Industry

A Volkswagen plant in Brussels that normally churns out VW Golf hatches will switch to producing Audi models with the first A3 expected to roll off the production line by the middle of the year. Automobilwoche reports that the current workforce of 5,400 employees will be reduced to just 2,200...

Aston Martin has been sold to a consortium led by the founder of Prodrive, David Richards, ending almost twenty years of ownership by Ford and months of speculation and rumors regarding the new buyer. Other key investors in the group include investment banker John Sinders and Kuwaiti equity groups...

Oklahoma Global Motors, the American side of a joint-venture determined to manufacture MG cars in the US, will continue with its plans despite the resignation of its CEO. Automotive News reports that Duke Hale has quit from his post as CEO along with two other top managers, but key investor Marc...

In a surprise move, the head of Bugatti Thomas Bscher has resigned and it’s rumored that he left his post because of the frustration faced under the leadership of Volkswagen Group boss Martin Winterkorn. German newspaper Der Spiegel reports that Bscher was a key backer for the introduction of...

General Motors will invest heavily in its Chevrolet label in an effort to sell more Chevy-branded vehicles outside the US than it does domestically. The hope is to make Chevrolet a global brand like Toyota or Volkswagen, and GM’s vice president for global sales, John Middlebrook, predicts...

In a surprise move, TVR’s former owner Nikolai Smolenski repurchased the assets and trademark rights to the former Blackpool based sports carmaker last week, only to sell it immediately to a pair of Florida businessmen. It’s been suggested the move was a shrewd business decision that...

Ford’s luxury Premier Automotive Group is expected to make a profit for 2007, executive vice president Lewis Booth said in a briefing with Reuters. The PAG is made up of Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Aston Martin. Jaguar has been the main culprit behind lackluster profits in the group, but...

Update: PSA Peugeot Citroën has announced that it's no longer interesting in partnering with Proton and has discontinued any ongoing talks with the Malaysian carmaker. The ongoing talks between Proton and Volkswagen are said to be going badly despite officials from both companies meeting on...

BMW and DaimlerChrysler are currently developing a new rear-wheel-drive hybrid drivetrain, with both manufacturers planning to release vehicles equipped with the system within the next three years. This rush to market of the new drivetrain is the main reason for the forming of a partnership back in...

Influential magazine Consumer Reports has come out with its annual list of the ten best cars of 2007, and once again Japanese automakers have dominated the results. Every vehicle from Toyota and Honda earned at least a recommendation, with the two companies combined achieving seven places in the...

Toyota is a clear market leader in hybrid-electric technology, so it’s not surprising that Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally is interested in forming an alliance with the Japanese giant in order to co-develop the enviro-friendly drivetrains. Mulally met with Toyota Chairman Fujio Cho in December...

DaimlerChrysler’s supervisory board today approved the partnership between Chrysler and Chery to develop a new small vehicle to be manufactured in China and exported to global markets. However, the deal will only be finalized with the agreement of the Chinese government, which is expected to...

The new owner of TVR was announced today as none other than its previous owner, 23-year old Russian boy Nikolai Smolenski. If you’ve been following the trials and tribulations of TVR, you’ll know that it has experienced more drama than a Shakespearean tragedy. Plant shutdowns, massive...

Both Volkswagen AG and Renault-Nissan have come out with announcements citing their lack of interest over the potential sale of the struggling Chrysler. A spokesman for VW said that there “are no such considerations at the moment” regarding the sale of Chrysler and a similar statement...

U.K. niche supercar manufacturer Noble Automotive has sold the manufacturing rights of its M12 and M400 cars to America's 1g Racing, its Ohio-based U.S. distributor. This means that these two models will now be constructed in the U.S., but they will have to be rebadged and renamed for sale by July...

The Sirius and XM satellite radio providers will make an official announcement later today about a planned merger following a weekend of around the clock negotiations. The New York Post reports that details will be released at a conference in Washington D.C., and according to a source close to the...

Chrysler is considering getting its new Chinese partner, Chery Automobile, to build a new Chrysler designed vehicle instead of manufacturing a car based on a Chery design. Back in December, Chrysler and Chery formed a joint-venture to assemble a new small car in China for worldwide export...

Hyundai is the latest carmaker to enter the Chrysler spin-off rumor mill, joining industry giant General Motors as another potential suitor for the ailing Chrysler brand. The story was first reported by the UK’s Sunday Times, which cited unidentified sources for the scoop. The key benefit to...

General Motors is in talks with DaimlerChrysler about a possible buyout of the struggling Chrysler Group. That’s the latest from inside sources both in the US and Germany as published in a report by Automotive News. Talk of an alliance was first reported last week in Germany's...

General Motors and Chrysler Group are currently in talks to develop a new large SUV that would rival GM’s own Chevrolet Suburban. First reported by the Wall Street Journal, an inside source has claimed the talks have been ongoing for the past six months but a final decision has yet to be...