Auto News 5

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand, bolstered by demand for its crossovers, sold the most luxury light vehicles in the U.S. for a second straight month in March, closing in on Mercedes-Benz's first-quarter lead.

General Motors eked out a 0.9 percent sales increase in March as strong demand for pickups and SUVs helped to offset another big reduction in deliveries to rental companies.

Fiat Chrysler dealers got their first in-person look at the automaker's plans to build more SUVs and pickups, and also heard that the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart will change, but won't be going away.

Detroit automakers reported higher March and first-quarter auto sales in Canada, as forecasters expect Canadian demand this year to exceed that of record-breaking 2015.

Despite flourishing sales for Jeep and Ram, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles struggled mightily on an industry scorecard released by J.D.

Lincoln will offer a free remote pickup and drop-off service to owners of the Continental sedan, which goes on sale later this year, as the brand seeks unique ways to make its products stand out.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s March new-vehicle sales in the U.S. fell 2.7 percent from last year as car sales continued to slump and an early Easter contributed to dampened retail volume.

Honda Motor Co. reported a 9.4 percent increase in U.S. sales last month, bolstered by strong car shipments and gains at both its Honda and Acura divisions. Volume jumped 11 percent at the Honda division with 123,369 sales in March, and edged up 1.

Volkswagen said it is recalling 91,000 Passat sedans in the U.S. to fix insufficient cable insulation that could cause short circuits.

Ford Motor Co. was the top-selling automaker in the U.S. last month for the first time in five years, outselling General Motors by 936 light vehicles. Fleet sales made the difference, with Ford's rising 39 percent and GM's dropping 13 percent.

Strong U.S. sales of SUVs, pickups and minivans pushed Fiat Chrysler sales up 8.1 percent last month. The automaker said it sold 213,187 vehicles in the U.S. in March.

The Model 3 is a handsome machine that looks every bit like a smaller version of the company's Model S.

Tesla shares surged to their highest in six months early today after the electric car maker said orders for its new Model 3 sedan, its first car aimed at the mass market, reached 198,000.

Today, Friday 1 April, saw a management reshuffle at Mazda Germany as Bernhard Kaplan (42) took over as managing director.

Today, Friday 1 April, saw a management reshuffle at Mazda head office in Germany and European national sales companies.

Nissan, Fiat Chrysler and Ford Motor chalked up solid U.S. sales gains in March as higher spending on incentives and strong demand for light trucks were projected to lift the industry to another monthly advance.

U.S. light-vehicle sales rose 3.1 percent in March, but the pace of deliveries slowed considerably as retail growth slackened during the month, even with a spike in discounts.

Kia expects its new Niro hybrid crossover and Optima station wagon to help give the brand a big sales boost in Europe while attracting new customers to the brand. Kia is targeting a 9 percent sales increase to 420,000 units in the region this year.

Is there light at the end of a long, dark tunnel for Russia? After more than a year of catastrophically plummeting light vehicle sales, last month saw a real brake on the runaway falling numbers. Oil prices - on which Russia is so heavily dependent - are at last showing some real depth to their rise and have now surged 50% since January. The recent Russian Automotive Forum in Moscow provided a barometer of where the industry is - and where it might go. Here are some of the quotes which resonated.

Opinion 3 Apr, 2016

After a weekend in the UK's most economical car, Mike Rutherford wonders why other manufacturers can't catch up in the economy race