Auto News 5

Continental AG will close its Blythewood, S.C., plant by the end of 2010, idling 440 workers, the automotive supplier said yesterday. The factory's diesel-parts manufacturing operations will move to the company's Newport News, Va., plant. Full story...

Bosch on Tuesday said it would temporarily stop producing automotive components in India to avoid stockpiling. Full story...

The newest members of the European Automotive Hall of Fame share a common trait: guts. Full story...

UK car retailer Inchcape warned on its 2009 profit and said sales would slow at a greater rate than previously expected, underlining the severity of the downturn in the global automotive retail market. Full story...

They're parts that most motorists take for granted, but an industry leader in automotive locks and latches has announced two innovative new door systems intended for compact-class vehicles. Full story...

Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement announced that the Governments of Canada and Ontario have agreed to invest 3.4 billions of dollars to help the automotive industry in Canada. Full story...

Automotive seating and electronics supplier Lear Corp. withdrew its full-year earnings guidance today after the Senate refused $14 billion in emergency loans to the automakers late Thursday. Full story...

Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. in Lafayette, Ind., will halt production of the Subaru Legacy, Outback and Tribeca and the Toyota Camry for six days between Dec. 22 and Jan. 19, the company said today. Full story...

Robert Bosch will "badly miss" its 2008 targets and expects no growth in 2009 as the global economic downturn hits home, the world's biggest automotive components supplier said on Friday. Full story...

The failure of the U.S. government bailout for the automotive sector has no direct consequences for Ford's unit Volvo Car, a spokeswoman for the Swedish subsidiary said on Friday. Full story...

Continental is not at this stage trying to restructure bank loans it took up last year to finance its acquisition of the VDO automotive electronics business, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Full story...

The Swedish government has presented a 25 billion kroner (US$3.4bn) support package to help its automotive sector. The plan - still requiring lawmakers' approval - offers credit guarantees, emergency loans and research funds to boost automotive companies. Full story...

The German automotive industry trade association, Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) is considering setting up a fund to support suppliers in trouble. Full story...

High debt levels are causing concern at German automotive supplier Continental and Schaeffler, which is in the process of taking it over. Full story...

The automotive world is shrinking by the second. After Volkswagen, BMW is now selling diesel-powered cars in North America. A 3-Series sedan called 335d and a new variant of the X5 known as the xDrive35d are now part of the brand's portfolio. Wolfsburg's TDI monopoly will soon be no more. A new market segment is fast emerging and the 2009 BMW 335d, the first premium compact sedan to run on diesel in Canada, represents the tip of this iceberg. Full story...

Although the electrically-assisted steering market is relatively small in North America, manufacturers say this market will grow. Demand on both sides of the Atlantic is being fuelled by a range of factors, not least that electric systems are more economical to run, lighter, recyclable and easier to package and install compared to conventional hydraulic systems. Matthew Beecham talked with Charlie Cregeur, director, global steering product planning for TRW Automotive's chassis division to find out how the steering market is shaping-up. Full story...

The main German automotive industry trade union, IG Metall, has proposed a seven-point programme to secure jobs and stabilise the economy. Full story...

Car manufacturers and automotive component suppliers in the Czech Republic are expected to lay off more than 13,000 workers by the middle of next year, an auto industry group has said. Full story...

The combination of a deepening US recession and the effects of the credit crisis are expected to produce a further decline in 2009 US automotive industry sales volumes from already-depressed 2008 levels, data out this week suggests. Full story...

Chrysler and Chery Automotive have ended cooperation talks, the two companies said separately, both blaming the global economic slowdown. Full story...