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Automotive News Europe Table of Contents

11/24/2008 11/10/2008 10/27/2008 10/13/2008 9/29/2008 9/15/2008 8/25/2008 8/18/2008 8/04/2008 7/21/2008 7/07/2008 6/23/2008 6/09/2008 5/26/2008 5/12/2008 4/28/2008 4/14/2008 3/31/2008 3/17/2008 3/3/2008 2/18/2008 2/4/2008 1/21/2008 1/7/2008 12/10/2007 11/26/2007 11/12/2007 10/29/2007 10/15/2007 10/1/2007 9/17/2007 9/3/2007 8/20/2007 7/23/2007 7/09/2007 6/25/2007 6/11/2007 5/28/2007 5/14/2007 4/30/2007 4/16/2007 4/02/2007 3/19/2007 3/05/2007 2/19/2007 2/05/2007 1/22/2007 1/8/2007 12/11/2006 11/27/2006 11/13/2006 10/30/2006 10/16/2006 10/02/2006 09/18/2006 09/04/2006 08/21/2006 07/24/2006 07/10/2006 06/26/2006 06/12/2006 05/29/2006 05/15/2006 05/01/2006 04/17/2006 04/03/2006 03/20/2006 03/06/2006 02/20/2006 02/06/2006 01/23/2006 01/09/2006 12/12/2005 11/28/2005 11/14/2005 10/31/2005 10/17/2005 10/03/2005 09/19/2005 09/05/2005 For the Week of January 5, 2009 Go to Automotive News Table of Contents

Jaguar gets a bigger diesel for XF sedan Jaguar hopes that new, more powerful six-cylinder diesel engines will allow it to compete better with its German rivals. Six-cylinder diesels are the choice of more than 40 percent of Audi A6 and BMW 5-series customers. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Pininfarina to stop contract carmaking Pininfarina has approved a revised industrial plan that calls for an end to its contract carmaking operations when current production ends in 2011. The Italian company will then concentrate exclusively on building electric cars such as the Pininfarina B0. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET PSA wants payback from suppliers Suppliers who squeezed money out of PSA/Peugeot-Citroen last year to compensate for high raw material costs should expect to give some back in 2009. " Prices are nowhere near where they were back in April, so we want to recover as quickly as possible what we lost" last year, PSA Vice President of Purchasing Jean-Christophe Quemard told Automotive News Europe. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Sales collapse will change the industry The sales collapse that started late last year will accelerate in 2009, leading to fewer carmakers and more factory closures, industry watchers say. New-car sales in western Europe will fall by 15 percent or 2.1 million unit this year to 13.5 million, investment bankers Goldman Sachs said December 17. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET 2008: Up, down and then … In the first half of 2008, before things started to take a decisive turn for the worse, there was good news and bad news in the global auto industry. Here's a quarter-by-quarter review of a year that was a turning point for the industry. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Edgy styling for new E class Mercedes-Benz will unveil its new E class next week ahead of the sedan's March launch at the Geneva auto show. The next generation of the medium-premium car will arrive during difficult economic times, when even wealthy consumers are buying fewer cars. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Mercedes considers end to clone suit A Chinese car that looks similar to Mercedes-Benz's Smart ForTwo could be cleared for European sales as early as mid-January, people familiar with the matter told Automotive News Europe. Lawyers from Mercedes and Italian importer Martin Motors are close to settling legal actions that have blocked European sales of the Shuanghuan Bubble minicar for more than a year. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET New positions at ANE Bettina Schmidt is a new sales manager at Automotive News Europe while Hurtej Kaur joins the newspaper as a staff reporter. Schmidt and Kaur are both based at ANE headquarters in Oberpfaffenhofen, just outside Munich. Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET PSA wants more parts from low-cost countries PSA/Peugeot-Citroen will boost its purchasing from low-cost countries during 2009 to cut costs. " We are moving toward another dimension in the process," PSA Purchasing Director Jean-Christophe Quemard told Automotive News Europe. " Before we concentrated on local sourcing. Now we are doing global purchasing from low-cost countries." [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Suppliers fear long slowdown Suppliers expect at least two to three years of pain in western Europe, as the economic downturn cuts output by as much as 20 percent. According to a survey conducted by researchers SupplierBusiness and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, suppliers' main worry for 2009 is declining production volumes in North America. Concern over European production is a close second. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET FOR AND AGAINST: SHOULD GM EUROPE DUMP THE VAUXHALL NAME A reorganized General Motors can live without Vauxhall Restructuring General Motors is crucial for the survival of the world's second largest carmaker. So it should be done thoroughly and not in a half-hearted manner. And that means Vauxhall will have to go Wim Oude Weernink is a correspondent of Automotive News Europe. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET NEWS ANALYSIS Americans neglected their Swedish brands Ford Motor and General Motors failed with their Swedish brands because they never got the full attention of their US owners. Saab has rarely achieved a profit for GM. In 2007, the brand lost 2.2 billion kronor (€360 million), according to Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri. Volvo, which Ford bought in 1999, was profitable at first, but its last year in the black was 2005, when it earned $377 million. