Western Europe

M-B redesigned S class with China in mind

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
The redesigned Mercedes-Benz S class made its world debut last week in Hamburg, Germany, but Shanghai might have been more appropriate. Why? China accounted for 49 percent of all 2010-12 S-class sales.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Sporty Bentley models in the works

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Bentley plans to launch a 650-hp Continental Supersports as early as 2014, featuring carbon-fiber panels and a stiffer chassis, sources told Autoweek.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Lambo's design exercise

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
The jet fighterlike Lamborghini Egoista concept shown this month at the company's 50th anniversary celebration in Bologna isn't planned for production, but it does have a purpose: countering critics who think Lambo has lost some of its design edginess.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

And the condo elevator goes from 0 to 60 in ...

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Pininfarina, the Italian design house famous for styling Ferrari cars, also does condos.... Read More »

 

Industry: EU trade deal would lift exports

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
U.S. auto exports to Europe could quadruple within 15 years if regulators get rid of tariffs and adopt standard vehicle-safety rules, automaker associations say.... Read More »

 

Small BMW team rethought electric cars for huge cities

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Nearly six years ago, BMW AG's Project i began to position the automaker for the future. In an interview with Automobilwoche, a German language sibling to Automotive News, Project i chief Ulrich Kranz explained how the idea of a carbon-body car for megacities emerged from his team.... Read More »

 

Europe car sales rise for first time in 19 months

May 17, 2013 08:34 CET
European car sales rose for the first time in 19 months on strong demand in the UK and a rebound in Germany. Registrations in April increased 2 percent to 1.08 million vehicles from 1.06 million cars a year earlier, industry association ACEA said.... Read More »

 

Fiat says headquarters shift to U.S. is not on agenda

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
Fiat said the idea of moving the group's legal headquarters to the United States following a planned merger with Chrysler Group is not on the company's agenda.... Read More »

 

VW Group sales increase 7% in April

May 17, 2013 12:06 CET
Volkswagen Group's global monthly sales picked up pace again in April after growing at their slowest rate in more than three years a month earlier. VW Group said on Friday that deliveries to customers rose 7 percent to 784,600 vehicles last month.... Read More »

 

Tariff played a role in Mexico winning Audi plant

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
At the groundbreaking for the Q5 plant in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler offered another explanation for deciding not to locate in the United States: The European Union slaps a 10 percent tariff on U.S.-built vehicles.... Read More »

 

Audi Q7 will shed weight

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
The redesigned Audi Q7 that debuts next summer in Europe will weigh about 363kg less than the current model, company insiders said, adding that Audi is also planning a hybrid version of the next-generation large SUV.... Read More »

 

Fiat: Shift of headquarters to U.S. not on agenda

8:04 pm U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
Fiat said the idea of moving the group's legal headquarters to the United States following a planned merger with Chrysler Group is not on the company's agenda.... Read More »

 

Toyota plant in France starts Yaris output for U.S.

May 16, 2013 14:48 CET
Toyota Europe has started making the Yaris for North American export at its plant in Valenciennes, France, marking the first time the automaker's European-built models have been exported to the United States and Canada.... Read More »

 

Toyota plant in France launches Yaris output for U.S.

8:48 am U.S. ET | May 16, 2013
Toyota Europe has started making the Yaris for North American export at its plant in Valenciennes, France, marking the first time the automaker's European-built models have been exported to the United States and Canada.... Read More »

 

Renault expects 5% dip for European car market

May 16, 2013 09:34 CET
Renault expects the European car market to shrink 5 percent this year over last year, Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares said. The French carmaker foresees the European market being "slightly better" in the remaining three quarters of this year than the first three months, when European market sales fell 10 percent after a "very poor performance," Tavares said.... Read More »

 

F-1 racing boss Ecclestone denies bribing German banker, lawyers say

May 16, 2013 09:49 CET
Lawyers for Formula One racing boss Bernie Ecclestone repeated that he had not bribed a German banker during the 2005-2006 sale of a stake in the motor-racing business, after a German newspaper reported he had been charged by prosecutors.... Read More »

 

BorgWarner to expand UK production to supply Jaguar Land Rover

May 16, 2013 06:01 CET
U.S. supplier BorgWarner Inc. said it would build a new production line and engineering center in the United Kingdom to supply turbocharging systems to customer Jaguar Land Rover. The turbochargers would be used in JLR's family of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, due to launch in 2015.... Read More »

 

Fiat mulls U.S. headquarters after Chrysler merger, report says

May 15, 2013 16:04 CET
Fiat is considering moving its corporate headquarters to the United States following a planned merger with Chrysler Group, three people familiar with the matter said.... Read More »

 

Continental kept in the dark over Schaeffler's decision to end investment agreement

May 15, 2013 14:35 CET
Continental said it was kept in the dark about the decision of Schaeffler to quit a five-year-old investment accord. Analysts suspect the accord's scrapping may be a prelude to Schaeffler restructuring Continental or reducing its stake.... Read More »

 

BMW's Reithofer tells Germans to embrace EVs

May 15, 2013 06:01 CET
BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer told his fellow Germans to set aside their worries and embrace EV technology as the carmaker gears up to launch the i3 electric city car.... Read More »

 

Ford aid from Spain probed by EU antitrust regulators

May 15, 2013 12:19 CET
European Union antitrust regulators will investigate whether a 25.2 million euro ($32.71 million) grant given by Spanish authorities to Ford's factory in Valencia breached EU state aid rules.... Read More »

 

Fiat mulls U.S. headquarters after Chrysler merger, report says

10:04 am U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
Fiat is considering moving its corporate headquarters to the United States following a planned merger with Chrysler Group, three people familiar with the matter said. CEO Sergio Marchionne is evaluating the switch from Turin, where Fiat was founded in 1899, to the United States as the carmaker's revenue and profit center shifts to North America, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing the internal deliberations.... Read More »

 

GM will move Opel Zafira production to German plant

May 15, 2013 11:58 CET
General Motors will move production of the Opel/Vauxhall Zafira minivan to Ruesselsheim in Germany from its Bochum factory. Ruesselsheim and Vauxhall's plant in Ellesmere Port, England, had been in the running to gain Zafira production after Bochum closes.... Read More »

 

Peugeot pushes 308 upscale to catch VW Golf

May 15, 2013 10:15 CET
Peugeot hopes more upscale features and an innovative design will help the new 308 gain market share in Europe's overcrowded compact segment against competitors including the Volkswagen Golf.... Read More »

 

Porsche SE to seek dismissal of legal claims filed in Germany

May 14, 2013 12:04 CET
Porsche SE says legal claims by plaintiffs in Germany seeking more than 1.36 billion euros ($1.77 billion) in connection with its failed attempt to takeover Volkswagen in 2008 are unfounded. The family-controlled holding company that owns a majority of VW, says it will file a motion to dismiss the claims.... Read More »