Top News:
- Fiat Chrysler scraps plans for Alfa Romeo Giulia Sport Wagon – Automotive News: With our fine tuning, Stelvio can interest all those people who might have been interested” in the sport wagon, Alfredo Altavilla, head of Fiat Chrysler…
- EU clears German plan for electric vehicle charging network – Reuters: A charging plug is pictured next to the BMW 225xe eDrive during the media day at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 15 …
- VW works council says talks over strategy pact broken off without results – Reuters: Volkswagen’s cost-cutting deal with unions is left in limbo after talks between labour leaders and top executives over the implementation of the turnaround plan were broken off on Monday without an agreement, the works council said.
- Profitable Pickups May Be in Cross Hairs of Trump Border Tax – New York Times: A General Motors pickup truck assembly line in Flint, Mich. The company builds a large percentage of its pickups in Mexico.
- The Demise of Deadly Diesel – Bloomberg: Diesels make up about half of Europe’s car sales. … Some manufacturers may just decide to leap directly into electric vehicles instead. Indeed, there’s…
- Land Rover Resurrects the Best Range Rovers Ever-for a Price – Bloomberg: “We rebuild them, absolutely as they should be,” said Tim Hannig, the director of Jaguar Land Rover Classic. “When we find them, they are very much…
- BMW workers threaten strike over plan to shut pension scheme – Guardian: BMW, which made record pre-tax profits of EUR9bn (PS7.6bn) in 2015, intends to close two defined-benefit pension schemes to future contributions from…
- Toyota frets as N. American profits plunge – Automotive News: Incentives in the market trended upward,” Otake said, adding that Toyota expects the overall U.S. market to decline about 2 percent in calendar year…
- BMW could shift cars to avoid tariff – Automotive News: BMW could conceivably shift some car production from Germany to its crossover plant in Spartanburg, S.C., if President Donald Trump follows through…
- Nissan gets its commercial trucks in a row – Automotive News: Nissan executives say they finally have a lineup that will enable their dealers to make a plausible run at one of the great bastions of Detroit-dominated truck business: commercial sales to businesses.
- Toyota positions two big launches: Camry and C-HR – Automotive News: Toyota’s next-generation Camry represents the upstanding citizen in the brand’s lineup, albeit with a fancy make-over and a gym membership. The new C-HR crossover is the polarizing wild child crying out for attention.
- Hyundai takes down Lada in Russia upset – Automotive News: Last year, the unthinkable happened in Russia: For the first time ever, a non-Russian brand topped the model sales chart. The humble Hyundai…
- GM predicts earnings encore – Automotive News: DETROIT – After achieving post-bankruptcy records for profit margins and revenue in 2016, General Motors projects “another strong year” ahead for…
- Lexus still short of utility vehicles – Automotive News: Lexus is still short on supplies of its popular utility vehicles after limited availability led to a 26 percent fall in sales last month.
- GM’s Ammann: Open up public streets to autonomous testing – Automotive News: General Motors President Dan Ammann urged more local and state governments to allow testing of autonomous vehicles on public streets, saying doing so is the only way to ensure they will be ready for public use.
- Daimler extends heir apparent’s contract – Automotive News: Daimler has given a lengthy contract extension to Ola Kaellenius, the … of Mercedes-Benz Vans, board member for production for Mercedes-Benz…
- Alfa, Fiat dealers fight the factory – Automotive News: More than 20 Fiat and Alfa Romeo dealers in California have filed protests against Fiat Chrysler after the automaker substantially rewrote their franchise agreements in December.
- GM Financial eyes more growth – Automotive News: After gaining subvented loan and lease exclusivity over the past two years, General Motors’ captive finance arm, GM Financial,…
- Tax threat heightens concern about affordability – Automotive News: Prices for new cars and trucks, being pushed ever-higher by fuel-economy improvements, safety equipment and advanced technology, could soar out of range for many U.S. buyers with the addition of an import tax to the equation.
- Redesigned Expedition ‘sets the new standard’ – Automotive News: The redesigned 2018 Ford Expedition, unveiled last week in Dallas, could signal the big utility’s return to prominence in the Ford SUV lineup after it languished since its last freshening in 2003.
- The $92000 Lexus LC 500 Flagship Coupe Is More Ballerina Than Body Builder – Forbes: Boring it is not. That was Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda’s mandate in creating its upscale Lexus brand’s new flagship coupe, the all-new…
- BUZZ-Chinese automaker Geely extends gains as strong FY results expected – Reuters: … ** On Jan. 6, the company said it expected to record a more than 100 percent increase in 2016 net profit due to significant increase in sales; results …
- Hyundai Motor hires former GM researcher to lead self-driving car center – Reuters: … KS) has hired a former General Motors (GM.N) researcher to oversee its …
- Surprise! Geely Auto Replaces Li & Fung In Hang Seng Index – Barrons: In a surprise move, Hang Seng Indexes announced that Geely Automobile (175.Hong Kong) will replace outsourcing empire Li & Fung (494.
- Uber and Ford Versus Tesla: The Battle Over What We Will Do In Driverless Cars – Forbes: For most of automotive history, time spent in cars has been predominately spent driving, talking and listening to the radio. But by 2021, driverless cars will be in mass production and racing towards the mainstream, releasing those in the so-called …
- Where To Look As The Lithium Boom Unfolds In 2017 – Yahoo: The sweetest spot in the Lithium rush is now definitively Chile: It’s the world’s biggest venue, and it’s about to explode as Tesla flips the switch on its…
- Eco-friendly auto sales jump in Jan. – Yonhap: According to the data, a total of 4,237 eco-friendly vehicles, such as hybrid cars and electric vehicles, were sold in South Korea last month, compared…
- Japan fourth-quarter GDP grows for fourth straight quarter on exports – Reuters: Japan’s economy expanded for a fourth straight quarter in the October-December period as strong trade demand and a pickup in capital expenditure underscored a steady export-led recovery.
- Volkswagen says has no plans to retain large number of temp staff – Reuters: A Volkswagen logo is pictured at the newly opened Volkswagen factory in Wrzesnia, Poland, September 9, 2016. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File …