Author: yoann besnard

Carlos Ghosn bullish on emerging markets
During a visit at a Nissan factory in Malaysia, Carlos Ghosn said he was optimistic about Nissan sales in emerging markets despite tougher times in Europe, Japan and in the US.
The Renault-Nissan boss said he is “very bullish in the emerging markets” and sees “strong growth in Russia, India, China, the Middle East and Brazil.” He expects the situation to remain unchanged for this year and said “The emerging markets grew 20 percent” since the beginning of the year.
Nissan is also confident about the ASEAN market which groups 10 Southeast Asian countries. Despite a recent slowdown, the company is a small player there with a 5% market share.
Nissan will end its financial year at the end of this month and Ghosn said that to date, Nissan had sold 3.7 million vehicles. The Renault-Nissan CEO remained cautious over this year outlook as recession in the US kips a lid on demand there.
March 22, 2008
Scion to expand its lineup to boost sales
If Toyota increased its sales globally and among its brands over the years, Scion looks like a lame duck with its declining sales. Toyota plans to expand the lineup to increase the brand’s sales.
With sales down by 25% to 130,000 last year, Scion’s future look blurred as company’s executives expect the volumes to remain unchanged this year. In an interview with Detroit News, Scion vice president Jack Hollis explains the poor sales as a result of a limited lineup. Aware of the problem, Scion is determined to take the bull by the horns and the carmaker plans to release three new models in the future to boost sales.
“Looking at fresh new concepts is something that Scion will be doing more often as we consider the possibility of adding a fourth, fifth or sixth vehicle to our lineup to expand the flow of youth into Toyota and Lexus,” told Holis to the newspaper.
The company is also considering launching hybrid models. Until now, Toyota has reserved its hybrid solutions to the top of the range or to a car, the Prius, designed around the hybrid solution. Developing hybrid Scion models might be a financial challenge as the brand sells its current lineup at a competitive price.
March 21, 2008
Seat to build the Cordoba in Mexico
Seat executives have selected Mexico to build the Cordoba model intended to be sold in South America.
Along with the ambitious plan to launch forty new models by 2018 to increase its global sales, the Spanish carmaker plans to focus on the emerging markets base in South America. Starting almost from scratch, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia will become the company’s priority over the next years. Thanks to the combination of an expanding lineup and investments in South America, Seat plans to sell 800,000 vehicles by 2018 from 430,000 last year.
The Cordoba will be built at 40,000 units in 2009 and will be sold in Brazil, Argentina and Chile.
March 21, 2008
Spyshots: Chery B13
Here are the spyshots of the Chery MPV called B13 due to be unveiled next month at the Beijing Motor Show
Little by little, Chery is building a complete lineup. The B13 had been displayed as a concept car at the 2006 Beijing Motor Show. Since then, news remained scarce and observers believed the MPV was whisked off as it’s the tradition among Chinese carmakers.
If the concept car featured rotating seats for the second row with table, the production version appears to be more conventional favouring roominess. However, the overall treatment is still heading for the top of the segment with leather upholstery and wood panels. The spotted B13 also featured a drop down DVD player from the roof.
Technically, the B13 will be powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four cylinder petrol engine hooked up to a six speed automatic gearbox. The B13 is expected to go on sale from May.
Source: Chinacartimes
March 21, 2008
Ford to fund future models with bid’s money
Ford CEO Allan Mullally has announced at a conference that Ford will use the Jaguar and Land Rover money to fund new models instead of paying off some debts as initially thought.
Ford has set the ambitious plan to rejunevate 70% of its lineup over the next years and plans to use the money raised by the Jaguar and Land Rover bid. The money will also be used to increase its development process. “The proceeds will be invested on our quality and productivity and new product development, ” said Mullally.
The company also plans to improve its manufacturing process and reduce its current lineup to cut costs. The carmaker plans to launch the same model on several continents. After the new Fiesta expected to be sold in Europe, in the US and in China, Ford has decided to sell the next-generation Mondeo exactly under the same design in Europe and in the US. The expected savings of doing the same car should be around £150 million to £225 million in costs.
March 21, 2008
Lotus to unveil an all-new model at the London Motor Show
Lotus will celebrate its 60th anniversary at the next London Motor Show by unveiling an all-new model. Secrecy surrounds this all-new car although some observers believe that the carmaker will launch the Eagle.
