The sale of Opel and Vauxhall to PSA has hit a snag, with the employees at Opel’s Development centre in Russelheim, Germany, wanting some 7700 jobs guaranteed. The works council and IG Metall, which is a labour union, are pushing for this arrangement as PSA has apparently hit the ground […]
Industry
Geely acquiring majority stake in Lotus, 49% of Proton
The parent company of Volvo, China’s Geely, is set to acquire a majority stake of Lotus Cars as well as its current parent, Malaysia’s Proton. A 49.9 percent share of Proton and a 51 per cent stake of Lotus will be acquired by Zhejiang Geely Holding, with a press release […]
Ford CEO Mark Fields retires, James Hackett appointed
Heads are rolling at Dearborn as Ford Motor Company undergoes a management reshuffle. CEO Mark Fields is retiring, according to Ford, as he makes way for head of Smart Mobility, James Hackett, to come in to take the helm. Hackett’s role of Smart Mobility chairman will be taken over by […]
Pininfarina & Iranian Khodro to co-develop cars
A Memorandum of Understanding between Iran’s premier auto manufacturer and Pininfarina has been signed to develop the next generation of cars for the Iran Khodro (IKCO) brand. The storied Italian design house is renowned for some of the most lusted-after Ferrari designs of all time, as well as Maseratis and […]
Australian Federal Budget adds Advanced Manufacturing Growth Fund
As a part of the 2017-2018 Federal Budget, an Advanced Manufacturing Growth Fund has been allocated for the manufacturing sector. This is to ease the pain to the components and manufacturing industries once Holden and Toyota cease local car production later this year. $100 million is set to go towards […]
Fiat India to supply engines for Tata, Maruti Suzuki
An agreement between Fiat India and Tata Motors, as well as Maruti Suzuki, has shed light on upcoming models for the brands. According to Economic Times, Fiat will supply 220,000 engines to the companies, with 70,000 of those destined for Tata’s new SUVs, codenamed Q501 and Q502. These are new […]
Top 10 biggest losers in Australia so far in 2017: April car sales
While the best-selling cars and car brands get all the spotlight every month with the release of the national VFACTS report/new vehicle registration figures, the losers of the industry hide in the shadows. Here’s a rundown of the worst-performing car brands so far this year, in terms of sales drop […]
Australian vehicle sales for April 2017 – utes continue charge
The Australian VFACTS sales figures for new vehicle registrations for April, 2017, show SUVs and utes are a continued trend in the market, with two utes making up the top two spots on the best-selling chart. According to the figures, 31,368 SUVs were sold during April 2017, against 32,147 passengers […]