Entries from April 2009 ↓

Honda Motor Co, Japan’s major carmaker, expects that its vehicle sales in China will increase 10% to 520,000 units in 2009 from 473,000 units a year earlier, said Atsuyoshi Hyogo, chairman and president of Honda’s regional operations (China), the China Daily reported on Wednesday.

The Chinese market, which remains fairly strong, is expected to partly help offset losses caused by the global financial crisis in other major markets, said Hyogo, adding that China will be the Japanese automaker’s most competitive market this year because the country’s economy and auto industry are still growing steadily.

Honda, which owns a joint venture, Guangqi Honda Automobile, with China’s Guangzhou Automobile Group Corp and Dongfeng Motor Corp, will speed up efforts to sell cars in China to offset losses in North America, Japan and Europe, according to Hyogo.

The joint venture is expected to sell 330,000 vehicles this year, up from 306,000 units in 2008, according to the report.

From:USA Today

SEOUL — Kia thinks it has found its soul.

The quirky, youth-oriented little car is being snapped up so fast in North America that execs at the Hyundai-owned brand here are trying to figure out how many more to make.

Kia thought it would sell 40,500 Souls in the U.S. and Canada in its first year on sale, which started about a month ago. Now, executives are studying whether they may need 10,000 or more additional cars, says Sung-Bok Lee, general manager of Kia’s Americas team.

Soul could become the kind of high-impact hit that thus far has eluded Kia.

“It marks a new direction for the brand,” says Jack Nerad, editorial director for Kelley Blue Book. “Kias have largely been bought strictly on their price/value position. Strong interest in the Soul, largely driven by styling, indicates they are turning the corner toward aspirational models that people will buy because of what they are, not their price.”

Kia wants to shed its image as a maker of high-value, but mostly dull-looking vehicles. The goal is cutting-edge design to attract more upscale buyers.

With the Soul, “We target the younger generation,” says Soon-Nam Lee, head of the overseas marketing group here at Kia headquarters. “The higher goal (is) to enhance the brand image.”

The five-passenger Soul is stylish but still low priced. It starts at $13,995 including destination charges, and tops out at $18,595. Soul is rated at 31 miles a gallon on the highway with its base engine. The two Lees, who share a common South Korean name but aren’t related, say the low price and upscale look will give Kia an edge in picking up market share during the recession.

Soul is being treated as a so-called halo car, an industry term for head-turning vehicles that bring customers into dealers’ showrooms, even if they end up buying something else in the line.

Kia, Hyundai and Subaru were the only major automakers to eke out U.S sales gains in the first quarter vs. the same period last year. In Kia’s case, it was 2.3%, better than Hyundai’s 1.9%. The overall U.S. auto market was down 37.6%, Autodata says.

Some of Hyundai’s success has come from its “Hyundai Assurance” program, which allows people who are laid off to return their cars without having their credit dinged. Ford and General Motors followed with similar programs. But not Kia. Soon-Nam Lee says Kia will find its own promotions but would not say what’s in the works.

Kia is also picking up U.S. market share, which was 2.3% in the first quarter, Autodata figures show. He says the goal is to grow to 3.5% of the U.S. market for the year. “Even in a recession, we are investing in the marketing side.”

Nissan Motor Co. plans to market throughout South America a family of small cars imported from China, India, Thailand and Mexico.

Nissan aims to boost its market share in a region where it and other Japanese automakers have a modest presence.

Heading the sales effort will be Carlos Tavares, the new chairman of Nissan Americas. Tavares noted that Nissan has a 20 percent market share in Mexico but less than 1 percent in Brazil. He estimated that Nissan’s combined market share across South America, excluding Brazil, is about 8 percent.

“We have a huge diversity of situations around the region,” Tavares said this afternoon during a conference call with reporters.

Nissan will use its low-cost A platform as the basis of what Tavares called a full line of new vehicles for markets such as Brazil and Argentina. The company initially will rely on a Renault assembly plant in Curitiba, Brazil, to build the vehicles. As sales grow, Tavares said, Nissan may have to expand manufacturing capacity.

The South American sales push might include a very low-priced vehicle under consideration for production in India. That project, by Bajaj Auto, would produce a car intended to sell for about $3,000.

Said Tavares: “This is a candidate.”

Source by : Lindsay Chappell AT www.autonews.com

from : Gasgoo

Chery Automobile will mass produce all its new-energy vehicles by 2010, said Yin Tongyue, director of the automaker to Xinkuai Newspaper.

The Anhui-based automaker showcased four new-energy vehicles — Tiggo 3, Riich M1 EV, A3 hybrid and Futwin Coupe II — at the 2009 Shanghai auto show which had curtains fall yesterday.

