If you look at half year sales in Europe, then you see Renault as the worst performer of the volume makers. With EU sales down 17.09 percent, the Renault Group took a bigger hit than European patients Opel (- 15 percent) and PSA (-13.9 percent). Even troubled Fiat was doing better than Renault, by a hair (-17.08 percent for Fiat.) Whereas the percentages carry the smell of death, Renault’s half year results smell downright rosy. (Read More…)

The Wall Street Journal has a long article about Ford “working on one of the biggest gambles in its 108-year history: a pickup truck with a largely aluminum body.” Ford will make parts of its next generation F150 from aluminum to save some 700 lbs, which “would enable Ford’s trucks to go farther on a gallon of gasoline, and open the door to other changes, such as the use of smaller engines.” The fear is that some people will think Ford is building a truck for sissies. (Read More…)

A few months ago, Volkswagen extended its joint venture contract with Chinese partner FAW for another 25 years, with appropriate pomp and circumstance: Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and German Chancellor Angela Merkel witnessed the signature. Now, Volkswagen takes the unusual step of going semi-public with the theft of intellectual property. According to reports in German media, FAW has “systematically and repeatedly” stolen designs of important components such as engines and transmissions. Volkswagen’s hands are tied. (Read More…)

Fiat & Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne’s pointed remarks have attracted the ire of Europe’s 500 pound gorilla Volkswagen. VW demanded that Marchionne steps down as president of the European auto manufacturers association ACEA. If he won’t resign, Volkswagen could resign its ACEA membership – which would send the club into instant irrelevancy, not to mention insolvency. (Read More…)

Countering talk of an impending end to the new car party, augurs predict that July will be seasonally hot. TrueCar says that this July could be the best since the heydays of 2007. TrueCar, which bases its projections on real time transactions from its associated dealers, thinks that July sales could reach 1.17 million, up 10.6 percent from July 2011. Edmunds also sees 1.17 million new cars in its crystal ball.  Kelley Blue Book basically agrees with 1.16 million on its tip sheet. (Read More…)

As you read this, an old friend of mine is probably packing. Who knows, he could already be in the air. He was Volkswagen’s boots on the ground in Malaysia, the many times VW wanted to get its boots on the ground in Malaysia. Last time they tried in 2007, they disrupted Dirk’s retirement and sent him to Kuala Lumpur, where dealers of fake watches greeted him as the old friend he was by that time.  German media says, Volkswagen did not give up and they are trying again. (Read More…)

The New York Times carries a long story today that chronicles changes in the Chinese car market. Written by Reuters automotive specialists Norihiko Shirouzu and Fang Yan, it is a story of China where you now get a discount and instant delivery for a BMW instead of having the option to pay 20 percent more, or wait a few month for delivery.

The car market in China, says the article, is becoming more like that in the United States, where most of the money is made in financing, insurance and maintenance. Indeed it is. (Read More…)

“I am following him everywhere, except into the rest room.” For nearly twelve years, interpreter Yuki Morimoto has been Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn’s adapter to the Japanese world. The lady is a miracle. She simultaneously translates Ghosn’s high-speed stream of wit and Gallic sarcasm into Japanese, and translates Japanese back into perfect English. Morimoto is so in tune with Ghosn that she sometimes finishes his sentences before him – in Japanese. (Read More…)

It looks more and more like a divided Europe. While carmakers Opel, Ford, PSA, Fiat etc. are wailing with pain, German carmakers report expectation-beating profits. (Read More…)

Sergio  Marchionne accuses Volkswagen of exploiting the European crisis to gain market share by offering aggressive discounts, the New York Times writes.  “It’s a bloodbath of pricing and it’s a bloodbath on margins,” the Fiat and Chrysler CEO told the paper. (Read More…)

Tycho de Feyter, who blogs about Chinese cars in Carnewschina.com, is very much concerned about the well-being of his Chinese compatriots. So much, that he tracks the overlo9ading of vehicles.  This “slightly overloaded truck” was seen on China’s tropical island province Hainan. The truck carries big sacks of styrofoam to a recycling facility. Not much weight, but the truck could easily be blown away. (Read More…)

Ford announced a second-quarter net profit of $1 billion, which was better than analysts expected. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Ford expects to lose more than $1 billion in Europe this year. Earlier this year, Ford forecast an annual loss of between $500 million and $600 million, Reuters says. (Read More…)

Europe’s second-largest car maker and GM alliance partner PSA Peugeot Citroen ended the first half of the year with its auto division 662 million euro ($800 million) in the reds, Reuters says.   (Read More…)

Mazda released first pictures and a teaser video of its brand-new Mazda 6, known in Japan as the Atenza. According to Automotive News [sub], the car will arrive stateside early next year as a 2014 model, equipped with a 2.5 liter Skyactiv engine. If you want to see and touch the car now, you have to go to Russia. (Read More…)

It is a Japanese tradition. At this time of the month, all Japanese automakers provide their global results for the preceding month and the year. This month is no exception. Honda did set an all-time June record and raised its worldwide production by 66 percent for the first half. Nissan also reports an all-time June record and that global production is up 19 percent January through June. The most watched  numbers come from Japanese juggernaut Toyota. (Read More…)