Automakers: Page 200
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GM Has ‘Coast to Coast’ Vision for Maven Car Sharing
Marketing director Zafar Razzacki says Maven has offered at least 400 GM vehicles for ride sharing in the past four months, and that rentals run from a couple of hours during weekdays to an entire weekend for leisure activities.
By Jim Mateja • June 2, 2016 -
Toyota Slips 2.0% in May While Honda Rises
Toyota’s CUVs and SUVs have a best-ever month, Honda’s cars shine, but low supply and movement away from luxury cars hampers Lexus and Acura results.
June 1, 2016 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Courtesy of Kia Corporation
TrendlineArtificial Intelligence
Automakers and dealers alike are increasingly seeing the use case for AI within their operations. Explore some use cases in this trendline.
By WardsAuto staff -
Russian Car Buyers Squeezed But Not Thinking Small
Cash-strapped Russians appear to prefer saving up for costlier upmarket cars and utility vehicles later to buying new small cars now.
By Lena Smirnova • June 1, 2016 -
Upper-Small Segment Slumping Despite Hot Civic
Sales of the Honda compact car are up, inventories are down, but that wealth isn’t spreading to other models in the segment.
May 27, 2016 -
Mazda Ads Boast Staying Power
Two Mazda spots make the most-engaging list this week, joined by Honda, Ford and Cadillac.
By WardsAuto Staff • May 25, 2016 -
Novelis Starts Third Line for Aluminum Ford Pickups
The aluminum supplier already has two finishing lines for sheet aluminum for Ford F-Series pickups, and now a third comes online in Oswego, NY. The lines are running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and most of the output has been for Ford.
May 24, 2016 -
Tavares Keeping PSA Abreast of Industry Trends
Establishing a U.S. presence is essential for PSAʼs Push to Pass business plan, which sets profitability and revenue-growth targets for 2018 and 2021 and includes launching 121 vehicles in six years and expanding into new markets.
By William Diem • May 24, 2016 -
Pacifica Could Become Big Fish in Small Minivan Pond
Chrysler marketing chief Matt McAlear isn’t predicting minivans will poach sales from CUVs and SUVs, but says the Pacifica’s success could draw some automakers back into a segment they had abandoned.
By Herb Shuldiner 1 • May 23, 2016 -
Automakers Rush to Feed China’s SUV, Luxury Hunger
Annual sales in China are forecast to plateau at about 30 million in five or six years. SUV and luxury sales could level off sooner. When that happens, automakers may lack models in other segments of a highly competitive market, analyst Keith Lomason says.
By Alysha Webb • May 23, 2016 -
New Products Escalate Utilization at PSA Spain Plant
CEO Carlos Tavares announces the Vigo plant will be awarded the next generation of the Peugeot 208 to be built exclusively for Europe starting in 2019. PSA currently builds the B-segment minicar in Poissy, France, and Trnava, Slovakia.
By Jorge Palacios • May 20, 2016 -
Hyundai Adding Capacity to Build on Success in India
The automaker says it has reached the limits of its 680,000-unit capacity. Gujarat tops the list of potential sites for its next plant.
By Sudhakar Shah • May 19, 2016 -
Korea Figures Big in Renault’s Foray Into China
The new Koleos goes into production at Wuhan at the end of the year. The all-electric Dongfeng Fengnuo E300 launches in 2017. Renault Samsung has a 28-member team embedded at the Dongfeng Renault JV’s plant to provide expertise in the areas of manufacturing, R&D and design.
By Vince Courtenay • May 19, 2016 -
Aluminum-Steel Welding Next Step in GM’s Lightweighting Initiative
In the initial aluminum-to-steel production program, GM will be moving cautiously, replacing only a couple of the rivets currently used to test the manufacturing process and prove part durability before moving on to more extensive applications.
By David Zoia Editor • May 19, 2016 -
Supermodel, BMW Model Pairing Most Engaging Car Ad
Audi, Nissan and Mazda maintain their places for the second straight week, with Audi’s promotional tie-in ad for “Captain America: Civil War” at No.2, Nissan’s collision-avoidance-technology spot at No.3 and Mazda’s “Carried Away” at No. 4.
By WardsAuto Staff • May 18, 2016 -
Union Deal Clears Way for Renault Spain Investment
The automaker will hire 1,600 new workers, reclassify 1,400 temporary workers as permanent, expand the Valladolid plant to build a new small car and a new engine, add a weekend shift at the Palencia facility and make a new transmission at the Seville factory.
By Jorge Palacios • May 17, 2016 -
Ford Deluged With Applications for Limited-Edition GT
Hundreds of applicants have submitted videos hoping to bolster their chances of buying one of the £350,000 performance cars. The reverse pitches have featured children, lighting effects, racing footage, revving engines, garage tours and life stories.
By Paul Myles • May 17, 2016 -
Toyota 86 Sports Car Morphs Into ‘Shooting Brake’
Toyota 86 global chief engineer Tetsuya Tada says the concept adds a more practical hatch styling to the rear of the sporty 4-seat coupe. The design has been described as evolving into a 2-door station wagon.
By Alan Harman • May 17, 2016 -
GMC Exec Sees No Easing of Pickup, SUV Surge
The combination of demand and refinement has been a boon to GMC, pushing up average transaction prices and take-rates for the brand’s upscale Denali range of luxury models.
By James M. Amend • May 17, 2016 -
Hyundai Hires Ace Korean Designer Away From Bentley
Sangyup Lee joins Hyundai in June as Genesis design chief and will report to global design chief Luc Donckerwolke, who also heads the automaker’s Prestige Design Div.
By Vince Courtenay • May 16, 2016 -
Magna Steyr May Build Sports Cars for BMW, Toyota
A newspaper reports Magna Steyr is expected to launch production of a BMW sports car that will succeed the Z4, in 2018, with a Toyota model to follow some months later. Plans call for combined production of at least 60,000 vehicles per year.
By Peter Homola • May 13, 2016 -
Hyundai Flexes R&D Muscle With Wearable Robot Suit
The warehousing industry and the military are potential mass-production markets. Hyundai says a soldier wearing the suit easily can carry 100 pounds yet move very quickly. A possible medical application would give impaired patients mobility.
By Vince Courtenay • May 13, 2016 -
German Court Puts Muffler on Mercedes’ Airscarf
A German court rules Mercedes-Benz infringed on a patent with its Airscarf, a headrest-mounted system for warming or cooling driver and passenger neck areas.
By Greg Kable • May 13, 2016 -
CrossBlue in Crosshairs as VW-UAW Clash Escalates
The UAW’s success in organizing skilled-trades workers, whose extensive training would make them hard to replace, gives the union a foothold in Chattanooga before VW recruits new employees to build the CrossBlue CUV, which the automaker is counting on to help reverse its sharp decline in the U.S. market.
By Joseph Szczesny • May 12, 2016 -
Cadillac Posting Serious Financial Numbers
If we assume Cadillac is making roughly $4,000 profit on each vehicle – not an unreasonable assumption – that means it’s generating about $1.1 billion in profit annually for GM.
By John McElroy • May 10, 2016 -
ASEAN-Minded Nissan Expands Thailand R&D Facility
Nissan’s first R&D vehicle-test facility in the ASEAN and Oceania region initially will evaluate 12 models, including its core model Navara, Almera ecocar and X-Trail Hybrid.
By Alan Harman • May 9, 2016