Auto News 5

Volvo plans to launch a special long wheelbase, petrol S60L plug-in hybrid model in China in mid-2015, a local media report said.

Hyundai plans to make India its export base for emerging markets in south east Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Asbury Automotive Group Inc.'s acquisition ambitions keep getting bigger. Asbury, the nation's seventh-largest dealership group, said today that it now aims to buy stores that will add $500 million in annual revenue during the next 18 months.

Tata Motors luxury vehicle unit Jaguar Land Rover has opened its first full manufcaturing facility outside the UK, in China.

Citroen's new C3-XR subcompact crossover will remain a China-only vehicle after the brand ruled out European sales of the model. Citroen says the C4 Cactus is a better fit in Europe for customers seeking a small SUV-styled vehicle.

China's drive to build electric cars as a way to combat pollution and reduce energy dependence is likely to set up a greater-than-forecast surge in demand for aluminum, according to Novelis, the world's biggest supplier of the material to automakers.

General Motors is recalling 97,540 2013-2014 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL, and 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Express, Impala, Silverado HD, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Savana, and Sierra HD vehicles in the US to check for a potential electrical problem.

China's vehicle sales will likely rise just 5 percent in 2014 to 23 million, according to the country's main auto association, which revised its growth forecast downward for the second time this year.

Toyota Motor Sales USA, has announced a supplemental safety recall of approximately 247,000 Toyota Corolla, Matrix, Sequoia, Tundra and Lexus SC vehicles produced from 2001 to 2004 and equipped with front passenger airbag inflators supplied by Takata.

PSA's joint venture with Dongfeng began construction of its fourth Chinese assembly plant. The factory will launch production in 2016 and will build up to 360,000 vehicles a year.

Daimler is said to be in talks to take a stake of up to 25 percent in Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta. Carmakers' interest in motorbike technology is growing as they introduce smaller engines aimed at meeting anti-pollution rules.

News 21 Oct, 2014

The first Hyundai ix35 Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles have been delivered to customers in the UK, and are available to order now.

Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, has told just-auto that he believes Britain is better off inside a reformed European Union (EU).

News 21 Oct, 2014

Ford has unveiled a car seat that can detect when the driver is having a heart attack, allowing the vehicle to come to a safe stop

Jaguar Land Rover aims to capture 10 percent of China's premium SUV market as its first local plant allows the UK luxury marque to cut prices and boost sales in the world's largest auto market.

Nissan's redesigned Maxima sedan may be getting back to its '4DSC' roots. Recent spy photos show an early prototype of the 2016 Maxima.

Geely's GC9, the Chinese brand's flagship sedan set to debut at the Guangzhou auto show next month, is being touted as the first Geely developed under former Ford and Volvo designer Peter Horbury.

From GMM

The president of F1 sponsor Total has been killed in a plane crash, the Russian news agency Ria Novosti reports.

The French oil multinational is closely aligned in formula one with Renault-powered teams Red Bull and Lotus and the French driver Romain Grosjean.

Russia's Lifenews service also reports that Total's president, Christophe de Margerie, died in a plane crash at the Vnukovo airport in Moscow early on Tuesday.

"Together with the head of Total, all three crew members were killed," the news agency said, revealing that the Paris-bound jet crashed into a snow machine on the runway.

The airport confirmed that a Falcon 50 - a French-built, mid-sized corporate jet - had crashed.

From GMM

More alarming news about the health of the ailing F1 backmarker Caterham has emerged.

The posts have now been deleted, but race driver Kamui Kobayashi reportedly admitted on Facebook recently that he considered pulling out of the Russian grand prix when Caterham ran out of spare parts.

He posted a photo of broken suspension on his car at Sochi that was repaired rather than replaced.

"It's checked all the time but, even so, being asked to race like this is too scary! I want to go home already," the Japanese said, according to the BBC.

The 28-year-old driver's manager Chikara Funada confirmed that Kobayashi had written the posts, which were at his private Facebook page and not a public profile.

Photo: Caterham F1 Team

Earlier this month, bailiffs seized items from Caterham's Leafield headquarters, in the wake of founder Tony Fernandes' exit and the arrival of Swiss-Middle Eastern owners represented by new team advisor Colin Kolles.

Now, it emerges that the company that designs and builds the team's F1 cars, Caterham Sports Limited, has been placed into a process of insolvency.

Finbarr O'Connell, working for the firm Smith and Williamson, told the Telegraph: "As administrator I control the machines they are working on, the computers, the factory, the intellectual property.

"If I don't do a deal with 1MRT (the Caterham F1 team) then they (staff) will have nothing to work on and their jobs could be at risk," he revealed.

It is believed the plan of Caterham's new management is to relocate the entire operation, possibly to Kolles' Greding facility in Germany, where the Romanian based his F3 and Le Mans projects.

"For avoidance of any doubt," team boss Manfredi Ravetto said last week, "I'd like to add that Leafield remains the team's base, even though it's no secret that we are looking for a more suitable alternative. We look forward to the final three races of the season, we will keep fighting, we will keep improving and we will introduce some positive surprises."

Caterham have dismissed reports that Caterham Sports Limited entering administration will impact the future of the Formula 1 team.

The fate of Caterham Sports Limited (CSL), which is a supplier to the F1 team, has been in doubt for a few weeks after bailiffs seized items from its UK base to recover debts the company owed.

Both are based in Leafield, but the F1 team is operated by 1 Malaysia Racing Team (1MRT), which is a separate entity from CSL.

The division of the businesses, which was pivotal to a dispute over who owned items taken from Leafield by bailiffs, means that what happens to CSL will not impact directly on Caterham's F1 plans.

A spokesperson for the F1 squad told Sky Sports F1 “the administration does not threaten the racing team”.

However, it is evident that there have been mounting frustrations in recent weeks from 1MRT's new owners about having inherited problems they were not expecting.

Photo: Caterham F1 Team