China Light-vehicle sales rise 21% in September

Automakers sold 1.6 million light vehicles in China in September, up 21 percent from the same period last year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said. The market enjoyed strong demand for SUVs and multipurpose vehicles. Last month, SUV sales surged 65 percent year-on-year to 283,600 units, while MPV sales tripled to 122,900 units.

Goodwood announces Festival and Revival dates for 2014

The provisional dates for the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival have been announced by the events’ founder, Lord March.

Next year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed will take place from 26-29 June, while the Revival is set for the weekend of 12-14 September 2014. Both dates are provisional and remain subject to change, pending the confirmation of the 2014 Formula 1 calendar.

No details about race themes or celebrations have been released, but as usual both events will be strictly by advance ticket only, with sales commencing at 9am on 31 October.

All young persons aged between 13 and 21 can purchase Festival of Speed and/or Revival tickets for half the full adult price, while children aged 12 and under remain free of charge. The price of adult entry tickets starts from just £27.

Brake Issues for 25,234 BMWs  in China

Set to affect 25.254 BMWs in China, this is quite a widespread problem, but one that BMW will undoubtedly get done fast.

The issue seems to be concentrated on the brakes of several models, with a faulty camshaft being installed. That would cause a drop in in power for the braking assist, a severe affliction for any car, especially for a powerful one. The affected models are mostly 3 Series and 5 Series, but some other units were also affected, like the 125i, X1, X3 and Z4.

Each of the 25.254 units that have been plagued sport the N20 engine, with 4.083 vehicles being produced locally, by the BMW Brilliance partnership. Starting this month, BMW and the Chinese manufacturer updated the warranty to include a replacement vehicle or even a refund should any customer purchase a defective vehicle.

BMW announces 350,800-units recall due to brake problems

The German manufacturer announced a quite big recall that involves both BMW but also Rolls-Royce sub-brand. From the total of 350,800 units, 5,800 Rolls-Royce Phantom (2003-2010) units are affected by this recall. BMW will notify every owner of the models that will be revised in order to avoid the possible braking problems.

The most recent debacle involves the BMW X5 model, and problems affect some 1.540 units.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that said units have a faulty fuel filter heater installed that sometimes works incorrectly and could pose a threat. More investigations revealed that said 1.540 units were built back between June 13, 2009 and November 9, 2009.

Apparently, the heater would sometimes err and forget to turn off after it’s done the job, even with no contact. A continuously running heater could be problematic, as not only it would drain on the battery, but it also raises the risk of combustion. As always in these kinds of situations, the car maker will be replacing the component on all affected vehicles free of charge. Luckily it’s a relatively low number of X5s.

BMW recalls 21,771 units sold in China due to possible brake issues

The German people from BMW announced a new recall targeting models sold just on the Chinese market. More exactly, we talk about 21,383 BMW cars, including the 5 Series, 6 Series and 7 Series while other 388 Rolls-Royce Phantom units are also included in this recall, but once again to say, the recall is available just for the models told above sold in China.

Rolls-Royce sees sales growth through 2014 on Wraith coupe, Asia demand

Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes expects sales of the automaker’s first coupe and robust demand in Asia to help drive deliveries through next year.

BMW considers boosting EV production on strong early demand for i3

BMW is considering a production increase for the i3 electric car after early demand for the model exceeded the automaker’s expectations.

Bosch auto division exec Scheider expects flat Europe market until 2020

Bosch aims to achieve an 8 percent return on sales in its automotive division within two years, despite seeing little improvement in the European car market this decade.

Maserati orders rise to 22,500 in first 9 months

Maserati has booked about 22,500 orders for new cars so far this year, as of the end of September. Nearly half the orders were for the automaker’s new Quattroporte sedan.

