Automotive News Europe back issues from January 2009:
News.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Pininfarina to stop contract carmaking TURIN - Pininfarina has approved a revised industrial plan that calls for an end to its contract carmaking operations when current production ends in 2011. The Italian company will then concentrate exclusively on building ...
PSA wants payback from suppliers; Partsmakers that were given help to cover raw materials must make up pay more.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Lawrence J. Speer Suppliers who squeezed money out of PSA/Peugeot-Citroen last year to compensate for high raw material costs should expect to give some back in 2009. "Prices are nowhere near where they were back in April, so we want to recover as quickly as ...
Amid uncertainty, Detroit goes for green.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Record-high US fuel prices forced many Americans to give up their gas guzzlers last summer. Now, European and Japanese carmakers hope to encourage more people to permanently switch to economical cars. In a debut at the Detroit auto show January 11, Honda will launch its new Insight ...
Sales collapse will change the industry; Mergers, factory shutdowns are expected as automakers struggle with volume decline.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: John Revill The sales collapse that started late last year will accelerate in 2009, leading to fewer carmakers and more factory closures, industry watchers say. New-car sales in western Europe will fall by 15 percent or 2.1 million unit this year to 13.5 ...
2008: Up, down and then ...; A look back at the key events that made last year memorable.
Jan 05, 2009; ... Byline: Arjen Bongard In the first half of 2008, before things started to take a decisive turn for the worse, there was good news and bad news in the global auto industry. * There were expectations that full-year sales would rise. * Tata unveiled its $2,500 Nano in ...
Correction.(Correction notice)
Jan 05, 2009 ... DAF's passenger car division was sold to Volvo in 1975 and the company's truck division went to Paccar in 1996. A story in the November 24 edition misstated the years of the transactions. Jaguar will attend this month's Detroit auto show. A column on Page ...
Mercedes considers end to clone suit; Chinese Smart look-alike to go on sale in Europe later this yea.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Luca Ciferri A Chinese car that looks similar to Mercedes-Benz's Smart ForTwo could be cleared for European sales as early as mid-January, people familiar with the matter told Automotive News Europe. Lawyers from Mercedes and Italian importer Martin Motors are ...
Edgy styling for new E class.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Hurtej Kaur Mercedes-Benz will unveil its new E class next week ahead of the sedan's March launch at the Geneva auto show. The next generation of the medium-premium car will arrive during difficult economic times, when even wealthy consumers are buying fewer ...
Suppliers fear long slowdown.(Brief article)
Jan 05, 2009; ... Byline: Arjen Bongard Suppliers expect at least two to three years of pain in western Europe, as the economic downturn cuts output by as much as 20 percent. According to a survey conducted by researchers SupplierBusiness and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, ...
New positions at ANE; New sales executive and reporter are based in Munich.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Munich Bettina Schmidt is a new sales manager at Automotive News Europe while Hurtej Kaur joins the newspaper as a staff reporter. Schmidt and Kaur are both based at ANE headquarters in Oberpfaffenhofen, just outside Munich. Schmidt, a German ...
PSA wants more parts from low-cost countries.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Lawrence J. Speer PSA/Peugeot-Citroen will boost its purchasing from low-cost countries during 2009 to cut costs. "We are moving toward another dimension in the process, PSA Purchasing Director Jean-Christophe Quemard told Automotive News Europe. "Before we ...
Americans neglected their Swedish brands; GM did not provide Saab with enough product; Ford gave Volvo to many cars to manage.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: John Revill Ford Motor and General Motors failed with their Swedish brands because they never got the full attention of their US owners. Saab has rarely achieved a profit for GM. In 2007, the brand lost 2.2 billion kronor ([euro]360 million), according to ...
As Opel battles for survival, Vauxhall will play crucial role; Changing Vauxhalls into Opels would be a pointless gamble.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Mark Appleton Some observers in continental Europe think the British Vauxhall brand is a pointless irrelevance that should be subsumed into General Motors' German unit Opel. After all, they say, Vauxhalls are merely rebadged Opels and getting rid of the brand ...
A reorganized General Motors can live without Vauxhall; As GM streamlines its operations, Vauxhall is one brand too many.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Wim Oude Weernink Restructuring General Motors is crucial for the survival of the world's second largest carmaker. So it should be done thoroughly and not in a half-hearted manner. And that means Vauxhall will have to go. One area that needs urgent ...
Dueling coupes will go head-to-head; Renault, VW aim to revive a declining segment and steal sales from premium rivals with sporty new models.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Lawrence J. Speer Europe's dormant mass-market coupe segment could come to life as Renault launches its new Megane coupe against the Volkswagen Scirocco. VW launched the Scirocco in Germany and the UK in August, but held off on the remaining European markets ...
