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News 9 Jun, 2014

League table shows that England can only manage a disappointing seventh place

News 9 Jun, 2014

Exclusive: new looks, new tech and front-wheel drive for next-generation BMW 1 Series due in 2018

News 2 Jan, 2019

The Mk3 BMW 1 Series will use a front-wheel drive MINI platform for added efficiency when it is revealed later in 2019

It looks like the final Hundustan Ambassador - Amby to the locals - has rolled off the line in a plant that looks about as jurassic as the car it made since the mid-1950s.

Honda Cars India will start a second production shift at its Tapukara plant, employing about 1,000 workers, this financial year.

TRW Automotive has announced the opening of its largest technical centre - a 66,000 sq m facility in Anting, China.

Mercedes-Benz booked another sales record in May. A total of 134,031 vehicles were sold to customers around the world (+10.4%). It has sold 641,384 vehicles since the start of 2014 (+14.0%), also a record.

News 9 Jun, 2014

Alfa confirms prices, specs and release dates for hot Alfa Romeo Guilietta & MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde models

I was in Brussels last week for the Automotive News Europe Congress. One strong theme that emerged was corporate turnaround and the kinds of things that company leaders need to do in an industry as highly competitive as automotive.

Ford China sales grew 32% in May with 93,323 sold compared to 70,449 in May 2013. Year to date sales were up 39%, with 461,473 sold compared to 332,308 in the first five months of 2013.

The average age of a light vehicle on the road in the United States remained flat at 11.4 years at the end of 2013, and the total light vehicles in operation reached a record 252.7 million, up 2 percent from 2012, IHS Automotive said today.

International Automotive Components (IAC) has opened its Asian headquarters in Shanghai.

General Motors has announced four more recalls, taking the total to 34 this year, including the high-profile ignition switch replacement programme currently under way.

TRW says it is maintaining its affordable safety approach to vehicle systems as it looks to capitalise on its market position in the field.

At the cornerstone laying ceremony for its new Brazilian engine plant, Toyota said it plans to have 19 suppliers close to the Porto Feliz site, 76 miles west of the city of São Paulo. The town is close to Sorocaba where the Etios hatchback and saloon are produced.

-- Potential trouble for the kei car, Japan's famous 660cc tiny-wheeled wonders of mirth and merriment. It's hard building for just one market, and kei cars are limited to the Japanese market and the occasional campus of a state university.

German parts supplier Brose has agreed to let a 75,000 sq ft industrial unit in Coventry from property investment company Palace Capital as it expands its operations.

News 9 Jun, 2014

CEO Elon Musk predicts that Britain will be a key market and R&D hub for Tesla, despite concerns over electric car infrastructure

Yves Bonnefont became the first CEO of PSA's upscale DS brand on June 1. The group's former director of strategy is now tasked with elevating DS from a tiny-but-successful division of Citroen to a global powerhouse.

American consumers appear to have become inured to the fuel price spikes and sales of the Toyota Prius and other hybrids may be flattening.