| 40 Business News - Automotive Resources |
| 2011 Auto Sales |
| Auto sales finished the year up by 10% over 2010, and a particularly strong 4th quarter has manufacturers optimistic for 2012. For the month of December, the increase was 9% over 2010, which doesn't sound like a big finish, but that year-ago December was actually one of the best months of the year. Better to look at the annualized selling rate. |
| January 6, 2012 |
| A |
| Automakers start year with strong sales |
| Car sales zoomed ahead in January, with many automakers reporting solid sales at the start of a year expected to show a steady gain in vehicle purchases. |
| February 1, 2012 |
| Avis, Budget brands to unite worldwide in $1B deal |
| Deal could mean Avis backs away from bidding war for Dollar Thrifty |
| June 14, 2011 |
| B |
| Barclays Prices $1 Billion General Motors Subprime Auto Loan ABS |
| General Motors Financial Co. offered yields below 1% on $1 billion in subprime auto loan asset-backed securities on Tuesday as lead underwriter Barclays Capital reported some of the strongest investor demand for that type of bond in recent memory. |
| January 31, 2012 |
| BMW in record profits helped by strong sales in China |
| German carmaker BMW said it made record profits in 2010, helped by strong sales growth in China, and forecast another record-breaking year in 2011. |
| March 10, 2011 |
| C |
| CAFE standards create profit incentive for larger vehicles |
| The current Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards create a financial incentive for auto companies to make bigger vehicles that are allowed to meet lower targets, according to a new University of Michigan study. |
| December 8, 2011 |
| China Gets Revenge On Obama With Tariff On U.S. Autos |
| President Barack Obama hit China automobile tire makers with a trade tariff in 2009 and now Beijing has struck back with a potentially more punitive tariff, as much as a 21% tax hike on U.S. car exports bound for China, the world's largest auto market. |
| December 15, 2011 |
| China says to hit U.S. auto imports with duties |
| China's Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday that it would impose anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties on imports of small U.S. automobiles, the latest in a series of trade spats between the world's two largest economies. |
| December 14, 2011 |
| Chrysler profit triggers first profit-sharing checks since 2005 |
| Chrysler workers have a variety of reasons to be pleased about the maker’s improving fortunes. They’re not only seeing thousands of jobs added but receiving their first profit-sharing checks since 2005 as a result of the maker landing in the black for the first time since 1997. |
| February 2, 2012 |
| D |
| Disruption in Car Production to Imperil Toyota's Spot as Top Automaker |
| Toyota's global car production, disrupted by parts shortages from Japan's earthquake and tsunami, won't return to normal until November or December — imperiling its spot as the world's top-selling automaker. |
| April 22, 2011 |
| E |
| Electric Car Maker Folds, Salinas Loses $500,000 |
| A Salinas car manufacturing company that was expected to build environmentally friendly electric cars and create new jobs folded before almost any cars could run off the assembly line. |
| July 18, 2011 |
| F |
| Fiat-Chrysler 2012 profit targets beat forecasts |
| Italian carmaker Fiat-Chrysler surprised the market with lower 2012 profit targets that were still better than expected, sparking a share rally as investors shrugged off the threat of a weakening European economy that saw it cut its revenue outlook. |
| February 1, 2012 |
| Ford Sees North America As Engine For Growth |
| Ford Motor said it earned $8.8 billion in pre-tax operating profit in 2011, almost all of it in North America, where company officials say a recovering economy will boost U.S. auto sales to 13.5 to 14.5 million units this year. |
| January 27, 2012 |
| G |
| Gas-sipping cars drive March sales gain |
| Sales of small cars raced ahead in March as buyers flocked to more fuel-efficient vehicles, a trend major U.S. automakers expect to persist if gasoline prices continue to rise. |
| April 1, 2011 |
| General Motors considers selling Opel to Chinese |
| General Motors is said to have Washington's approval to divest from Opel, it's loss making European satellite, and has been in high-level talks with the Chinese government since early May. The timing and conditions of such a deal remain unclear, but it is far enough along to alarm the German government, which has asked Volkswagen Group to take over Opel and stave off Chinese involvement. |
