Auto Industry articles from July 2001

Auto Industry archives from July 2001

GM surveys the storm-tossed European scene.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Europe Against a background of operational losses -- to the tune of $86m (61 m [pounds sterling]) in the first quarter of 2001 -- and softening demand, General Motors is to review its European sales and marketing strategy. The review has been...

Toyota and PSA set to forge a small car partnership.(Peugeot S.A.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Japan An announcement made by the Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and the PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) group has promised that the signing of a memorandum of understanding is imminent. The two sides have been engaged in talks on the joint development...

Varta batteries for new Mini.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Automotive battery manufacturer, Varta, has been working with the BMW design team at Cowley to develop a starter battery that will meet the unusual installation and operational demands of such a small car. A particular challenge has been the...

Dealers to make deal.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Noises coming from Mercedes Benz car dealers suggest that they may be close to reaching a settlement with DaimlerChrysler UK over the company's plan to dismantle the nationwide network of dealers. DC UK upset the dealers when it announced a...

Job cuts at Freightliner.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Freightliner is to shed a further 1,120 workers in the face of sharply reduced truck demand. Some 475 jobs will go at the Mount Holly plant in North Carolina, and 284 at a plant in Mexico, In Canada, where Freightliner recently acquired...

Freightliner comes in for the Chrysler treatment.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... US DC senior executives have met in Stuttgart to discuss a further restructuring at Freightliner, its principal North American truck concern, as orders for heavy trucks continue to slide. The discussions came in the wake of the removal in May...

Opel sound retreat on jobs and market share.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Germany Pointing to the parlous state of the German passenger car market, Opel officials have warned of imminent job losses -- Opel, the European unit of General Motors, employs a workforce of 42,000. They also said they would be abandoning...

Citroen plans campaign to boost sales.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... France Citroen, part of the PSA group, has announced a programme whereby it hopes to boost unit sales by more than 30% to an annual 1.5 million cars by 2005. The company is set to launch four new models as part of a group investment worth...

Rover teams up with Quale for new sports car.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... UK In late June, MG Rover officials announced that the company had signed a deal to buy the assets of the Italian subsidiary of the Quale Automotive Group. The company, which is based in Modena in the north of the country, has a workforce of...

New model range as Volvo takes centre stage.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Sweden Volvo Cars is set to invest up to $8bn (5bn [pounds sterling]) over the next five years to develop a new range of models. The Swedish carmaker, a subsidiary of Ford since 1999, is becoming ever more central to the plans of its parent...

Plans for H3 Hummers nearly finalised at GM.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... US Motors Corporation is close to buttoning up plans to put the third entry in its stable of Hummer all-terrain vehicles into production in 2004. It will be the "Baby Hummer", dubbed the H3. The only Hummer currently on the market is the...

Short-term forecast remains gloomy at Vauxhall.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... UK Vauxhall, the British subsidiary of GM, is facing the prospect of further losses this year. The losses will be down to a combination of pricing pressures, the strength of sterling and a lack of demand for ageing models, according to...

Rover on the road to Oman.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... MG Rover is reported to be engaged in talks over a plan to manufacture its Rover series in a remote corner of an unlikely market -- Iran. Negotiations with Dastan, a privately owned company in one of the country's least known provinces, are...

GMC model mix to be reduced.(General Motors Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... In a drive to curtail costs and boost profits at its GMC brand operations, General Motors is expected to reduce the number of models marketed by GMC, whose products line is limited to light-duty trucks. The Yukon family of standard-size sport...

Chrysler detect waste spending.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Having failed to get even half of its parts suppliers to provide 5% price cuts by January 1, 2001, Chrysler put some 1,500 engineers to work examining various purchased components to see if other avenues to savings existed. What the engineers...

Axe over Firestone plant.(Bridgestone Firestone Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The fate of the Bridgestone/Firestone plant at Decatur, Illinois hangs in the balance. The plant manufactures tyres, which formed part of an extensive recall last year after they were linked to hundreds of car accidents. Bridgestone, the...

Slapped wrist for Michelin.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... French tyremaker, Michelin, was recently on the end of a stern reprimand from the European Commission. The rebuke came after competition authorities had fined Michelin for making improper use of its dominant position in the French market. The...

A long night, for some.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Last month's International Engine of the Year Awards evening, held in Stuttgart, proved to be a long one for the US car executives among the audience as European auto manufacturers notched up nine wins in the 12 categories. Executives of...

IMPCO ventures into Indian subcontinent.(Minda Industries Ltd.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... US IMPCO Technologies, Inc. of Cerritos, California, the world's leading source of advanced alternative fuel systems technology and components for internal combustion engines, has formed two joint ventures with the Indian giant Minda...

Lincoln sets the standard for future global models.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... US A new flagship sedan -- replacing the Town Car -- and an aerodynamic coupe with clean, retro-styled lines and profile are two of the models leading Lincoln's list of new vehicles to be introduced worldwide from 2004. A redesigned LS sedan,...

DC makes move to embrace Hyundai.(DaimlerChrysler AG)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Germany At the end of June, DaimlerChrysler made its first move towards cementing the group's alliance with Hyundai Motor of South Korea. A deal agreed between executives of the two companies will see the establishment of a 50-50 joint...

Japanese carmakers ahead in US productivity.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... US Japanese vehicle makers with facilities in North America are still ahead of the "Big Three" in terms of productivity, with Nissan the number one for overall productivity in 2000. So says the respected Harbour Report, put together each year...

