Author: yoann besnard

Saudi Arabia to build its first car factory

Saudi Arabia will build its first car factory in the eastern city of Dammam. The facility is expected to have a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles.
The new factory is the achievement of a man, Nasser Al Hajri, who had the idea in 1988 when he was an engineering student in the UK. “At that time I was thinking of manufacturing cars suitable for the people of the Gulf and other Arab countries,” he said.
Its company, Gulf Automobile Manufacturing Company (GAMC) has signed an agreement Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technological Regions (SACTR) to invest £50 million to build the future factory. At first, the factory will have a capacity of 15,000 cars. When the plant is shifted to its new three million square metres facility in Sudair, the capacity will grow to 300,000 cars.
This first factory is part of an ambitious plan to open more plants in Saudi Arabia in the next ten years. If GMAC employs 300 people today, the company plans to employ 50,000 workers in ten years.
There is one question that nobody asked: which type of car the factory will build?
Source: ArabianBusiness
February 19, 2008
Honda to unveil a new hybrid at the next Paris Motor Show

Honda will try to go ahead of Toyota by unveiling a new hybrid model sold at a competitive price and expected to account for 200,000 units per year.
The Japanese carmaker has set the ambitious plan to take on the ubiquitous Toyota Prius and will go mainstream with a hybrid model smaller than the compact Civic. The future car is expected to cost between £12,000 and £15,000. The most affordable Prius starts at £17,777. The car is expected to offer low CO2 emissions likely to be below 100g/km. The Insight (pictured) achieved an impressive 80g/km.
With such a low price, Honda wants to sell 200,000 cars per year likely to cover the cost of this ambitious project. Half of the production would be sent to the US while Europe would get a quarter of the quota and the rest of the world would share the other 25%. The company wants to model to account for 10% of its total production.
The small hybrid model would be the first model of a family of hybrid vehicles to reach the market. The range will be topped by the future CR-Z Concept unveiled at the last Tokyo Motor Show. Honda wants between 400,000 and 500,000 hybrid car each year by 2011.
February 19, 2008
Suzuki reveals UK pricing for the Splash

Suzuki has announced the pricing for the new Splash model which will go on sale on March 8 this year.

The entry level, 1.2 GLS, will cost £8,999. For this amount, the small Suzuki is fully equipped: CD tuner with MP3 player and steering wheel-mounted audio controls, leather-trimmed steering wheel, remote central locking, front electric windows , manual air conditioning, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, height-adjustable front seats and an information display. Add £500 for the 1.2 GLS+ and its extra equipment: 5 inch alloys, front foglamps and privacy glass on the rear side windows and tailgate. Both versions are powered by the same 85bhp petrol engine. Both versions feature a five-speed manual gearbox while the GLS+ can get a four-speed automatic gearbox as an option.

The diesel version, called 1.3 DDiS, offers the same equipment as the 1.2 GLS+ and is powered by the 74bhp 1.3-litre turbo diesel built in Suzuki’s new engine plant in India under licence from Fiat. The diesel version costs £10,499.

The Splash is built by Suzuki in Hungary, alongside the Suzuki Swift, SX4 and Ignis. The carmaker is targeting annual sales of approximately 60,000 units throughout Europe.
February 19, 2008
Opel Meriva Concept: clearer picture

Last week Opel revealed a sketch of the upcoming Meriva concept car that the company will reveal at Geneva. Our friends of Motorpasion have released a picture of the small MPV.
If the production version of the Meriva Concept stay close to the picture like the future Vectra will be with the GTC concept car, the next-generation Meriva will turn the head in the street.
The future Meriva will share its inner structure with the current Corsa model and will go on sale next year.
February 19, 2008
More images of the Volvo XC60 and engine range details

New pictures of the XC60 have leaked on the Internet and more details about the engine have also emerged.

The new pictures confirm that the appealing design of the new XC60. It is certain that it represents a new milestone for the Swedish carmaker.

The new crossover will be available with a choice of one petrol engine and two diesel units at first. The petrol engine will be the 285bhp 3.0-litre inline six unit seen on the S80. The diesel offer will be the turbocharged 2.4-litre 4 cylinder engine with 163 and 185bhp. It isn’t confirmed whether Volvo will feature a smaller petrol engine in the future. After all, the volume maker will likely be the diesel versions in Europe. In the US, the 3.0-litre engine offers enough power and attraction at a time when American consumers buy less V8 powered vehicles. However, a V6 diesel engine might be necessary in Europe in terms of brand image.

