Stefan Jacoby, CEO of bought-by-Geely Volvo needs to bring down the cost of Volvo’s European-made cars.
So where will the new Volvo factories be? You have two tries.
China? Check. Volvo might actually open three factories in China, Stefan Jacoby said recently in Stockholm. Details should be forthcoming within the next weeks.
Ok, now for another country … (Read More…)
Honda had been the first automaker that had the Insight to sell a hybrid in the U.S. But what about pure battery-powered ones? After a lot of hesitation, Honda will throw an all-electric Fit on the U.S. market, says Bloomberg. The plug-in will arrive in 2012, which might as well be pronounced “year of the EV.”
The car will be standard EV fare: Lithium-ion-powered, range about 100 miles between charges – on a good day. A price has not been announced. Expected volume? It “will be small” said Honda President Takanobu Ito at the Los Angeles Auto Show. (Read More…)
Xiang Dong “Mike” Yu, 49, of Beijing, pleaded guilty in federal court in Detroit to two counts of theft of trade secrets. He will be sentenced in February 23, 2011. He’s looking at anywhere between 5 and 6 years in the slammer. He will also have to pay a fine of $150,000. After serving his sentence, he will be deported from the United States. That’s a lenient sentence, only reached through a plea bargain.
In case you ever want to spy on your employer, here is what not to do: (Read More…)
Toyota is the king of the hybrid hill, but they have been accused of dragging their heels on pure plug-ins. Then Toyota plunked $50m on Tesla (and convinced them to move into the NUMMI plant.) This got people thinking. Some thought it was just an elegant way to unload the NUMMI plant. Some saw it as the beginning of Toyota’s electric future. Half a year later, Toyota puts their concrete plans on the table. (Read More…)
It’s definitive: The fabled New York Yellow Cab will either be replaced by a minivan made in Japan, or by a something made in Turkey. After a long “Taxi of Tomorrow” competition, the NYC’s Taxi has now announced the final contestants:
Which one would the “Buy American” crowd prefer? The answer is easy: (Read More…)
Ready to buy some GM share tomorrow? A consummate insider who sits on the board of an important GM company says: Don’t.
Klaus-Franz, Chair of the Opel works council and Vice Chairman of the Opel supervisory board warns: “The IPO is premature. Sure, GM has delivered three good quarters. But he restructuring in Europe must be finished to give investors the visibility they need.”
Franz knows the skeletons hidden in Opel’s closet. In an interview with Germany’s Focus Magazine, Franz gives valuable investment advice to potential GM shareholders. To repeat: “Don’t.” (Read More…)
Mazda is passing the hat around to collect the money to buy out most of Ford’s remaining share, and what looks like half of Japan is chipping in. As many as 10 firms will purchase the Mazda shares that are still held by Ford, says The Nikkei [sub]. Ford plans to cut its 11 percent stake in Mazda to a symbolic 3 percent. (Read More…)
Establishing R&D centers in China by foreign automakers is a huge trend. Of course, the trend was led by GM, which already has an alphabet soup of tech centers (PATAC, CAERC, and CATC) in the Shanghai area. Now, Toyota follows with their own. Following prevailing fashion, it will be called TMEC. (Read More…)
South Korea is a small country. With 48.6 million people crammed into an area roughly the size of Indiana, South Korea has one of the world’s highest population densities. It also has an amazing auto industry. Like Germany in the 50s, and Japan in the 60s, Korea was the laughing stock of the 80s. That arrogant grin has frozen. South Korea is a feared competitor the world over. Let’s have a look at the feisty little runt. (Read More…)
New car registrations in the 27 countries of the EU crashed by 16.6 percent to 1,027,036 units in October. That according to the latest statistics of the European manufacturer organization ACEA. The year looks a bit better: In the first 10 months, demand for new cars has decreased by 5.5 percent, totaling 11,279,542 new vehicles registered. (Read More…)
Nick Taylor’s layman’s observations of American cars in China are a great first impression view. But first impressions can be deceiving. It is true that the Chinese auto market is very much similar to the U.S. market. They love 3 box “real cars” (trend recently shifting a bit), they love SUVs, they love big cars if they can afford them. “American” cars, mostly Buicks, Chevys and a smattering of Fords on Chinese roads are mostly made in China. Just like the “German” or “Japanese” cars that are made mostly in China.
China as an export market for U.S. cars is a whole other matter. China has a 25 percent tariff on imported cars. That pretty much limits car imports to segments where price doesn’t matter, or where a high price acts as a differentiator from the riff-raff: Luxury cars. And this is where Europe reigns supreme. (Read More…)
Observers who followed China’s SAIC coveting of shares in the upcoming GM IPO (only 3 days to go!), and who hoped/feared that SAIC would buy a big chunk of GM, will be disappointed/relieved to hear that SAIC is content with a more or less symbolical 1 percent share in the General.
Reuters has it on good authority (“four people familiar with the matter”) that SAIC and GM have reached an agreement in principle that cements the 1 percent deal. The deal is contingent on Chinese government approval, but this is expected to be fast tracked and should happen today before the U.S. even gets up.
So the big Chinese buy-in is just a lot of hot air? Wait until you hear what SAIC received as a deal sweetener. (Read More…)
I’ve always maintained that despite green noises about electric cars, Volkswagen, deep in their Wolfsburg hearts, doesn’t believe in them. Because they don’t make sense. If they are too expensive, people won’t buy them. Volkswagen has ample experience in this arena, probably more than anybody else. Ages ago, VW built a fuel-sipping 3 liter Lupo (3 liter / 100 km, 78 mpg.) The press lapped it up. The greenies creamed in their pants. Focus groups swore they’ll buy it, no matter the cost. They lied. In the showroom, the 3 Liter Lupo was a dud: Advanced materials had made it light, but also expensive. Customer reaction: “Interesting. Now how about that red GTI over there?”
Now finally, someone high up at Volkswagen has the guts to say it: Volkswagen doesn’t build electric cars because the customer wants them. Volkswagen makes EVs because the government demands them. (Read More…)
Carmageddon? What carmageddon?
Germany’s auto industry has a huge problem: Way too many customers. “We have that fattest order books of all times,” said Esther Bahne of Audi to Germany’s Spiegel magazine. Result: Customers have to wait months for their cars. Sometimes longer than ever before, says Der Spiegel. (Read More…)
Did you know that the Volt’s most important and priciest ingredient comes from Korea? The Volt battery is made by LG Chem, the battery arm of the Korean company formerly known as Lucky Goldstar. Noises coming from Korea indicate that GM might be building more Volts than thought. How do the Koreans know that? GM ordered more batteries. (Read More…)
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