An article in Automotive News proposed that the Saab 9-4X crossover may be the world’s rarest new vehicle on sale. Although Saab had planned to sell between 15,000 and 20,000 examples globally this year (with half of sales conducted in the United States), a mere 194 have been sold through October in the United States....
Continue Reading...
For a long time, the only brand with a poorer reputation than Hyundai was Kia. Despite being a subsidiary of Hyundai, Kia‘s vehicles were often a grade lower in quality, using decade-old Mazda engineering and projecting an image of cheap vehicles for those with poor credit (or poor taste). Now, Kia is on a roll,...
Continue Reading...
With sales of the Chevrolet Cruze slowing down, General Motors will idle their Lordstown, Ohio plant to help bring supply levels of the Cruze down. Dealers currently have a 73-day supply of the Cruze, higher than the industry average. GM hopes that demand will catch up with supply by closing the plant for a week....
Continue Reading...
As part of a $1.1 billion cost-cutting effort, PSA, the parent company of both Peugeot and Citroen, will shed 6,000 jobs in Europe, with 2,500 white collar jobs, 2,500 contract worker jobs and 1,000 blue collar jobs expected to be cut in 2012. PSA claimed that their car-making operations would barely turn a profit in...
Continue Reading...
Porsche‘s profits rose by 25 percent in the first 9 months of the year, as overall revenue and vehicle deliveries rose by 20 and 31 percent respectively. Cayenne sales were up 74 percent, as the SUV became the brand’s best selling model, with 43,924 units sold. The Panamera was second with 18,750 sold. Sales of...
Continue Reading...
Fears that General Motors would lose former buyers of Pontiac vehicles to other brands appear to be unfounded, according to the latest data from Edmunds. While the controversial axing of the Pontiac brand led to fears that GM would lose former customers of the brand, data shows that nearly 40 percent of Pontiac customers opted...
Continue Reading...
Kia is hoping to reach the 500,000 unit milestone and add 40 new dealers by 2012, as the Korean automaker enjoys increasing success in the U.S. market. Kia Vice Chairman Hank Lee said that Kia is on pace to sell 470,000 vehicles in 2011, up from 356,258 in 2010. Lee also said that in addition...
Continue Reading...
For the second year in a row, General Motors has sold 2 million vehicles in China, with 10 weeks left in the calender year 2011. GM reported strong demand for Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles, up 24, 18 and 73 percent respectively. General Motors’ SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture also reached a milestone, selling its 1 millionth...
Continue Reading...
Mazda is hoping to boost sales in the United States by 74 percent, and a key component of their strategy will be delivering sporty vehicles that can turn out “real world” fuel economy numbers. “It’s not acceptable to us have 40 mpg and sacrifice performance,” said Robert Davis, Mazda’s senior VP of U.S. operations. Rivals...
Continue Reading...
Ford is revising their forecast for F-150 Ecoboost sales, estimating that the turbocharged 6-cylinder pickup will comprise 45 percent of F-150 sales, versus original estimates of 40 percent. Ford now estimates that the Ecoboost will sell 100,000 units this year. The F-150 remains the best selling vehicle in the United States, and Ford was caught...
Continue Reading...
A contracting economy and a governmental push to limit the number of new cars in certain metropolitan areas has led luxury car makers like BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz to offer discounts of up to 20 percent on their cars in China. While the three car makers are hoping to post record sales numbers, many “aspirational”...
Continue Reading...
Volkswagen‘s Up! city car will go on sale in the United Kingdom for £7,995 up to £11,180 ($12,422 to $17,371) with deliveries starting in the spring of 2012. A range of 1.0L three-cylinder gasoline engines will power the Up! with power ranging from 58 to 73 horsepower. The base Up! will be quite spartan but will come...
Continue Reading...
Surging volumes and a lag in Japanese output helped Hyundai surpass Honda as America’s fifth largest automaker in 2011, selling 522 more units (from both Hyundai and Kia combined) than Honda did through September. Analysts cite Honda’s inventory disruption due to Japan’s natural disasters in March as a leading cause of the change in rankings....
Continue Reading...
The Smart fortwo might be the butt of jokes Stateside, but the city car has managed to move 500,000 copies worldwide after launching in its second generation four years ago. Sales this year are up 6.6 percent, and an electric version is due to launch in the spring of 2012. While other version of the...
Continue Reading...
Kia will hold off on expanding its production facilities and sales targets in favor of improving the quality of its vehicles, CEO Lee Sam-ung told Automotive News at a launch event for its new Rio hatchback. “Quantitative growth is important, but qualitative growth is also important. We plan to focus on improving product quality and...
Continue Reading...
A report by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants claims that by 2015, Brazil will be the world’s third largest auto market, with China and the United States occupying the first and second slots respectively. Brazil will displace Japan as the third largest market, as sales are expected to double to 6.6 million vehicles by 2020. The...
Continue Reading...
BMW has for a fifth straight month, held the top spot in its sales lead over Mercedes-Benz and Lexus, delivering the most luxury models in the U.S. BMW has been able to hold this position thanks to the deliveries of the new 5-Series and X3 SUV. The German automakers U.S sales rose 6.5 percent last...
Continue Reading...
Times have been difficult in the past four months for the giant Japanese Automaker, Toyota. With four consecutive months of sales declines, a 13% drop to 129,482 units in August alone, actions are in order for a much needed rebound. This action will come in the form of the redesigned 2012 Toyota Camry, now set...
Continue Reading...
Toyota officially launched the all-new Camry last week, and Nissan took advantage of this situation in a very 21st century method of subterfuge. When the sedan was unveiled, Toyota found that the word “Camry” had been acquired on social media service Twitter by rival Nissan North America. Anyone searching the Camry on Twitter during the...
Continue Reading...
Toyota’s all-new Camry will blitz the US market to regain sales lost after three years that included a recession, recalls and an earthquake. The new Camry was unveiled on Tuesday and is the first of 20 new and refreshed Toyota, Lexus and Scion models arriving by early 2013. Along with the Camry, Toyota this year...
Continue Reading...
Chevrolet‘s European product line is mostly comprised of re-hashed Korean products that started out life as Daewoo products. But with the introduction of the 2013 Malibu, Chevrolet is hoping to change things a little by offering what it sees as a “premium” product for its European flagship. The European market Malibu 164 hp 2.0-liter gasoline or...
Continue Reading...
Mazda has announced the cancellation of production to its RX-8 rotary engine sports car, because of falling sales and stringent global emissions standards. Production in Hiroshima, Japan, ended in early July and global sales of the car will conclude later this year. The RX-8 and the three generations of the RX-7 that preceded it, have...
Continue Reading...
Car buyers are choosing panorama roofs instead of convertibles. Ford has reported that sales of vehicles with panoramic roofs are increasing. Almost half of buyers purchasing the Explorer and Edge SUV are purchasing the option. About a third of Flex buyers are also buying the same skylight paneled cars. Convertible sales have also decreased accordingly. Traditionally,...
Continue Reading...
Porsche sales in China increased 5 times as much this July compared to last year’s, with the Cayenne selling especially well. Porsche moved 2,484 cars in the month of July: while it might not seem like much, considering Porsche’s total of 10,722 vehicles worldwide, it’s still 5 times more than what they sold in July...
Continue Reading...
sidebar...