“We rolled out the S18 pure electric sedan on February 16, and we will make efforts to put it on sale by the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010,” Yin said.

Chery Auto has a broad layout of electric vehicles, ranging from mini vehicles, small cars, middle-sized cars to SUV and MPV, according to Yin.

Nissan Japan will be produced All new Nissan Patrol or Safari (JDM name)at Nissan Shahai Plant Kyushu in December 2009 for Debut next year.

With the commercial vehicle segment showing very little signs of a revival, Ashok Leyland, India’s second largest truck maker, is “reviewing” its collaboration with Nissan Motor of Japan to manufacture light commercial vehicles.

Hinduja group sources told ET NOW that the review process is currently on and the two partners will work out the revised investment and capacity programme over the next few weeks. Industry insiders feel that the project, which was scheduled to go on stream over the next two years, could get delayed as a result.

Last year, Ashok Leyland struck a deal with Nissan to form three joint venture companies to manufacture light commercial vehicles, powertrains and for technology development for a total investment of Rs 2,400 crore. The project was supposed to have a debt-equity ratio of 1:1 with each partner bringing in about Rs 600 crore each. Under the revised plan, which is currently at the works, the capital investments are likely to be downsized sharply.

While 51% of the vehicle manufacturing joint venture will be owned by Ashok Leyland, Nissan is set to have a 51% shareholding in the powertrain joint venture. Nissan Ashok Leyland Technologies, which will be involved in technology development, will be equally owned by Ashok Leyland and Nissan.

However, R Seshasayee, managing director of Ashok Leyland, told ET NOW that the joint venture plans are very much on track. “There is no truth in the rumours that we are shelving our joint venture with Nissan,” he said.

The buzz that Ashok Leyland is in two minds about going ahead with its joint venture with Nissan has been gaining ground since the Hero group announced earlier this month that it was exiting its truck joint venture with Daimler. The Hero-Daimler break-up was clearly due to the sharp slowdown in commercial vehicle segment, and industry insiders fear that the current demand situation could force other alliances to review their truck plans in India.

The domestic commercial vehicle industry has been struggling in recent months with volumes down by almost 23% in the last fiscal ended March 2009. Analysts expect the industry to report a modest growth of 6-7% in the current financial year.

There are also reports that Bajaj Auto and Renault are also reviewing their collaboration for developing the ultra-low cost car for India, although Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto, maintains that the car joint venture is very much on track.

Mahindra & Mahindra, which has joined hands with US-based Navistar, to tap the commercial vehicle segment in India, has also made it clear that their plans for the domestic track are intact. “We are rolling out brand new platforms for the domestic market and there are no plans to delay the rollout,” Pawan Goenka, president (automotive sector), M&M, recently told ET NOW.

China’s BYD Auto admitted today that it would cooperate with Volkswagen (VW) on iron battery supply, reported the Beijing News.

“BYD is willing to cooperate with foreign automakers on iron battery development,” BYD sales manager Wang Jianjun told the newspaper.

He confirmed that BYD is in talks with a number of foreign companies on supplying them with battery products.

VW CEO Martin Winterkorn revealed at the Shanghai auto show this week that VW will be cooperating with Chinese carmaker BYD, which will soon be sending workers to VW’s headquarters to introduce and demonstrate its technology.

The Chinese battery specialist and car maker launched F3DM, a plug-in hybrid car, in China late last year. the car is capable of traveling 62 miles on electric power only and the company plans to release two more electric models before the end of 2009.

Source: Autoplus Magazine

Honda will prepare to change Global CIVIC in late 2010 ,Thailand,US,Japan and Europe

The exterior will be Keep Concept Monoform line not much differrent looking at current model.The engine will be proved lit accelation.

Nissan has decided to stay away from hybrid power trains in its compact vehicles and instead employ electric only power trains in the compact and subcompact class of cars.

Though Nissan does make hybrid vehicles, the company intends to reserve hybrid power trains for mid-size and full-size vehicles as well as luxury vehicles. Both Toyota and Honda plan to offer hybrid power trains in their compact vehicles. Toyota will introduce a hybrid Yaris and Honda hybrid Fit in the near future, but Nissan will not follow suit.

Nissan will focus on electric only powertrains in this class of car. The company believes that it is a more persuasive technology and they intend to make EVs work. According to Nissan Senior Vice President Andy Palmer, “We think it’s a more persuasive technology. That’s where we’re directing our efforts. In the small cars, it’s clear we’re going to make the EV thing happen.”

Nissan’s small EV is expected to reach showrooms sometime next year and will be powered by lithium ion batteries through partner NEC. Nissan has requested government funding to build and electric vehicle plant in Smyrna, Tennessee.