Honda will shut UK plant for 2 months

Honda said it would close its UK factory for two months next year as part of plans to build fewer cars in Japan, Europe and North America. Honda said it would cut output at its Saitama factory near Tokyo by 40,000 vehicles due to slow sales of Accord sedans, mainly bound for North America and Europe. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 21 15:00 CET

Saab to remain in N. America despite sales drop

Saab will remain in the North American market despite a sharp drop in sales so far this year. “The Saab brand is very attractive to U.S. consumers,” said Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson. “There are no plans to pull out at all.” » Read Article [REG] Nov. 21 14:31 CET

U.S. bailout compromise blocked, but hope remains

Democratic leaders of the U.S. Congress on Thursday blocked action on legislation that would provide $25 billion in emergency federal loans to the Detroit 3. Instead, the leaders directed General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler to submit plans showing how they would use the aid. They scheduled hearings on the plans for the week of December 2, and said Congress would return December 8 to consider aid measures. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 21 06:01 CET | UPDATED: 11/20/08 4:30 p.m. EST

Industry crisis forces VW to review spending

VW said on Thursday it is reviewing group-wide investments and expenditure due to the crisis in international car markets. The company's comment came ahead of a supervisory board meeting on Friday to set its annual rolling investment budgets. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 21 06:01 CET

Audi to supply diesels for Porsche Cayenne

Porsche will dip into the toolkit of Audi, VW's premium brand, to furnish its Cayenne sport utility vehicle with a V6 diesel engine that will hit European dealerships starting in February. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 21 09:42 CET

Fiat readies decision on suppliers for Serbian plant

Fiat is expected to announce its selection of suppliers for its Serbian plant next month. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 21 12:40 CET

Serbia bids farewell to Yugo car

Serbian automaker Zastava, producer of the iconic Yugo, will make its last vehicle on Friday before closing its doors to revamp operations in a joint venture with Italy's Fiat. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 21 11:54 CET

PSA to cut jobs, sees 2009 car sales drop

PSA, Europe's second-biggest carmaker, announced a fresh wave of job cuts on Thursday as a decline in European car sales is seen continuing into 2009. The firm said in a statement it plans to cut 2,700 jobs across its sites in France. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 20 10:00 CET | UPDATED: 11/20/08 11:37 CET

Ford of Europe names new head of manufacturing

Ford of Europe has a new head of manufacturing following James Tetreault's promotion to oversee Ford's factories in North America. Detroit-born Tetreault, 52, will be replaced by Ken Macfarlane as vice president, Manufacturing, Ford of Europe from December 1. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 20 15:44 CET

Ghosn supports govt. loans to Detroit 3

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn supports financial aid for automakers by world governments to “transform” the auto industry for growth. That includes a U.S. government bailout of the Detroit 3. “If we want to transform this industry, in a radical way, we are going to need a lot of investment. You cannot take an existing car and retrofit it and say, 'It's electric.' You have to start from zero,” Ghosn said. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 20 06:01 CET | UPDATED: 11/19/08 4:12 p.m. EST

SolarWorld CEO: Opel must be freed from GM

German automaker Opel must be freed from the constraints of its U.S. parent company General Motors to develop cars of the future, the CEO of SolarWorld told German radio on Thursday. "I see a need to overhaul our manufacturing sector. Just like we have seen in the alternative energy area, the auto industry must be overhauled," Frank Asbeck told Deutschlandfunk radio. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 20 09:00 CET

U.S. lawmakers seek to break stalemate over auto aid

U.S. Congressional leaders have left open the possibility of votes yet this week on legislation to provide emergency loans to the Detroit 3 and possibly to suppliers. But as of late Wednesday, a stalemate had taken hold over the source of $25 billion in funds for the loans. Democratic leaders want to tap $700 billion approved in October for rescue of the nation's financial system. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 20 14:13 CET

VW plans more cars for Chinese tastes

Volkswagen, challenged by surging Japanese automakers in China, says it will continue to offer vehicles developed for Chinese tastes, such as the Lavida, launched in July. Group vice president Xu Jian said that more cars designed especially for China are in the works. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 20 11:53 CET

Porsche debuts second-generation roadsters

Porsche presented the second generation of its Boxster and Cayman mid-engine sports cars in the U.S., its No. 1 market. Sales of the cars start in Europe in February 2009. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 20 14:09 CET

Industry crisis forces VW to review spending

VW said on Thursday it is reviewing group-wide investments and expenditure due to the crisis in international car markets. The company's comment came ahead of a supervisory board meeting on Friday to set its annual rolling investment budgets. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 20 18:00 CET

Ford of Europe to remain profitable in 2009, says CEO

Ford of Europe will remain profitable next year despite the "unprecedented" economic downturn, its boss said. The division's third quarter pretax profits fell to $69 million from $293 million a year ago, while new-car sales are down 2.4 percent in the first ten months of the year to 1,548,000 units. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 19 14:40 CET

Ford says it could wait on U.S. loans until 2009

Ford Motor has the cash it needs to wait until 2009 if a U.S. government rescue package for the auto industry is delayed until January, a senior executive said on Tuesday. "Our liquidity is such that we don't have to access the loans immediately," said Mark Fields. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 19 14:00 CET

GM says Opel is not for sale

General Motors today said its German subsidiary Opel is not for sale. The company's comments came after German solar company SolarWorld announced Wednesday a surprise plan to offer to buy Opel's four German plants as well as its research center in Rüsselsheim, Germany. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 19 13:30 CET | UPDATED: 11/19/08 17:37 CET

Mulally: Inaction on auto aid threatens U.S. economy

Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally warned today that a government failure to aid the auto industry would create “tremendous risks to our already fragile economy.” Avoiding those risks is in the “public interest” that Congress would serve by providing emergency loans to automakers, Mulally said. Mulally called on Congress “not to think of individual companies but rather of the industry -- and the economy -- as a whole.” » Read Article [REG] Nov. 19 06:01 CET | UPDATED: 11/18/08 3:50 p.m. EST

Jaguar CEO: Consumer confidence is what's missing

The recent substantial cuts in interest rates may not be enough to help the auto industry out of its slump, said Jaguar Land Rover's new CEO. In an interview with Automotive News Europe, David Smith said governments needed to decide quickly about future vehicle taxation rules . » Read Article [REG] Nov. 19 11:17 CET

Fiat CEO says car aid should not be selective

Possible government aid for Europe's ailing car industry should be broad based and not selective, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said on Wednesday. The European Union is studying support for its carmakers, and Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen has signaled support for a German offer to help the Opel unit of General Motors. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 19 14:00 CET

Nardelli: Chrysler is close to running out of cash

Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli told a Senate hearing today that the automaker will burn through $5 billion to $7 billion in cash in 2009. That would be on top of $5 billion in cash consumed in the first three quarters of 2008. Nardelli said that at that rate of cash burn, Chrysler is in danger of reaching its minimum safe level of operating cash by year end. » Read Article [REG] Nov. 19 06:01 CET

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