Fiat drops out of Europe’s top ten brands

Last month, Fiat sold just 15 more cars in Europe than Skoda. The Italian marque is no longer one of Europe’s top 10 brands by vehicle sales

Fiat union to meet U.S. counterpart to push for Chrysler merger

Fiat labor bosses will meet United Auto Workers union officials next week in Detroit in a bid to bridge an impasse over Fiat’s efforts to merge with Chrysler.

European car sales rise by 5.5% in September

European new-car registrations rose by 5.5 percent in September, helped by a surge in UK sales and an extra working day. The increase provided fresh evidence that the region’s slump may be slowly bottoming out.

PSA forecasts fourth-quarter market share gain in Europe

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen forecasts a fourth-quarter market share increase in Europe as new models including the Peugeot 2008 crossover and Peugeot 308 hatchback help boost demand.

Ex-GM marketing boss Ewanick: Chevy-Manchester deal was a ‘no-brainer’

Former General Motors global marketing chief Joel Ewanick said signing the Chevrolet-Manchester United sponsorship deal that ultimately led to his ouster last year was a “no-brainer.”

Daimler will increase Mercedes output in South Africa despite labor unrest

Daimler will invest in South Africa to boost output of the Mercedes C class, despite recent auto industry strikes that cost carmakers an estimated $2 billion

AvtoVAZ board to propose GAZ head Bo Andersson as next CEO

Former General Motors purchasing boss Bo Andersson may be recruited from GAZ to head Russia’s largest carmaker, AvtoVAZ.

How Dongfeng can protect a risky investment in PSA

Dongfeng Motor Corp. is being very cautious about a proposal to buy a stake in its joint-venture partner, PSA Peugeot Citroen — and rightly so. The Chinese automaker quite naturally would prefer to earn a profit from its investment in PSA. But the French automaker is losing money, and it will keep bleeding as long as Europe is in recession. Dongfeng and PSA should study the example of SAIC Motor Corp., which bought a stake in partner General Motors in 2009, when GM teetered into bankruptcy.

Mazda Motor Corp.’s sales in China jumped 34 percent year-on-year to 17,821 units in September, rebounding from a sharp drop a year ago when anti-Japan demonstrations crimped deliveries, the Nikkei news agency reported. In the first nine months of 2013, Mazda sold 124,667 units in China, down nearly 16 percent from a year earlier.

Changan Auto expects net profits to soar

Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. expects net profits for the first three quarters of the fiscal year to range from 900 million yuan to 1 billion yuan ($148 million to $164 million). If the forecast holds, the company’s profits in the first nine months will jump from 386 to 440 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. The company cited rising car sales as the main reason for the forecast.

Dongfeng emerges as PSA’s last hope after GM setback, sources say

General Motors scaled back cooperation with PSA Peugeot Citroen months into their alliance and later turned down a government-backed merger, leaving China’s Dongfeng Motor as the French carmaker’s last hope, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Magneti Marelli plans lighting JV in Hubei

Italian supplier Magneti Marelli has formed a joint venture with a subsidiary of China South Industries Group Corp. to produce headlamps and taillights in a new plant in Xiaogan in central China’s Hubei province. The joint venture, to be called Hubei Huazhong Magneti Marelli Automotive Lighting Co., will invest 40 million euros (330 million yuan) in the factory. The plant, which will employ 800 workers, will launch production in the first quarter of 2015.

ALTe gets OK for plug-in venture in China

U.S. supplier ALTe Powertrain Technologies received government approval of its joint venture to sell plug-in electric powertrains in China. The company’s joint venture with Henan Benma Co. has booked orders totaling $209 million (1.3 billion yuan) for powertrains to be installed in 3,000 light commercial vehicles. The joint venture, dubbed Henan ALTe New Energy Automobile Co., will start delivering powertrains to customers in April.

Nissan to recall Infiniti JX35 to fix antilock brakes

Nissan Motor Co. will recall 4,367 units of the JX35 crossover to repair defective antilock brakes, reports the state-run Xinhua news service, citing Chinese regulators. The defect could extend the vehicles’ braking distances. Nissan dealers will make repairs by reprogramming the software.