Auto Industry articles from April 2001

Auto Industry archives from April 2001

BMW prepares to outsource new SUV in product offensive.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Germany Under an agreement with Magna International, the North American vehicles group, BMW, may outsource the development and assembly of its latest SUV, the X3. BMW chairman, Joachim Milberg, has stated that negotiations could result...

Worthing deal awaits green light.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... UK Final confirmation is awaited on Daewoo's disposal of its Worthing technical centre in southern England. The site is expected to be acquired by TWR, the engineering and motor-sports group. Daewoo Motor, the bankrupt South Korean...

news and business: news in brief.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... United States Job losses at Federal Federal-Mogul has announced more than 1,100 job losses among its salaried workforce, amounting to over 8% of the current payroll. A company spokesperson said that a further 200 positions, which...

Volvo set to give up on MMC joint venture.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Japan It seems likely Volvo will withdraw from its joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors of Japan. This follows months of speculation since DaimlerChrysler acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi with an option to buy the Japanese company outright...

Ford to tackle quality issues on a global scale.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... US In the knowledge that its strong global product mix is going to get even stronger this year, and that it should be able to meet its worldwide cost-reduction target of $1 billion, Ford Motor Co is turning its attention to quality. ...

GM inserts takeover clause in Russian joint venture.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Russia General Motors has secured an option to take control of its planned joint venture with AvtoVAZ -- maker of Lada cars and Niva 4x4s -- in the event of any change of ownership at the Russian carmaker. The new clause was approved by...

Japanese market still stuck in the doldrums.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Japan Despite optimistic talk from politicians, it is clear that the Japanese economy remains in a slump. It is now 10 years since record car sales were made. Last year some progress was made, but this February production turned down,...

Mitsubishi reveals its cost cutting plan to help meet its profit targets.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Japan Mitsubishi Motors, one of three Japanese manufacturers to recently fall under the control of a foreign company, claims it is progressing to its goal of achieving a 4.5% operating profit margin by 2003. The company has made some...

Nissan set to shake up top management jobs.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Japan Nissan Motor has made some senior management changes, according to reports. The reshuffle is thought to extend from mid-level managers right up to Nissan's board of directors, with managers in the domestic sales division could be most...

Rover in engine talks with GM/Fiat.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... UK MGRover is understood to have entered negotiations with General Motors and Fiat on the possible use of engines and transmissions developed by the alliance partners. The talks, which remain at a preliminary stage, are the first contact...

Vauxhall gets union agreement on Luton closure.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... UK Vauxhall has come to an agreement with unions that will shape the future of its manufacturing operations in Britain. The deal, made in March, sets the seal on next year's ending of car production at Vauxhall's principal site at Luton....

Bosch to begin making truck unit injectors in Germany.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Germany Robert Bosch has started manufacturing electronic unit injectors (EUIs) and unit pumps (EUPs) for large truck and bus diesel engines in a new plant at Homburg, near Saarbrucken in Germany. These are components that have hitherto been...

Manufacturers aim for change in electronics.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Germany Most European manufacturers are keen to adopt an electronics system in which there are fewer electronic control units (ECUs)in the car. Speakers at a recent conference in Munich indicated that they would make each ECU carry out...

ERF branches out with move into lightweight sector.(offers 7.5 and 12-tonne gross vehicle weight ECL models)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 6, 2001... UK British-based heavy truck manufacturer ERF, owned since the beginning of last year by MAN of Germany, has for the first time moved outside its traditional heavyweight sector by adding two lighter models to its chassis line-up. The 7.5...

manufacturing: news in brief.
April 6, 2001... United States Cunningham ponders source for V12s Cunningham Motor Co believes it can compete with the likes of Bugatti and Ferrari if it can find a dependable source of the powerful V12 engines that it has decided to fit in its first...

Nissan launches its first Renault van after GM link-up.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Spain Nissan is to rebadge a Renault product for the first time. In an attempt to bolster its weak commercial vehicie range in Europe, Nissan will start to market a version of the new Renault Trafic this summer. The same vehicle, which has a...

Polynorm to manage Jaguar press shop.(Ford Motor Co.'s Jaguar Cars retains Polynorm Group to manage Castle Bromwich plant)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... UK/Holland Polynorm Group of Bunschoten, Holland is to manage the new press shop at Jaguar Cars' Castle Bromwich facility in the West Midlands. The plan represents a ground-breaking move on the part of the UK-based carmaker, a division of...

Toyota unveils engine plant to build V-8 in the USA.(to open $220 million, 1.16 mil engines/year plant in Huntsville, Alabama)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... USA Toyota is to open its fourth engine plant in North America, producing V-8 engines. When it is in full production, the plant in Huntsville, Alabama will have capacity to produce 1.16m engines a year in North America. The plant,...

VAW gives core package system a boost.(refines core package system of producing cylinder blocks and heads)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Germany After five years of production with its core package system (CPS), VAW, the Germany aluminium and foundry group, has made refinements which it claims put it ahead of the field. VAW has followed Cosworth into the field of precision...

