Archives for October 2014

Despite technical difficulties due to our momentary presence in China, we bring you the daily fare of car news leads. Do not count on it for tomorrow …

• JLR opens a new chapter with its engine manufacturing plant – Autocar: It’s a day that most of us thought might never come – but following a £500 million investment Jaguar Land Rover is ready to start making its new Ingenium range of engines. Interesting day today. I went to an event that even five years ago would have seemed highly unlikely: the official opening of JLR’s new engine plant in Wolverhampton. And the ribbon cutting was carried out by the Queen no less. Even five years ago, the likes of me were regularly writing stories casting doubt on whether such an…
• Airbag investigators focus on metal shards sprayed at crashes – Automotive News: More details are emerging about accidents involving Takata airbags — and the horrific injuries and subsequent lawsuits that resulted from them.
• World Vehicle Sales Up 2.7% in September – Wards: Solid gains were witnessed by nearly every region in the month, with North America posting the largest year-over-year growth.
• Volkswagen Profit Rises – WSJ: Volkswagen reported a sharply higher profit and steady sales growth in the three months to the end of September, reaffirming that Europe’s biggest automotive group is on track reach its target of 10 million vehicles sales this year—four years earlier than expected.
• N. American Q3 Capacity Utilization at Post-Recession High; Q4 to Decline – Wards:WardsAuto forecasts North American manufacturers for entire-2014 will post their highest capacity utilization in several decades.

[ There is more … ]

• Honda profits hit by airbag recalls – FT: Carmaker warns of delays in launching vehicle models
• Honda Cuts Earnings View – WSJ: Even before the full cost of recalling millions of vehicles for potentially defective air bags hits home, Honda Motor Co. is running into financial speed bumps.
• CHINA: Protests grow against VW recall action – Just-auto: Volkswagen has been the subject of protests across in China this week because of its handling of a car recall due to defective rear suspension parts.
• Car Shoppers Increasingly Use Mobile Devices at Dealerships – Wards: Some dealership salespeople are OK with customers brandishing smartphones, some aren’t, according to a J.D. Power study.
• JAPAN: Honda posts -4.1% decline to operating income in fiscal Q2 – Just-auto: Honda has posted a 4.1% decline to operating income in the quarter through to September 30 citing softer demand in North America and Japan as factors that weighed down on profitability.
• Nissan showcases new crossover for Brazil with Kicks concept – Autocar: Japanese firm offers a thinly veiled look at its new compact crossover that’s destined for South America. Nissan has unveiled its new Kicks concept car at the Sao Paulo motor show in Brazil. The Kicks offers a thinly veiled look at a new production compact crossover model, which will go on sale in the Brazilian market, and follows on from the Extrem concept that made its debut in 2012Nissan says the Kicks is targeted towards “today’s fast-moving Brazilian professionals,” and offers “a…
• Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) Tops Automobile Sales – Via Google News: It sold 9.98 million cars the previous year and is projected to sell at least 10.2 million cars for this year, which will be a new record in the automobile …
• Rogue May Be Light at End of Tunnel for Korea’s Samsung Motors – Wards: Launch of the Nissan CUV is helping Samsung better utilize its Busan assembly plant and push global sales up by double-digit rates.
• Mazda confirms new CX-3 crossover for LA motor show – Autocar: Mazda to take on the Nissan Juke with new compact crossover in 2015; features Kodo design language and SkyActiv technology. Mazda has revealed the first official design sketches of its new compact crossover, the CX-3, ahead of its public debut at the Los Angeles motor show next month.

[ There is more … ]

• US: Former PR executive claims Ford bugged his telephone – Just-auto: Former Ford PR chief Jason Vines, a key lieutenant of CEO Jacques Nasser at the time, says the company bugged his telephone during the company’s 2001 Firestone tyre crisis.
• Toyota sells part of its Tesla stake – FT: Japanese carmaker banks on fuel cell vehicles over electric to drive growth
• JAPAN: Nissan recalls 260,000 cars globally over Takata airbags – Just-auto: In the latest development in the Takata airbag saga, Nissan Motor said it is recalling 260,000 vehicles globally due to a defect in driver-side air bags made by the supplier.
• Takata’s airbag crisis may spur automaker shift to Autoliv, Daicel – Automotive News: The defect in Takata airbags that has led to millions of recalls and has been linked to four deaths in Honda cars opens the supplier to risk of losing business to rivals including Autoliv and Daicel.
• MEXICO: Mazda starts 2 production at MMVO – Just-auto: Production of the redesigned Mazda 2 (Demio in Japan) has started at the automaker’s new plant in Mexico.
• UK: Mazda aims for new-look dealers by March – Just-auto: Mazda UK plans on completing installations of the brand’s new visual identity at 80% of its 136 outlets by next March.
• Kia Motors blames slowdown on strong won – FT: S Korean carmaker flags possible interim dividend to placate investors
• U.S. Auto Sales Fuel GM Earnings – WSJ: General Motors reported a 14% drop in its third-quarter profit but beat analyst expectations as strength in North America offset weaker results in other regions of the world.
• Profit Doubles at G.M., as It Strives to Move Past Its Litany of Recalls – NY Times: The nation’s largest automaker nearly doubled its profit from a year ago, benefiting from wider margins in North America.
• GM’s Finance Unit Receives Additional Subpoenas – WSJ: General Motors Co. said its GM Financial lending arm received additional investigative subpoenas in September from government officials relating to its subprime auto finance business and how it securitizes those loans.
• NHTSA’s botched airbag recall leaves car owners in dark – Automotive News: NHTSA botched its effort to inform the public about a potentially lethal airbag defect, directing 8 million consumers to an inoperable website and leaving millions of others unsure as to whether their cars were even at risk.
• Audi Recalls 850,000 Cars Over Airbag Software Flaw – NY Times: The recall of the 2013-15 A4 model includes about 102,000 cars in the United States, and the company said it had no reports of related accidents.

[ There is more … ]