Auto Industry articles from May 2001

Auto Industry archives from May 2001

American downturn bites hardest at the Big Three.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... US Each of the Big Three carmakers registered a sharp drop in the rate of new car and truck sales in the US in April, despite having performed better than expected in the first quarter. Certain of their overseas competitors, on the other...

Fiat buys-out Renault's stake in Irisbus manufacturing division.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Italy/France Fiat has confirmed that it is buying Renault's 50% stake in the Irisbus coach and bus manufacturing company, giving the Italian auto group full control. The deal comes after an occasionally turbulent seven months of...

news in brief.(GKN Sinter Metals Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... United Kingdom LDV wins Defender contract LDV, Europe's specialist van maker, has confirmed a contract worth in the region of three-quarters of a million pounds a year to press and assemble rear doors for the Land Rover Defender. The...

Car tsar Gibson sounds a warning note.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... UK Sir Ian Gibson, former vice-president of Nissan Motor and now head of the British government's newly created automotive industry partnership, has sounded a warning note. The plain-talking Gibson has suggested that the automotive sector,...

Chrysler's LIMBT work runs into a roadblock.(Large Injection Moulded Body Technology)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... US Efforts by technicians at the Chrysler Group to apply its Large Injection Moulded Body Technology (UMBT) to mainstream family vehicles have encountered a hurdle that threatens to hold up progress for some time. Chrysler engineers, who want...

DC executives fail to calm shareholders' nerves.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Germany At a lively, occasionally angry shareholder meeting, Daimler-Chrysler officials predicted an operating loss before restructuring charges of up to 1bn (0.62bn [European Dollar]) for the first quarter of this year, before restructuring...

Rover chief looks to an independent future.(MG Rover chairman, John Towers)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... UK In an interview at the end of April, MG Rover chairman, John Towers, expressed confidence that the company could now survive indefinitely as an independent British carmaker. When they bought Rover from BMW for a national 10 [pounds...

Mayflower's bus building operations wind down.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... UK Automotive engineering group, Mayflower, is putting the final touches to a broad raft of restructuring measures that will focus on the company's bus-building operations. The measures come in the wake of a steep downturn in Britain's bus...

GM sets the pace in internet learning stakes.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... US General Motors has unveiled plans to offer white-collar workers business courses via the internet. GM has signed a deal with Unext -- a privately owned US start-up -- and hopes to launch the courses, via the GM University, later this year....

Ford secures beachhead with Chinese JV.(Chongqing Chang'an Automobile Group)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... China After years of fruitless efforts, Ford has finally agreed terms for a car manufacturing joint venture in China. The 50/50 joint venture with the Chongqing Chang'an Automobile Group is to build a compact family car. The deal was signed...

Marcos Cars automobiles to be made in Holland.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... UK Exotic sports car maker, Marcos Cars, is to cease production in Britain after more than four decades. To date, Marcos cars have been built at a factory in Westbury, Wiltshire. Now, however, the carmaker, which scored racing victories...

Hyundai considers possible Daewoo takeover.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... South Korea According to sources close to the government in Seoul, Daewoo Motor could end up in the hands of fellow Korean automaker Hyundai Motor. That would only happen if ongoing negotiations on the sale of Daewoo to GM were to fall...

Niche vehicles growing in importance at Ford.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... US Ford Motor Co. is expecting to invest increasing sums of money in the development and expanded production of the company's low-volume/high-profit-margin niche car and truck models over the next few years. It is not only the profitability...

Sea change sweeps UK car buying market.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... UK Figures that have yet to be published suggest the structure of the British motor industry is undergoing a major sea change. The changes are most evident in the new car market, where sales of family saloons and hatchbacks are receding...

Toyota raises its stake in Japanese truck manufacturer.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Japan Toyota Motor is to spend [yen]66.29bn (376m [pounds sterling]) to raise its stake in embattled truck maker, Hino Motors from 36.6% to 50.i%. It is Toyota's intention to restructure Hino's operations and reduce its current...

ZF holds up despite components downturn.(ZF Frederichshafen)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Germany ZF Frederichshafen AG, the German-based automatic transmission and chassis specialist, has reported a growth in its sales for 2000, despite the recent downturn in the automotive components sector. The company's financial report,...

Ford facing record losses in United Kingdom.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... UK Ford of Britain is set to report losses in the region of 400m [pounds sterling] for 2000, a year that saw the company engaged in a major restructuring. The one-off price of the restructuring is said to be close to 300m [pounds sterling]...

Scania slashes workforce in softening truck market.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Sweden Heavy trucks group Scania is set cut more than 10% of its manufacturing workforce in Europe as the European truck market continues to shrink. A company spokesperson said that 1,200 of Scania's 11,500 workers would be affected. Further...

Car sales continue to slip across Europe.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Belgium March has proved a disappointing month for car sales in Europe, with every major market, except the UK and Spain, showing a marked downturn. Figures published by Acea showed that the total number of car registrations in Europe fell...

Decline in US sales defies worst predictions.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... US Car and light truck sales continue to slip in North America but have defied the heftier falls predicted by many industry analysts. In the first quarter of 2001 -- a period in which sales had been predicted to drop by as much as eight to...

Luton IBC switches to three-shift production.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... UK At the beginning of this month, Nick Reilly, chairman and managing director of Vauxhall Motors Ltd, and chairman of IBC Vehicles, announced the official start of three-shift production of the new Vivaro van at the Luton IBC van plant....

