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AUTOMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE
* USA - Automakers to Test Market Appeal of Three-Cylinder Engines
(Photo from Ford / February 10, 2012: A 2012 Ford Focus with the three-cylinder EcoBoost engine. Based on technology used in much bigger vehicles, the engine will pack 100 to 125 horsepower)Chicago,ILL,USA -The Chicago Tribune - March 16, 2012: -- Automakers will test the marketability of cars with three-cylinder engines in the U.S. Ford plans to offer a three-cylinder Focus or Fiesta by mid-2013 to be followed by a compact car from Mitsubishi. Automakers are packing more power, measured by horsepower and torque, into these new engines...
* Germany and Italy: contrasting markets
Brussels,Belgium -Fleet Europe, by Tim Harrup -12 March 2012: -- Figures from official bodies in Germany (ZDK) and Italy (Anfia) point to differing fortunes in terms of car registrations in January and February. While Germany remained stable at around 434,000 registrations over the two months, Italy only saw 260,000 new cars registered, some 18% down... In terms of brands, Germany still sees Volkswagen out on top – despite a slight decrease, and Mercedes-Benz making progress, especially due to its new B-Class. In Italy, Fiat now only commands a market share of under 20%, whereas it had traditionally stood at around 25% or more...* Italy - Fiat CEO sees changes for Europe
Milan,Italy -Bloomberg News/The Detrit News, by Tommaso Ebhardt -March 21, 2012: -- Fiat SpA and Chrysler Group LLC Chief Executive Officer, Sergio Marchionne, said a "painful" restructuring is needed for European carmakers, including plant closures and job cuts, to end losses in the region... Marchionne, who aims to merge Fiat with Chrysler to boost revenue to more than 100 billion euros ($131.8 billion) in 2014, is counting on the American carmaker to propel growth in Europe, where the group lost about 500 million euros in the volume-car business last year and had a "weak" first quarter. Fiat owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler...COMMENT * China - Audi, BMW, Mercedes Sell For 25% Off ... Is This The End?
Shanghai,SH,China -The Car Connection (USA), by Richard Read -Mar 21, 2012: -- According to Bloomberg, Chinese shoppers are finding unprecedented discounts on premium vehicles, and the savings are expected to get bigger in the near future... Luxury rides like the Audi A8L, BMW 7-Series, and Mercedes-Benz S300, now sell for 75% to 80% of their sticker prices at dealerships across China. And as if that weren't enough to lure high-end customers, dealers are adding other incentives, too, like free iPhones, discounts on Chanel handbags, and complimentary car insurance. Volvo has even doled out trips to Hong Kong for anyone willing to purchase a C30...* China - Jaguar Land Rover to Make Cars with Chery in
Wuhu,Anhui,China -The Journal of Commerce Online (USA), by Peter T. Leach -Mar 21, 2012: -- China is now the third-largest market for the Tata Motors unit... Jaguar Land Rover, a unit of India’s Tata Motors, is forming a joint venture with Chery Automobile of China to manufacture the U.K.-based automaker's luxury vehicles in China... The joint venture company will set up a research and development facility and a plant to manufacture engines, and it will look after vehicle sales as well... China is now JLR's third largest market and is still growing. Its annual sales in 2011 increased by 60 percent to 42,000 units... In 2005, sales in China accounted for 1 percent of combined Jaguar and Land Rover sales...
RECALL * China urges recall of Renault Megane, Scenic models
Beijing,China -Xinhua/CNTV -21 March 2012: -- China's consumer quality watchdog on Tuesday urged the manufacturer of imported Renault automobiles to recall two defective models and take immediate action to remove potential safety hazards... The Renault Megane 2.0 and Scenic 2.0-model vehicles were specified in a notice posted on the website of the General Administration of Quality, Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ)... The Megane-model vehicles may carry a safety risk due to improperly functioning airbags, while the Scenic-model vehicles may have defective dashboards, the notice said... The administration called on the manufacturer to contact domestic dealers to discuss recalling and repairing the vehicles...
* Australia - GM to invest $1 billion in Australia operations
Canberra,ACT,Australia -Reuters, by Maggie Lu YueYang/Edmund Klamann -16 Mar 2012: -- U.S. car maker General Motors on Thursday committed to invest A$1 billion (US$1.04 billion) in its Australian operations over the next decade after securing Australian government support to help it keep its car plant open until at least 2022... Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, said the national and two state governments would inject A$275 million into GM Holden in the latest hand out to the country's struggling auto makers to protect manufacturing jobs...* UK - Nissan Invests in UK plant
Sunderland,EN,UK -Zacks, by Souvik Guha -Mar 8, 2012: -- Japan’s second largest automaker Nissan Motors Co. announced that it will invest £125 million ($198 million) at its plant in Sunderland, northeast England in order to manufacture the new Invitation compact car. The move will create 2,000 jobs at Nissan and its suppliers in Britain. It will raise the workforce at the Sunderland plant by 600 people to 6,000 workers...* Japan - Honda Plans New Plant in Indonesia
Minato,Tokyo,Japan -Zacks, by Equity Research team -Mar 16, 2012: -- Honda Motor Co. plans to open a new car manufacturing plant in Jakarta, Indonesia by investing 3.1 trillion rupiah ($337 million). The plant, which will be located in Karawang Industrial Park, will produce small cars like Brio compact. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 120,000 vehicles, lifting the company’s total production capacity in the country to 180,000 vehicles per year. The plant will start operating with a workforce of 2,000 people...
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