Auto News 5

General Motors' Australian unit Holden has dropped the decades-old Antipodean term for pick up truck - 'ute' (for 'utility') - and has adopted instead the US term to call its redesigned, Thai-built midsize Colorado a 'truck'.

Toyoda Gosei Automotive Sealing Mexico, a Mexican subsidiary of Toyoda Gosei, plans to increase its production capacity for weatherstrips to approximately 1.5 times the current level by 2020. This is being done to meet the growing demand for these parts as automobile production increases in North America, especially in Mexico. 

Tesla has revised the Model S and added a larger battery pack which gives the car jaw-dropping acceleration and a longer range on full charge.

Opel said this week it would "revolutionise electromobility at the up-coming Mondial de l'Automobile in Paris as its latest Ampera-e electric car makes its world debut".

Inteva Products has announced that it will be making an investment of US$23m and creating additional jobs to support new business in Michigan.

Kia's fourth-generation Rio -  a model assembled and sold widely across the world - will make its world debut on 29 September at the Paris show.

Kia is giving its Rio subcompact hatchback a sporty look to help it compete better against rivals such as the Ford Fiesta and Peugeot 208.

News 24 Aug, 2016

Volkswagen adds Sportline trim to latest T6 Transporter kombi, priced from £36,295 with BiTDI diesel

Lamborghini expects to at least double annual production to 7,000 vehicles by 2019 once it rolls out its new SUV, CEO Stefano Domenicali said. The VW Group brand will cap annual production of its sports cars at 3,500 units to maintain exclusivity.

Opinion 24 Aug, 2016

Advances in tech like variable compression petrol engines will kill off diesel engines, rather than punitive taxation, says Steve Fowler

Ssangyong Motor said it was ready to re-launch the brand in the Philippines after exiting this market in 2009, according to local reports.

Features 25 Aug, 2016

Thierry Plantegenest, the original Renault Clio product chief, reveals the secrets behind its launch and tells us why it’s an icon

Volkswagen Group's agreement to end a standoff with a resistant supplier shows the limits of the automaker's push to reduce spending in the wake of record fines over its emissions-cheating scandal.

Germany's  Association of Supply Chain Management, Procurement and Logistics (BME) says the bitter dispute between Volkswagen and two of its suppliers this week has the potential for "substantial, subsequent effects."

From technology transfer through to changing perceptions of a brand, motorsport is a powerful tool for OEMs. Yet increasing costs of motorsport coupled with the relevance to today's younger audience - who appear less passionate about buying cars - are concerns. Dan Walmsley, team principal at Strakka Racing, explains the issues surrounding reliance on motorsport for revenue can cause and the opportunities to broaden its appeal.

VW will compensate Prevent Group as part of a deal to end a supply dispute that stopped Golf and Passat production in Germany, sources said. The agreed-upon figure is $14.7 million, a German newspaper said.

Borgward, the German brand being revived with Chinese backing, has once again tapped former Daimler executives in its latest round of management hiring.

General Motors said a Texas judge denied its bid to throw out a lawsuit over a fatal 2011 crash blamed on a faulty ignition switch, after the company accused a car driver and his lawyers of fabricating evidence about the vehicle's key.