Renault and Nissan launch all-new V-6 diesel; High-performance unit will first power Laguna, eventually Infiniti models.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Lawrence J. Speer Renault says its first V-6 diesel engine is a landmark achievement in its alliance with Nissan, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2009. "If this engine exists, it's because of the alliance, said Jacques Prost, Renault's senior vice ...
Amid crisis, the show must go on; European automakers will use Detroit to launch eye-catching roadsters, fuel-frugal concepts.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Mark Appleton New-car launches usually take center stage at the Detroit auto show, but this year much of the attention will be focused on the signals carmakers give about their prospects for 2009. In the weeks leading up to the annual event, the so-called ...
Honda.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Honda will debut the production version of the Insight hybrid, which was shown as a concept at the Paris auto show in October 2008. The 5-door hatchback will be the first of a new family of models that are part of the carmaker's strategy to boost hybrid sales to 500,000 units by 2012. The ...
Mercedes-Benz.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Mercedes-Benz will preview 3 fuel-saving technologies in a concept for its new entry-premium model range at the show. The Concept BlueZero will be shown as a pure electric car; a plug-in hybrid and as a fuel cell model. The concept will preview the design for the ...
Mini.(BMW AG to debut convertible version of its second generation Mini)(Brief article)
Jan 05, 2009 ... BMW will debut the convertible version of its second-generation Mini at the show. Sales of the cabriolet start in March. The car has a new folding softtop roof. Developed by German roof specialist Edscha, the softtop folds behind the rear seats in 15 seconds. ...
Toyota.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Toyota is making its new Prius larger than the current model and is adding a new body style to broaden the appeal of the gasoline-electric hybrid car. The third-generation Prius will debut in Detroit as a hatchback. Toyota will add a larger version, which can be used as station ...
Volvo.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Volvo will add new safety and fuel-saving features to its next S60 sedan, which will debut as a concept in Detroit. When it launches in 2010, the sedan will have sensors that can apply the brakes if a pedestrian steps into the car's path. The medium-premium sedan will ...
Volkswagen.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Volkswagen will unveil a concept for a mid-engine roadster that previews a two-seater that the carmaker plans to launch in 2011. VW plans to add the roadster to give the company's conservative brand image a sporty boost. The new model will be about the size as the Mazda MX-5 ....
Support grows to keep retail rules; Ford and GM executives say now is the wrong time to kill block exemption.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Hurtej Kaur Ford Motor and General Motors Europe are backing car dealers who are fighting to save Europe's regulatory regime for car sales and repairs. The automakers are concerned that scrapping or weakening the so-called block exemption regulation will add ...
Peugeot uses online new-car sales to combat downturn; Web Store lets Internet users browse cars available at 400 dealers in France.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Lawrence J. Speer Peugeot will rely more on Internet marketing of new cars to help counter the economic slump. Launched one year ago, Peugeot's French-language Web Store site (www.peugeotwebstore.com) allows Internet users to browse among 35,000 new cars ...
ZF gives loans to its suppliers that face trouble.(ZF Friedrichshafen AG)
Jan 05, 2009 ... Hans-Georg Harter, CEO of drivetrain specialist ZF Friedrichshafen, is seeing an alarming number of the company's suppliers heading toward financial trouble because of the global financial crisis. ZF is giving short-term loans to suppliers squeezed by the credit crunch, or paying higher ...
Bosch opens Inner Mongolia test site; World's largest partsmaker may have to share location as 6 other firms plan similar sites.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Namrita Chow Barren, wind-swept steppes. Deep blankets of snow stretching to the horizon. Bone-chilling, sub-zero temperatures. It's a inhospitable environment for Robert Bosch's latest proving ground. But the facility in Yakeshi, Inner Mongolia, near China's ...
Small Slovak town is caught between jobs and traffic; Heavy border traffic from Hyundai and Kia plants causes problems for townspeople.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Lyle Frink This small Slovak town is located in the middle of a new Korean automotive cluster. The arrival of Hyundai, Kia and many of their suppliers has given the town's 27,000 inhabitants something they badly needed: jobs. But improvements to ...
Fasten your seat belts! 10 predictions for 2009.
Jan 05, 2009 ... There are few reliable forecasts for 2009. The depth of the economic downturn is difficult to gauge. But even in today's uncertain environment, executives must make assumptions so they can plan ahead. Here's what Automotive News Europe expects will happen in 2009. 1. Slow ...
Saab and Volvo on the brink.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Richard Johnson Saab and Volvo have been poorly served by their American owners. At its peak in 1987, two years before General Motors took control, Saab sold nearly 50,000 cars in the US. Last year it sold 32,711. And Volvo, in terms of ...