VW power-hungry with W-type engines rollout.(new range of W-type engines offered with Passat W8)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Germany VW begins the unveiling of its new range of W-type engines with the official launch of the Passat W8, which has a 4litre engine with a W-type configuration. The aim is to produce engines that give differentiation, and enable large...

components: news in brief.(includes multiple records)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... United Kingdom TRW to lay off 1,000 staff TRW, the automotive parts, aerospace and information systems group, has announced it will be cutting 1,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2001. The group is looking to reduce its exposure to...

P/M parts market set for more acquisitions.(powdered metal parts)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... US One of the three North America-based companies that make up the second tier of powder metal parts manufacturing behind GKN Sinter Metals Inc. is poised to buy out one, two or even more companies in that field this year. That's if you...

Ford of Europe looks to supplier joint ventures.(sets up transmissions joint venture with Getrag)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... Germany According to David Thursfield, chief executive at Ford of Europe, the company may place more of its non-core European manufacturing operations in joint ventures with suppliers. Thursfield claimed that a joint venture with Getrag,...

Cat loses out as Cummins wins preferred-supplier status.(Cummins will not supply engines to Paccar)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... US As many North American truck market observers had forecast when Caterpillar signed its engine supply and technology exchange agreement with DaimlerChrysler, the deal has rebounded on Cat's relationship with its hitherto largest truck...

GM paradiGM strategy reduces HEV costs.(General Motors Corp., hybrid electric vehicles)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... US By using mass-market vehicles and the engineering strengths of all its partners and subsidiaries around the world, General Motors Corp hopes to be able to put hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) into circulation profitably in a number of...

Nissan follows Mazda's lead to badge Suzuki microcars.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Japan Nissan is to follow in Mazda's footsteps by contracting Suzuki to build microcars that will be sold as Nissans. The plan calls for the production of 3,000 units a month from next year. Japan's microcar market continues to thrive,...

R&D News: news in brief.(includes multiple records)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Japan Nissan cuts debt burden Sources at Nissan Motor are confident that the company can meet its debt target of Y1,100bn (6,25bn [pounds sterling]) by the end of the year to March 31, thanks in part to sales of its real estate and...

European car sales show an 8.7% drop.(new car registrations in Western Europe and European Union)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... Belgium European car sales fell dramatically in February, triggering fears that the economy is starting to feel the knock-on effects from the slow-down in the North American economy. Registrations in Western Europe totalled 1,080,305...

US car and truck sales continue to slip.(in February 2001 compared to February 2000)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... North America After a temporary blip last month, car and truck sales in the US continue to fall dramatically. In February total car and truck sales stood at 1,358,702 units compared to 1,505,089 for the same period last year, representing...

Titanium for new turbochargers.
April 6, 2001... Holset Engineering is developing a titanium compressor wheel for use in heavy.duty diesel engines for trucks. John Mortimer assesses the implications The drive to introduce titanium compressor wheels in a new generation of turbochargers...

New layout pulls Longbridge into shape.(MGRover consolidates production)(Interview)
April 6, 2001... Having consolidated all of its manufacturing operations under one roof, the future is now looking brighter for MGRover. Simon Pitman talks to operations director Chris Bowen It is now just under a year since MG Rover was bought by John...

Polynorm panels for X350.(Ford Motor Co., Polynorm Automotive, Mayflower Corp.)
April 6, 2001... John Mortimer examines some of the implications of Ford's decision to hand the running of its Castle Bromwich press shop to Dutch company Polynorm The decision by Ford Motor Company to hive out some of its operations, such as the new...

The French automotive industry: an overview.(Industry Overview)
April 6, 2001... While it lacks the variety of Germany or Spain in terms of different manufacturers, the French automotive industry continues to ride high. Paul Blaney examines the facts and figures The French automotive manufacturing industry is the...

Ford's Dagenham plant to make direct glazing for Fiesta.(windshield installation on moving lines at U.K. facility)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Ford has come up with a system to insert Fiesta windscreens while the production line still moves, a first for the industry. Windscreens are now being inserted on moving production lines in Fiesta cars built at Ford's Dagenham, Essex...

High hopes for road mapping automotive electronics.(Information Technology for European Advancement developing wireless Internet access platform)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... European industry is teaming up to provide unified computer technology for the automotive industry. John Hartley explains the implications Over the next seven years, the EU plans to join forces with industry to spend 3.2bn [European...

Powertrain technology highlights UK truck show.
April 6, 2001... Encroaching Euro 2 diesel regulations have meant a lot of work for truck manufacturers. Alan Bunting discusses some of the changes that are being made Last month's Commercial Vehicle Show at the UK's National Exhibition Centre in...

Taking the mid-term view -- a union perspective.(Interview)
April 6, 2001... TGWU automotive man Tony Woodley, talks to Paul Blaney about overcapacity, flexible workforces and recent negotiations with GM/Vauxhall over the closure of its Luton plant AIN: What argument is there to be made against the claims of...

People.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Autoindustrys regular roundup of industry appointments The drive to restore sales at Nissan in Japan will be overseen by Norio Matsumura, who will head up a new global sales and marketing group. He will work alongside Yukio Kilahore,...