OEM CoverageTwo Denso executives to plead guilty to price fixing, U.S. says 10:54 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2013  Two executives at Toyota-affiliated supplier Denso have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix prices and have agreed to cooperate with an ongoing criminal investigation, the federal Justice Department said today.... Read More »
Lutz's VL Automotive, Chinese supplier bid for Fisker, report says 2:02 pm U.S. ET | May 21, 2013  A boutique carmaker led by a former General Motors executive Bob Lutz and China's largest auto parts supplier submitted an offer to buy cash-strapped automaker Fisker Automotive, people familiar with the matter told Reuters today.... Read More »
Marchionne apologizes for 'wop engine' comment 11:44 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2013  Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has issued a written apology to an Italian-American anti-bias organization for saying at the Detroit auto show that an Alfa Romeo needed a "wop" engine.... Read More »
Marchionne apologizes for 'wop engine' commentMay 21, 2013 17:44 CET  Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has issued a written apology to an Italian-American anti-bias organization for saying at the Detroit auto show that an Alfa Romeo needed a "wop" engine.... Read More »
Former Saab CEO Jonsson, two other execs arrested on tax chargesMay 21, 2013 13:04 CET  Three former Saab executives, including former CEO Jan-Aake Jonsson and Chief Financial Officer Karl-Gustav Lindstroem, were arrested by Swedish prosecutors in an accounting-fraud probe.... Read More »
Mercedes workers end strike in S. AfricaMay 21, 2013 10:00 CET  A two-day strike at Mercedes-Benz's East London car plant in South Africa ended following crisis talks between management and a workers union.... Read More »
Magneti Marelli expands China production of lighting componentsMay 21, 2013 09:15 CET  Magneti Marelli has opened a plant in the southern China city of Foshan to produce rear lights, headlamps and other lighting components. The company aims to secure a 10 percent share of China's lighting market in the midterm.... Read More »
Schaeffler confirms 2013 outlook, net debtMay 21, 2013 11:14 CET German supplier Schaeffler has confirmed its annual forecast for revenue growth of about four percent and an operating profit margin of approximately 13 percent, despite a drop in first-quarter revenue of 3.6 percent to 2.8 billion euros ($3.6 billion).... Read More »
German brands enjoy sales boom in KoreaMay 21, 2013 06:01 CET  South Korea has become a growth market for BMW, Mercedes and Audi as lower tariffs make their cars cheaper and local buyers abandon a decades-long preference for domestic brands.... Read More »
Infiniti: Raise quality, sales will follow 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Infiniti President Johan de Nysschen, poached last summer from Audi, aims to push into new segments, restore profitability to Nissan's luxury marque and fix lackluster quality rankings. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has ordered de Nysschen to make the brand a top-tier premium player and boost global sales to 500,000 by 2016 from just 170,000 last year.... Read More »
TALK FROM THE TOP: JOE HINRICHS, PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAS, FORD MOTOR CO. Hinrichs: Quality is 'of the highest priority' at Ford 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  After three frenetic years overseeing Ford's ambitious Asia Pacific expansion plans, including the construction of nine plants, Joe Hinrichs returned to the Dearborn, Mich., world headquarters in December to take over as president of the company's most profitable region: the Americas. Hinrichs found Ford's North American operations in the midst of a major growth spurt.... Read More »
NEEDED: 'THICK SKIN' GM designer knows crucial launches produce a love-hate response 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Chevrolet designer Tom Peters describes the blocky, chiseled front end of the 2014 Silverado pickup as a "fist in the wind." The metaphor also could describe the resolve Peters needs to weather his critics as the lead designer for two of the most closely scrutinized vehicles on the planet: the Silverado and Corvette.... Read More »
Tesla Motors may repay U.S. loan by Wednesday, Musk says 10:41 pm U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Tesla Motors may repay its federal Department of Energy loan as early as Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk said in a message on Twitter on Monday.... Read More »
Ex-battery maker B456 wins court approval for bankruptcy plan 3:19 pm U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 B456 Systems, the bankrupt electric-car battery maker formerly called A123 Systems, won court approval of a plan to exit bankruptcy that pays creditors from the proceeds of selling virtually all its assets.... Read More »
TALK FROM THE TOP: MARK REUSS, NORTH AMERICAN PRESIDENT, GENERAL MOTORS GM seeks clean launch, regular updates for pickups 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Mark Reuss, president of General Motors North America, says GM is staying vigilant on the June launch of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-sized pickups, its most important rollout since the company's 2009 bankruptcy. He says GM is closely monitoring suppliers to avoid bottlenecks that could delay the launch or hurt quality.... Read More »
Mini's culture is as quirky as its cars 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Mini is owned by BMW, but there's a broad gulf between the prestigious luxury marque and the funky small-car brand.... Read More »
Italy's Sogefi said to sell $115 million bonds in U.S. private placementMay 20, 2013 08:49 CET  Italian supplier Sogefi sold $115 million in bonds to U.S. investors in a private placement and is planning to sell another 25 million-euro ($32 million) note, a person familiar with the transaction said.... Read More »
Continental names veteran exec Cramer as China headMay 20, 2013 11:38 CET  German supplier Continental has named veteran executive Ralf Cramer to head its operations in China, which it sees as the main driver of its growing business in Asia. The company says it gets around 18 percent of its sales from Asia and wants to increase this proportion to more than 30 percent.... Read More »
Magna opens body, chassis plant in China's ChongqingMay 20, 2013 09:36 CET  Magna's Cosma unit has opened a plant in southwest China to supply body and chassis parts to automakers in the area including Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen.... Read More »
CFO says GM streamlining is 'on its way' 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  As a banking adviser to General Motors when he was at Morgan Stanley, Dan Ammann got an upfront view of GM's spiral into bankruptcy in 2009 and subsequent restructuring. Now, more than two years into his job as CFO, Ammann acknowledges that he had only a faint idea at the time of how complex GM is.... Read More »
Chrysler exec: Our vehicle quality rivals Toyota's 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 The quality gap between Chrysler Group's vehicles and those of Japanese automakers has become so small that it no longer should matter to consumers, Chrysler's quality chief says.... Read More »
A tech triumph for the S class? 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  With a technology-rich S-class redesign arriving this fall and several derivatives to be added by 2015, Mercedes-Benz aims to boost stalled sales of its flagship.... Read More »
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 »
GM's Cruze diesel ghostbuster 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  No one on Mike Siegrist's engineering team talks about the failed Oldsmobile diesel V-8 from the 1980s. But it's there, a 745-pound cast-iron ghost. Siegrist leads the 50-member engineering team that is equipping the first GM car in North America with a diesel since 1986.... Read More »
Infiniti to add new halo car, more crossovers 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti marque plans to add a halo nameplate above its Q70 flagship sedan and expand its crossover offerings, President Johan de Nysschen said.... Read More »
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