Search Results for: cars

BY PAUL COCHRANE

VEHICLE sales in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) plunged by up to 45% in the first two months of the year compared to 2008, according to Ford, a remarkable change in fortunes from the years of double-digit growth when the US$3.6 billion sector was one of the fastest growing in the world.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is a complex set of institutions and so it will not surprise European auto executives that the EU response to the financial threat they face has been anything but simple. It is so much simpler in the US of course: there the federal government can actually talk about bail-outs, without looking over its shoulder at critics from abroad.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A DANISH island will be a test bed showing how a sustainable mass market in electric vehicles could be built across Europe. Computer giant IBM, Denmark utility DONG Energy, Siemens, the Danish government and others are teaming up in the EDISON project to install and test recharging infrastructure on the island of Bornholm.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

LARGE sums of money have started rolling out of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help keep European auto makers afloat, although its impact will not necessarily prevent dealers from losing suppliers.

The EIB last week (Thursday March 12) announced that its board had approved Euro 3 billion in loans to BMW, Daimler, Fiat, PSA Peugeot-Citroën, Renault, Volvo Cars, Scania and Volvo Trucks.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A GROUNDBREAKING starter motor-alternator, enabling cars to automatically and smoothly stop and start when in congested traffic, has been developed by European companies involved in the Eureka research network. The i-StARS (NOTE – SPELLING IS CORRECT) project, coordinated by France’s Valeo Electrical Systems, spent Euro 9.85 million on developing this second-generation technology, whose aim is to create significant environmental improvements to auto performance without forcing car makers to make radical changes to engine design.…

BY MARK ROWE

AUTO manufacturers and industry associations point to a significant dip in sales and production in Russia this year. JAMA, the Japanese Automobile Manufacturer’s Association, predicts auto sales will fall by 18%, while PricewaterhouseCoopers Russia forecasts a 25%-50% drop in Russia’s overall car sales this year, with Russian domestic car production dipping to 1.6 million vehicles from 3.2 million in 2008.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has laid down policy for the review of the European Union’s (EU) auto sector block exemption from standard European competition rules. Importantly, she has given a "cast-iron guarantee" that a new system would guarantee the rights of independent repairers to "access to technical information and alternative brands of spare parts."…

BY MARK GODFREY

BARRY Lee is probably typical of Chinese wine drinkers. The auto-sales accountant started off drinking a local Great Wall red at an office lunch, then got curious and went to a Beijing branch of the French Carrefour supermarket chain where he spent RMB78 (US$11.40) on a bottle of Chilean red.…

BY BILL CORCORAN

SALES of new vehicles made in South Africa, one of the better performing automobile markets worldwide in recent times, fell by more than 20% last year due to the global economic downturn, and the country’s automakers are trying to crafting a positive response.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

RENAULT’S ambitious plans to develop and roll out electric vehicles worldwide are likely to be bankrolled by a Euro 400 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The money, said a bank memorandum, would fund around 40% of current Euro 1 billion Renault spending plans on develop electric vehicles and improving the environmental performance of conventional Renault vehicles.…