September seems a very long time ago.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Jason Stein It was a gorgeous autumn Sunday in New York City last September when the world stood still. Walking through Times Square I noticed workers at Lehman carrying their belongings in cardboard boxes out the front door. A day later, the ...
Poole enjoys challenges, physical and gastronomic.(Belinda Poole of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. Lexus Div.)(Interview)
Jan 05, 2009; ... Byline: Ian Morton Name: Belinda Poole. Title: Director, Lexus (GB). Age: 41. Languages spoken: English plus French and German at beginner level. Nationality: British. Family: I'm not married, but have a partner who I ...
Belinda Poole, Director, Lexus (GB).
Jan 05, 2009 ... Belinda Poole studied mathematics and management science at the University Institute of Science and Technology in Manchester, England, before she joined Ford Motor Company's order processing department in 1988. In 1995 she moved to Ford in Detroit to become marketing plans ...
Confidential.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Famous addresses deleted When you're famous and relatively wealthy, you don't generally worry about the details. And when you sell your car, you don't get your hands dirty deleting the address book in your satellite navigation system. Somebody else does that for you. ...
EuroNCAP toughens car safety test; Starting in February it will be harder to earn the group's coveted 5-star rating.
Jan 05, 2009; ... Byline: Tony Lewin Starting in February, new test procedures will mean fewer cars will earn EuroNCAP's five-star rating for crash safety. Once fully implemented, Euro-NCAP's stricter methods of assessment will mean that it will be impossible for a model to get the ...
GM should play Opel card to solve Saturn problem.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Richard Truett Why doesn't General Motors just hand over the keys to its troubled Saturn brand to its German affiliate, Opel? GM doesn't have an extra billion or so dollars to buy out Saturn dealers and shutter the brand. And GM could be in legal trouble if ...
Pressure rises to protect pedestrians; Automakers use active hoods, sensors to reduce deaths in car-versus-people accidents.
Jan 05, 2009; ... Byline: Wim Oude Weernink Automakers and suppliers are responding to pressure to make new cars less dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists. Tougher rules for pedestrian protection take effect in four years. In addition, starting next year EuroNCAP will deny ...
Reason for the rules.(Brief article)
Jan 05, 2009; ... Byline: Wim Oude Weernink Europe's pedestrian protection rules were adopted in 2003 and took effect two years later. They require that the front ends of new cars are less dangerous to pedestrians. That means hoods and bumpers must be designed to absorb more of the ...
Standing on thin ice? If they cannot spark revivals, some of Europe's auto bosses could be facing big in trouble in 2009.
Jan 05, 2009; ... Byline: Douglas A. Bolduc Despite a traumatic finish to 2008 because of the fallout from the global economic crisis, last year was extremely calm in one area: changes at the top. Most of the people who were leading Europe biggest automakers at the start of 2008 remain in charge ...
Guide to Automaker Executives.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Tadashi Arashima Toyota Motor Europe CEO 59 Challenges: It is unlikely that Toyota Europe will make a profit in its 2008-2009 fiscal year. It needs to start making money again in 2009-2010. Key new models such as the iQ must be a success. Job at risk? No ....
Guide to Automaker Executives.
Jan 05, 2009 ... ASTON MARTIN Banbury Road, Gaydon, Warwick CV35 0DB, England CEO Ulrich Bez Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Carling Director, Sales and Marketing Bill Donnelly Director, Finance David ...
Your car the problem-solver.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Things your car can or will soon do for itself Did you miss that speed limit sign? No problem. Put a little scratch in the paint? Don't worry. Run over a nail? ...
Seeing the signs.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Now there is no more excuse for not knowing the speed limit. Suppliers such as Hella and Continental have systems that alert ...
Fantastic finish.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Nissan offers a clear paint that has a high elastic resin. Because the resin ...
Goodbye, glare.
Jan 05, 2009 ... No need to adjust your rearview or your sideview mirrors to reduce glare. Mirrors ...
I see you.
Jan 05, 2009 ... BMW is one of the companies using sensor technologies to recognize legs in motion and the ...
Sticky solution.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Continental's ContiSeal tires have a sticky, viscous layer ...
Get your foot off me!
Jan 05, 2009 ... Continental has produced an accelerator pedal that communicates with the driver. The Accelerator Force Feedback Pedal gives warning of danger ...
Give me a brake.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Mercedes-Benz's Distronic Plus adaptive cruise control, which is supplied by ...
Different view of 2008.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Covering the automotive industry is a job that we take very seriously, but that doesn't prevent us from have a little fun. In every edition of Automotive News Europe we rely on our cartoonist Roger Bowles to provide his own special interpretation of the events making news in the ...
