- GM Ignored Early Warning on Stalling – WSJ: Lawmakers offered a fresh example of General Motors ignoring an employee’s warning in 2005 of “serious safety problem” with the ignition switch on the 2006 Impala that could lead to a “big recall” for unexpected stalling as new round of hearings got underway in Washington.
- UK: Peugeot eyes further growth in China – Just-auto: Peugeot brand CEO Maxime Picat has told just-auto that he sees no sign of slowdown in the Chinese car market and that he sees plenty of potential for further growth for Peugeot there.
- UK: Nissan took 73% of pure EV sales in 2013 – Just-auto: UK buyers bought 2,507 pure electric cars last year, according to Nissan UK.
- JLR to build new SUV model in Liverpool – FT: JLR, which has seen production surge thanks to strong overseas demand, says it will invest £200m in its Liverpool factory to support its newest model
- Tavares appoints new Europe boss for PSA Peugeot Citroen – Autocar: Denis Martin to become PSA’s new European boss, charged with implementing the firm’s ‘Back in the Race’ recovery strategy. PSA Peugeot Citroen boss Carlos Tavares has appointed Denis Martin to head up the firm’s European operations.
- JLR confirms Discovery Sport to be built at Halewood factory – Autocar: New jobs to be created as production of Jaguar Land Rover’s new Discovery Sport prepares to get under way. Hundreds of new jobs are to be created at Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant as production of the Land Rover Discovery Sport prepares to get under way.
- US: Mercedes-Benz to build C292 at Alabama in 2015 – Just-auto: Confirming rumours of an additional model for Tuscaloosa (Vance), Mercedes-Benz has named 2015 as the year when a new sports SUV will be added to the Alabama plant.
- Mercedes plans major hike in U.S. vehicle production in Ala. – Automotive News: Mercedes plans to “significantly” raise production capacity at its Alabama plant from around 185,000 vehicles, as it adds new models including the new Mercedes C class and an SUV based on the Concept SUV Coupe unveiled at the Beijing auto show…
- GM emails show more unheeded warnings about ignition defects – Reuters: U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday accused General Motors Co of a “disturbing pattern” of neglecting safety and revealed emails from 2005 in which a GM employee warned a “big recall” may be necessary over an ignition-switch problem that was only addressed this week.
- Barra Faces Scrutiny in House Over G.M. Recalls – NY Times: Mary T. Barra, before a House panel for a second time, faced sharp questioning from members skeptical of the carmaker’s internal investigation into recall delays.
- U.S. Opens Safety Review of Chryslers – NY Times: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported a concern that jostling the key could accidentally turn off the engine and disable the air bags on 1.2 million vehicles.
- GM’s Mary Barra returns to the Hill for a grilling on the ignition switch report – Washington Post: Lawmakers investigating why General Motors took more than a decade to order a recall to fix a deadly ignition switch defect Wednesday pressed chief executive Mary T. Barra about her efforts to alter the company’s often unresponsive internal culture. Read full article >>
- Qoros 9 Sedan Concept presents a flagship vision for 2020 – Via Google News: The car’s LED headlights spill seamlessly into the grille, while wing mirrors have been ditched in favour of high definition cameras that are hidden by …
- U.S. ignition-switch investigation extended to Chrysler – Reuters: U.S. safety regulators are investigating about 1.2 million Chrysler vehicles for potential ignition-switch problems, expanding a probe beyond General Motors Co to another Detroit automaker.
- Aston Martin Racing to Explore Solar Technology – NY Times: Aston Martin Racing has joined with a Chinese company to develop solar-powered air-conditioning for its GT racecars.
- U.S. senators want to hike gasoline tax for first time since 1993 – Automotive News: Two senators said they want to raise the federal gasoline and diesel tax by 12 cents a gallon to prevent a fund that pays for about half of the country’s transportation projects from running out of money in August.
- On Leadership: The best question asked at the GM hearing – Washington Post: In their grilling of General Motors CEO Mary Barra on Capitol Hill Wednesday, lawmakers took turns playing the role of management consultant. Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), chairman of the energy and commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations, questioned how much difference it made that GM fired 15 employees implicated in the ignition switch scandal. “If you haven’t changed the people, how do you change the culture?”
