Top News:
- VW, GM shudder as China profit engine sputters – Reuters: Shockwaves from a drop in Chinese car demand are reverberating in Wolfsburg, Germany and Detroit, Michigan, where VW and General Motors are feeling the effects of a slowdown in a market that has been their big profit engine.
- China woes expected to hit GM the hardest – Detroitnews: Slowing car sales and the Chinese stock market crash are expected to hurt the bottom line of Detroit’s automakers. And industry analysts expect…
- FCA, VW, GM lead Strategic Vision quality survey – Automotive News: U.S. customers are happiest with vehicles from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Volkswagen and General Motors, according to a survey of new car and light-truck buyers.
- FCA tops annual Total Quality Index study – Detroit News: It is the first time FCA US LLC, formerly Chrysler, has topped the annual study
- Startups breathe new life into the basic car battery – Fortune:
- JAPAN: Toyota recalls hybrids worldwide – Just-auto: Toyota is recalling 625,000 hybrid vehicles globally due to a software flaw that can bring the vehicles to a sudden stop.
- SWITZERLAND: Nissan Europe sales up in first half – Just-auto: Nissan Europe has announced record sales in the first six months of 2015, making it the top selling Asian brand in the region, after 384,726 units were sold in the first six months of 2015, an increase of 4.3% year on year.
- JAPAN: Nissan to lift Japanese output/exports – Just-auto: Nissan Motor plans to continue to increase production in Japan to take advantage of the extremely favourable yen:dollar exchange rate.
- THAILAND: GM to cut 500 jobs – Just-auto: US automaker General Motors is cutting 500 jobs at its Thai subsidiary, GM (Thailand), as part of a regional restructuring plan announced in February.
- BELGIUM: TTIP to boost auto 20%: ACEA – Just-auto: Europe’s automotive association says the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations taking place in Brussels could boost the car business by 20% or more.
- US: GM compensation fund pays out for 124 deaths – Just-auto: General Motors’ ignition switch related claims programme has approved seven more death related claims, taking the toll to 124.
- Tesla to sell Model X in China in first half of 2016 – Automotive News: Tesla Motors expects to start selling its Model X SUV in China in the first half of next year after first introducing it in the U.S. this quarter.
- NHTSA official who oversaw GM ignition recall leaving – Detroit News: The man who headed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration during General Motors 2014 recall is leaving.
- Virtual technology streamlines Ford’s manufacturing – Detroit News: Virtual manufacturing is playing a key role in new vehicle launches for Ford
- RPT-Changing Chinese habits help Mazda outstrip rivals in slowing market – Reuters: Chinese car sales have barely got out of first gear this year, yet a shift in consumer behaviour has sent Mazda Motor Corp hurtling out of the pack, posting records and struggling to keep pace only with demand.