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET FOR AND AGAINST: SHOULD GM EUROPE DUMP THE VAUXHALL NAME As Opel battles for survival, Vauxhall will play crucial role Some observers in continental Europe think the British Vauxhall brand is a pointless irrelevance that should be subsumed into General Motors' German unit Opel. After all, they say, Vauxhalls are merely rebadged Opels and getting rid of the brand would lead to major cost-savings at a time when GM needs every penny. It's a view that is simplistic and ignores a few inconvenient truths Mark Appleton is copy editor for Automotive News Europe. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Dueling coupes will go head-to-head Europe's dormant mass-market coupe segment could come to life as Renault launches its new Megane coupe against the Volkswagen Scirocco. VW launched the Scirocco in Germany and the UK in August, but held off on the remaining European markets until November. Renault launches the Megane coupe across Europe later this month. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Renault and Nissan launch all-new V-6 diesel Renault says its first V-6 diesel engine is a landmark achievement in its alliance with Nissan, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2009. " If this engine exists, it's because of the alliance," said Jacques Prost, Renault's senior vice president powertrain engineering. Renault is equipping the upper-medium Laguna range with the 235hp 3.0-liter powerplant. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET DETROIT AUTO SHOW Amid crisis, the show must go on New-car launches usually take center stage at the Detroit auto show, but this year much of the attention will be focused on the signals carmakers give about their prospects for 2009. In the weeks leading up to the annual event, the so-called Detroit 3 -- General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler -- were involved in a battle for their survival. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Peugeot uses online new-car sales to combat downturn Peugeot will rely more on Internet marketing of new cars to help counter the economic slump. Launched one year ago, Peugeot's French-language Web Store site (www.peugeotwebstore.com) allows Internet users to browse among 35,000 new cars available from the company's 400-member dealer network in France. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Support grows to keep retail rules Ford Motor and General Motors Europe are backing car dealers who are fighting to save Europe's regulatory regime for car sales and repairs. The automakers are concerned that scrapping or weakening the so-called block exemption regulation will add to dealers' troubles in the economic downturn. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Q&A: HANS-GEORG HÄRTER ZF gives loans to its suppliers that face trouble Hans-Georg Härter, CEO of drivetrain specialist ZF Friedrichshafen, is seeing an alarming number of the company's suppliers heading toward financial trouble because of the global financial crisis. ZF is giving short-term loans to suppliers squeezed by the credit crunch, or paying higher prices for their components. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Bosch opens Inner Mongolia test site Barren, wind-swept steppes. Deep blankets of snow stretching to the horizon. Bone-chilling, sub-zero temperatures. It's a inhospitable environment for Robert Bosch's latest proving ground. But the facility in Yakeshi, Inner Mongolia, near China's far northern border with Siberia, is the country's new hot spot for cold-weather testing. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Small Slovak town is caught between jobs and traffic CADCA, Slovakia, is located in the middle of a new Korean automotive cluster. The arrival of Hyundai, Kia and many of their suppliers has given the town's 27,000 inhabitants something they badly needed: jobs. But improvements to the local infrastructure have not kept pace with the surrounding area's rapid growth so Cadca residents now feel that their town is suffering at the hands of the industry that helped save it. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET OPINION Fasten your seat belts! 10 predictions for 2009 There are few reliable forecasts for 2009. The depth of the economic downturn is difficult to gauge. But even in today's uncertain environment, executives must make assumptions so they can plan ahead. Here's what Automotive News Europe expects will happen in 2009. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET COMMENTARY: RICHARD JOHNSON Saab and Volvo on the brink Saab and Volvo have been poorly served by their American owners. Saab and Volvo have given more to their owners than they've gotten in return. Volvo's well-engineered platform architectures have been put to good use by Ford. Both companies have been a source of fresh talent Richard Johnson is managing editor of Automotive News. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET COMMENTARY: JASON STEIN September seems a very long time ago It was a gorgeous autumn Sunday in New York City last September when the world stood still. Walking through Times Square I noticed workers at Lehman carrying their belongings in cardboard boxes out the front door. A day later, the failure of the financial giant sent tremors around the world. We haven't stopped shaking since Jason Stein is publisher of Automotive News Europe. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET CONFIDENTIAL Famous addresses deleted When you're famous and relatively wealthy, you don't generally worry about the details. And when you sell your car, you don't get your hands dirty deleting the address book in your satellite navigation system. Somebody else does that for you. