Volkswagen Group faces nationwide protests in China after car owners were unsatisfied with its handling of a recall to fix a possible suspension defect.
Category Archives: General Talk
Toyota maintains top spot in global vehicle sales over VW, GM
By YURI KAGEYAMA
Toyota kept its lead over rivals Volkswagen and General Motors as the world’s top-selling automaker in the first nine months of the year, Monday reporting record sales of 7.615 million vehicles, up nearly 3 percent from the previous year.
Renault exec fuel-efficient Eolab concept selling for same price as Clio
Renault could sell the Eolab ultra fuel-efficient concept for a similar price to a diesel-powered Clio if it decided to build the car, Thierry Bollore, the company’s chief competitive officer, said.
Russia may extend car-buying subsidy scheme into 2015
Russia may extend incentives for new-vehicle purchases beyond 2014, the Industry and Trade Ministry said, in an effort to help the car industry weather an economic downturn.
The ministry said in a statement the scheme could be extended into 2015, citing industry minister Denis Manturov. It gave no details of possible additional funding of the program.
The government earlier earmarked 10 billion rubles ($244 million) to fund the trade-in scheme that will run through to the end of the year.
Russia’s auto market is in free fall with new-car sales plunging by 20 percent last month following a 26 percent drop in August, according to the Association of European Businesses lobby group.
Car sales are falling fast as Russia’s weak economy is hit by western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine and buyers delay making large purchases.
In the first nine months, sales were down 13 percent to 1.78 million.
Under the existing scheme, buyers of new passenger cars are eligible for a discount of at least 40,000 rubles (€752) when scrapping or trading in their old vehicles.
The AEB said it expects full-year volume to be down 12 percent in 2014 to 2.45 million as the scheme helps slow down the rate of decline.
Takata’s airbag crisis causing supplier shift to Autoliv, Daicel
The defect in Takata Corp. airbags linked to four deaths in Honda cars opens the supplier to risk of losing business to rivals including Autoliv and Daicel in a crucial portion of the market for the safety devices.
The market for airbag inflators — the component at the root of deadly defects — is likely to shift away from Takata to suppliers including Autoliv and Daicel, potentially allowing the two suppliers to control more than half the market by 2020 as Takata’s share shrinks, said Scott Upham, an analyst who has followed airbags since they were first going into cars a quarter-century ago.
