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AUTOMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE
* Japan - Protests force Japanese carmakers to cut Chinese production more
Tokyo,Japan -Bloomberg News/The Detroit News, by Ma Jie and Yuki Hagiwara -September 27, 2012: -- Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. signaled Chinese production cuts may deepen this month as anti-Japanese protests flare in the world's largest vehicle market... Nissan generates about 30 percent of its profit in China, compared with 17 percent at Toyota and 15 percent at Honda, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates... Toyota will adjust Kyushu plant output as demand fell in China, it said Tuesday. Toyota makes mostly Lexus vehicles at the plant in the southwestern Japan island...
* USA - German cars good, but priced for the 1% - Why are most high-end German cars so expensive, and are they worth it?
Detroit,MICH,USA -The Detroit News, by John McCormick -September 27, 2012: -- Well-heeled consumers have long been attracted to the top Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche models, but recently their prices have been climbing into the stratosphere... But unless you belong to the 1 percent club, the price of such excellence seems to be escalating too fast... The automakers say they are simply pricing to the market. They are probably right, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept...
* USA - Ford looking at layoffs, buyouts in Europe
Dearborn,MICH,USA -The Detroit News, by Karl Henkel -September 25, 2012: -- Ford Motor Co. says it will lay off a few hundred salaried workers and cut back on contract personnel in Europe as it continues to lose money in the region... The Dearborn automaker said it is implementing voluntary buyouts for salaried employees in Germany, the United Kingdom and in the rest of Europe to reduce personnel-related costs...
* Japan - Toyota to add 21 new hybrids in next three years
Tokyo,Japan -The Detroit News/Associated Press -September 24, 2012 -- Toyota Motor Corp. is boosting its green vehicle lineup, with 21 new hybrids in the next three years, a new electric compact called eQ, based on its iQ model, in Japan and the U.S. in December though the number of the vehicles made will be extremely limited — about 100... The fuel cell vehicle, which runs on hydrogen, will be offered from 2015...
* USA - Consumers Reports praises Escape, raps Fisker Karma
Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News, by David Shepardson -September 25, 2012: -- Consumer Reports on Tuesday issued a new review praising Ford Motor Co.'s new 2013 Escape, while harshly criticizing the plug-in hybrid electric sports car Fisker Karma... CR said. "The new Ford Escape is solid, sophisticated, and fun to drive. It delivers agile handling and a taut yet impressively supple, composed ride. Its cabin is one of the quietest in its class. Both EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engines are fuel-efficient" ... But CR's "Engineers found it full of flaws: Compared with other luxury sedans, the Karma has tight confines and limited visibility, and a badly designed touch-screen system makes the dash controls an ergonomic disaster"...
* USA - Chrysler suspends hybrid EV testing
Auburn Hills, MICH,USA -The Detroit News, by Bryce G. Hoffman -September 25, 2012: -- Chrysler Group LLC is temporarily suspending testing of its fleet of advanced plug-in hybrid electric vehicles after three of the pickups were damaged when their prototype lithium-ion batteries overheated... The trucks were unoccupied when the incidents occurred, and no one was injured. But the automaker will replace batteries in the test vehicles with units that use a different chemistry...
* USA - Tesla's Model S runs into output delays
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Times/The Detroit News, by Jerry Hirsch -September 26, 2012: -- Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. said it is bringing in less money because of supplier problems and other delays in ramping up production of its Model S sporty hatchback... In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday, the Palo Alto, Calif., automaker said it has had trouble producing the number of vehicles it anticipated since launching production of the car in June...
* USA - Fiat goes to court over Chrysler share purchase
Auburn Hills,MICH,USA -The Detroit News, by Bryce G. Hoffman -September 27, 2012: -- Fiat SpA is asking a court in Delaware to set the price for its planned purchase of additional shares in Chrysler Group LLC from the United Auto Workers' retiree health care trust... In July, Fiat, which already owns a controlling stake in Chrysler, announced its intention to exercise an option to purchase another 3.3 percent of the Auburn Hills automaker. Since then, the Italian automaker has been trying to negotiate a purchase price for those shares with the UAW-run voluntary employees' beneficiary association, or VEBA. But the two sides have been unable to reach an agreement...
Labels: automakers news worldwide
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