Top News
- Hyundai plans to have autonomous tech on road by 2020 – Automotive News: Hyundai said today it aims to commercialize autonomous driving capabilities in some of its cars in 2020, as the South Korean automaker plays catch-up in the increasingly competitive technology.
- Automakers Poised to Enjoy Big Year in 2015 – Detroit Bureau: With the big New York Auto Show set to open this week, carmakers have every reason to be optimistic about their prospects for the month ahead based on preliminary data. Auto sales are on track to hit 17 million units. For details, go to TheDetroitBureau.com.
- CHINA: Faurecia inks JV with Dongfeng Hongtai – Just-auto: Faurecia says it has inked a joint venture with Dongfeng Hongtai, which will serve the Chinese company and its automotive partners for passenger and commercial vehicles.
- NADA expects interest rates to hold through summer, boosting auto sales – Automotive News: The National Automobile Dealers Association predicts the Federal Reserve will hold off on raising interest rates through the summer, giving vehicle sales a boost that can offset slow economic growth in the start of the year.
- Bang & Olufsen to Sell Car-Audio Unit to Harman in Focus Shift – Bloomberg: Bang & Olufsen A/S plans to sell its automotive … products to makers of high-end cars and target B&O Play to the “mass luxury market.
- RUSSIA: Falling rouble allows GAZ to export competitively: CEO – Just-auto: GAZ Group says the current rouble devaluation allows it to take advantage by competitively exporting commercial vehicles with improved warranties compared to similar foreign products.
- US: Tesla to unveil ‘major new non-car product line’ – Just-auto: Tesla is set to unveil a new non-car product line at the end of this month, with speculation rife that the new product will be a home battery.
- PSA chief Tavares dampens talk of merger with Fiat Chrysler – Automotive News: “[Fiat Chrysler boss] Sergio Marchionne is welcome every time he wants to speak to us but for us it’s a little bit early now,” Tavares said in an interview…
- Mercedes pickup will be built by Nissan, report says – Automotive News: Daimler declined to comment on a report that its first Mercedes-Benz pickup will be based on the Nissan Navara. Nissan would build…
- No turbocharging for future Porsche 911 GT cars – Autocar: Second-generation Porsche 911 GT cars will continue to use normally aspirated engines
- Owners in Discussions to Sell Dutch Auto Leasing Firm LeasePlan – New York Times: Global Mobility Holding is 50 percent owned by the German carmaker Volkswagen and 50 percent owned by the German private banker Friedrich von…
- estival returns between 25-28 June.Leading the charge of new vehicles on display will be the Ford Focus RS, which gets its UK debut at the show, as well as the Fo
- Paris court delays decision on Uber’s unlicensed taxi service – source – Reuters: The Paris appeals court has delayed until the end of … to use their cars to offer rides to others at cheaper rates than traditional taxis.
- Renault to Launch Lodgy Top-End Variant in April; Bookings, Feature, Price Details – Ibtimes: French auto maker Renault is expected to pull the wraps off its much awaited MPV offering Lodgy in India in April and the company has already started…
- Hyundai Motors Plans to Sell Self-Driving Cars by 2020 – Ibtimes: Automakers such as Mercedes and General Motors Co and technology giants like Google Inc and Apple Inc are already working on driverless…
- Peugeot CEO will consider merger only after turnaround: paper – Reuters: “(Fiat Chrysler boss) Sergio Marchionne is welcome every time he wants to speak to us but for us it’s a little bit early now,” Tavares said in an interview…
- Honda says to invest 200 million pounds in UK plant – Reuters: The factory plans to produce 120,000 Civics a year, selling about half in Europe and the rest for export markets, a Honda spokesman said. The plant…
- Faurecia forms joint venture with China’s Dongfeng – Reuters: PA) on Tuesday said it had agreed to form a joint-venture with Dongfeng Motor Corporation with the objective of generating annual sales of around 2…
- Philips sells most of its lighting components unit for $2.8 billion – Reuters: Go Scale, which has investments in both LED lights and electrical car technology, said it will invest and grow the business of using LEDs in cars.
- Auto Sales Seen Buoyed by Low Rates in U.S., Dealer Group Says – Bloomberg: The National Automobile Dealers Association predicts the … Light-vehicle sales in the U.S., which rose 9.2 percent for the first two…
- GMC unveils 2016 Terrain in New York – Freep: The base engine will be General Motors’ Ecotec 2.4-liter direct-injected engine rated at an EPA-estimated 32 miles per gallon on the highway.