Ballard dips into reserves to fund zero emissions.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Canada Ballard Power Systems, the automotive fuel cells pioneer, has announced plans to divert between (C$110m (50m [pounds sterling]) and C$130m (60m [pounds sterling]) of this year's cash reserves towards the development of zero-emission...

PT Cruiser production heads south of the border.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Mexico DaimlerChrysler has selected its facility at Toluca, Mexico as the site to boost production of the PT Cruiser. The decision means an investment of $300m (210m [pounds sterling]). North American output of the popular retro model will...

Ford plump for Turkey as LCV centre.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Turkey A new $650m (455m [pounds sterling]) Ford plant in Turkey is open for business. The company foresees that the plant will develop into its world centre for production of a family of light commercial vehicles. Ford chief executive,...

Addditional products lined up for Honda Civic plant.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... AUS Among candidates being considered for possible assembly at Honda Motor Co.'s flexible plant in East Liberty, Ohio, are a three-door hatchback, a production version of the company's Model X concept vehicle and a sporty compact car based on...

To Russia with Renault.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Russia Renault is to assemble the next generation of Dacia cars in Russia. In conjunction with the Moscow city government, the French carmaker will begin assembly of its new X90 Dacia car at the Mosvich plant within four years. The decision...

Cutting corners with new 4WD transmission.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... UK A new transmission system has been designed that is claimed to help convert front-wheel-drive, transverse-engine vehicles into four-wheel-drive ones with a longitudinal gearbox. Compact Diagonal Transmission (CDT), has already been...

Chrysler crossover bound for Windsor facility.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... US Forward planners at DaimlerChrysler believe they have identified a market for a new vehicle that combines some of the most popular features of the company's minivans with a multiterrian sports wagon. Development work on the new hybrid...

Aluminium tailored blanks pushed in Canada.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... US Tailored blanks made from aluminium sheet using Variable Polarity Plasma Arc Welding (VPPAW) can be reliably produced for automotive applications that require greater weight-savings those achieved with steel blanks, according to Canadian...

Renault unveils major facelift for supermini.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... France Renault has revealed the new face of its best-selling supermini, the Clio. Coming three years after the model was last facelifted and 10 years after it was first launched, the latest Clio has been given an updated fascia which...

Audi A6 gets new engines and a revamp.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Germany Audi has given the A6 a major new facelift and added four new engines to keep ahead of increasing competition in the sector. In line with the recent facelifts for the A3 and A4 models, the new A6 has had a number of subtle changes...

Volkswagen set to take on miniMPV sector.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Germany Volkswagen has revealed its plans to launch a mini MPV at the end of next year. Based on the best-selling Golf, the car will take on the burgeoning sector, which took off after the arrival of Renault's Megane Scenic. Currently,...

Valeo to sell electrics division to Johnson.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... US Against a background of weak global sales, French car parts group Valeo is set to sell its electric motors operation to Johnson Electric, a Hong Kong-based equipment supplier. Valeo recently reported heavy first-quarter losses and admitted...

Survey'suggest paradigm shift in supply industry.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... US The Economist Intelligence Unit, an arm of the Economist Group, has combined with Meritus Consulting Services to produce a report that confirms a trend that many have marked on the supply side of the automotive industry. The report is...

Nissan to sell off Niles Parts to Ripplewood.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Japan Japanese carmaker Nissan has agreed to sell Niles Parts, one of its Japanese suppliers, to Ripplewood, the private equity group, for an undisclosed sum. As part of its revival plan, Nissan has adopted a policy of divesting itself of...

Federal-Mogul struggles to stay afloat.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... US One of the largest auto parts manufacturers in the world, Federal-Mogul Corp., is in the process of closing as many as one-third of its plants as part of mammoth cost-cutting efforts. Some observers, however, are wondering whether even...

Japan's auto parts industry moves to MBOs.(management buyouts and consolidation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Japan Nissan Motors is to sell Nissan Transport to the board of the wholly-owned subsidiary. The sale is part of a growing trend in Japan's auto parts industry towards management buyouts and consolidation, one that is drawing the attention of...

Delphi, Isuzu come up with ignition subsystem.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... US An ion sense ignition system has been developed through the co-ordinated efforts of Isuzu Motors and Delphi's technical centres in the US, Japan and Luxembourg. According to its developers, the system uses individual direct in-cylinder...

American industry braces itself for economic downturn.
May 1, 2001... Paul Blaney assesses the impact that the US economic downturn has had on its auto industry Leading carmakers have told the new Bush administration that the US motor industry generates more income per employee than any other manufacturing...

Winning the battle against castings porosity.
May 1, 2001... Impregnation plays a small but crucial part in the automotive production process. Simon Pitman spotlights one of Europe's largest players, focusing on the fight against castings porosity Ultraseal has been in the impregnation business for...

Volvo and DC come to terms on the sale of MMC stake.(DaimlerChrysler AG)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Industry observers were not surprised at Volvo's recent decision to sell its share in the beleaguered Mitsubishi group to DaimlerChrysler. Paul Blaney assesses what now may be in store for the three manufacturers Volvo has agreed a deal...

Studying form at the NY show.(New York International Auto Show)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Paul Blaney reviews the most recent launches at last month's exhibition across the Atlantic US There were about 1,000 vehicles on display at last month's New York International Auto Show, which has now been gracing the Big Apple for more...

People.(Kevin English to be its chairman and chief executive of Covisint)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Autoindustry's regular roundup of industry appointments In April, shortly after its first birthday, Covisint, the automotive trade exchange backed by five of the big carmakers, announced the appointment of Kevin English to be its chairman...