Following several media reports over the weekend and so far today (Monday, 26 March), there are ominous signs suggesting General Motors has decided, as widely speculated, eventually to close its Bochum plant in Germany and, possibly, Ellesmere Port in England, and replace the two plants' output with vehicles shipped from other factories across Europe and South Korea but likely not before agreements with unions expire in 2014.
Ford will officially open its US$450m car plant in Rayong in May and production of the Focus will begin soon afterwards. The Fiesta is already made in Thailand and exported widely as far as Australia and New Zealand.
Honda has restarted production at its car plant in Thailand, crippled for the past six months after massive flooding there last year.
Ford has laid the cornerstone for a new US$1bn factory in India which will have the capacity to manufacture 240,000 cars and 270,000 engines a year when completed in 2014.
Honda is recalling 1,316 CR-V SUVs in the US for a potential welding problem that could lead to vehicle handling problems.
Daimler will present a study of an electric car for the Chinese market at next month's Beijing auto show, a company board member told a German magazine.
GM plans to keep all its Opel/Vauxhall plants open through 2014, GM Europe President Karl-Friedrich Stracke told a German newspaper. Reports that a German factory and a UK plant are scheduled for closure are 'false,' Stracke said.
The European Union risks losing its climate leadership in the auto sector to aggressive U.S. and Asian manufacturers unless it sets ambitious targets for cutting vehicle emissions in 2020 and beyond, governments and environmentalists have warned.
Volvo is recalling 12,798 of its 2012 model year vehicles imported into China, the top Chinese quality regulator said, in order to prevent potential fuel leaks and to fix faulty wiring that could cause airbag failure.
Labor leaders from Opel/Vauxhall and PSA will start efforts next month to forge a strategic alliance that would serve as a counterweight to the two companies and ward off job cuts.
Opel has chosen veteran VW Group executive Alfred Rieck as its new sales and marketing sales boss, according to a newspaper report. Opel's supervisory board is expected to approve the appointment at its next meeting on March 28, the report said.
Bernd Bohr, the head of Bosch's automotive unit, may become CEO at the supplier, succeeding Franz Fehrenbach.
Fiat's launch of its crucial new-generation Panda minicar is being hit hard by a truckers' strike that has paralyzed vehicle distribution in Italy. Fiat will stop Panda production March 26 and 27 at its factory in Pomigliano d'Arco, near Naples.
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