| June 10, 2011 |
| GM focusing on profits, not U.S. market share: CEO |
| General Motors Co will focus on maintaining profits, not defending U.S. market share gains made at the expense of Japanese rivals, the automaker's top executive said on Monday. |
| January 9, 2012 |
| GM profit beats, but vehicle prices hit shares |
| General Motors Co posted stronger-than-expected quarterly profit, driven by a recovery in the U.S. market and strong sales in Asia, but vehicle prices disappointed analysts and its shares fell 3 percent. |
| May 4, 2011 |
| GM Stock Geared Up For Run To $27 With Ratings Upgrades, Labor Peace |
| After GM ratified a new labor contract with UAW, under which factory workers will get profit-sharing checks instead of annual raises, Fitch upgraded ratings for GM and General Motors Financial Company from BB- to BB with a positive outlook on the company. |
| October 10, 2011 |
| H |
| Honda's 'greenest' Civic to hit US showrooms |
| The greenest car you've likely never heard of will soon be hitting Honda showrooms across the United States as the Japanese automaker expands sales of its compressed natural gas powered Civic. |
| April 12, 2011 |
| J |
| July 2011 Auto Sales |
| The stagnant economy and continuing supply difficulties for some key Japanese players made July a torpid month for new-car sales. Deliveries were up by only 1% versus 2010, compared to 7% in June. Stubbornly high unemployment may have kept individuals out of dealerships, and general economic anxiety -- highlighted by the debt-ceiling circus -- may have reduced buying by businesses, hurting pickup sales. |
| August 4, 2011 |
| June 2011 Auto Sales |
| The sales data for June is conflicting. Deliveries were up by 7% over last June (whereas May deliveries were down compared to a year ago), which suggests things were better than in May. But the annualized sales pace of 11.4 million was worse than May's 11.8 million, which suggests that things were, in fact, no better. |
| July 5, 2011 |
| M |
| Mercedes' Steve Cannon On Repositioning A Luxury Brand During The Recession |
| "The recession has been good for us", says Steve Cannon, Mercedes-Benz's V.P. marketing, only half kidding. While this quintessential luxury brand faced a more challenging environment, Mercedes still managed to emerge from the recession with renewed momentum, launching 5 new models and building share of market, as it is looking to its 14th consecutive year of sales growth in 2011. |
| July 19, 2011 |
| N |
| Nissan Leaf overshadows Chevy Volt in June sales |
| In June, Nissan sold 1,708 Leaf units in the U.S., easily overshadowing Chevrolet's Volt, which tallied 561 unit sales. In May, Nissan sold 1,142 Leaf units while Chevrolet sold 481 Volts. |
| July 6, 2011 |
| Nissan Motor 'on the offensive' in six-year plan |
| Nissan Motor's chief executive Carlos Ghosn has outlined a six-year growth plan that aims to raise the Japanese car firm's global market share. |
| June 27, 2011 |
| November 2011 Auto Sales |
| We’ve been building up to this for the past couple months. New-car sales have been strengthening through the fall, and it now appears that automakers will end the year on a high note. Certainly that was the case in November, with industry sales running 14% ahead of last year. |
| December 5, 2011 |
| Numbers At General Motors Just Don't Add Up |
| Dick Cheney and I agree on at least one thing. The General Motors (GM) bailout should not have happened. This example of crony capitalism is an even bigger failure for the taxpayer than planned. |
| September 7, 2011 |
| S |
| Saab Is Running Out of Money And Could Collapse |
| The Dutch company that bought Saab Automobiles from General Motors last year is finding it a lot tougher than expected to keep the Swedish carmaker alive. |
| April 1, 2011 |
| Saab Story: Will It Have A Happy Ending? |
| Pity Bernie Moreno. The owner of a Cleveland Saab dealership spent $3.5 million on a fancy new showroom and even invited Victor Muller, Saab’s savior-in-chief, to his grand opening celebration last March. It had been a risky investment; Saab Automobile, once owned by General Motors, was headed for liquidation until Muller, the Dutch owner of tiny Spyker Cars, pulled it from the ashes in early 2010 with a $400 million rescue plan. |
| November 30, 2011 |
| Setting Standards for Electric Vehicles Could Make China a Global Leader |