Other news, rumors and, gossip
- Electric cars more useful than thought: study – Business Standard: Electric vehicle batteries have a more useful life than believed and will meet the daily travel needs of drive
- Bank of America thinks Tesla’s home battery being a smash hit is a ‘long-shot at best’ – Yahoo:
- Tesla Hasn’t Solved Range Anxiety, Says Former Chevy Volt Executive And Fisker CEO – Benzinga: Posawatz thinks that, in itself, is a “good technological advancement” because it enhances and enables connected car features. For example, it will…
- Tesla Motors Could Open the Second Gigafactory in Japan – Autoevolution: One Gigafactory is not enough for Tesla’s world dominance plan, and Elon Musk knows that very well. For that reason, he is looking to open another…
- BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra nearing production – Ecomento: BMW and Toyota told us 3 years ago they were planning to collaborate on the design of a new sports car. Since then, there have been various reports…
- Baker & McKenzie advises Volkswagen on ABS deal – Thelawyer: Baker & McKenzie has advised Volkswagen Bank and Volkswagen Financial Services in a public ABS (asset-backed securities) transaction of the…
- Hyundai pushes for commercial self-driving cars by 2020 – Zdnet: Google’s self-driving car, Tesla’s electric vehicles and wireless charging stations, and Ford’s fuel ecosystems are only some of the research projects…
- New Honda Civic to bring PS200million investment to UK plant – Autoexpress: News 31 Mar, 2015 Honda’s Swindon factory is to become the global production hub of the next Civic hatchback
- Could Motorcycle Be Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) New Product Line? – Opptrends: Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, tweeted Monday about the company’s plans to launch its major new product line other than cars,…
- Not a car: Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk Announces Thursday-Night Unveiling. Is it a Tesla Battery … – Transportevolved: Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has yet again taken to social media networking site Twitter to announce the latest in a long line of official…
- Shandong EV Expo in China: the Fuyingmen Yuedong 85, in pink – Carnewschina: This is the brilliant Fuyingmen Yuedong 85, a new electric tricycle from China, seen last month on the Shandong EV Expo (intro) in Jinan City. The vehicle is painted in a bright kinda Pink and dressed to kill with a large white basket up front, a metal mudguard, beige-orange seats, propeller-like lights, and lots of []
- Volkswagen Reveals Teaser Sketch of Their New T6 Transporter – Digitaljournal: Volkswagen has been talking about the release of their new Transporter since the middle of last year, but the firm has been quite secretive about how…
- Audi mastermind for piloted driving: the central driver assistance controller – Volkswagenag: A wide range of sensor information comes together in the zFAS. The controller uses this to quickly..
- BMW Ranked as Top 10 Employer in the USA by Forbes Magazine – Autoevolution: According to a recent report that started spreading around the internet, BMW and Volkswagen are amongst the companies that pay their US-based…
- Battery Maker Is Latest To Join Burgeoning Ranks Of China Billionaires – Forbes: Liu Guoben, chairman of China’s Camel Group, has joined the ranks of the world’s billionaires after shares in the Shanghai-traded battery maker closed at a record high today.
- Higer Longwei pickup truck launched on the Chinese car market – Carnewschina: This is the new Higer Longwei pickup truck, looking fiery fast in orange, freshly launched on the Chinese car market. The Higer Longwei features a front inspired by the Ford F150, the example for so many Chinese automakers. The Longwei, or ‘Grand Dragon’, is a mid-sized crew-cab truck competing in the cheap end of the []
- Toyota’s recovery revives automaker’s hometown – Japantimes: Takako Sugiyama isn’t sure how old her two grandchildren’s school is. She knows this: the building, in the city of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, was dated…
- Elon Musk Tweets Sparking a Sharp Rebound in Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares – Benchmarkmonitor: Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock on 30 March traded at beginning with a price of $185.85 and when day-trade ended the stock finally…
- BMW reveals more powerful M4 – Motoring: BMW has not revealed exact performance outputs, but says the water-injection technology delivers “a tangible boost in performance” from the…
- GeckoSystems Enlists IP Law Firm to Advance Nissan Negotiations – Baystreet: Last December, a new relationship was begun with Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. when they requested that Mr. Spencer meet with three of their master…
- VW apprentices develop a unique Golf GTI from a body-in-white for 2015 Worthersee – Therakyatpost: IN about 6 weeks, a team of 13 Volkswagen apprentices will present what is still a closely guarded secret at the 34th GTI meeting in Austria, to be held…