Frankfurt motor show: Car firms fighting back (12/09/11)

September's Frankfurt motor show revealed clear signs the auto industry is on the front foot again after some tricky years.

A key theme has been the development of smaller, more fuel-efficient models designed to lower running costs, including some powered by hydrogen fuel-cell systems.

Examples include Volkswagen's city car Up!, expected to sell 300,000 units a year, and Vauxhall/Opel's new two-seater electric prototype.

Peugeot and Citroen showed off their diesel-electric hybrids, the 3008 Hybrid4 and the DS5, both of which are ready for production.

Hyundai put its new i3 in the spotlight, while both BMW and Mercedes-Benz have displayed some advanced new concepts.

British automakers were also evident as Land Rover revealed a new Defender prototype and Jaguar roared into Frankfurt with a car being billed as the "spiritual successor to the E-type".

Analysis: Electric car hype hiding a quiet revolution (12/09/11)

As hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles attract attention, car makers are driving emissions lower through better engine designs, aerodynamic improvements and weight reduction to complement the effect of platinum and palladium autocatalysts.

Dorothee Saar, an industry analyst at the German Environmental Aid Association, explains that the auto industry is being more green thanks in no small part to the threat of fines and increasingly tough government targets.

But these emissions targets are set to get stricter, meaning car makers will have to focus much more on developing hybrid and fuel cell vehicles to achieve the fleet-wide reductions expected.

Number of automobiles on China's roads exceeds 100m (20/09/11)

The number of automobiles, including cars and trucks, on China's roads has exceeded 100 million for the first time, official figures show.

In total, there are 219 million vehicles in the country - double that of 2006 - with the remaining 119 million being motorcycles.

China has more vehicles on its roads than any other country save the US, which boasts 285 million.

UPDATE 1-European car sales rose 7.8 pct in August (16/09/11)

Sales of new cars in Europe rose 7.8 per cent in August 787.500 units, as all the major economies saw a pickup in forecourt activity.

Despite the boost, total new car registrations for the first eight months of 2011 were down 1.1 per cent at 9.19 million vehicles in the European Union and European Free Trade Area.

German manufacturers got the best of the upturn in purchases, with Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes-Benz reporting increased sales of around 20 per cent, while BMW posted a more than 30 per cent gain.

Brazil Lifts Tax to Protect Car Producers From Cheap Imports (16/09/11)

Brazil announced new tax incentives to lift domestic car production and protect the country's automakers from foreign imports.

The industrial products tax on car makers was raised by 30 percentage points, except for firms sourcing 65 per cent of parts from the Mercosur trade bloc or Mexico.

It is expected that this will increase the cost of imported models by around a third and encourage foreign manufacturers to build components in Brazil.

"These measures are going to stimulate national production and guarantee investment," finance minister Guido Mantega said.

Currently, Volkswagen, Fiat and General Motors hold two-thirds of the country's car market.

Japan Automakers Group Says Demand to Drop 14% This Year (27/09/11)

Demand for new cars, trucks and buses in Japan could fall by as much as 14 per cent this year following the earthquake and tsunami in March.

Sales could drop to 4.25 million vehicles, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said.

However, sales are expected to pick up over the coming months compared to a year previously, as the tail-end of 2010 saw deliveries decline sharply when a government subsidy scheme came to an end.

China's auto exports surge 53.3% in Jan-July (28/09/11)

Chinese auto exports have soared in the first seven months of 2011 to 465,000 units, up 53.3 per cent from a year ago, figures from the General Administration of Customs show.

The value of these exports increased by a third to be worth $22.86 billion.

Toyota Global Output Rises for First Time in 12 Months (28/09/11)

Toyota reported its first rise in output for 12 months as production in August increased 10.6 per cent to 626,817.

Domestic output was up 12 per cent, while overseas production gained 9.8 per cent, as the auto giant begins to recover from the disruption caused by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

"The bottleneck disruptions in the parts supply seem to be ending quicker than expected," commented Satoru Takada, an analyst at TIW Inc in Tokyo.

Ford bets on Russia sales growth (01/10/11)

Ford is confident that sales of new cars in Russia will top predictions at between 2.6 million and 2.7 million units this year, above the 2.45 million forecast by the Association of European Businesses.

"It seems the Russian market does not have any jitters. Demand remains strong," said Ted Cannis, chief executive officer of the joint venture between Ford and Russian firm Sollers.

He was speaking at the launch of Ford-Sollers, which will make Ford Transit and Ford Explorers in Russia, trebling the US automaker's production capacity in the country.

New car sales on the rise in Canada (30/09/11)

Sales of new cars in Canada have risen by around two per cent in 2011 and could reach the 1.6 million units mark by the end of the year, according to the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association.

Chief economist at the organisation Michael Hatch believes the key driver of the growth is the affordability of new models, with prices around 40 per cent lower in real terms than in 1994. 

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