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET CONFIDENTIAL Gray cars get the breakdown blues If you want to avoid an inconvenient breakdown on your next trip, re-spray your car silver or red. That's the bizarre message that emerges from a survey by the UK online motor magazine imotormag.co.uk. It sought to correlate a car's paint color with its likelihood of needing roadside assistance. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET CONFIDENTIAL Isn't he lovely? How do you get free tickets for a Stevie Wonder show? Easy -- read the Master Blaster a review of his latest concert, Talking Book-style. That's what Ford of Europe's head of sales and marketing Ingvar Sviggum did when he found himself sitting next to the Motown legend on a flight back from Norway recently. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET QUESTIONNAIRE Poole enjoys challenges, physical and gastronomic Belinda Poole studied mathematics and management science at the University Institute of Science and Technology in Manchester, England, before she joined Ford Motor Company's order processing department in 1988. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET CONFIDENTIAL VW invests in two wheelers Volkswagen is always looking for new ways to make production faster and more efficient. The line-runner is a new idea that has been tested on production lines at VW's Wolfsburg plant, where workers routinely need new parts to be brought to the assembly line, a task normally handled by mini-trucks. But now VW has turned to the US company Segway to add a special carrying cage to its two-wheel standup electric transportation device. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET EuroNCAP toughens car safety test Starting in February, new test procedures will mean fewer cars will earn EuroNCAP's five-star rating for crash safety. The changes are part of a sweeping overhaul of the EuroNCAP safety rating system, which will result in a single overall score for the whole vehicle rather than three separate scores. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET COMMENTARY: RICHARD TRUETT GM should play Opel card to solve Saturn problem Why doesn't General Motors just hand over the keys to its troubled Saturn brand to its German affiliate, Opel? GM doesn't have an extra billion or so dollars to buy out Saturn dealers and shutter the brand. And GM could be in legal trouble if it starves Saturn to death. So, the obvious and best thing for GM to do is merge Saturn and Opel Richard Truett is the engineering beat reporter for Automotive News. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET SPOTLIGHT ON TECHNOLOGY Pressure rises to protect pedestrians Automakers and suppliers are responding to pressure to make new cars less dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists. Tougher rules for pedestrian protection take effect in four years. In addition, starting next year EuroNCAP will deny a car the independent car-testing organization's coveted five-star safety score if the model does a poor job protecting people from injury or death if hit by a car. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET GUIDE TO AUTOMAKER EXECUTIVES Standing on thin ice? Despite a traumatic finish to 2008 because of the fallout from the global economic crisis, last year was extremely calm in one area: changes at the top. Most of the people who were leading Europe biggest automakers at the start of 2008 remain in charge today. The big question is: How many of those executives still will be in those posts at the start of 2010? [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET Your car the problem-solver Now there is no more excuse for not knowing the speed limit. Suppliers such as Hella and Continental have systems that alert drivers on how fast they are allowed to drive in a particular area. The system is on the new BMW 7 series and Opel Insignia. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET THE YEAR IN CARTOONS Different view of 2008 Covering the automotive industry is a job that we take very seriously, but that doesn't prevent us from have a little fun. In every edition of Automotive News Europe we rely on our cartoonist Roger Bowles to provide his own special interpretation of the events making news in the industry. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET COMMENTARY: LUCA CIFERRI Industry loses a visionary I first met Michael Ganal, BMW's former chief financial officer, on September 28, 1998, near Turin. That day BMW was unveiling its C1, a motorcycle/car crossover. The C1 was Ganal's pet project. The C1 was a visionary product. It was the first motorcycle a person could drive without wearing a helmet because it had a seat belt and a steel safety cage. The C1 failed Luca Ciferri is chief correspondent of Automotive News Europe. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET PERSONNEL Ford's Jenny Ball wins promotion Jenny Ball will be the new executive director of human resources at Ford in the UK, effective January 1. Ball will succeed Bob Blenkinsop, who is taking a position outside the automotive industry after 18 years with Ford. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET PERSONNEL Porth named Daimler's new HR board member Wilfried Porth will be Daimler's next board member for human resources and labor relations. Porth starts his new job April 8, 2009, following Daimler's annual general meeting. He has a three-year contract. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET PERSONNEL Saab's Terry moves to Chevy UK Former Saab executive Mark Terry is the new head of Chevrolet's operations in the UK. Terry, 42, succeeded Rory Harvey, who moved to a new post as director of after sales for Chevrolet parent General Motors in the UK and Ireland. [SUB] Jan. 5, 2009 06:01 CET

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