Now here is an interesting tidbit from Volkswagen’s press conference of today.  Remember when three weeks ago J.D. Power announced that 72 million light-vehicles were sold worldwide in 2010, a number never seen before? Volkswagen has a different picture. (Read More…)

Volkswagen looks back at its best year in history. At a press conference today, Volkswagen CEO  Martin Winterkorn announced a consolidated group profit before tax of €9 billion ($12.45 billion). €1.9 billion ($2.6 billion) of that is Volkswagen’s share out of their China businesses.

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Luxury cars, pronounced an endangered species two years ago, are back with a vengeance and enrich their makers. After reporting record sales, BMW follows with record profits. The Bavarian Motor Works are looking at a 2010 pre-tax profit of €4.8 billion ($6.7 billion) on sales of €60 billion ($83 billion). Not bad for a company that delivered only 1,461,166 BMWs, MINIs and a few Rolls-Royces last year. (Read More…)

While Julian Assange fights extradition proceedings to Sweden on charges of a ripped condom (note to Jack Baruth: Never get close to a Svenska flicka), the Wikileak cablegate haul is being used to do a hatchet job on a down and out car company that should qualify for a handicapped parking sticker. (Read More…)

Are there any winners of carmageddon? You bet there are: The Germans. They were sheltered from the American meltdown by virtue of a minuscule market share. At home in Europe, they were saved in 2009 by European cash for clunkers largesse. Following that, they could not make enough cars to power the insatiable export machine.

Development pretty much came to a halt in the U.S. and Japan in 2009. It yet has to reach full revs. Flush with cash, German manufacturers never had to stop the development of new cars. Due to the long development cycles, we just begin to see the beginnings of this effect. (Read More…)

In a press conference in the late Chinese afternoon, China’s CAAM announced its official February sales numbers. The Middle Kingdom kept face and avoided a loss. (Read More…)

Today, Akio Toyoda presented Toyota’s „Global Vision“ to the press in Tokyo. Sure, there are the usual affirmations to “continue to furnish world-class safety,” and to “continue to contribute to environmental quality and to human happiness.” But what are they really up to? (Read More…)

Some overly excited blogs may report that Honda is exiting the growth market India. Careful. Indeed, Reuters reports that “Hero Investments has agreed to buy Honda Motors Ltd’s 26 percent stake in Hero Honda Motors for around $851 million in a deal that will see the Japanese automaker exit its joint venture in India after more than 26 years.” So are they outta there? (Read More…)

Toyota sold more than 3 million hybrids so far and thinks that they are slowly having an impact.

In August 1997, Toyota rolled out their “Coaster Hybrid EV” bus, followed by the Prius in December of the same year. 300 vehicles were sold in the first year. In 2010, Toyota sold 16 hybrid models in approximately 80 countries. Last year, Toyota moved 690,000 hybrids worldwide, 9 percent of Toyota’s worldwide output (ex Daihatsu and Hino). The 3 million mark was broken some time in February this year. (Read More…)

Gas prices are getting into the area where they affect consumers’ buying decisions. According to a new Kelley Blue Book study, more than 80 percent of car shoppers say that gas prices have influenced their buying decisions. 58 percent already have downgraded.  But what about switching to diesel or hybrid instead? Be careful when you do that, says Edmunds: Choosing a green alternative can cost you a lot of green. (Read More…)

The Chinese passenger car market did something highly unusual in February: It declined. If the data of the usually not highly reliable China Passenger Car Association is to be believed, that is. They e-mailed to Automotive News [sub] that February 2011 passenger car sales were a minuscule 0.4 percent below February 2010 levels. (Read More…)

Germany is in an uproar against ethanol. Last week, motorists celebrated a win against alcohol in their gasoline: Oil companies stopped the build-out of E10 gas stations. The matter still fuels the headlines. Over the weekend, German’s Die Welt newspaper shocked its readers with the news that the bio-benzene can ruin engines which supposedly are ok for the fuel.

“E10 is under suspicion to stress the engine oil harder than conventional fuel. This causes minimized viscosity and increased engine wear,” writes the paper. Supposedly, the stuff literally waters down the oil. Die Welt quotes Thomas Brüner of BMW who said: “The 10 percent ethanol increase the water in the engine. The water condenses and mixes with the oil. The oil gets diluted and ages faster.” (Read More…)

When Toyota became the world’s largest auto manufacturer in 2008, they reluctantly accepted the title. Toyota knew that the title was not won by Toyota’s  strength, but by GM’s weakness. Toyota also was highly aware that the guy in front is everybody’s  target. Their worst fears became reality sooner than they thought.  Now, in an unusual departure from the usual Wolfsburg hubris, Volkswagen also realizes that too much success can make punch-drunk and lead to stupid or deadly mistakes. (Read More…)

On Wednesday, March 9th, Toyota will announce its new long term strategy plan to the public. A core piece will be a push into emerging markets. TTAC has been following signs of this for a while. The signs range from a car, the Etios, designed exclusively for the emerging markets, to a factory up in the woods near Sendai, Japan, that looks very much like a prototype for Toyota’s latest export product: Low cost car factories.

The Nikkei [sub] agrees and says that “Toyota Motor Corp. is overhauling its strategy because it is now clear that emerging nations will replace industrialized ones as its most important markets.” Will replace? Wake up! (Read More…)

Ever since the Renault spy story broke, we had our doubts. It simply did not pass the smell test. Now, the smelly stuff is hitting the fan. “France faced severe political embarrassment on Friday after carmaker Renault said the three top executives it sacked for industrial espionage in January might not be spies after all,” reports Reuters.

In an interview with Le Figaro, Renault COO Patrick Pelata, the man who was the driving force behind the scandal admitted: “A number of elements lead us to doubt.” He is not alone in his doubts. (Read More…)