Great Wall’s profit rises 61% through 3 quarters

Great Wall posted a profit of 6.2 billion yuan ($1 billion) for the first three quarters of this year, up 61 percent from the year-earlier period.

Its revenue rose 38 percent year-on-year to 40.8 billion yuan, according to company earnings reported to the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges. Robust SUV sales generated much of Great Wall’s strong profit and revenue growth.

VW quarterly profit advances 20% as automaker cuts spending

VW Group reported a 20 percent increase in third-quarter operating profit as the automaker focused on cutting costs to boost earnings.

Audi’s next TT

Photographers have caught their first glimpses of Audi’s third-generation TT coupe, expected to go on sale in Europe in the second half of 2014 and in the United States the next year

Renault will miss Zoe sales target, analysts say

Renault will sell about 10,000 units of its Zoe subcompact electric car this year, well below its target of 50,000 deliveries, according to market analyst Inovev.

BMW indirectly controls its carbon fiber partner

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer was correct when he said this week the automaker doesn’t need a bigger stake in SGL. What he didn’t say is the reason why: BMW already indirectly controls the carbon fiber supplier

Mann+Hummel venture opens Changchun plant to make air, oil and fuel filters

German filtration supplier Mann+Hummel says its Chinese joint venture has opened a plant in the northeastern China city of Changchun to produce air, oil and fuel filters and other parts. The joint venture, Changchun Mann+Hummel FAWAY Filter Co., has spent 100 million yuan ($16.4 million) on the plant site, which covers 4.5 hectares.

New Range Rover could share platform with Jaguar crossover

Land Rover may introduce a new model in its Range Rover lineup based on Jaguar Land Rover’s new modular aluminum platform, which could also underpin a future Jaguar crossover

Fiat lowers 2013 profit target as quarterly earnings decline

Fiat Group has lowered its profit target for 2013 as sales in Brazil slumped and losses in Europe persisted.

GM cuts European losses, bolsters N.A. earnings

GM continued to trim its losses in Europe in the third quarter and posted a solid bottom line in North America on strong production of trucks and SUVs.

Battery maker Hunan Corun New Energy launches output to supply Toyota Prius

Hunan Corun New Energy Co., a private Chinese battery maker, began producing nickel-metal hydride batteries last week at its new plant in the central China city of Changsha. The batteries will be used in the Toyota Prius hybrid, the company said. The new plant, with investment of 450 million yuan ($73.8 million), initially will build as many as 60,000 sets of batteries a year for vehicles, especially hybrids.

Nissan promotes Europe boss to chief performance officer

Nissan’s Europe boss, Trevor Mann, has been promoted to chief performance officer of the automaker as part of a sweeping management overhaul executed by CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Ex-Ford exec Parry-Jones adds new ingredient to a busy life

As head of global product development before retiring in 2007, Richard Parry-Jones became known as Ford’s alchemist of vehicle dynamics. He was a rally-car driver in his spare time, and pushed hard to make all Fords a blast to drive.

Ford sees progress in Europe as ‘exciting’

Ford executives are excited that the automaker’s global regions of Europe, Africa, South America and Asia Pacific posted a combined quarterly profit for the first time since the second quarter of 2011.

Fresh from France, the Citroen Sneakermobile

Over the years, car designers occasionally have tried to capture some of the charm and practical benefits of athletic shoes in cheeky auto show concept cars. Now one of those concepts is headed for production.

Getrag, Dongfeng to build transmission plant in China

German transmission supplier Getrag and partner Dongfeng Motor Corp. have launched construction of a dual-clutch transmission plant in the central China city of Wuhan.

Lexus, Mercedes top J.D. Power’s China survey of quality; 4 Chinese brands above average

Lexus and Mercedes-Benz tied for the fewest quality defects in J.D. Power’s 2013 China Initial Quality Study, which examines problems experienced by new-vehicle owners in the first two to six months of ownership. Both brands averaged 55 problems per hundred vehicles, followed by Subaru (64), Volkswagen (66) and BMW (67). The survey rated 213 models from 65 brands.

GM China shines amid Asia decline

General Motors said its Chinese joint ventures earned $400 million (2.44 billion yuan) in pretax income for the third quarter, outweighing a combined loss of $100 million in the rest of Asia. Overall, GM’s International unit — which includes China and several Asian countries — recorded a quarterly pretax profit of $299 million, down 61 percent from a year earlier.