Industry loses a visionary; BMW's Michael Ganal is remembered for his good nature, guts, sales genius.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: Luca Ciferri I first met Michael Ganal, BMW's former chief financial officer, on September 28, 1998, near Turin. That day BMW was unveiling its C1, a motorcycle/car crossover, in the place it would be built Carrozzeria Bertone in Grugliasco. Ganal ...
Personnel.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Saab's Terry moves to Chevy UK Former Saab executive Mark Terry is the new head of Chevrolet's operations in the UK. Terry, 42, succeeded Rory Harvey, who moved to a new post as director of after sales for Chevrolet parent General Motors in the UK and Ireland. ...
Hyundai aims i20 at people who want to downsize; India-built car expected to become automaker's best-seller in Europe.
Jan 05, 2009 ... Byline: John Revill Hyundai thinks its new i20 hatchback is arriving on the market at the right time. The Korean automaker expects customers hit by the economic crisis to switch from larger cars to the small, affordable i20. "Prevailing economic conditions ...
News.
Jan 19, 2009 ... Volkswagen's small Up variant may get 3 seats DETROIT - Volkswagen could unveil a shorter variant of its Up minicar concept at the Geneva auto show. "Wait for the next motor show and you may see a small derivative of the Up, Ulrich Hackenberg, VW board member ...
Saab gets ready to run itself; Sources say parent GM wants to give Swedish carmaker control of its own finances.
Jan 19, 2009 ... Byline: John Revill General Motors is preparing to turn its Saab subsidiary into a separate business, a move that will make the struggling brand more attractive to potential buyers. "Saab has been negotiating with GM and the Swedish government about becoming a more ...
The danger of deep discounts.
Jan 19, 2009 ... Automakers are fighting harder than ever to get customers to purchase their new cars. Some say the battle has gone too far. "The real question is whether the other carmakers are going to continue using these absolutely brutal methods to drive down their own inventories, said ...
PSA, BMW 2009 profits at risk; Analysts predict sharp declines as a result of weak unit sales.
Jan 19, 2009 ... Byline: Lawrence J. Speer Automakers' profits are at risk this year and next due to predicted declines in global unit sales. Investment bankers Goldman Sachs predict that PSA/Peugeot-Citroen will have an operating loss of nearly [euro]1 billion this year while BMW ...
Breitschwerdt won big with "Baby Benz'; Former Mercedes CEO to join Hall of Fame.
Jan 19, 2009 ... Byline: Hurtej Kaur When Mercedes-Benz launched the so-called "Baby Benz in 1982, Werner Breitschwerdt's reputation was on the line. The 190, the forerunner to the C class, was Mercedes' smallest and most affordable car. As chief engineer, Breitschwerdt took a great risk ...
Correction.(Correction notice)
Jan 19, 2009 ... Cadca is in Slovakia. The city was misplaced on a ...
Incentives war gets messy; Renault sales boss says some rivals using "brutal' methods to drive down inventories.
Jan 19, 2009 ... Byline: John Revill Automakers are split on whether to fight the downturn in unit sales by offering more incentives on the models during 2009. Some are slashing prices to help dealers clear their inventories while others are offering financing as low as 0 percent or ...
News digest.
Jan 19, 2009 ... Peugeot 3008 to target Tiguan, Kuga PARIS - Peugeot has unveiled its new 3008 crossover, (above) which will have its public debut at the Geneva auto show in March. The SUV-styled model will go on sale in Europe starting this summer. Peugeot is ...
VW needs two partners to get OK on roadster; Production viability of sports car could depend on interest by other brands.
Jan 19, 2009 ... Byline: Luca Ciferri The roadster concept Volkswagen debuted at the auto show here last week will be built, if Porsche and Audi want it too. "To make a strong business case for the new roadster, we need to share the investment with at least three brands, a senior VW ...
New Renault Spain boss faces tough task.
Jan 19, 2009 ... Byline: Lawrence J. Speer Things are not going to be easy for Jean-Pierre Laurent, who took over Renault's troubled Spanish subsidiary January 1. Spain is the European market hardest hit by the global economic slowdown. New-car sales dropped 28.1 percent ...
Fiat asks more from top executives; New Alfa boss Cravero also to lead model development at Fiat and Lancia brands.
Jan 19, 2009 ... Byline: Luca Ciferri Sergio Cravero's promotion to CEO of Alfa Romeo is part of a broader restructuring of Fiat Group Automobiles. Fiat has created four new cross-brand functions to strengthen synergies within the company's three brands: Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia ....
Gas shortage hits PSA, Kia, Suzuki production.
Jan 19, 2009 ... Byline: Lyle Frink Automakers in central and eastern Europe are being hit by Russia's decision to shut off natural gas deliveries to the region. Kia Motors and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen have closed their plants in Slovakia and Suzuki has shut its factory in Hungary because ...