Auto News 5

Fuel-economy standards for all light vehicles will rise 8 percent, to an average of 27.3 mpg for the 2011 model year, under new U.S. rules issued on Friday. Full story...

Fuel-economy standards for all light vehicles will rise 8 percent, to an average of 27.3 mpg for the 2011 model year, under new U.S. rules issued on Friday. Full story...

The White House on Friday will boost fuel-economy standards for light vehicles to 27.3 mpg for 2011, media reports said. Full story...

Johnson Controls Inc. said today it will reduce its work force and close 10 plants as part of a new round of restructuring. The parts maker also will take a pre-tax charge of up to $215 million, to be taken in the second quarter ending March 31 Full story...

Electric car specialist Tesla Motors has unveiled its second production model in addition to its Roadster. The 'Model S' is described as a family sedan that carries seven people, travels 300 miles per charge and will sell at just under US$50,000 - with production planned to begin in 2011. Full story...

Continental's supervisory board today elected lawyer Rolf Koerfer as its chairman. Koerfer, 51, is an adviser to the Schaeffler Group, which in January completed a hostile takeover of the tire and automotive components supplier. Full story...

Vehicle interior and battery specialist Johnson Controls on Friday said it would book an additional pre-tax restructuring charge of US$200-$215m for its fiscal 2009 second quarter but expected a return to profitability in its third and fourth quarters with its interiors business expected to break even by the end of the fiscal year. The restructuring includes unspecified workforce reductions and the closure of 10 manufacturing plants expected to be completed in 2010 with a planned payback of 1.5 years. Full story...

BMW is expanding the range of its vehicle models produced at the Avtotor plant in Kaliningrad to include the X5 and X6. Full story...

Michelin is planning additional production furloughs to avoid layoffs affecting 9,000 employees in Spain this year. Full story...

Striking electric sports saloon takes aim at Jaguar XF and BMW 5-Series

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Automakers will be forced to close more factories to align car production with falling new-car sales, Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said today. Full story...

Mercedes-Benz South Africa plans to shut its East London production plant for four weeks next month and for a further four weeks from the last week in May, according to local reports, though it was not clear when in April the four-week shutdown would begin. Full story...

Hot Ferrari caught out

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Fuel-economy standards for all U.S. light vehicles will rise 8 percent to an average of 27.3 mpg for the 2011 model year and will cost the industry $1.46 billion to make the change, the government said today. Full story...

Fuel-economy standards for all U.S. light vehicles will rise 8 percent to an average of 27.3 mpg for the 2011 model year and will cost the industry $1.46 billion to make the change, the government said today. Full story...

Fuel-economy standards for all light vehicles will rise 8 percent, to an average of 27.3 mpg for the 2011 model year, under new U.S. rules issued today. Full story...

The White House today will boost fuel-economy standards for light vehicles to 27.3 mpg for 2011, media reports said. Cars will be required to travel an average of 30.2 miles on a gallon of fuel, up from 27. Full story...

French minister of finance Christine Lagarde has criticised Continental for its plans to shut down its production sites in Clairoix and Hanover. Full story...

AvtoVAZ has said that it will raise prices on all of its 2009 Lada models by an average of 2.5% starting from March 30. Full story...

The German scrappage bonus has triggered a boom in demand for Opel, the struggling German unit of General Motors that is looking for a new investor. "We forecast some 120,000 customer orders in the first quarter of 2009. Full story...