Commitment helps bring Ford Q1 Award to Comau Estil.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... UK Comau Estil Systems of Luton, UK has won a major quality award from Ford Motor Company. The Q1 Award recognises organisations that have sustained levels of excellence in their systems and performance resulting in full customer...

DaimlerChrysler motors into Greater China.(China Motor Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Taiwan China Motor, the automaker that is part of Taiwan's Yulon group, is engaged in talks with DaimlerChrysler about a possible agreement to collaborate. One of the upshots of any deal could be the creation of a commercial vehicles joint...

ContiTech buyer sought.(Continental AG)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Continental, the German tyre and car parts maker, is reported to be having talks with US equity group Carlyle concerning a possible sale of the former's ContiTech rubber products unit. The asking price could be in excess of a billion dollars....

All that Jazz.(Honda Motor Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... At the tail end of last month, Honda took the wraps off its latest addition to the small car market. The new model, known as Jazz, is a supermini-sized car that Honda claims will provide seating for up to five passengers in comfort. The...

Westward Ho!(Westward Commercials)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Westward Commercials, the independent truck and bus dealer for Volvo went into Administrative receivership in early June, with Arthur Andersen appointed as Receivers. On the same day, Volvo Truck and Bus South, the wholly owned regional...

Ford F-150 to set TWB high.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Ford's next generation of pick-up trucks should set an industry record in the use of tailor-welded blanks (TWBs) when it appears in 2004. Ford is using TWBs to help meet its weight target for the F-150, as well as to reduce scrap produced...

DC parts-sharing extended.(DaimlerChrysler AG; Chrysler Group)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Although DaimlerChrysler AG officials have vowed not to let Mercedes-Benz vehicle platforms be shared with Chrysler Group vehicles, the two automakers are to share electronic system designs and automatic transmissions, beginning as early as...

Valeo sheds Filtrauto.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Officials of French vehicle components maker, Valeo, announced that the company had signed a deal to sell 100% of its Filtrauto unit to Sogefi, the Italian automotive filter supplier. The sale price is in the region of 00m [European Dollar]...

Ford, Mazda talk about platfrom sharing.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... US Ford Motor Co. and its Japanese affiliate, Mazda Corp., will embark on the most serious phase to date of their global relationship from 2003. That's when the replacements for Mazda's 626 and Protege sedans come out. The successors to the...

Ford trims US production and slashes costs in Europe.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... US Ford plans to cut third-quarter vehicle production in North America by 10% compared with the same period of 2001, company sources announced in June. The revised total would add up to some 930,000 vehicles. The decision was taken in the...

French & UK car markets remain strong.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Belgium European car sales continue to tread the erratic path which has been set so far in 2001. Total Western European new passenger car registrations for the month of May were 1,395,872 units. This reflects a fall of 2.8% on the same period...

American car sales are starting to level off.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... US Sales of cars and light trucks have bucked the downward trend of late and are now starting to level off. Total sales slipped by just 1.1% in May, down from 1,625,325 the previous year, to 1,605,325 units. Analysts are now estimating...

GM transforms Russelsheim to a "leanfield".(Opel AG)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... As General Motors strives to, consolidate its European manufacturing operations with a 500m [pounds sterling] investment to modernise Opel's Russelsheim facility, Simon Pitman considers what sort of impact the investment will have Over...

Covisint shows signs of turning the corner.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Despite a late start and a fair amount of scepticism among certain suppliers, Covisint -- the on-line trade exchange for carmakers -- may now be starting to deliver. That's the conclusion suggested by a report from Ford that the company has...

Delphi signs EMS contract.(Delphi Automotive Systems, China Engine Corp., engine management systems)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Delphi Automotive Systems has signed a multi-year contract with China Engine Corporation of Taiwan to supply engine management systems (EMS) for 1.6- and 2-litre engines. The engines will be fitted in the Taiwanese vehicles with production...

European plant productivity 2000.(Illustration)
July 1, 2001... European plant productivity 2000 World markets automotive productivity index for Europe -- results for 2000 OEM Plant Models produced Nissan Sunderland, UK Micra, Almera, Primera Toyota...

Hybrids pave way for gas turbines for trucks and buses.(Cummins Engine Company Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Cummins Engine is concerned about the long-term potential threat of the gas turbine to undermine its business prospects in the bus and trucks sector. A secret report into the feasibility of gas turbines for trucks has been conducted by...

Swedish automotive industry maintains its steady growth.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Paul Blaney takes a closer look at Sweden's number one product The Swedish automobile industry, including subcontractors, employs some 380,000 people. That figure amounts to one in 10 of all workers in Swedish manufacturing industry....

SEAT S.A.(Sociedad Espanola de Automoviles de Turismo S.A.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Barcelona-based car manufacturer SEAT S.A. has a new chief of exterior design, 36-year-old Steve Lewis. Lewis has studied at Coventry Polytechnic as well as the Royal College of Art. His first design job was with Jaguar where he spent a, year...

Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe has announced the appointment of three group managing directors for country operations in France, Germany and the UK. Sylvain Valensi, presently on special assignment reporting to Robert J. Keegan, president and...

Fiat Centro Stile in Turin.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Former Lancia styling chief Mike has just been appointed head of Fiat Centro Stile in Turin. He is replaced at Lancia Centro Stile by Wolfgang Egger. All Fiat Auto's styling chiefs, including Andreas Zapatinas at Alfa Romeo in Arese, remain...

Oxford Automotive Inc.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... John W. Potter has joined Oxford Automotive Inc, the metal-formed systems and mechanisms supplier, as president and chief executive officer. Potter, 58, has held managerial positions with suppliers in the automotive sector, including...