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THE WEEK THAT WAS: Not a fire, a "thermal incident" PR-speak award of the week has to go to The Man From Ferrari, referring to several fires consuming the new 458 as "thermal incidents".SPAIN: Catalonia contemplates Chinese car construction Spain could get a new car assembly plant as a Chinese automaker considers setting up its first European factory.COMMENT: Party over for South Africa? No sooner had the last vuvuzela sounded - thankfully - from South Africa's extraordinarily successful World Cup this summer than the massed battalions of workers began to flex their muscles.SOUTH AFRICA: New talks slated as "pockets of violence" mar dispute Fresh negotiations have been arranged for next Monday (6 September) between striking South African component workers and the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI).SPAIN: Mitsubishi may make EV batteries locally Spain is talking with Mitsubishi Corporation about building a factory for electric car batteries in the northwestern town of Vigo, economy minister Elena Salgado said.GERMANY: China to be Audi's biggest market China remains on track to eclipse Germany as Audi's largest market following another set of monthly sales figures that displayed booming growth for luxury cars in the world's most populous nation. Audi sales jumped almost 68 percent to 22,358 units in August in China, the premium brand of Volkswagen said on Friday.RUSSIA: GAZ to assemble VWs Volkswagen plans to assemble vehicles at the facilities of Russian auto producer GAZ Group, Martin Winterkorn, chairman of Volkswagen's board of directors, said.US: New GM chief acknowledges unionised labour General Motors' new CEO Dan Akerson has written his first letter to staff, saying he valued the role of union labour in the company's success as GM heads into negotiations with its union-represented US workers next year.US: GM seen pushing IPO after November elections General Motors Company plans to begin courting investors for its initial public offering immediately after the 2 November US midterm congressional elections.JAPAN: NEC says battery costs can be halved Electronics giant NEC, which has a joint venture with Nissan to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, believes it can halve the cost of making the batteries in seven years while doubling their performance.PARIS PREVIEW: Chevy adds Cruze hatchback Chevrolet Cruze sales in some markets are likely to get a boost from the launch of a five-door hatchback version at the Paris show at the end of the month.US: Fritz Henderson moves from cars to coke Former General Motors chairman and CEO Frederick 'Fritz' Henderson has joined oil refiner Sunoco as a senior vice president to help prepare for the previously announced separation of SunCoke Energy. Henderson will become chairman and chief executive officer of SunCoke upon completion of the separation.AUSTRALIA: SUVs boost August sales Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) showed that 82,122 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in August, up 12.1% (or 8,835 vehicles) year on year.INDIA: Ford triples August sales Ford India said it tripled August sales year on year to 7,925 units, a 220% increase. Its previous generation Fiesta-based Figo had drawn over 34,000 orders since launch 25 weeks ago.HONG KONG: Guangzhou Automobile listed on HKSE Guangzhou Automobile Group, China's sixth-largest automaker and the Chinese partner of Honda, Toyota and Fiat, was publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 30 August, according to local media reports.US: Dodge drip-feeds more Durango Chrysler's Dodge brand has confirmed more details of its redesigned 2011 Durango three-row SUV ahead of a promotional event in Virginia this coming Labour Day weekend.US: Dull August puts 12m goal in doubt Last month's sales were expected to pale next to August 2009 when dealers inventories were being stripped thanks to the federal government's "Cash for Clunkers" program. The unpleasant surprise was they also suffered next to July 2010's results.Q&A with Zeroshift The success of DCTs has shown that there is an appetite for new automatic transmission technologies that combine smoothness with emissions-cutting efficiency. The challenge continues to be cost. just-auto spoke to Bill Martin, managing director of Zeroshift, who believes his company could be part of the solution.US: Ford sees most growth in Asia-Pacific and Africa Ford expects 70% of its global growth this decade to come from Asia Pacific and Africa, its regional chief has said.SOUTH AFRICA: Components/tyre strike sees 70,000 walk out South African tyre and component workers are staging a mass strike that has seen 70,000 employees down tools in protest at wages and conditions. |
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