Auto News 5

Toyota, continuing to recover from a recall crisis, plans a new national advertising campaign for the Toyota brand that will highlight safety. Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota's U.S. Full story...

Tim Leuliette is out as CEO of Dura Automotive Systems and managing director of the automotive group at Patriarch Partners, the private equity firm that owns a majority stake in the supplier. Full story...

Tower International, the automotive supplier controlled by Cerberus Capital Management LP, priced its initial public offering of 6.250 million shares at $13 a share -- below expectations. Full story...

MWW Automotive Group says it has appointed Chuck Pinkerton as new CEO to lead the MWW Group, while Michael Winzkowski - long-standing CEO of MWW - will remain in the position of president and chairman of the company Full story...

Kathleen Ligocki, a former Ford Motor Co. executive who later led supplier Tower Automotive Inc., is now CEO of a green-vehicle startup. Ligocki, 54, replaces interim CEO Ray Lane at the newly renamed Next Autoworks Co. Lane remains chairman. Full story...

Kathleen Ligocki, a former Ford Motor Co. executive who later led supplier Tower Automotive Inc., is now CEO of a green-vehicle startup. Ligocki, 54, replaces interim CEO Ray Lane at the newly renamed Next Autoworks Co. Lane remains chairman. Full story...

Johnson Controls has forecast 2011 revenue above market estimates, helped by strength at its automotive segment, and said it would increase capital expenditure for the year to boost growth. Full story...

Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive said its direct car sales in September rose 25.1% year on year to 93,648 units. Full story...

Johnson Controls (JCI), which specialises in automotive seating systems, interior components and electronics, has signed a share purchase agreement for the acquisition of Michel Thierry. Full story...

Russia's automotive market and industry has been very hard hit by the country's severe economic recession of 2009. However, a moderate economic recovery is now taking hold and the automotive sector is seeing some uplift to volume helped by government support. In the first of series of just-auto management briefing articles focusing on the BRIC nations, Dave Leggett assesses the latest developments and prospects for Russia's automotive sector. Full story...

The Kia POP is but one of many urban mini-car concepts that were unveiled at this year's Paris auto show. Coined by Kia as being "a striking vision of future urban electric transport", the POP's styling is meant to be window into the future's future of automotive design. Full story...

Harald Hamprecht is returning to Crain Communications Inc. as editor-in-chief of Automotive News Europe. Full story...

Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, said aluminum sales to the automotive industry are forecast to grow as much as 8 percent this year, with Chinese sales up 15 percent to 20 percent. Full story...

New vehicle sales in Vietnam declined by 17.4% year on year to 9,141 units in September, from peak levels of 11,071 units a year earlier - according to the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association (VAMA). Full story...

New vehicle sales in the Philippines continued to soar in September, with total volumes rising by 27.8% to 14,447 units, according to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI). Full story...

In response to the rapid growth in Asian vehicle production, automotive safety systems specialist Autoliv has begun construction of a seatbelt weaving plant in Mysore near Bangalore. It will be India's first plant for this component. Full story...

Johnson Controls is to invest US$118m to build a third automotive battery plant in China in Chongqing adding to the company's existing plants in Shanghai and Changxing. Full story...

Car sales in Western Europe fell by 10.4% in September according to data released by JD Power Automotive Forecasting. Full story...

Car sales in western Europe fell 10.4 percent in September, according to J.D. Power Automotive Forecasting. The UK-based market researchers now expect a 6.4 percent decline in the region's car sales this year, followed by a 1. Full story...

Evolution Time Critical (ETC) specialises in providing emergency logistics services to the automotive industry. The firm's capabilities are keenly sought when breakdowns to the finely tuned automotive supply chain threaten to create costly line stoppages. ETC Managing Director Brad Brennan tells Dave Leggett more about this niche activity and how it works. Full story...