General Motor’s Opel-Vauxhall subsidiary in Europe finally has some good news to report. Its market share in the first four months of 2013 improved for the first time in a long time. As overall sales in Western Europe slid 7.0 per cent from January through April to 3.9 million, Opel-Vauxhall’s only fell 5.9 per cent … Continue Reading →
SIENA, Italy – BMW has invented another new niche. This time it’s a hatchback version of the 3 Series sedan. Calling it the Gran Turismo makes it sound much more exciting and won’t put off Americans who are said to have reservations about hatchbacks. The 3GT arrives in the U.S. this summer as a 2014 … Continue Reading →
European car manufacturers’ profits are sliding and sales drooping, but some see evidence that the worst may be over. The trouble is, there’s a new and potent threat on the horizon; the falling yen which could revitalize the Japanese. The Financial Times’ Lex column said investors reacted calmly to recent miserable financial news, and stock … Continue Reading →
Chevrolet Europe’s sales in the first quarter were so bad, they stood out as a disaster area even as the region’s sales slumped towards 20 year lows. Chevrolet Europe’s push into Europe with mainly Korean cars from the old Daewoo company which started about eight years ago was said to jeopardize its sister brand Opel-Vauxhall … Continue Reading →
Electric cars may use cutting-edge technology, but sales in Europe so far reveal that manufacturers of these new fangled machines are relying on traditional marketing methods when buyers balk; dump them on car rental companies. On the face of it, the latest data for Western Europe shows a healthy, 39 per cent increase in sales, … Continue Reading →
German luxury manufacturer BMW released pictures of its new X4 SUV to be built in Spartanburg, S.C., as investment bankers scaled back their estimates for the company’s global profit growth. The X4 looks like a scaled down version of the visually divisive X6 SUV and is described by BMW as a Sports Activity Coupe, even … Continue Reading →
Volkswagen of Germany’s much touted and hugely expensive new modular production setup has been oversold and will not bring massive benefits to the bottom line, Bernstein Research said in a report. The new setup, known by the acronym of its name in German, MQB, will be a plus for VW, Europe’s biggest car manufacturer, and … Continue Reading →
China may not be able to mount a serious threat to European and American automotive manufacturers on their home turf for perhaps 10 years, but the unveiling of the new Qoros 3 at the annual Geneva car show demonstrates that when the time comes, the menace will be formidable. According to Bernstein Research analyst Max … Continue Reading →
GENEVA, Switzerland – Tesla Motors said it will divert some production of its Model S electric car from U.S. buyers to Europe, so that it can make up for delays in promised deliveries to customers here. The Palo-Alto, California based Tesla also rejected the idea that the threat to the Model S range from … Continue Reading →
GLIWICE, Poland – General Motors’ chronic European loss-maker Opel, launching its new Cascada convertible, said it expects to make decent profits by the end of the decade. Opel, and its British counterpart Vauxhall, lost $1.8 billion last year, expects to do a little better in 2013, and has a target of breaking-even by mid-decade. Before … Continue Reading →