sports car concept – Automotive News: Renault will unveil a sport car concept later this year that will begin a new series of brand-defining concepts, its design chief, Laurens van den Acker,…
- Toyota to rename 3 Scion models as brand gets phased out – Automotive News: Toyota Motor Corp. said three models formerly under the Scion banner will have new names when they’re sold as Toyotas starting in the 2017 model…
- Aston Martin and Red Bull hypercar ‘could be faster than an F1 car around Silverstone’ – Autocar: Exclusive interview with Aston CEO Andy Palmer reveals ambitions for new AM-RB 001 hypercar
- BAIC acquires 35% stake in Fujian Benz – Just-auto: China’s BAIC Motor Corporation has acquired a 35% stake in Fujian Benz, a joint venture with Germany’s Daimler AG, to become the company’s second-largest shareholder – according to local reports.
- 2018 Skoda Yeti to become larger SUV – Autocar: Skoda boss confirms the next-generation Yeti will morph into a larger and more spacious model than today’s car, with bulkier SUV styling
- Young people’s aversion to cars theory overdone – survey – Just-auto: Fears that young people no longer view learning to drive or owning a car as a rite of passage appear to be unfounded according to a recent study.
- SEAT makes first profit since 2008 [includes comment] – Just-auto: VW brand SEAT says it closed 2015 with a profit after-tax of EUR6m, which compares with an EUR66m loss in 2014. It’s the first profit for the Spain-based brand since 2008.
- VW Said in Talks With U.S. Over Two Funds to Pay for Pollution – Bloomberg: Penalties for the four violations could total as much as $46 billion, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kevin Tynan, prompting the need to…
- Toyota, GM and VW among automakers planning to expand auto-braking systems roll out, report … – Automotive News: Major automakers plan to announce they have agreed to install automatic emergency braking systems in nearly all U.S….
- Red Bull, Aston Martin team up to build supercar – Reuters: Red Bull’s chief designer Adrian Newey will work with Aston Martin’s design boss Marek Reichman on the car, dubbed Project AM-RB-001, Red Bull …
- Comment – Aston Martin and Red Bull’s hypercar: you read it here first – Autocar: Aston Martin, Adrian Newey and Red Bull have confirmed they will launch a hypercar in 2018, a story Autocar first broke last summer
- Japan auto lobby sees car sales rising 6.5 pct in FY2016/17 – Reuters: Passenger car sales received a boost in the year to April 2014, when the government raised consumption tax to 8 percent from 5 percent, the …