| Can the rapidly expanding automobile industry in China leapfrog to electric vehicles and so avoid the environmental harm that further decades of internal combustion engine use could cause? In a paper published in this month's International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, management researchers Hua Wang and Chris Kimble of Euromed Management École de Marseille explain how China could make such a leap by setting standards. |
| October 10, 2011 |
| Sirius XM Gets Boost From Solid September Auto Sales Outlook |
| According to a study released by J.D. Power and Associates, retail vehicle sales in the U.S. for September 2011 look optimistic and are on track to reach the highest level since April 2011. This is positive news for Sirius XM which heavily depends upon its ability to get installed in more new and pre-owned vehicles through ties with automobile makers such as Ford, GM and Toyota. |
| September 28, 2011 |
| T |
| Tata Motors sees profits fall but Jaguar sales rise |
| Indian carmaker Tata Motors has reported a 16% fall in quarterly profits as higher costs and foreign exchange losses took their toll. |
| November 14, 2011 |
| The VW-Suzuki Split and Japanese Corporate Globalization |
| Whatever the globalized future of Japanese corporations, joint ventures or deep strategic alliances with foreign companies are unlikely to become a major feature. In the automobile industry, probably the most globally inter-connected, the Nissan-Renault tie-up under Carlos Ghosn that seems to be working may be the exception that proves the rule. As an example of the rule, we have the September 12 announcement that Suzuki Motors' chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki had demanded that Volkswagen allow a buyback of the 19.99 percent of Suzuki shares that VW acquired when their "strategic partnership" was launched in December 2009. |
| September 15, 2011 |
| To focus on hydrogen, Hyundai passes Kia keys to EV market |
| Electric vehicles may seem like the inevitable evolution of the conventional gas-powered automobile, but not every carmaker agrees. Hyundai will sit out the pure-electric car round, and instead concentrate its efforts on designing the next-generation hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. |
| September 19, 2011 |
| Toyota Parts in Short Supply After Japan Disaster |
| Toyota Motor (TM) has warned dealers in the U.S. that it faces shortages of some replacement parts made in Japan as it struggles to fully recuperate from one of the worst natural disasters in recent history. |
| March 29, 2011 |
| Toyota quarterly profits drop but recovery expected |
| Toyota Motors' profits plummeted by 77% in the last quarter because of disruption caused by March's earthquake. |
| May 11, 2011 |
| U |
| U.S. may overtake China's rich in Rolls Royce race |
| Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd, owned by German automotive giant BMW AG, said its U.S. sales could overtake China this year, revving up the British company for record global revenue in 2012, its chief executive said. |
| January 11, 2012 |
| UAW chief hopes for Chrysler deal by Wed: source |
| United Auto Workers President Bob King told Chrysler plant union leaders on Monday that he hopes the union and Chrysler Group LLC can reach a deal on a new four-year contract by Wednesday, a source said. |
| October 10, 2011 |
| US sales and one-off payment lift Ford's profits |
| US carmaker Ford has reported a surge in profits in 2011, fuelled by a one-off payment and strong sales in its home country. |
| January 27, 2012 |
| V |
| Volkswagen AG buys block of shares in SGL Carbon SE |
| The Executive Board of SGL Carbon SE has been informed that Volkswagen AG has purchased an 8.18% stake in the equity of SGL Carbon SE on February 25, 2011. This corresponds to a total of 5,362,341 shares. Within the framework of this transaction, Volkswagen AG has acquired the 4.43% block of shares previously held by Süd-Kapitalbeteiligungs-Gesellschaft, a subsidiary of Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW). |
| March 2, 2011 |
| Z |
| Zero-emission Ford Focus Electric now available for pre-order |
| Green transportation is a hot topic these days, but the options for consumer-level electric vehicles are rather modest compared to the army of gas-guzzling models on the road. This week, Ford took a big step in the zero-emission world by offering its 2012 Ford Focus Electric for pre-order. The vehicle takes the extremely popular Focus brand in an extremely eco-friendly direction, but a higher-than-average price point may concern some potential buyers. |
| November 4, 2011 |