Our patent pending GM China sales oracle saw it coming: GM China was down in April, therefore, the whole Chinese market had to be down in April. And so it was – by a hair: April new vehicle sales in China were down 0.25 percent, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers announced at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. This is the first decline in 27 months. (Read More…)

Remember the first auto part that had been in short supply after the March 11 tsunami? It was car paint. Certain car paint that uses a shiny pigment called Xirallic, to be exact. That will also be one of the first Japanese parts that will move elsewhere as a result of the disaster. Germany’s  Merck said today it will shift production of Xirallic pigments from Japan to Germany. (Read More…)

‘Tis the season when Japanese companies publish annual results. They all work on a fiscal year that runs from April 1 through March 31. Then, they need a good month to count the beans, to be ready in mid May. Suzuki was first to announce, and the announcement was good: (Read More…)

While Michigan Senators, aided by the Detroit News, are chasing their own tails complaining about Chinese EV draft regulations that only exist in rumor form, a major European manufacturer practices Realpolitik and covers all possible bases: Volkswagen appears to launch an indigenous, all-electric brand for China, and (at least for the time being), for China only. (Read More…)

A lot of people are worried that billions of people in China and India will buy cars in droves and use up our gasoline give polar bears a tan. The worry beads can hyperventilate a little easier. India’s April sales are in. And they are outstanding “grew at their slowest pace in nearly two years in April,” reports the Wall Street Journal with a sigh. (Read More…)

BMW can’t make cars fast enough in China. Chinese customers must suffer through interminably long delivery times for their imported Siebener. To solve this problem, BMW is building a second production plant in China together with its joint venture partner Brilliance, to be opened in 2012. The plant is already too small. (Read More…)

Some people are still worried about the Chinese trade imbalance. They should look at the car industry. Car-wise, China’s trade is shockingly imbalanced, a report of Chinas automotive industry association CAAM shows. (Read More…)

If everything goes according to what The Nikkei [sub] has heard on the grapevine sake circuit, Toyota will deliver a plug-in Prius hybrid by 2014. A plug-in with an interesting twist … (Read More…)

That was fast. Barely has it been announced that China’s Hawtai/Huatai will take an interest in Saab, new Saab 9-5s are already arriving at Chinese Hawtai dealers. CarNewsChina has the picture, while neither Saab nor Hawtai have the necessary permits. Permits-shmermits … (Read More…)

His mother’s father was Wilhelm von Opel, son of the Opel founder Adam Opel. His father’s father was the enemy of the fixies: He invented the freehub. His company was a major supplier of auto parts. But that’s not how the world remembers Gunther Sachs, who shot himself on Saturday in his house in Gstaad, Switzerland. (Read More…)

“Eminem Helps Save Detroit’s Fledgling Auto Industry”

Headline in DrJays.com, purveyor of sneakers, jeans & urban clothing, for a contrived story on how the “Imported from Detroit” ad has helped Chrysler post a $116 million profit in the first three months of the year. Let’s not even go there.

Rather, let’s recommend that DrJays uses some money to support fledgling writers who know a bit of the English language. (Read More…)

There is one positive aspect to the Japanese tsunami: It seems to lift resale values. Manheim’s Used Vehicle Value Index just rose to another record in April, says Automotive News [sub]. Manheim has been keeping track of used car prices since 1995. Pushed by tighter supplies and higher demand, the index climbed to 126.6 last month, up from 124.2 in March and 120.7 in April 2010. (Read More…)

In late December, Ed Niedermeyer reported that Hyundai’s “Euro-market midsizer, known as the i40, will debut as a wagon at the Geneva Auto Show in March, with a sedan version coming later next year:” Ed was right: The sedan will be shown at the Barcelona Auto Salon, May 14 to 22.  Hyundai is taking aim at a big target: Volkswagen. (Read More…)

In a cautious climbdown from Volkswagen’s previous anti-electric stance, Volkswagen’s CEO Martin Winternkorn said electric cars might not be the work of the antichrist after all. The statements were made at the 32^nd Vienna Motor Symposium. After announcing that the Volkswagen Group will be producing plug-in hybrid in 2013/14 (didn’t they previously say it was 2012?), Winterkorn said: (Read More…)

The UK new car market fell by 7.4 percent to 137,746 units. This was the 10th successive monthly decline in volumes and the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) that keeps track of those things thinks its just cushty. (Read More…)