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 →
Volkswagen of Germany will unveil its XL1 plug-in hybrid car at the Geneva Car Show next month, which it says is the most fuel-efficient and aerodynamic production car in the world, capable of up to 261 miles per U.S. gallon. The two-seater, which looks remarkably like a tidied up version of the ill-fated GM EV1 … Continue Reading →
Losses from Europe’s non-German car makers are getting so huge that the long awaited financial shakeout can’t be put off much longer.
Speaking at the Chicago Auto Show, Henrik Fisker said sales of his company’s $100,000-plus Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan are starting in the Middle East. Fisker now has a dealer in UAE and 12 Karmas have been ordered, said the Danish-born car designer, whose career has included spells at BMW, Ford and Aston Martin before … Continue Reading →
At last year’s Detroit Car Show, I asked an official at BMW what kind of competition the new little Cadillac ATS might provide for the top-selling BMW 3 Series. The official didn’t reply with words, but instead looked down his nose, pursed his lips, and came up with a look suggesting the ATS was something … Continue Reading →
VALENCIA, Spain – Ford of Europe could have picked a better time to launch its new Kuga compact SUV here this week – losses in 2012 of $1.75 billion, another $2 billion in the red likely this year according to an announcement Tuesday – but investment bank Morgan Stanley still believes turnaround plans could produce … Continue Reading →