Linda Young – AHN News Writer
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The global auto market continues to recover with carmaker giants Volkswagen, Chrysler and Fiat all reporting higher profits during the first quarter of the year. VW and Chrysler also reported higher sales, while Fiat said its sales in Europe were no better than last year. Volkswagen AG (VOW) led the pack on profits. It announced its net profit had nearly doubled to $4.2 billion compared to the same period last year. Chrysler Group LLC, which is now controlled by Italy’s Fiat, reported its net profits were the best in 13 years at $473 million. Italian carmaker Fiat SpA (F) credited those strong profits from the Chrysler division with helping to boost the net profits for the entire Fiat group 10-fold to $501 million, compared [...] Continue Reading…
VW, Chrysler see profits jump while Fiat posts losses
May 4th, 2012 
admin Audi pays $1.1b for luxury Italian motorcycle company Ducati
April 19th, 2012 admin Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Berlin, Germany (AHN) – German automaker Audi bought Italian motorcycle maker Ducati known for its luxury two-wheelers ridden by famous figures, including Brad Pitt. Volkswagen AG (VOW)’s Audi will buy Italian motorcycle maker Ducati Motor Holding SpAg for $1.1 billion, which includes $203 million in debt. Bologna, Italy-based Ducati manufactures about 40,000 bikes per year. The luxury motorcycles carry a price tag of around $28,000, depending on model.
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Brake light, airbag issues prompt recall of 700,000 Toyota cars
March 20th, 2012 admin Windsor Genova – AHN News News Writer
Chicago, IL, United States (AHN) – Some 700,000 Toyota sedans and pickups in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are being recalled by the Japanese automaker to replace a faulty brake light switch and fix an airbag issue. In an announcement on Wednesday, Toyota Motor Corp. said the recall covers 495,470 Tacoma pickup trucks made between 2005 and 2009, 70,500 Camry and 116,000 2009-2011 Venza vehicles. The numbers include 16,000 trucks in Canada and 13,000 in Mexico. For the Tacoma, friction between the spiral cable and the retainer in the steering wheel spiral cable assembly may occur and could damage the electrical connection for the driver’s airbag module preventing it from deploying during a crash. A flaw in the brake light switch could prevent the Camry and Venza from starting or [...] Continue Reading…
Volkswagen announces its annual profits doubled
March 5th, 2012 admin Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Frankfurt, Germany (AHN) – Volkswagen AG saw its profits more than double to $21.2 billion last year compared to $9.7 billion the year before, the company reported Friday. In addition, the automaker’s operating profit soared by 58 percent to $15.1 billion, while its revenue rose by 26 percent to $213.7 billion. The carmaker delivered more than 8.2 million vehicles, an increase of nearly 15 percent from the 2010. Volkswagen says it plans to become the world’s largest carmaker, in terms of both sales and profits, by 2018. To get there, company officials say they plan to spend $83 billion on building new plants and on conducting research and development to develop new models over the next five years. In addition, it plans to hire 50,000 more workers over the next [...] Continue Reading…
Chrysler posts $225 million profit
February 4th, 2012 admin Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Detriot, MI, United States (AHN) – Chrysler reported a $225 million profit on Wednesday. The company capped its first profitable year since its government bailout and bankruptcy in 2009. The fourth quarter results were fueled by $15.1 billion in revenue, a 41 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. For the full year, the struggling automaker on the way to a dramatic turnaround, reported net income of $183 million, compared with a $652 million loss in 2010. Annual revenue for 2011 rose 31 percent to $55 billion. Giving gas to the turnaround was surging sales of its Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles. Worldwide sales of its cars and trucks increased 22 percent to 1.85 million vehicles in 2011. Even better and more encouraging was that Chrysler guided higher [...] Continue Reading…
GM back on top as world’s biggest automaker
January 20th, 2012 admin Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Even if you prefer Ford, BMW, Mercedes or Volkswagen, if you are an American taxpayer, you are cheering the news. General Motors, one-third of whose shares are owned by U.S. taxpayers, sold 9,025,942 vehicles in 2011, up 7.6 percent from 2010. The number was good enough to place GM on top as the world’s largest automaker. GM beat out Volkswagen, which sold just over 8 million cars in 2011. Toyota, which took the top spot from GM in 2009, has yet to report figures, but its production was severely hampered by the tsunami in Japan and the massive floods in Thailand. Even more impressive, and better, is that General Motors is now making money and showing a profit, unlike in years when GM reigned [...] Continue Reading…
Honda widens recall for airbag problem
December 6th, 2011 admin Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Torrence, CA, United States (AHN) – Japanese automaker Honda has expanded its previously announced recall of vehicles with dangerous air bags to include almost 900,000 vehicles. The recall affects only vehicles sold in the United States and includes model years 2001 to 2003 of the affected cars. The recalled vehicles now include certain 2001 and 2002 Accord, 2001 to 2003 Civic, 2001 to 2003 Odyssey, 2002 and 2003 CR-V, 2003 Pilot, 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL and 2003 Acura 3.2 CL models, Honda officials said in a statement. Honda first said the driver’s airbag inflator needed to be replaced because it had a risk of deploying with too much pressure and could rupture, which might result in injuries or death. The company will begin sending out official notices to [...] Continue Reading…
GM CEO: Earnings good, but not good enough
November 21st, 2011 admin Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – General Motors reported better than expected earnings in the third quarter on Wednesday, but CEO Dan Akerson said the quarter “isn’t good enough,” a signal that more cost cutting lies ahead. GM, the U.S.’s largest automaker, earned $1.7 billion, or $1.03 a share in the third quarter, down from $2 billion earned in the last full period before its initial public offering. While better than analysts’ estimates of 96 cents a share, Akerson said in the company’s earning statement Wednesday “Solid isn’t good enough, even in a tough global economy.” The company did not give specific guidance on net income in the fourth quarter or lay out any specific measures to improve margins. The lack of fourth quarter guidance, and the sinking Dow, [...] Continue Reading…
Chinese companies buying automaker Saab
November 6th, 2011 admin Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Stockholm, Sweden (AHN) – Struggling automotive icon Saab will change hands again in a proposed deal to save it from bankruptcy by selling it to two Chinese companies. Swedish Automotive will sell its Saab unit to Chinese distributor Pang Da Automobile Trade and auto manufacturer Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile. The two will pay a mere $142 million for the 62-year old auto manufacturer. General Motors sold Saab to Swedish Automotive only 2 years ago as part of GM’s restructuring to avoid bankruptcy itself. Since that sale, Saab has had extreme economic woes that it has not manufactured a car since April and it has been in court trying to avoid bankruptcy. China has become the world’s largest market for automobiles. Chinese automakers bought another iconic struggling automaker last year, [...] Continue Reading…
UAW ratifies deal with Ford
October 22nd, 2011 admin Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Detroit, MI, United States (AHN) – United Auto Workers approved a new four-year labor agreement with Ford Motor, UAW officials announced on Wednesday. As recently as this weekend, 53 percent of the 41,000 Ford UAW rank and file members were voting no to the contract. However, that changed when the locals voted. The final tally was 63 percent of production workers and 65 percent of skilled-trades workers voting yes to the deal. UAW President Bob King had urged the members to approve the deal, saying they could not expect anything any better. Moreover, he said it was important to approve the deal because it brought jobs back to the United States that currently are held by nonunion labor in Mexico and overseas. Ford is the most profitable automaker in the [...] Continue Reading…