Nissan to build new engine in UK (23/06/10)

Nissan has confirmed that it intends to build a brand new engine at its plant in Sunderland, a move which could create 200 new jobs by 2013.

The Japanese manufacturer will construct 60,000 of the 2.0-litre petrol units after receiving a £1.94 million grant from regional development agency One North East.

Nissan CEO: 2010 to be 'record year' for autos (15/07/10)

Charles Ghosn, Chief Executive of Nissan, has claimed that all-time high global auto sales of between 69 million and 70 million vehicles could be recorded this year.

"We have no doubt that 2010, no matter what, is going to be a record year for the industry," he said.

India's car makers see surge in sales (01/07/10)

Indian automakers reported strong domestic sales growth in June as the country's economy continues to gather pace, AFP reports.

Maruti Suzuki posted a year-on-year rise of 17 per cent, with Tata Motors seeing 49 per cent growth, Ford India recording a surge of 267 per cent and General Motors (GM) enjoying an improvement of 112 per cent.

"There was pent-up demand for cars which has overflowed into this year," Mahantesh Sabarad, Senior Analyst at Fortune Equity Brokers, told the news provider.

GM's China Sales Jump to 1.21 Million Autos, Exceeding U.S. for First Time (02/07/10)

GM has revealed that it sold more vehicles in China than the US during the first half of the year for the first time ever.

The company reported sales of 1.21 million in China for the six months to 30th June, compared to its US deliveries of 1.08 million.

GM is hoping to increase its China sales to about three million per year by 2015, having recorded a total of 1.83 million last year.

Automakers see no sign of expected recovery (01/07/10)

US auto sales were lower than expected in June, seemingly undermining hopes that the battered industry will enjoy a strong second half of the year.

Estimates for industry-wide sales were between 11.2 million and 11.4 million on an annualised basis, compared to the total of 11.6 million for the previous month.

Hyundai was the best-performing automaker, posting a 35 per cent sales rise, while Ford registered an increase of 13 per cent and GM witnessed an improvement of 11 per cent.

Chrysler recorded a 35 per cent jump, but failed to provide details about how many of its sales were soaked up by rental agencies and other fleet customers, Reuters reports.

"Recent economic news continues to point to a reinforced slow recovery with some volatility," GM's Head of Global Product Planning, Steve Carlisle, told the news provider.

"The key uncertainty here is whether there will be a transition from the stimulus-supported growth we saw early to more of a consumption- and investment-driven growth."

China car output, sales rank world's first in H1 (06/07/10)

China has maintained its position as the world's largest auto market, based on new sales and production figures for the first half of the year.

The China Automotive Technology and Research Center revealed that first-half terminal sales reached 7,185,300 units, representing a year-on-year rise of 30.45 per cent.

Terminal sales for June were 1,132,000, up 13.9 per cent annually but down 5.25 per cent from May's total, while domestic car production for the six-month period rose by 44.37 per cent to 8,472,200 units.

China's auto sales this year may hit 17.5 mln units (09/07/10)

The figures also suggest that full-year sales in China will reach 17.5 million units, with demand boosted by extended subsidies for auto trade-in and clean vehicles.

"By the end of this year, consumers may rush to buy cars before incentives expire," said Rao Da, Secretary General of the China Automotive Technology and Research Center.

China June car sales growth slowest in 14 months (09/07/10)

Meanwhile, alternative statistics have shown that China's passenger car sales totalled 1.04 million in June, representing a year-on-year increase of 19.4 per cent.

However, this was the slowest gain in 14 months, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the body which compiled the data.

A senior executive at Dongfeng Motor Group claimed that the outlook for the second half of the year is challenging as the market attempts to keep up with the huge sales during the same period in 2009.

"We had expected early on that growth would continue to be strong in the first few months," said the source in an interview with Reuters.

"But it won't be one way and the market might head south in July and August."

China's SAIC Motor sees earnings quadrupling (19/07/10)

SAIC Motor Corporation, China's largest automaker, has announced that its vehicle sales improved by 44 per cent in the first half of 2010.

The company, which earned $206.5 million over the course of the six-month period, sold a total of 1.77 million cars between January and June.

China likely to import 1 million cars next year (21/07/10)

China could import more than one million automobiles in 2011, according to Xu Changming, Director of Economic Research at the State Information Center.

The country witnessed imports in excess of 300,000 between January and May this year, representing a rise of 184 per cent, with 244,000 of those being registered (a rise of 94.6 per cent).

Data from China Automobile Trading also suggested that China's exports were between 130,000 and 190,000 during the same period, up by 52 per cent year-on-year, Gasgoo reports.

Volkswagen to build Taiwan assembly plant on its own (06/07/10)

Volkswagen has announced that it intends to build an assembly plant in Taiwan, despite dismissing reports of a link-up with the country's China Motor Company.

Europe's largest automaker is planning to spend between $31 million and $156 million on the plant in a bid to produce 100,000 vehicles per year, the Commercial Times reports.

Volkswagen's First-Half China Sales Rise 46% After Introducing New Models (12/07/10)

Volkswagen has also revealed that it sold 950,278 to consumers in the greater China area in the first half of the year, representing a rise of 46 per cent.

The Wolfsburg-based company attributed the improvement to introducing new models, while adding that deliveries of Audi luxury-brand sedans increased by 64 per cent to 109,887.

Volkswagen to Build Factory in Eastern China in Move to Double Production (15/07/10)

Volkswagen is planning to build an assembly plant in eastern China in a bid to double its capacity in the country over the next four years.

The new facility, which will be located in Yizheng, Jiansu province, will have the capacity to offer 300,000 vehicles per year when operations commence in 2013.

"It's a sensible step to take as China's long-term growth prospects still have to be judged very positively," said Marc-Rene Tonn, an analyst at MM Warburg in Hamburg, in an interview with Bloomberg.

Avtovaz in profit thanks to Russia car scrappage scheme (13/07/10)

Avtovaz sold 149,100 cars in the second quarter of 2010, which was a rise of 108.2 per cent from its total for the first three months of the year.

Russia's largest automaker, which can assemble about 800,000 cars per year, has been boosted by the introduction of a scrappage scheme in the country in March.

Ford breaks ground on $300 million China plant (18/07/10)

And finally, Ford has revealed that it will unveil a $300 million vehicle plant in China to ramp up its expansion in the country.

The facility, which will be able to produce 300,000 units annually, will commence operations at the end of 2012, adding to the company's two existing Chinese factories.

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