Auto News 5

New Zealand new vehicle sales in June rose 5.1% year on year to 13,699 units. Year to date volume was up 5.3% to 69,057.

The yen's extended surge after UK's decision to exit the EU has turned put added pressure on Japan's automakers. Since the June 23 Brexit vote, the mean forecast for net income at Toyota has slid to $16.

Volkswagen's CEO reporteldy has rejected calls for the carmaker to compensate customers in Europe over the 'Dieselgate' emissions scandal along the lines of its US$15bn deal in the United States, telling a German newspaper a similar settlement would be inappropriate and unaffordable.

Volkswagen's brand chief, Herbert Diess, is not planning to resign even though he is the subject of investigation by public prosecutors, he reportedly told a German newspaper.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance generated EUR4.3bn (US$4.8bn) in synergies in 2015, one year ahead of schedule and an increase of 13% from 2014. Purchasing, engineering and manufacturing were the main contributors.

Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG) is developing a new range of UV-cut automotive glass product called UV Protect 400 which blocks 99% of UV rays (300nm-400nm), which includes the longer wavelength UVA (315nm-400nm) that can cause damage to deeper layers of the skin. The new technology can be used in all car windows and is said to be the world's first automotive glass to block UV radiation of up to 400nm wavelength by 99%.

Michelin plans to build a factory in central Mexico to manufacture high-end tyres for passenger cars and light trucks.

Features 6 Jul, 2016

We meet the dedicated owners commemorating 25 years of Nissan's retro-styled Figaro roadster

GKN Driveline is set to commence production at a new facility in Olesnica, South West Poland.

The Eberspaecher Group of companies is expanding in electrical vehicle heaters by acquiring the Paul Rauschert Steinbach production plant in Hermsdorf, Thuringia, with around 80 employees. The site is a new Eberspaecher facility which will manufacture PTC heating elements.

North American parts suppliers Delphi and Linamar will be building plants in Morocco, the country's industry minister said.

UK CV volumes rose in May with output growing 13.8% to 7,748 units, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The home market drove output, with demand up 23.5% to 3,826 while production for export rose 5.7% to 3,922 putting the overall sector up by 2.7% to 39,935 year to date.

The South Korean auto sector is boosting its sales and marketing efforts following the expiry of the temporary car sales tax discount at the end June.

Volkswagen has confirmed that it is the subject of a probe by German cartel officials after authorities said they had searched six car manufacturers and suppliers as part of an investigation into potential price collusion on steel purchasing.

VW Group, Daimler, BMW and suppliers Bosch and ZF said they were cooperating with German authorities after their offices were searched as part of a steel price-fixing investigation.

As automotive engineers push back the boundaries of combustion, an increasing number of studies are being carried out in the virtual world. The use of in-cylinder computational fluid dynamics (CFD) provides insight on what is happening as the combustion process takes place, shedding new light on everything from thermal efficiency to pollutant formation. Software developer Convergent Science was formed in 1997 by a group of combustion specialists. The company's Converge CFD code has been developed with combustion simulation in mind. Convergent Science's director of global marketing, Rob Kaczmarek, gives us his take on what the future holds for combustion modelling.

June light vehicle sales delivered a month of mixed messages. Total sales were up 2.4% to slightly better than 1.51m, thanks to an extra selling day, but the seasonally adjusted annualised rate (SAAR) came in at 16.66m, 340,000 units below June 2015. As we've noted previously, year over year comparisons are going to be tough for the balance of 2016.

Investors cheered when Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn announced that the company would acquire a 34 percent stake of scandal-tainted Mitsubishi Motors as part of an expanded strategic partnership.

Nissan and French alliance partner Renault are targeting a 28 percent increase in joint cost savings -- to $6.11 billion by 2018 -- but a top Nissan executive says the impact will be even bigger after bringing Mitsubishi Motors into the fold.

Volvo is on a roll. It is headed toward another record sales year, led by strong global demand for its XC90 flagship SUV. But CEO Hakan Samuelsson says the automaker is only halfway to its goals, as he explained to Automotive News Europe.