- JAPAN: New semiconductor to tweak hybrid fuel efficiency – Just-auto: Toyota is aiming to achieve a 10% improvement in the fuel efficiency of its hybrids and other electric-powered vehicles using a new power semiconductor technology.
- VW Leveraging MQB Architecture in U.S. Golf Lineup – Wards: VW quality chief says common architecture saves costs, but there is a risk if a bad part infects thousands of vehicles across multiple product ranges.
- GERMANY: BMW to announce Mexican plant in July – reports – Just-auto: BMW plans to announce in July it will build its first assembly plant in Mexico and has identified two regions where the site could be built, media reports said.
- Japanese Truck Makers Focus on Cutting Emissions – Wards: Isuzu is cool toward hybrids, noting Jana’s leading truck maker is putting less emphasis on diesel-electric technology than its two main Japanese rivals, Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso.
- BELGIUM: Battery technology change would impact passenger cars – Just-auto: There would be a significant impact on the overall performance and cost of vehicles, plus an effect on targets for fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions, if established battery applications were to be replaced with alternative technologies, according to a study by Europe’s automotive and battery industries.
- Ford takes 2015 Mustang to Europe – Automotive News: A slew of new videos made our viral list this week, including Ford Motor Co. announcing the chance for European buyers to pre-order the 2015 Mustang.
- Ford’s head of digital media communications departs – Automotive News: Scott Monty, the architect of Ford’s pioneering social media efforts, has left the company after nearly six years.
- Global head of digital communications for Ford abruptly departs – DetN: Scott Monty, who six years ago joined Ford Motor Co. and turned around its nearly nonexistent social media presence, suddenly left the automaker Monday.
- GM Outlines Efforts to Transform Transportation – Wards: Facing an automotive industry that is unsustainable in its current form, General Motors is restructuring its global vehicle portfolio, rethinking manufacturing and collaborating with unlikely partners to advance the industry.
- TrueCar Exploring Used-Car Market Options – thedetroitbureau.com: With the money from its initial public offering of stock in the bank, TrueCar plans to move quickly to use its resources to expand its reach. One of the areas in which it will be putting a substantial effort is a new service that would make it easier to sell used vehicles.
- Nissan Recalls About 200 Leaf E.V.s for a Faulty Weld – NY Times: Nissan says a defect discovered during a quality inspection could reduce crash protection.
- Ford’s new F-150 prompts renovation of assembly plant tour – Automotive News: Ford, one of the few automakers to routinely open an assembly line to the general public, is renovating its Rouge factory tour and renovating the Dearborn Truck Plant’s body shop at the end of the summer in anticipation of the 2015 Ford F-150.
- Outsiders push the new GM into recalls of old GM products – Automotive News: The biggest crisis for the new General Motors might still be a secret buried in the debris of old GM, if not for persistent digging by a Georgia lawyer, a Mississippi auto mechanic and a Florida engineer.
- New Nissan Pulsar to launch this autumn – Autocar: Nissan has the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf in its sights with the new Pulsar hatchback, which it is launching late this year.
- FTC Suggests States Repeal Pro-Dealer Laws – thedetroitbureau.com: Once again, officials at the Federal Trade Commission have put a broad smile on the face of Elon Musk, Tesla Motors’ founder and chairman. For the second time in less than a month, three administrators suggested that laws requiring new vehicles be sold by independent dealers be repealed or scaled back.
- Hyundai Recalls 138,000 Tucson S.U.V.s – NY Times: Some 2011-14 Hyundai Tucsons may have a problem with the driver’s-side air bag; N.H.T.S.A. deepens investigation into Kia’s shattering sunroofs.
- VW’s Tony Cervone to rejoin GM as head of global communications – Automotive News: General Motors, in the thick of a recall crisis that prompted a $35 million fine from the federal government last week, said today that it rehired public-relations executive Tony Cervone, who served as one of GM’s top spokesmen as the company veered…
- Tony Cervone Named New PR Chief at GM – thedetroitbureau.com: Automotive veteran Tony Cervone, most recently the head of VW’s US communications, will rejoin General Motors as the maker’s new director of global communications.