| //23-01-2010 Automakers and suppliers believe the road to riches runs through Brazil, Russia, India and China, but some of those countries are growing more smoothly than others, according to a study released today by the Boston Consulting Group. |
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| //04-01-2010 Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. aim to increase sales 17 percent this year helped by new models and a global economic recovery.
South Korea’s largest automakers are targeting combined sales of 5.4 million vehicles worldwide, Chairman Chung Mong Koo said in Seoul today in a New Year’s speech to employees. That compares with an estimated 4.63 million units sold in 2009.
Hyundai and Kia boosted their global market share to a record last year on demand for fuel-efficient small cars, while a weaker won helped them spend more on marketing. Growth will continue as the companies add new models, such as the revamped Sonata sedan, and auto demand recovers, said Sohn Myung Woo, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities Co. in Seoul. |
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| //03-01-2010 The New Year has opened with a bang for Indian automakers with robust sales growth figures for December. Maruti Suzuki closed the year with 36 per cent growth, selling 71,000 units against 52,029 units in December 2008 with year-end discounts and other goodies thrown in to lure customers as did other carmakers.
The Maruti small car portfolio - Alto, Wagon-R, Zen, Swift, Ritz and A-Star - saw sales soar 42 per cent in the month to 52,236 units against 36,831 units. Sales for April-December 2009 were up 22 per cent at 625,408 units against 510,659 units in the comparable period of the previous year. |
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 | //27-12-2009 During a routine test on its Sienna minivan in April 2003, Toyota Motor Corp. engineers discovered that a plastic panel could come loose and cause the gas pedal to stick, potentially making the vehicle accelerate out of control.
The automaker redesigned the part and by that June, every 2004 model year Sienna off the assembly line came with the new panel. Toyota did not notify tens of thousands of people who had already bought vans with the old panel, however.
It wasn't until U.S. safety officials opened an investigation last year that Toyota acknowledged in a letter to regulators that the part could come loose and "lead to unwanted or sudden acceleration." |
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 | //26-12-2009 The next generation of the Sync in-car entertainment and information system will use a USB mobile broadband modem to establish a secure wireless connection capable of supporting several devices simultaneously.
The system will be available next year on selected models -- no word yet which ones -- and you won't need a subscription or hardware beyond the modem. |
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 | //26-12-2009 LOS ANGELES (AP) — A sign inside the Humming Motors auto repair shop says, "We do the worrying so you don't have to."
These days, owner David Baur spends a lot of time worrying in his full-service garage near downtown Los Angeles.
As cars become vastly more complicated than models made just a few years ago, Baur is often turning down jobs and referring customers to auto dealer shops. Like many other independent mechanics, he does not have the thousands of dollars to purchase the online manuals and specialized tools needed to fix the computer-controlled machines.
Baur says the dilemma has left customers with fewer options for repair work and given automakers an unfair advantage.
"When I was younger, I kept going until I solved the problem," the weary mechanic said as he wiped grease from his hands while taking a break. "Lately I find myself backing out. I'm more reluctant to take complex jobs on." |
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 | //26-12-2009 As the 2010 Dakar Rally is approaching, Chinese Rely Fleet of Chery has finished all preparation work, and is now waiting for the kick-off of the most dangerous race in the world.
It is reported that, at the beginning of this month, hundreds of participating vehicles were waiting in the French port city of Le Havre for shipment. They will arrive in the venue for the rally before it starts on Jan. 1, 2010 after a 3-week-long journey crossing the Atlantic. Among all the vehicles, Chery X5, the first ever representative of Chinese independent auto brands in Dakar Rally draws people’s eyeballs with its bright blue painting and powerful muscular features.
During the countdown to the rally, the supporting team of Rely Feet emerges. The Italian Tecnosport team which owns years of experience in Dakar Rally will provide technical and supporting services to the fleet. It is known that, Rely Fleet’s international supporting team composed of more than twenty members has rich experience, profound skills and mutually complementary advantages, and therefore can ensure the best performance of the racing vehicle in the complicated and changeable environment. |
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 | //26-12-2009 Dec 4, the award ceremony of “2008-2009 Most Respected Enterprises of China” was held ceremoniously in the Century Hall of Peking University, Beijing, China. 25 Chinese enterprises, including Chery, Lenovo, Haier and so on won the title of “Most Respected Enterprise of China”. For Chery, this is another high appraisal from authoritative organizations and the public, right after being listed in the top 3 auto enterprises in terms of CSR index. |
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 | //25-12-2009 Japanese stocks fell, led by makers of electronics and cars, on concern this week’s rally had made equities expensive relative to the outlook for earnings.
