Category: Industry News

Nissan to sell 200000 vehicles in India by 2012
Nissan has announced its ambition to sell 200,000 vehicles in India by 2012 relying on local expertise.
The Japanese carmaker has strong ambition on the Indian market. In addition to the ultra low cost car developed in collaboration with Renault and Bajaj Auto, Nissan wants to sell over 200,000 vehicles in India in the next four years. "In India, we have made a strategic decision to work with partners to speed our entry into the market and to leverage local expertise, building on Nissan’s proven track record of success with collaborative relationships," Nissan Motor Co Ltd President and CEO Carlos Ghosn today said in Tokyo, according to information available on the company’s website.
With its alliance partner Renault, Nissan is setting up a 400,000 capacity plant for passenger cars in Chennai, which is also the site of the alliance’s new technical center.
May 14, 2008
Spyker teams up with Lotus
The troubled Dutch carmaker has announced it has reached an agreement with Lotus to reduce costs by sharing technology.
The agreement includes a Parts and Platform Commonality Agreement (PPCA), a Parts and Accessories Supply Agreement and a Design and Engineering Agreement. Lotus will provide certain parts for the Spyker C8 Aileron and will help the Dutch carmaker to develop its future models.
Victor R. Muller, CEO of Spyker Cars said: “Our company has had a very fruitful cooperation with Lotus, developed over the past four years, relating to engineering services in respect of certain components of our cars, as well as in respect of worldwide certification. Spyker and Lotus have now come to the conclusion that they need to intensify their cooperation to the point that we intend to share parts and platforms, as well as an agreement on the supply of parts. Moreover, Lotus Engineering has become Spyker’s preferred subcontractor in respect of a number of engineering projects relating to the Spyker C8 Aileron and the Spyker D8 Peking-to-Paris.”
May 14, 2008
Tata Nano in the US
Tata wants to take over the world with the future Nano and has confirmed that the cheapest car might be sold in the US.
The Indian carmaker denied a report from Conde Nast Portfolio claiming that "The model (Nano) won’t be sold in the US but has the potential to radically alter the market for manufacturers here.” A spokesman for the company said "The company has not yet finalised specific exports markets and timelines. The Nano will meet the prevalent norms of any country it is marketed in."
The spokesman, however, said that Tata will focus on launching the Nano in India first. After positioning the firm in the domestic market, the company would consider exporting the car. he added that Tata Motors usually does not export any of its products in the first few years of launch.
May 14, 2008
GM buys Detroit headquarters for £313 million
GM has announced it has bought the headquarters it currently rents in Detroit for an amount of £313 million.
Despite a £1.6 billion loss for the first quarter of this year, GM has given the green light to buy its headquarters, known as Renaissance Center, for £313 million and two other properties located in Pontiac, Michigan for £100 million.
Built by Ford during the 70’s, the Renaissance Center was leased by GM in 1996 which spent around £250 million to renovate and improve it. The lease was ending on the 1st May which decided the carmaker to buy the building.
May 13, 2008
Renault-Nissan annouces their £1,250 car
Renault-Nissan has given the green light to the future Nano competitor due to be launched by 2011.
The news doesn’t come as a surprise as Petrol-Head regularly covered the future Nano competitors the last months. Until now, the carmaker which teams up with Bajaj Auto, was studying the feasibility to build a Nano competitor. As predicted, the future model will be sold for £1,250.
Renault-Nissan and the Indian motorcycle manufacturer will set up a new joint venture which will be 50% owned by Bajaj Auto, 25% by Renault and 25% by Nissan.
Targeting the growing Indian new vehicle market, the ultra low cost model will be made at an all-new plant to be constructed in Chakan in India with a an initial planned capacity of 400,000 units per year.
May 13, 2008
VW to choose its US factory in July
Volkswagen’s CEO has finally announced that the company will choose its US factory in July before the company’s mid-July meeting.
In an interview with the German newspaper Handlesblatt, VW Group’s CEO, Martin Winterkorn, has revealed that a decision will be made before the company’s mid-July meeting. VW Group wants a American factory to offset the impact of weak dollar as part of an ambitious plan to increase its sales on the American market and catch up with Toyota. The factory is planned to build Volkswagen and Audi models, but also Porsche.
Winterkorn also revealed that the company had selected three states for the new plant: Alabama, Michigan and Tenesse.
May 13, 2008
Daimler to increase component sharing
Mercedes-Benz wants to increase the component sharing between its models.
In an interview with Automotive News, Thomas Weber, board member of R&D for Mercedes’ parent company, Daimler, said that the carmaker wants share as many components as possible between models in an attempt to reduce costs. Current new models already shares components such as powertrains and electronic devices.
Sharing components enables the carmaker to cut cost, but also to increase reliability. However, it also put constraints on designers and designers which can’t create unique designs any more.
The E-Class and C-Class already shares 50% of components, while the GLK and the C-Class are built on the same assembly lines despite featuring radically different designs. The future SLC will share its electric components with the next-generation E-Class. Thomas Weber even revealed that the S-Class flagship and the Smart ForTwo share 5% of their components.
May 13, 2008
Fiat interested in Mexico for a plant
In addition to discussing with Chrysler to build Alfa Romeo models in the US, Fiat is also considering building an all-new factory in Mexico.
The Italian group is seriously looking at all opportunities to find a solution to the weak dollar which might be a stumbling block to sell Alfa Romeo models in the US. While Chrysler has been announced as a potential partner, Fiat considers building a Mexican factory to supply North and South America.
A Mexican factory has the advantage to be close to the US market where FIat wants to introduce Alfa Romeo model and the future 500 and close to the South American market which recorded a strong growth last year. Aware of the potential of emerging markets such as Brazil, the Italian group doesn’t want the French carmakers to take the lead. Renault-Nissan CEO has previously announced that the group will focus on increasing its sales there.
May 12, 2008
Piero Ferrari and two others to invest in Pininfarina
After Tata, Piero Ferrari has announced it will buy a stake in the Italian coachbuilder.
The son of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari, Piero Ferrari has announced it will buy a stake in Pininfarina along with two other investors involved in automotive industry: Alberto Bombassei, chairman of Brembo, and the Marsiaj family, founders of seatbelt maker Sabelt.
if those investors are all Italian, it’s not pure hazard. With Tata buying a stake in Pininfarina, the three investors want to ensure that Pininfarina won’t become Indian or absorbed by a larger Automaker like Tata. The situation happened in the past with Ghia bought by Ford. The Italian coachbuilder which designed the incredible Ford Focus concept car joined the forgotten pages of the car history books.
April 30, 2008
Lada unveils the 2116
Lada has unveiled an all-new model, the 2116, due to be launched this year in Russia and in Europe by 2010.
Codenamed “silhouette”, the 2116 is a saloon developed in collaboration with Porsche. Compared to the other models built by the Russian carmaker, the new 2116 is a huge step forward. The cars looks tame but features modern lines.
The 2116 is powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine. A diesel and hybrid-powered models will be launched later.
April 30, 2008