In Sweden, Geely will “pursue investment opportunities” (read: buy other companies in part or in whole), reports Gasgoo, citing sources from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). When MOFCOM gets involved, then we are talking sizeable deals. According to the report, Geely intends to cooperate with Swedish companies in several sectors, including green cars, alternative fuels, and hybrid technology. Stefan Ostling, an auto project manager from Invest Sweden, says that Geely has already completed tie-ups with Swedish auto technology consulting firms like Semcon and HiQ through equity participation and acquisitions. (Read More…)
A year ago, BYD issued the startling announcement that “it’s our company’s long-term target, to be China’s No. 1 automaker by 2015 and to be the world’s leading car maker by 2025.” Meaning that they would have to unseat either Volkswagen or Toyota. When they said that, polite analysts in China opined that BYD’s dream was “realistic” because China and other Asian markets show more promise for growth than the relatively mature US and European markets. In private, people were wondering what drinks they were serving at BYD’s cafeteria.
Suzuki is hustling to avoid needing more help from partner Volkswagen. For instance in India, a market VW covets. Suzuki used to own more than half on the Indian market. In the recent months, that share slipped a bit. Not because customers in India don’t like Suzuki. Suzuki can’t keep up with the demand. Customers have to wait for months to get delivery of popular car models such as the Swift hatchback and the Swift Dzire sedan, reports The Nikkei [sub]. Suzuki is finally doing something about it. (Read More…)
It’s not just the Tokyo stock market that is worried about worse than expected August numbers. Back home, the public is being prepared for shocking numbers. “We are crawling around,” said Jesse Toprak of TrueCar to Reuters. “It feels like we got a dead car to jump-start but we just can’t get it to go over 20 miles an hour.” Just as GM prepares its IPO, industry watchers see more evidence of a slower-than-expected industry recovery. (Read More…)
It all started back in the late 90s when Brazilian Fiat (possibly inspired by the Volvo Cross Country) decided it would launch a car that looks like and off-road car, but that really doesn’t want to be taken off-road. They called it the Fiat Palio Weekend Adventure (station wagon) and Fiat Strada Adventure. You see, Brazilians are crazy for what we call jipes (get where that comes from?), but SUV type vehicles remain positively out of the range of the average Brazilian wallets. So tack on some plastic cladding, raise the suspension a few inches, maybe throw in some mixed terrain tires, and there you have it. The recipe for what is called in the Brazilian market an aventureiro. Though not restricted to our market, this gimmick has really caught on down here. It’s our creation. It’s our obsession. (Read More…)
Nearly every manufacturer out there is making a cheap car for the emerging markets. Renault has the Logan, Toyota has the Etios, Tata has the Nano and Ford has the Figo. The reasoning is pretty clear. In order to grow in these markets, you need to offer something that provides a painless upgrade path from a motorcycle to something with four wheels and a roof over your head. When makers like Renault, Ford and Toyota make an offering of this nature, you get the impression that there will be a certain level of quality in the car. Maybe not up to the level more mature markets are used to, but the standards will be high. That comes with a price. Now what if I told you that a certain car maker who is globally known for producing piles of cheap junk is making their own cheap car for emerging markets? What level of quality do you think that cheap car will have? (Read More…)
Edmund’ Bill Visnic takes on the latest Harbour report, which finds North American auto plants running at an average of 58 percent capacity (even Europe, the global whipping boy for intractable auto overcapacity operates at an average 81 percent). Despite the recent downsizings across North America, the Harbour Report still estimates that 3.5m units of annual overcapacity remains in the US and Canadian auto manufacturing footprint, equivalent to 14 unneeded assembly plants. A rise in sales levels to the previous 15-16m mark could help the situation according to the report, but increased plant flexibility will be the factor that automakers can actually control. Even so, if 15-16m annual units don’t come soon, North America could be looking at more plant closures and job losses.
