Tag Archives: auto informed

Ford Motor Sets Record China Sales of 68,000 Light Vehicles

Ford China set a record in November by selling 67,505 vehicles last month, a 56% increase compared to November 2011. With November, Ford China’s year-to-date sales are now up 18%. Continue reading

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Japanese Makers Up U.S. Share in November as East Coast Recovers

Japanese automakers with Asian tsunami and flooding production disruptions behind them and helped, ironically, by post Hurricane Sandy demand on the East Coast picked up marketshare in the U.S. November. Continue reading

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Mazda Drops Ford Motor in New Changan Mazda JV in China

Continuing its separation and divorce from Ford Motor Company, Mazda Motor Corporation has announced a new Chinese joint-venture, Changan Mazda, based in Nanjing. The 50:50 corporation with all regulatory approvals is now responsible for all of CFMA’s Mazda-related business, including development, manufacturing, marketing and sales of Mazda-branded vehicles in China. Continue reading

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General Motors U.S. Sales Increase 3% in November

GM sales year-to-date (2.34 million) are up 3.5% in an industry that recovered at almost four times that rate. Among major automakers GM’s sales gains are the weakest by far, particularly when compared to the resurgent Japanese Three, with Toyota (1.9 m) at +29%, Honda (1.3 m) at +24% and Nissan (1 m) +11%, now that natural-disaster induced production disruptions are over. To be fair, the tepid GM sales are the sum of a complex three-dimensional game, which attempts to balance badly needed revenue and profits, against capacity, competitive actions and momentum, along with ongoing brand rebuilding. Continue reading

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Ford Motor U.S. November Sales up 6%, Lagging Market Increase

Ford Motor Company U.S. sales total 177,673 vehicles in November, up 6% from a year ago, the Number Two U.S. automaker said today. Retail sales were up 12% compared with last year. Preliminary sales data indicate that November is projected at an estimated 15.3 million Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate or SAAR, up from a 13.6 million sales rate in 2011, or 13% increase. Continue reading

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Chrysler Group U.S. November Sales up 14%

Chrysler Group today reported U.S. sales of 122,565 units, a 14% increase compared with sales in November 2011 (107,172 units), and the group’s best November sales since 2007 before the Great Recession put it into bankruptcy. Continue reading

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Another Ford Fire Recall on New Escape and Now Fusion Models

Ford Motor Company is recalling 2013 Ford Escape SE and SEL models equipped with the 1.6-liter engine and 2013 Ford Fusion SE and SEL models equipped with the 1.6-liter engine because of engine fires. Almost 90,000 of Ford’s latest models – both redesigned for 2013 – are affected. Continue reading

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Volkswagen Group to Invest €50 Billion During Next Three Years

Volkswagen Group will invest €50.2 billion in its Automotive Division in the coming three years after approval by its Supervisory Board last week. It’s the latest step in VW’s attempt to become the world’s largest Automotive Group by 2018. The ambitious target that will require overtaking GM and holding off a resurgent Toyota, neither of which will concede sales lightly. Continue reading

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Shanghai GM and Audi Lead Latest “Apeal” Study in China

Chinese domestic vehicle brands have narrowed a gap in customer perception, but international brands still lead in a survey based on two to six months of ownership. Models from Shanghai General Motors led in four segments, while Audi rated the highest praise among automakers. Continue reading

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GM China Expands Advanced Technical Center in Shanghai

Increasingly, sophisticated engineering and development work once done in the U.S. is being shifted to China. Last August, GM began fabricating and testing prototype battery cells and complete systems at the ATC. At the same time, SAIC and Shanghai GM and the Automotive Technical Center opened China’s largest proving grounds. Continue reading

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Mazda6 Diesel Coming to U.S. Tracks and Roads in 2013

Mazda North American today announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show that the racing version of the 2014 Mazda6 diesel would make its motorsports debut at the Rolex 24 endurance race in January 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Japanese automaker also confirmed accurate commentary by AutoInformed earlier this year that the racing program would help promote a new Mazda6 diesel sedan, which will join gasoline engine versions next year on U.S. roads.. Continue reading

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Louisiana Used Car Dealer Sentenced to Prison for Odometer Fraud

Beau Michael Guidry of Baton Rouge, Louisiana was busted flat today by a U.S. District Court judge who sentenced the used car dealer to 20 months in prison for rolling back the odometers on used cars. Moreover, the court ordered Guidry to pay $72,805.51 in restitution to the victims of his crimes. Continue reading

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Chevrolet Spark EV $25,000 after Federal Subsidy of $7,500

The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV will be priced under $25,000 with tax incentives when it goes on sale starting next summer in California, Oregon, Canada and South Korea. Spark EV will be eligible for controversial high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in California. The price is roughly twice that of a gasoline powered minicar, and that’s with incentives. Continue reading

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Food Fight over Ethanol as Special Interest Groups Trade Charges

Two special interest groups are sparing in public over the cost implications of a long-standing federal energy policy that mandates the use of ethanol and ever increasing amounts of bio-fuels in an attempt to free the United States from importing oil sold by terrorist supporting nations. In 2012 about 9% of all transportation fuel used will be from so-called renewable sources. Continue reading

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Chevrolet Volt Leads New Owner Satisfaction Report. Again

For the second straight year, virtually all owners of the Chevrolet Volt hybrid said they would buy one again. Fully 92% of respondents who own GM’s Volt – much decried by anti-government extremists – said they would definitely buy it again. This earned the $40,000 four-seat car the distinction of being the top-scoring model in the latest Consumer Reports Owner Satisfaction Survey. Continue reading

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