The eagerly awaited model has been spotted several times by spy photographers but details remain scarce. It is rumoured that the car will be powered by a 300bhp V6 engine sourced from Toyota. The engine will be hooked to a semi automatic gearbox with paddle-shift on the wheels, a first on a Lotus model. The Eagle would be a 2+2 coupé which might change name on some markets to adopt the Ethos moniker. Due to go on sale from early 2009, the Eagle will be sold at a price close to that of the Cayman S.
After the launch of the Eagle coupé, Lotus engineers will focus on developing the future Esprit expected to be powered by a BMW V8 engine delivering around 400bhp.
March 21, 2008
Toyota to miss its 2008 sales target
After Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe complaining about the rising yen, Tokuichi Uranishi, executive vice president of Toyota announced that the carmaker will miss its sales target of 9.85 million vehicles for this year.
Slowing sales in the US, Europe and Japan will prevent the second-largest carmaker in the world from achieving its sales target for the current year despite the growth recorded in the emerging markets such as China where the carmaker might open its eighth factory or Russia where a new plant was recently opened.
Along with the slowing sales, the rising yen will also hurt the company’s profits on exports form Japan. A 1 yen gain in the Japanese currency against the dollar cuts Toyota’s annual profit by £175 million, according to the automaker.
March 21, 2008
Ford invests £250 million in India
Ford will invest £250 million in India over the next two years to boost its production capacity of small cars from 100,000 today to 250,000 by 2010.
"We have lined up $500 million for our expansion plans in India. By 2010, we will ramp up our installed capacity to 250,000 units per annum from 100,000 units currently for rolling out compact cars, new versions of engines and critical components for domestic and overseas consumption," Ford India vice-president Scott McCormack told newspapers.
The £250 million will be added to the £400 million already invested over the last ten years at the Maraimala factory, located near Chennai, which builds the Ford Ikon, Fusion, Fiesta and Endeavour models. The investment will also be used for the future small car the carmaker plans to launch on the Indian market in 2010. "We are working on the small car programme and will be launching it in 2010", said Scott McCormack, Vice-President, Marketing, Sales and Service. With small and compact cars accounting for over 70-80 percent of total passengers vehicles in the Indian auto market, Ford India wants to focus on volume production to increase its market share.
In 2007 Ford sales suffered from higher interest rates and a competitive market. The carmaker sold 38,000 vehicles compared to 36,000 in 2006. However, Ford sees 2008 as a better year thanks to the Endeavour and the new Fusion Plus.
March 21, 2008
GM to consider a 4 cylinder unit for the Camaro
GM is considering fitting a 4 cylinder engine into the future Chevrolet Camaro as an entry-level model.
The carmaker Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has announced the company was seriously thinking at installing a four-cylinder unit under the bonnet of the future Camaro. The engine under consideration would be the turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol unit of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky. Its delivered power, 260bhp, is close to the V6 that will be featured on the Camaro, the 3.6-litre V6 of the Cadillac CTS. A smaller engine would enable the future Camaro to offer a better fuel efficiency which is an appealing offer at a time of rising gas prices. However a four cylinder unit might damage the Camaro’s image in terms of sale that might not also enjoy a competitive selling price.
Lutz did not speak specifically on the topic of pricing, but said that the Camaro was “going to be above Mustang” pricing. He justified the higher price by a better interior and by a better handling provided by better rear-suspension architecture. The more we learn about the Camaro, the more we think the car will struggle on the market.
March 21, 2008
Remote controlled Hummer
As a child we all had a remote controlled toy car and hoped to drive daddy’s car remotely. Well, it’s now possible with a transformed Hummer H3.
An engineer from the Cranfield university, Dr James Brighton, has transformed the Hummer H3 into a remote controlled vehicle to create the ultimate boy’s toy.
“Converting the HUMMER H3 into the super-sized remote control car took a month to complete but we’ve had lots of fun in the process. The results are clear – all controllers will be amazed by the handling ability – the best any radio controlled vehicle has had to date. The vehicle is capable of climbing a 407mm vertical wall, traversing a 40% side slope and operating in up to 610mm of water – imagine the fun,” said James Brighton
March 19, 2008