We don’t just want it to be seen,” said Jeff Eggen, Ford’s car experiential marketing manager, speaking about the Fiesta’s appearance in “Diaries.” The idea is to “have a second element or a third element” rather than just a placement on a TV program, “where we can engage with the fans outside of the show with additional content
While AdAge raves over Ford’s “product placement plus” marketing scheme for the Fiesta, actual customers for the Mexican-built subcompact are starting to get testy. The Fiesta’s Facebook page is home to several customer complaints about slow delivery of Fiesta, and Ford has already sent out $50 Mastercard gift cards to waiting customers. But in the letter accompanying the gift cards, Ford blamed hurricanes for Fiesta delays… and it turns out there’s more to the story than that. The Freep reports that 6,000 Fiestas were delayed last week due what Ford’s Mark Fields calls “a part-quality issue.” (Read More…)
The issue is it’s yet another brand. And given the fact we’re trying to allocate our resources to other areas that make the most sense, does it make sense to introduce another brand out there?
Kia Motors America product planning boss Orth Hedrick uses a rhetorical question to explain why the Korea-based automaker dropped its EcoDynamics sub-brand plans for the US market. The badge appears on European-market hybrid versions of the Forte, Cee’d and Sorento, and was planned as a global sub-brand. Instead, Kia is introducing many of the EcoDynamics components like low rolling resistance tires, electric power steering and more efficient alternators on some standard models, and will roll out a hybrid version of the next-generation Optima. With countless unnecessary brands and sub-brands littering the marketplace, Kia is smart to keep consumer focus on the Kia brand… especially in terms of associating it with good fuel economy. [via Wards Auto]
Robert Farago didn’t have many kind words for the cars he reviewed. But, while noting the car’s shortcomings, he lavished quite a few on the Lexus IS-F, even implying that he’d like to own one. How did Lexus’s first attempt at an ultra-high-performance car manage to melt RF’s normally stone cold heart?
YNN reports that the Rochester, NY airport was closed for 50 minutes yesterday, when a hydrogen refueling station run by GM supplier Praxair was rocked by two giant explosions. Details of the explosion are still extremely sketchy, with YNN explaining only that
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks said it occurred during a tank exchange operation. Brooks said a driver from Praxair was doing the exchange when it appears that some type of arch occurred.
It’s not yet clear if GM’s Sequel hydrogen test fleet had been using the fueling station, but this is the most recent occurrence of the kind of disaster that has helped prevent the development of a large-scale hydrogen infrastructure. Two people were reportedly injured in the blast, but one can only imagine the result of such an explosion in a more urban environment, or in close proximity to a gasoline pumping station. The long awaited hydrogen future may have just slipped a little further out of reach…
From a week deep in our “How The Hell Did We Miss That” file comes a Reuters report that shows GM considered floating its IPO on the Hong Kong Hang Seng index. GM’s interest in a Hong Kong float has obvious roots: the company is extremely well-positioned in China, where high savings rates and the prospect of steady local sales growth could have helped bring in both private investors and GM’s partner firms. But according to a Reuters source, GM rejected the idea because it would have delayed the IPO past its Thanksgiving deadline
I don’t think signaling goodwill toward Asia is likely to be a significant enough argument for all the cost and complexity. I don’t want to overstate the cost and complexity but it’s not insignificant
The California state Senate on Wednesday voted 63-11 to give final approval to a measure that will cut the fine for the most common type of red light camera violation in half. Under existing law, motorists who make safe, rolling right-hand turns at monitored intersections may receive a $500 bill in the mail from a private company operating on behalf of a municipality. In the past few years, the “California stop” at some locations have begun to account for up to 98 percent of automated ticketing machine citations.
„I’ve said Alfa is not for sale“ grouched Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne at journos who badgered him about Alfa possibly going to Volkswagen. While he was at it, Sergio told Automobilwoche [sub] that business is so good that he probably will raise year-end guidance in the third quarter.
A taxi driver said it more succinctly: “We’re making another Great Wall, it’s just that this one is a wall of cars.” Relief could come from a monstrous contraption called the straddle bus. (Read More…)
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