Canon Inc., the world’s largest camera maker and which surged 8 percent in the past two days, lost 1.2 percent. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest carmaker and which climbed 4.6 percent in the previous two sessions, retreated 0.8 percent.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average sank 0.5 percent to 10,485.93 as of 9:20 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index dropped 0.5 percent, with about four stocks falling for three that rose. Toyota and Canon were the biggest drags on the index. |
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| //25-12-2009 At the recent award-presenting ceremony for the 4th “Chinese Heart” 2009 Top 10 Chinese Engines, the 1.9TDDI engine equipped on Chery V5 was named the Top 10 Chinese Engines with its outstanding performance. This is another honor for Chery engine after 2.0L engine of Eastar and 1.5L Chery ACTECO engine received the same award in 2006 and 2008 respectively. |
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| //28-11-2009 Russia will take on the bulk of the effort to restructure AvtoVAZ, its biggest automaker, under the terms of an accord signed Friday between AvtoVAZ's Russian shareholders and Renault SA.
The Russian state will inject $1.65 billion into cash-strapped AvtoVAZ, while the Samara region where AvtoVAZ is based will help with payroll expenses.
France's Renault, which owns 25 percent of AvtoVAZ, will contribute technology and equipment valued at $360 million to help the Russian carmaker update its vehicles and hold 25 percent of the Russian auto market. |
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| //28-11-2009 Tokyo -- Honda Motor Co. set record production in Asia, including China, in October for the second straight month, leading a gradual and spotty recovery at Japanese automakers.
Honda, Japan's second-biggest automaker, which has been relatively more resilient than some domestic rivals, reported Friday a 22.5 percent jump in October production in Asia at 86,070 vehicles, compared to the same month the previous year. Toyota 's output increased for the first time in 15 months, rising 1.4 percent from a year earlier to 709,904 vehicles, the company said Friday.
Nissan 's production climbed 9.9 percent to 306,146. |
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| //28-11-2009 Four more automotive manufacturers are planning to take part in the North American International Auto Show in January than the last one, Doug Fox, senior cochair of the event, told the Detroit Free Press on Friday. |
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| //28-11-2009 IRVINE, Calif. – Land Rover North America and the American Red Cross announced today that Land Rover in the United States will raise funds throughout the coming year to support the American ... ... |
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 | //28-11-2009 See how the innovative NV2500 Concept represents our original take on Commercial Vehicle design. |
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 | //20-11-2009 Auto trade between the U.S. and Korea has once again surfaced as a major roadblock to the free trade agreement between the two countries.
During yesterday’s press conference, President Lee Myung-bak said he was willing to discuss the automotive trade issue to realize the ratification of the free trade agreement.
The Blue House quickly downplayed the possibility of a renegotiation.
Although both sides agreed on the Korus FTA after numerous rounds of negotiation over a 14-month period, the ratification of the pact has been stalled for over two years due to strong opposition from industry in both countries. |
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 | //20-11-2009 General Motors Co. said U.S. auto sales in November may run at an annualized rate of 10.8 million vehicles, the third-highest total this year, in a sign of improving industry health.
“Things are solidly looking up,” Susan Docherty, GM’s U.S. sales chief, said today in a conference call with reporters. She said November sales for Detroit-based GM are on pace to rise 10 percent to 15 percent from a year earlier.
GM’s prediction for light-vehicle sales exceeded forecasts from two private researchers. Edmunds.com projected the annual selling rate for November will be 10.3 million vehicles, while J.D. Power & Associates gave an estimate of 10.2 million. The November 2008 rate was 10.1 million, J.D. Power said. |
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| //20-11-2009 The good times continues for the Indian auto industry. It has exactly been a month since the festive season got over but demand for new cars and bikes has not slowed down.
The recovery in the auto sales at the beginning of this fiscal was largely led by Indian firms like Hero Honda, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra. But now even the big MNC players like Skoda Auto, Honda and Hyundai have joined the party as new launches, coupled with easier availability of finance, continue to attract more buyers. Most of the automakers are operating at optimum capacity, hoping that the double-digit growth rate will continue well into 2010. |
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| //10-11-2009 BEIJING — Powered by tax cuts and stimulus spending, China's October auto sales soared 72 percent from a year earlier, outpacing U.S. sales for another month, according to data reported Monday.
Automakers sold a total of 1.2 million cars and trucks, the government-sanctioned China Association of Auto Manufacturers announced.
That was down from September's 1.3 million but well ahead of the 838,000 vehicles sold in the United States in October. China's sales this year rose to 10.9 million vehicles, compared with 8.6 million in the United States, according to Autodata Corp.
Global automakers are looking to China's fast-growing market to drive sales amid slack demand elsewhere. Sales have been spurred by tax cuts and subsidies meant to help nurture China's auto industry and encourage purchases of more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Beijing's 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus has helped to prop up spending on cars and other big-ticket items, and lifted economic growth in the latest quarter to 8.9 percent from a year earlier. |
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