- Barra defends GM culture changes – FT: Mary Barra defended her efforts to reform GM’s culture in her first significant public appearance since a report on the recall scandal
- Lawsuit says GM owners owed around $10 billion in lost value after recalls – Automotive News: A new lawsuit says General Motors should compensate millions of car and truck owners for lost resale value, potentially exceeding $10 billion, because a slew of recalls and a deadly delay in recalling cars with defective ignition switches has…
- GM whistleblower was told to ‘not find every problem,’ report says – Automotive News: A GM employee who continued to notice safety issues in vehicles and spoke up was transferred to a job where he was instructed to ‘not find every problem that GM might have,’ according to a Bloomberg Businessweek story posted today.
- No Cap to Ignition-Switch Victims’ Fund, GM CEO Barra Says – Wards: The chief executive tells Washington lawmakers the greatest challenge to fixing Cobalts and other GM small cars on the road with the problem is getting owners to bring them in for service.
- Barra Withstands Scrutiny of Congressional Subcommittee – thedetroitbureau.com: General Motors CEO Mary Barra managed to avoid the wrath of House representatives during her testimony today by providing enough information about her plans to change the company’s culture to avoid a repeat of the ignition switch recall and a victim’s compensation fund to assuage them.
- Mercedes Launches C-Class, Vows to Increase U.S. Production – Wards: Mercedes has taken the unprecedented step of offering its most advanced semi-autonomous-driving technology on the C-Class, featured in the automaker’s flagship S-Class model.
- Mercedes’ U.S. Assembly Plant – Wards: Mercedes-Benz launched its first and only U.S. vehicle assembly plant in 1995. Officially known as Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, MBUSI has solely produced SUVs and CUVs for North America and export markets until production of the C-Class luxury sedan began in June.
- Tesla is a step closer to direct car sales in New Jersey – Via Google News: A Tesla Motors Inc. Model S connected to a charger sits on display at the company’s store at the Short Hills Mall in Short Hills, NJ Bloomberg …
- GM, in shift, deems stalling a safety issue – Automotive News: GM CEO Mary Barra told members of Congress today that the automaker now considers unexpected vehicle shutoffs to be a safety concern, reversing a policy that had treated complaints about the Chevrolet Cobalt as low priority.
- Hyundai-Kia tops J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study for 1st time, dethroning GM – Automotive News: For the first time, Hyundai-Kia group topped rival automakers in JD Power’s Initial Quality Study, while last year’s leader, General Motors, fell to third.
- BMW Reveal Official pricing for Australia – Via Google News: If you happen to have $300,000 ready at hand and the desire to buy fast cars, what would you like to get? Most certainly not an electric car, right! Well …
- Porsche Tops J.D. Power Initial Quality Study for Second Consecutive Year – NY Times: In a survey of more than 86,000 new vehicle owners, J.D. Power found the number of problems this year to be higher.
- Auto Quality Problems on the Rise, According to Latest J.D. Power IQS – thedetroitbureau.com: While not necessarily linked, the sudden surge in recalls comes at the same time the overall quality of new vehicles has shown an unexpected decline, according to the latest, widely followed J.D. Power Initial Quality Study. High-tech systems are the biggest problem, but extreme weather also was a factor,.
- Most Brands Decline in J.D. Power IQS – Wards: More than half of U.S. auto brands measured fell from 2013 to 2014, with all GM brands, Audi, Chrysler, Fiat, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen losing ground.
- NETHERLANDS: Detroit Electric flickers back to life – Just-auto: After months of silence, would-be electric sports car maker Detroit Electric has suddenly announced its SP:01 model is being prepared for launch “in several world markets”.
- Musk Hopes Patent Move Will Boost EV Sales – thedetroitbureau.com: While some call it foolhardy, Tesla’s strategy of opening its patents to the competition should stimulate growth in the battery-car market, said CEO Elon Musk — who also admitted developing a cheap, long-range battery is nearly as hard as sending a man to Mars.
- BMW preparing up to $5.4 billion in cost reductions, report says – Automotive News: BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer has hired management consultants from McKinsey to help draw up cost cuts aimed at saving up to $5.4 billion a year, a German business magazine reported.