Auto News 5

Volkswagen's U.S. sales rose 5.7 percent in June to 28,941 on growth from its crossover lineup.

Hyundai's big-bodied answer to the Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander and Chevrolet Traverse has been spotted again by a spy photographer in Arizona.

The automaker overcame a 2.3 percent decline in fleet business and a 14 percent drop in the car segment thanks to strong performances for its SUV and pickup business. Utility sales rose 8.9 percent for a record June while pickup sales increased 3.

The Suzuki SX4, a compact crossover developed jointly by Suzuki and Fiat, was launched in 2006. At the 2012 Paris motor show, Suzuki unveiled its S-Cross concept and broadcast that it would be a new model, not a replacement for the SX4. Six months later the SX4 S-Cross, loosely based on the S-Cross concept, appeared at the Geneva motor show and received a facelift in 2016. Continuing QUBE/just-auto's review of interior design and technology trends, we peer inside this small SUV to see what makes it shine in a crowded market.

PSA will launch a "free floating" car-sharing scheme in Paris during the final quarter of 2018. The program will allow drivers to pick up an electric vehicle at one location and leave it elsewhere in the city, the carmaker said.

Record June sales for Jeep and Ram boosted FCA US sales by 8 percent to 202,264. Sales at all brands except Fiat and Chrysler rose during the month. The company's fleet mix declined slightly to 23 percent for the month, from 24 percent a year ago.

Domestic sales by South Korea's five largest automakers combined fell by 5.7% to 131,827 vehicles in June from 139,842 units in the same month of last year, according to preliminary data released individually by the vehicle manufacturers.

Despite bullish forecasts for global demand -- especially with accelerating production of electric vehicles -- lithium may have a funding problem. Banks are wary.

Sales of new cars in Italy declined 7.3 percent in June, according to figures published by the country's transport ministry. The decrease follows a 2.8 percent drop in May.

U.S. light-vehicle deliveries, boosted by healthy deals, America's surging appetite for light trucks and an extra weekend of sales, rose 5.2 percent in June as the auto industry closed out the first half of 2018 on a high.

Ford, Toyota, FCA and Nissan posted higher U.S. sales in June behind strong pickup, SUV and crossover demand.

Hyundai said it was partnering with Autotalks, an Israeli provider of vehicle to everything communication technology for improving road safety.

Hyundai Motor's unionised workers in South Korea have voted to strike over stalled annual wage talks. The news comes as the company's share price slides amid worsening prospects in the US and China markets.

That's the result of measures taken since the 1980s, when laid-off Detroit autoworkers vented their frustrations by bashing Japanese cars with sledgehammers.

A former French Minister is urging the automotive sector to "not be defensive" as it looks to the myriad challenges presented by new technologies which are starting to impact the diesel sector in particular.

A top adviser to presidential winner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said an agreement is possible before the next government takes power in December.

German auto trade body VDA said it now expects Germany's market to grow by 1 percent to around 3.5 million vehicles this year, compared with a previous guidance for 3.4 million.

Germany's VDA auto industry lobby has nudged higher its forecast for growth in domestic car sales this year even as the sector continues to grapple with the aftermath of the diesel crisis and a looming trade war with the U.S.

Similar to Volkswagen's Passenger Cars and Commercial Vehicles brands, Components is to become an independent corporate entity under the umbrella of VW AG from January 2019.

States with large automobile production facilities, such as Michigan and South Carolina, are among the most exposed to the tariffs, according to the chamber's analysis.