February 19, 2008
10,000 orders for the Jaguar XF

Due to be on sale on March 10, the XF has already recorded 10,000 orders worldwide with 3,000 only from the US, a critical market for the British carmaker.
The car will go on sale in the UK, of course, in Europe and in North America at the same time with an average entry price tag of £25,000. For this amount the XF will be powered by a 4.2-litre V8 unit which has an output of 300bhp.
Jaguar hasn’t revealed any number for the forecasted sales, but it is estimated at 20,000 units per year. If demand was bigger than planned the company has the opportunity to use the Land Rover factory.
This comes as a good news for the British carmaker, especially as no campaign has been launched. Jaguar can’t afford a worldwide campaign and promoted the car in typical British way. No money but a the good idea to send a team with 21 cars driving between the dealership in the US to allow selected customer test-driving.
February 19, 2008
Fiat unveils the 500 Abarth

Yesterday, Petrol-Head released an official picture of the long-awaited 500 Abarth. In the meantime, Fiat unveiled the first technical details of one of the hottest small cars of the year.

The 500 will be the second model to receive the Abarth treatment in an attempt to revive the famous brand. Compared to the normal version, the Abarth evolution features a bodykit which transforms the girly 500 into a macho car ready to race in the Alps. The visual kit comes with larger air intakes, side skirts, a rear diffuser, pumped fenders, Abarth decals and new alloys plus the famed scorpion logo on the grille. At the rear end, there are a diffuser and two exhaust pipes. On the inside, the car will feature two bucket seats, alloy pedals and leather.

The most anticipated bit is the engine range. As said yesterday, the power will come from the 1.4-litre turbocharged which will have an output of 135bhp at 5,500 rpm and a torque of 153 lb ft at 3,000rpm; however in ‘Normal’ mode, torque is reduced to 180 Nm at 2,500 rpm. There are no information regarding the Esse Esse version.

In order to transmit efficiently the power to the wheels, the 500 Abarth features a new traction control system called TTC, for Torque Control Transfer which shares the power between the front wheels.
February 19, 2008
Next-generation Phaeton to be less expensive

In an interview given to Automotive News, Volkswagen Group of America CEO Stefan Jacoby talked straight about the Phaeton model: “We did a lot of things wrong with the car.” He also gave some hints bout its replacement.
As reported previously, the next-generation Phaeton will be smaller and will be based on the Audi A6 saloon in order not to compete with the Audi A8 model. This will help keep the price low as Stfan Jacoby said the current Phaeton “was too high-priced.” Instead of a entry price tag of £35,000, the car would cost about £27,000 for the entry model.
Expected to be launched in 2010, the future Phaeton might put the emphasis on diesel engines, especially on the American market in an attempt to fight on green credentials with the Lexus brand. Jacoby also confirmed that the model will keep its current name. “The Phaeton is the name of Volkswagen’s luxury. We are proud of this name, and this name fits this car,” he told the newspaper.
The future Phaeton won’t be critical to Volkswagen ambition of achieving its sales goal but it will likely be considered as the symbol of the company’s success on the American market. Volkswagen wants to send the major flop of the current Phaeton to the forgotten pages of history books.
February 19, 2008
Porsche to recall 18,856 Cayenne

Porsche has announced it will recall 18,856 Cayenne in the world due to a fuel line problem. There is a possibility that during driving, slight engine movement may cause a fuel line to come in contact with engine compartment cladding. This may lead to a knocking noise and possible wearing of the fuel line.
The affected vehicles were built between November 30, 2006 and January 18, 2008.Porsche will change the layout of the fuel line in the recalled SUVs. There have been five complaints worldwide until now.
The procedure will take 40 minutes of workshop.
February 19, 2008
China January sales

Despite the worst winter storms in half a century increasing the number of car accidents, China passenger vehicle sales soared to 639,000 vehicles in January, a 32 percent increase over the same period last year.
Saloons accounted for three-quarters of the January figure, while sport utility vehicles (SUV) sales jumped 60.5 percent year on year to 32,000 units, nearly twice as fast as the industry average.
Passenger vehicle production was up 14.5 percent year on year to 566,000 units. This included 423,000 sedans, 35,000 SUVs and 14,500 mini-vans.
With domestic oil prices rather low and a growing rank of nouveau riche, consumers tastes change and the demand for small cars weakened while demand for imported high-end cars remained strong. 81 percent of imported SUVs and 70 percent of imported saloons had engines larger than 2.5-litres, both up 20 percentage points from a year earlier.
Source picture: NYTimes
February 19, 2008