Plants, jobs, sales figures, regulation and the executives behind them. The business of building cars.
Page 9 of 14
Infiniti has named Vincent Gillet as its new Vice President of Marketing, with the experienced brand executive set to take up the Hong Kong-based role in September 2013.
Fiat has kept thousands of Italian autoworkers on state-backed paid leave, idling factories for months as car sales slump across Europe.
Higher wages and active unions in South Korea have led General Motors to consider scaling back its manufacturing presence in the country, which currently builds a fifth of its global output.
A Congressional Budget Office analysis presented in June 2013 found that even with federal tax credits, electric and hybrid vehicles remain more expensive to own than comparable petrol models.
GM plans to triple Cadillac sales in China by 2015 by expanding into tier-two and tier-three cities, increasing local production, and adding new dealerships.
Nissan, Honda and other Japanese manufacturers are shifting more sourcing to Chinese suppliers to lower costs and compete with domestic rivals in China’s booming entry-level car market.
Ongoing industrial action at Hyundai’s South Korean plants has led to a production shortfall of 41,000 vehicles and losses exceeding $730 million.
Daimler has sold its remaining 7.5% stake in EADS for €2.2 billion, closing a decade-long investment in the Airbus parent to focus on its core automotive business.
After weeks of industrial action and threatened production moves, Dacia and its Mioveni plant workforce have agreed a pay deal including a 6% salary increase and a higher bonus.
French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroën will begin assembling four models in Kazakhstan from June 2013, partnering with Agromash Holding and targeting up to 10,000 units annually.
General Motors will use spare capacity at Opel and Vauxhall factories, including Ellesmere Port, to produce vehicles for other GM brands such as Chevrolet.
Porsche plans to increase its workforce by 3,000 by 2018 as part of its drive to reach 200,000 annual sales, with new roles focused on its core German sites.
Alumina Limited's 2013 results show a strong shift towards value-add products, with segment profits and revenues expected to climb by another 10% in the year.
Alfred Rieck has resigned as Opel's sales chief after less than a year, with Vauxhall's Duncan Aldred taking over the role on an interim basis.
General Motors will establish its third US IT innovation centre near Atlanta, hiring around 1,000 specialists as part of a major in-sourcing and technology transformation plan.
The Ghent factory in Belgium marked its five millionth car at the end of 2012, a Volvo V40 D2, capping nearly five decades of production.
Opel has dismissed a French media report suggesting PSA Peugeot Citroën could acquire it to challenge Volkswagen’s dominance in Europe, calling the speculation unfounded.
National Electric Vehicle Sweden has agreed a 2 billion SEK investment with Qingdao, giving the city a 22% stake and a role in future Chinese EV production.
Ottawa commits another C$250 million to the Automotive Innovation Fund, extending support for large-scale R&D projects in Canada’s auto sector until 2018.
Automakers in the US face uncertainty as unresolved tax and spending policies risk undermining the strong finish to 2012, with analysts warning of a rocky start to the new year.
Nearly 100,000 hourly employees at GM and Ford in North America are due profit-sharing cheques of up to $8,000 each, reflecting the carmakers’ strong 2012 financial performance.
General Motors halted production at four American assembly plants during the week of 17 December 2012 to bring down unsold vehicle stocks after inventories exceeded targets.
Ford will reduce daily output of the B-Max by half at its Romanian facility, citing sluggish European sales, but engine production at the site will increase.
Daimler and Bosch have raised their joint venture’s electric engine production goal from 1 million to 2 million units by 2020, aiming to supply both Mercedes-Benz and other manufacturers.