Auto News 5

Roger Penske, chairman of the second largest US auto dealer company, Penske Group, and a recent bidder for General Motors' Saturn unit, is considering buying GM, Chrysler and Ford dealerships but said the Detroit three and their retailers needed stronger support from finance partners. Full story...

Full year 2009 vehicle sales by Hong Kong listed Geely Automobile Holdings rose 59% to 325,413 units, China's largest privately owned automaker said in a statement on Thursday. Full story...

Nissan North America (NNA) is predicting electric vehicles will account for 10% of its global sales by 2020. Full story...

Renault on Thursday reported 2009 sales dropped 3.1% year on year to 2.3m vehicles. Full story...

The Italian government is considering a new incentive scheme to support the Italian car market amid fears that it would see a big fall without them, an analyst told just-auto today. Full story...

GAZ Group is looking for a foreign partner to help it overhaul production and boost sales said the Russian carmaker's president Bo Andersson. Full story...

Toyota has established a division to speed development of next generation batteries. Full story...

GM Daewoo, the South Korea-based unit of General Motors, expects to return to profitability in 2010, company president and chief executive Mike Arcamone told the Reuters News Agency. Full story...

Car sales in Russia will remain flat this year after halving in 2009, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB) even though the government's new scrappage incentive is due to kick-in during March. Full story...

For the past ten years, just-auto has reported on the novel innovations emanating from Johnson Controls, one of the world's largest manufacturers of cockpit systems, including instrument panels and clusters, information displays and body controllers, among other technologies. Matthew Beecham talked with Thomas Beer, senior product business manager, global product centre cockpit systems, Johnson Controls and Gert-Dieter Tuzar, principal designer HMI (Human Machine Interface), Johnson Controls, about meeting consumer expectations for the cockpit, the increasing use of infotainment and information assistant systems that relieve the cognitive burden on drivers and the importance of good HMI concepts. Full story...

Höegh Autoliners, one of the world's largest operators in the rolling stock and vehicle transportation segment, has added the port of Charleston, South Carolina, to its Middle East service, and the first ship to dock will leave with US-built BMWs bound for export markets. Full story...

Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has said a decision to shut down the company's plant in Sicily was "irreversible", reiterating comments he made on 1 December. Full story...

Magna International has forecast full year 2010 consolidated sales between US$19.5b and $20.5 billion, based on light vehicle production volumes of about 10.3m units in North America and 11.4m units in Europe. Full story...

MONTREAL, - Hydro-Québec and Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada Inc. (MMSCAN) announced today the signature of a memorandum of understanding that will lead to the launch of Canada's largest all-electric vehicle pilot project this coming fall. Full story...

Green Vehicles, Inc., developer and manufacturer of advanced, affordable electric vehicles and technologies, will unveil the 2010 Triac(tm) pure electric, full speed commuter vehicle on the "Electric Avenue" at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Michigan from January 11th - January 24th, 2010. Full story...

TORONTO, ON - In advance of its Canadian Premiere at the Montreal International Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz Canada is proud to officially welcome the addition of Sprinter to the Mercedes-Benz group of brands which include Mercedes-Benz, AMG, smart and Maybach. Full story...

Volkswagen Canada held the North American premiere of its "Top Golf" today at the Montreal International Auto Show. Named the Golf R Concept, Volkswagen unveiled this 3-door "Hot Hatch" that produces 265 HP and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds while consuming only 8.4 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres* traveled to the automotive media. Full story...

Today, Nissan Canada unveiled the latest addition to its lineup at the Montreal International Auto Show - the 2010 Nissan cube® 1.8 S KromTM Edition. Full story...

The highlight of the Mazda display at the 2010 Montréal International Auto Show is the Canadian premiere of a stylish, eco-friendly, fun-to-drive five-door hatchback, the 2011 Mazda2. Zoom-Zoom in its most concentrated form - compact and efficient, yet packed with style and substance, the 2011 Mazda2 will launch into the Canadian market late in the summer of 2010. Also making its Canadian debut is the Mazda Active2 Snow concept, which showcases the Mazda2's ability to meet the needs of a customer's desire for personalization. Full story...

Detroit, Michigan -- Fate could not have come with a better script. On the same year Ford finally launches a serious offensive on the North American car market, the brand was rewarded with not only the title of North American Car of the Year (Fusion Hybrid), but also the North American Truck of the Year (Transit Connect). How can you top that? Full story...