Archives for November 2014

• Billionaire Vinod Khosla’s big dreams for biofuels fail to catch fire – Washington Post: Just over a year ago, billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla was bubbling with optimism about one of his latest investments: KiOR, a biofuel outfit he said would turn wood chips into hydrocarbons that could be poured straight into a refinery, pipeline or vehicle. Read full article >>
• Nightmare day for oil stocks – CNN: Shares of Exxon, Halliburton, Transocean and many others plunged after OPEC decided to not cut production.
• Honda, Takata Recalls Began as Early as 2002 – WSJ: Honda recalled a batch of Accord passenger cars in 2002 for Takata Corp. air bags at risk of rupturing, well before the company has said it first learned of injuries.
• Inside OPEC room, Naimi declares price war on U.S. shale oil – Reuters: Saudi Arabia’s oil minister told fellow OPEC members they must combat the U.S. shale oil boom, arguing against cutting crude output in order to depress prices and undermine the profitability of North American producers.
• BMW’s ‘Tesla-killer’ – first ride in the new Power eDrive plug-in hybrid – Autocar: A passenger ride in a BMW 5-series GT xDrive equipped with the new Power eDrive system hints at a bright future for Munich’s new plug-in hybrid system The idea behind the new plug-in petrol-electric hybrid Power eDrive system is to provide a scaleable basis for BMW‘s future performance and upper luxury car needs.The German car maker isn’t pretending the complex arrangement is going to replace the potent 552bhp twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 direct injection petrol engine in the BMW M5 any time soon.However, it does concede electrification is set to play an important role.
• JAPAN: Takata warns that it could run short of airbags – Just-auto: Troubled airbag maker Takata has warned that it might not have enough replacement bags for an expanded national recall the US government has ordered.
• BMW not interested in buying stake in Tesla: Wirtschaftswoche – Reuters: Germany’s BMW is not interested in buying a stake in U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors , German weekly WirtschaftsWoche reported on Friday, citing a BMW statement.
• BELGIUM: FTA’s critical to eliminate barriers: Delphi – Just-auto: Delphi says the twin poles of Free Trade Agreements and sustainable mobility will be essential components for industry to tackle rising global vehicle volumes and infrastructure challenges.
• BELGIUM: Members “smashed” says union as Genk closure looms – Just-auto: A Ford union at its Genk plant says members will be “smashed” as the automaker prepares imminently to shut the Belgium site with 4,500 direct job losses and possibly thousands more in the supply chain.
• BELGIUM: EC warns against “more and more” legislation – Just-auto: High-ranking European Commission (EC) officials insist simply throwing more and more legislation onto current transport systems will alienate countries even further from Brussels.
• Toyota recalls more cars for dangerous Takata air bags – Reuters: Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it would recall 57,000 vehicles globally to replace potentially deadly air bags made by Takata Corp, as a safety crisis around the Japanese auto parts maker looks far from being contained.

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• Mercedes-AMG plans line priced lower to help double volume – Automotive News: Daimler performance subbrand Mercedes-AMG aims to double sales in the next three years by offering a less expensive product line — AMG Sport — to narrow the price gap with Mercedes cars.
• Toyota recalls more cars for potentially dangerous Takata airbags – Automotive News: Toyota said it will recall 57,000 vehicles globally to replace potentially deadly airbags made by Takata, as a safety crisis around the Japanese supplier looks far from being contained.
• CHINA: BorgWarner supplies advanced turbo tech to VW in China – Just-auto: BorgWarner has said that it supplies its advanced turbocharging technology for Volkswagen’s latest four-cylinder gasoline engine for the Chinese market.
• GERMANY: BMW’s MINI to cut model line-up – reports – Just-auto: BMW will reportedly reduce the number of models in the MINI line-up from eight to five in the long-term to reduce cost and complexity.
• ITALY: Ferrari spin-off to cut Fiat debt by EUR750m – Just-auto: The planned Ferrari spin-off will cut Fiat Chrysler Automobile’s net industrial debt by some EUR750m (US$936m) according to a regulatory filing.
• THAILAND: SAIC to make MG eco-cars in Thailand – Just-auto: Thailand’s SAIC Motor-CP Co Ltd, a joint venture 51%-owned by China’s SAIC Motor Corporation and 49% by the local Charoen Pokphand Group, plans to produce eco-cars at a new plant in the country.
• SINGAPORE: Continental invests US$22.84m to extend R&D centre – Just-auto: Continental has inaugurated an extension building to its research and development centre in Singapore.
• JAPAN: Toyota goes for global recall on Takata airbags – Just-auto: Toyota has said it will recall 57,000 vehicles globally to replace potentially faulty airbags made by Takata.
• JAPAN: Toyota reveals next-gen integrated safety tech; rollout from 2015 – Just-auto: Toyota has revealed some of the smart new technologies and systems it will be featuring in future models from 2015 to make driving safer. It says that these have been designed from the start to work together to help cut the number of road accidents.

