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Ferrari to debut in India by 2010
With its 83,000 millionaire, the Indian market can not be ignored by Ferrari which has announced it will debut sales there by 2010.
Initially, the carmaker planned to enter the Indian market this year, but the gloomy worldwide economy made Ferrari to postpone its arrival for a few years in order to check if there is a chance to succeed there.
“Ferrari is looking at India and we may enter the country by 2010. Before which, the company needs to set up a sales and marketing network in India. For us, customer satisfaction is of prime importance. Hence, we will also have to take care of these aspects before we enter India. We are looking forward to India.” Said Gabrielle Lalli.
Ferrari also wants to ensure that the growing number of millionaire won’t collapse this year as a result of the credit crisis.
April 3, 2008
Peugeot rolls out the millionth 207
Peugeot rolled out the millionth 207 two years after its launch in April 2006.
At a rate of 2,500 vehicles per day, the 207 reached the million mark two years after its launch in three-door and five-door hatchbacks. Last year, 521,000 cars have been delivered which enabled the small Peugeot to lead the segment in Europe with 440,000 delivered vehicles despite 70 competitors. The CC variant follows in the tracks of the 206 CC by also taking the top position of its segment, with almost 45,000 vehicles sold in 2007.
The 207 is built at three sites spread throughout Europe. The three and five-door 207, the 207 RC, the 207 SW, and the 207 variants Outdoor and RC are produced in the Poissy factory, located in the Paris region.
Since 2006, the factory of Trnava in Slovakia has been producing the three and five-door 207 body styles; the factory at Madrid in Spain builds the 207 CC as well as the three and five-door versions of the 207.
April 3, 2008
Franck Stephenson quits Alfa Romeo
In an interview given to Autoweek, Alfa Romeo head of design Franck Stephenson confirms he quits the carmaker. The news doesn’t come as a surprise. Former head of design at Fiat, he had been nominated at Alfa Romeo after being replaced by Lorenzo Ramaciotti. Observers were wondering how long it would take him to resign.
The designer refused to comment on his reasons. However he denied there was a link between its resignation and its forced move to Alfa. "There are no problems with Lorenzo. He is a fun guy to work with, and we worked very well together," he told the newspaper.
Despite moving inside the Fiat Group to head different brands design studio, the American designer succeeded in designing memorable cars such as the Cinquecento, the Bravo, the Quattroporte and the NC12. Before joining Fiat, Stephenson worked for BMW where he designed the first X5 and the Mini.
Franck Stephenson will be replaced 40-year-old Austrian Christopher Reitz.
April 2, 2008
Toyota denies having received government funding to develop hybrids
Toyota has denied it received government funding to develop its successful Prius model.
The company rejected allegations published in a Business Week article that quoted Jim Press, former board member at Toyota, as saying, "The Japanese government paid for 100 percent of the development of the battery and hybrid system that went into the Toyota Prius."
Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco said: "I can say 100 percent that Toyota received absolutely no support — no money, no grants — from the Japanese government for the development of the Prius".
Bringing the truth on this story is rather difficult as Toyota is rather secretive. As former board member of Toyota, Jim Press also gives some credentials to its statement. Moreover, the Japanese industry has always had and still has strong link the powerful MITI which promotes some private-sector projects, especially those for clean energy. However, this is the first time that Toyota is mentioned in such a case.
April 2, 2008
Proton to boost export
The Malaysian carmaker is currently working on a new engine range that includes diesel units as part of a plan to increase its global sales.
The small carmaker has no other solution than increasing its export if it doesn’t want to disappear in the future. Aware of the problem, its engineers hae been orered to develop a new in-house engine range to replace the Mitsubishi engines. The new range will include diesel units in an attempt to boost sales in Europe where the carmaker owns Lotus. The diesel engines will also help the company to boost its sales in the growing Indian market.
Along with the new engines, Proton will unveil new models next year. The company will launch its first minivan. Details remain unknown at this stage although the new model will likely be a people carrier like other Asian players. Proton will also launch facelited Persona and R3 Satria which suffers from poor qualities to compete on the European market.
April 2, 2008
FAW wants to buy Bertone
A few weeks after Mahindra & Mahindra, the Chinese carmaker FAW has entered the bid over Bertone acquisition.
Carmakers from emerging markets are launched in a race to acquire as soon as possible the expertise needed to sell their vehicles worldwide. Fortunately for them, Italian coachbuilders are in the doldrums and make perfect preys for the ambitious players. Bertone sales is a new example of the competition between them.
Like the Indian carmaker, FAw is very interested in Bertone’s production facility located at Grugliasco in Italy which has a capacity of 100,000 cars per year. FAW owns joint venture in China with Volkswagen and Toyota and builds under licence Daihatsu and Mazda models.
April 2, 2008
Toyota to invest £50 million into a new research facility
Toyota will invest £50 million during the next four year into a new research facility called Research Institute of North America (TRI-NA) located near the Toyota Technical Center in Michigan.
The Japanese carmaker has announced that the new Research Institute of North America will focus on four areas: advanced technologies, urban environment, energy, and partnerships with government and academia. The new facility initially will employ 35 researchers and administration staff, and plans to add 10 researchers in 2008 and an additional 20 by 2010. The new technology center is a big move for the carmaker as most of its research was done mostly in Japan and sometimes in Australia and Germany.
The new Research Institute of North America will join the long list of Toyota’s facilities in the US which owns eleven factories, one technical center, one design center (pictured) and builds two new production sites
GM and Ford might see the new facility as provocative at a time when the two carmakers struggle to cut costs and can’t afford to invest into new technologies.
April 2, 2008
Outlander to feature twin-clutch SST
The Mitsubishi Outlander will be equipped with the in-house twin clutch SST which appeared on the Lancer Evolution X.
The Outlander will be the first SUV to feature a twin clutch transmission when Mitsubishi unveils it at the next Paris Motor Show. The SST will be available with the 2.2 DiD diesel engine and will go on sale in the first quarter of next year.
The SST transmission had been featured on the Concept-cX seen at Frankfurt last year. PSA Peugeot Citroen crossovers, derived from the Outlander, might also feature the twin clutch transmission although it is likely that Mitsubishi will reserve the transmission to its SUV.
April 2, 2008
Spyshot: Aston Martin Rapide
The future Aston Rapide has been surprised during testing on the Nurburgring in Germany.
The spotted prototype was featuring a full glass roof for the first time which stretched from a few inches of the windscreen to back window like that of the Rapide concept car unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show in 2006.
The Rapide will be the first Aston Martin to be built outside of the UK. After hesitating between Pininfarina, Valmet and Magna Steyr, company executives chose Magna Steyr. Manufacturing to a third-party company will enable Aston Martin to be flexible enough regarding the future demand for the Rapide.
The future executive saloon will share its inner structure with the DB9 and V8 Vantage models and will be powered by the in-house 6.0-litre V12 petrol engine delivering 480bhp. It is also rumoured that the Rapide might feature a smaller hybrid V6 and V8 engine outsourced from Mercedes. The engine will be hooked up to a six-speed gearbox, with both manual and automatic versions.
Aston Martin plans to build 2,000 Rapide annualy.
April 2, 2008
Daihatsu to introduce 3D holographic screen by 2012
Daihatsu teamed up with Provision Interactive Technologies to integrate 3D holographic screen technology called HLXX in its vehicles by 2012.
The HLXX technology is a traditional 2D flat screen dashboard that displays instrument gauges for all the normal and usual driving information. When a warning or alerts needs to be displayed, a 3D holographic screen instantly overlays three-dimensional image easing immediate driver awareness and recognition.
The technology was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show last year.
April 2, 2008