AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS -- TURIN
Europe could have a two-tier system of new-car dealers in three to five years, Jean-Charles Lievens, Kia Motors Europe's former sales and marketing head, said. Lievens said some dealers will sell the cars mainly through the Internet and will become delivery, service and test-drive facilities. Other dealers will remain conventional sales locations. » Read Article
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May 26 06:01 CET
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS -- TURIN
Renault will start working with 400 new suppliers as it expands component sourcing from low-cost countries, Odile Desforges, Renault's head of purchasing, said. This planned expansion of emerging-market suppliers is expected to generate important cost savings, but will also pose numerous challenges, Desforges said. » Read Article
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May 26 06:01 CET
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS -- TURIN
The auto industry can learn a lot from the hotel sector about how to make customers happy. Peter Leger, CEO of consultants MSX International, said up to $500 million a year is wasted on measuring if car buyers are satisfied with dealers because customers don't reply truthfully or accurately to surveys. The money could be better spent on improving the customer handling process, he said. » Read Article
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May 26 06:01 CET
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS -- TURIN
Delphi is expanding aggressively in the East, said Ronald Pirtle, the supplier's new European head. The US-based partsmaker is boosting manufacturing operations in key central European countries and expanding in Russia, Pirtle told the Automotive News Europe Congress. » Read Article
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May 26 06:01 CET
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS -- TURIN
Chinese automakers planning to sell cars in Europe could be slowed by tighter EuroNCAP safety rules. EuroNCAP will add assessment of active safety features including electronic stability control, seat belt reminders and speed limitation devices to its new-car testing program next year. » Read Article
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May 26 06:01 CET
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS -- TURIN
Europe's top female automotive executives were honored during a gala dinner in Turin, May 19. Members of Automotive News Europe's 25 Leading Women in the European Automotive Industry said they want their career achievements to inspire today's female executives as well as tomorrow's. » Read Article
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May 26 06:01 CET
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS -- TURIN
Consumers increasingly consider an automaker's environmental image when they buy a new car, Toyota Europe President Tadashi Arashima said. “Market research suggests that environmental image is a key differentiator for consumers,” Arashima said. » Read Article
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May 26 06:01 CET
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS -- TURIN
Europe's politicians must listen to carmakers before they OK tougher environmental laws, Bentley CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen said. Concerns about climate change are real but “it doesn't help when the debate becomes excessively emotional,” Paefgen said. » Read Article
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May 26 06:01 CET
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS -- TURIN
Car prices will likely go up, reflecting the sharp increase in raw material costs, Valeo CEO Thierry Morin said. “Rising raw material costs will change the face of the world and we have to adapt,” Morin said. “The final market has not paid for it yet.” » Read Article
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May 26 06:01 CET
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS -- TURIN
Increasing Internet access in cars will bring new safety and reliability risks, experts say. Car electronic systems could be infected by viruses if vehicles are connected to the Web, Marc Drüner, managing partner at Trommsdorf + Drüner marketing consultants, said » Read Article
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May 26 06:01 CET
ANE CONGRESS TURIN 2008
Fiat group CEO Sergio Marchionne said proposed European Commission CO2 emission limits based on a sliding scale are nonsense. Marchionne said that the Commission's proposed 60 percent curve for allocating CO2 targets to individual automakers would penalize small carmakers. » Read Article
[REG]
May 21 06:01 CET | UPDATED: 05/22/08 10:34 CET
ANE CONGRESS TURIN 2008
Fiat is considering creating a dedicated brand for its new low-cost car, which is due to launch in 2011. “If we add another brand, we will develop it ourselves,” Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said Tuesday night in closing the Automotive News Europe Congress. » Read Article
[REG]
May 21 06:01 CET
ANE CONGRESS TURIN 2008
Toyota will launch 18 new or revised models in Europe by the end of next year to reduce its CO2 emissions. “Each model will offer improved fuel efficiency,” Toyota Motor Europe President Tadashi Arashima told the Automotive News Europe Congress. » Read Article
[REG]
May 21 06:01 CET