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• Cadillac CEO keeps brand’s prices high – FT: Executive says strategy may cost carmaker market share
• GERMANY: Mercedes adds Shooting Brake to CLA family – Just-auto: Mercedes-Benz has added the CLA Shooting Brake to the CLA compact car range.
• Russian oil tsar to meet OPEC as Saudis keep market guessing – Reuters: Russia’s most powerful oil official, Igor Sechin, was due in Vienna on Tuesday for talks with OPEC members as the group’s leader Saudi Arabia kept the market guessing about its response to flagging oil prices.
• Japanese regulators to oversee Takata recalls, investigate Honda’s recall errors in U.S. – Automotive News: Japan’s transport ministry will form groups to oversee airbag recalls tied to Takata Corp. and probe Honda Motor Co. for underreporting faults in the U.S., adding to regulatory scrutiny of the two companies.
• Researchers Tout Supercapacitors for EV Power Boost – Wards: Supercapacitors made into a thin film with a high power density could be embedded in an EV’s body panels, roof, doors, hood and floor, storing enough energy to charge the battery in just a few minutes.
• UPDATE 2-Russian oil tsar to meet OPEC as Saudis keep market guessing – Reuters: Saudi’s Naimi brushes off questions on oil price, supply (Adds Naimi meetings, analysts)
• GERMANY: Carmakers looking to use more carbon fibre, says SGL boss – Just-auto: More carmakers are looking to use parts reinforced with carbon fibre to help them make lighter and more fuel efficient vehicles, according to the CEO of SGL Group Juergen Koehler.
• US: Edmunds sees Black Friday boost for November car market – Just-auto: Edmunds forecasts that 1,261,813 new cars and light trucks will be sold in the US in November for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 16.7m. It says the market will get a boost from the impact of Black Friday’s retail sales stimulus later this week.
• SWEDEN: Volvo Group makes EUR400m provision for EU antitrust probe – Just-auto: Volvo Group says it has decided to make a provision of EUR400m in respect of an on-going antitrust investigation by the European Commission into heavy truck pricing and the possibility of collusion between a number of European heavy truck makers.

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• SOUTH KOREA: Hyundai Motor raises 2014 sales target – Just-auto: Hyundai and Kia have raised their 2014 global sales target to at least 8m vehicles, up from 7.86m, as they expect high volumes in China sales to offset slowing growth elsewhere, particularly in the US and Europe.
• Tesla says in talks with BMW over car batteries, parts – Reuters: U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors is in talks with Germany’s BMW over a possible collaboration in batteries and lightweight components, Tesla’s Chief Executive Elon Musk told German weekly Der Spiegel.
• Hyundai-Kia says it will sell record 8 million vehicles globally in 2014 – Automotive News: Hyundai and Kia said better-than-expected sales in Brazil, China and India will help them sell a record 8 million vehicles this year, even as a stronger won erodes profitability.
• Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles Next Chip in CO2 Credit Game – Wards: In 2017, California’s emissions rules will change and FCVs will carry the traveling credits automakers use to remain 50-state compliant. The rule change could lead to a shift in OEM capital investment.
• US Data Privacy Guidelines Not Compatible With Euro Privacy Laws – Via Google News: … says the standards developed by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers to both handle said data and …
• UPDATE 1-Tesla says in talks with BMW over car batteries, parts – Reuters: U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors is in talks with Germany’s BMW over a possible collaboration in batteries and lightweight components, Tesla’s Chief Executive Elon Musk told German weekly Der Spiegel.
• Car That Flies Nears Liftoff as Pioneer Touts Soaring Over Roads – Via Google News: Critics say flying cars are unlikely to be both great airplanes and great automobiles. But that misses the point, says Dietrich, who explains the …
• BMW, Mercedes gain in once-impregnable Korea – Automotive News: South Korea’s car imports have leapt from 3 percent of sales a decade ago to 14 percent today as foreign brands led by Germany’s BMW and Mercedes take advantage of a free trade deal to grow sales in a once impregnable market.
• ’18 Wrangler to get 8-speed automatic, FCA filing shows – Automotive News: The long-awaited Jeep Wrangler redesign planned for 2018 will come with an eight-speed automatic transmission that promises to dramatically improve the off-roader’s fuel economy.
• Airbag inflator shortage plagues industry – Automotive News: Honda and other automakers that have recalled vehicles equipped with Takata airbags are trapped in a nasty dilemma.
• Ghosn: Nissan will fill gaps with Japanese imports – Automotive News: As Nissan Motor Corp. pushes to boost U.S. market share and cut reliance on Japanese imports, it’s clear which goal takes priority: selling more vehicles. Even if it takes more imports to do it.

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