Auto News 5

Where on earth did the first quarter of 2016 go? Time to disappear soon under the usual avalanche of financial results - first quarter for most of the Americans and Europeans; fiscal full year for most Japanese and Indian companies. In the meantime, Matthew Beecham's Q&A with Bosch on the Internet of Things (aka IoT), connectivity, sensors and cameras drew a lot of eyes this week, second only to Ford's announcement music streaming app Spotify is to joins McDonald's, 7-Eleven and BP as a partner in the FordPass membership service that the automaker is pitching to its customers and potential future customers.

SKF has opened a sealing solutions factory in Zapopan, Mexico, located near the Group's existing plant in Guadalajara, allowing for continued production increase, mainly for automotive OEMs in North America.

Volkswagen will recall 3,877 Vento sedan cars in India after tests by an automotive body found that carbon monoxide emissions were sometimes exceeding the threshold limits.

Volvo will recall 3,316 vehicles built this year on possible faults with the cars' electronic systems, the country's technical safety watchdog said today.

Daimler announced the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen would produce the new GLC Coupé, just launched at the New York show, with the C-Class Cabriolet to follow. By then, the factory will be building 10 different models and taken on 200 current temporary workers as permanent employees.

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has resigned from his position as chairman of Proton Holdings and chairman of the company's UK sports car subsidiary Group Lotus.

Supplier Robert Bosch is spending MYR140m (US$36m) on its car multimedia plant near Georgetown on the Malaysian island of Penang.

Tesla Motors has unveiled its Model 3 electric car and started taking orders for the car, which comes with a lower price tag than previous models and is planned to reach much higher volumes.

Progress-Werk Oberkirch (PWO) has unveiled fiscal 2015 net income up EUR200,000 to EUR7.5m (US$8.5m), as well as Group revenue rising from EUR381m to EUR405m.

French car sales rose 7.5 percent in March, the country's main industry association said today, led by 12 percent rise at Renault Group and a resurgent General Motors, which saw sales rise nearly 19 percent on demand for Opel models.

French passenger car registrations rose 7.5 percent to 211,264 last month, the CCFA industry association said. The increase completed an 8.2 percent first-quarter expansion to 516,392 - a strong start to the year.

Federal-Mogul Powertrain has introduced two piston skirt coatings - EcoTough-New Generation (for gasoline engines) and EcoTough-D (for diesel propulsion units).

Lectra has inked a deal with HMT, a Chinese airbag manufacturer and supplier of airbag fabrics and technical textiles, for the development and manufacture of one-piece woven (OPW) airbags.

Volkswagen's diesel recall in Germany is being delayed because the automaker's fix for rigged engines results in higher fuel consumption, according to media reports.

The latest issue of the Automotive News Europe monthly e-magazine goes live on Monday, April 4. This month's edition looks at the backlash all automakers are facing in the aftermath of the VW Group's diesel-emissions cheating scandal.

Tesla, suggesting there may be pent-up demand for an affordable EV with decent range, revealed the $35,000-and-up Model 3 during an invitation-only event Thursday.

Tesla, suggesting there may be pent-up demand for an affordable EV with decent range, revealed the $35,000-and-up Model 3 during an invitation-only event Thursday.

Ford of Europe will join rival Opel and premium brands BMW and Audi by offering embedded modems in its cars to boost connectivity.

Ford Motor has honored several auto dealers for their dedication to their communities. Ford's Salute to Dealers, conducted under the guidance of Edsel Ford II, a member of Ford's board, was held here Thursday.

U.S. auto sales may be nearing a plateau, but that's not a sign of trouble ahead, Bob Carter, senior vice president for automotive operations at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., said Thursday.