Li Shufu, head of Chinese automaker Geely, joins Daimler as a major shareholder. Hostile takeover? In fact, the group from Stuttgart could be trimmed with it faster on electric mobility. Geely boss Li Shufu Saturday, 24.02.2018 13:24 clock For weeks it has begun, now it is official. Li Shufu, boss of the Chinese automaker Geely,… Continue reading That’s it, Mr. Zetsche
Tag: Toyota
Toyota and Panasonic to Start Feasibility Study of Joint Automotive Prismatic Battery Business
Toyota City, Japan, December 13, 2017-Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic) announce today an agreement to begin studying the feasibility of a joint automotive prismatic battery business. This agreement between the two companies aims to help find solutions to pressing societal issues such as global warming, air pollution, the depletion of natural resources… Continue reading Toyota and Panasonic to Start Feasibility Study of Joint Automotive Prismatic Battery Business
Toyota-Mazda Shared Plant To Crop Up In Alabama Or North Carolina
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Toyota-Mazda Shared Plant To Crop Up In Alabama Or North Carolina
15 Nov 2017, 14:32 UTC · by Mircea Panait
/ Home / News / Industry
Building and selling cars is big business. And in addition to big, it’s complicated business for one too many reasons, chief among which is legislation. In the U.S., for example, it’s easier for foreign automakers to build cars locally because the state will offer incentives. This, in turn, creates jobs, and the pricing advantage over imports is nothing to scoff at.
9 photos Toyota and Mazda find themselves in this situation, with the two announcing that they’re planning on spending $1.6 billion on a plant in the United States that will create 4,000 jobs. The factory would be operational by 2021, but there’s a catch with this promise. And that catch is, Toyota and Mazda have refused to spell out the location where the plant will be.
The background story originates with Donald Trump, who attacked Toyota with a “big border tax” over the automaker’s plan to construct a factory in Guanajuato, Mexico. There, Toyota would’ve produced the Corolla, but once President Trump got in on the action, the Japanese automaker decided that it would be better to build the Tacoma in Mexico.
Trump’s attack wasn’t in vain, for the POTUS convinced Toyota to relegate Corolla production to the United States, at the factory this story is about. Mazda joined Toyota in its ambitious plan, with Mazda announcing that it'll build “new crossover vehicles” at the yet-to-be-constructed plant.
According to Bloomberg, the search for a location for the Toyota-Mazda plant has been narrowed to two states: Alabama and North Carolina. All that’s left to do now is for state officials to sweeten the deal, with Toyota-Mazda expected to take the better offer as far as incentives are concerned.
Whichever state wins, the shared factory is actually a victory for the Trump administration. After all, it is “the first new auto assembly plant to be announced during the tenure of President Donald Trump,” and that’s good news considering Ford will source the next-generation Focus from China.
Editor's note:
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Confirmed: Subaru WRX STI Leaves Europe After 2018, Special Edition Incoming
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Confirmed: Subaru WRX STI Leaves Europe After 2018, Special Edition Incoming
22 Nov 2017, 16:57 UTC · by Mircea Panait
/ Home / News / Industry
In a Facebook post published by Subaru of Germany, the Japanese automaker confirmed a suspicion that set the WRX STI community on fire in the past couple of weeks. And that is, the performance-oriented sedan will be pulled off from Europe at the end of 2018. The reason for this decision? The EJ25 engine.
11 photosHere’s Christian Amenda, the managing director of Subaru Deutschland: “The WRX STI has a long and successful motorsport history and enjoys a small but loyal fan base. The increasingly stringent [CO2] emissions regulations in Europe make the [commercial] conditions for such a classic athlete more difficult, which is why Subaru has opted to stop production.” Clear enough?
Fret not, for the WRX and WRX STI will live on in markets such as the United States of America. Over in Europe, however, the writing was on the wall eons before the current breed went official in 2014 for MY 2015. Take Germany as the best case in point possible, a market where high-performance automobiles are in demand. From 2011 to date, Subaru sold less than 1,000 examples of the rally-bred WRX STI in Deutschland, so that’s that.
This is not the end of the Euro-spec WRX STI, though, with the automaker highlighting that “there’s gonna be some delicacies” in 2018. Most likely, Subaru might adapt the Type RA for the Old Continent or offer the WRX STI in 50th Anniversary Edition flavor. Another possibility might be the Final Edition announced for the UK market only recently. What’s more, hearsay suggests work is underway on the next-generation WRX and WRX STI.
According to the rumor mill, the newcomer will welcome hybridization to improve both performance and carbon dioxide emissions. But as Subaru prepares to take the veils off the Ascent seven-seat crossover at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, a second rumor made the rounds. And that is, why wouldn’t the next-generation WRX and WRX STI get the Ascent's 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer engine as a replacement for the venerable EJ25?
Whatever trick Subaru will pull out of the hat for the next generation, don’t expect the torch to be passed before 2020. And with that, now’s the right time to place an order on the WRX STI if you like the smell of a new car.
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Toyota Celebrates One-Millionth Corolla Manufactured In Mississippi
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Toyota Celebrates One-Millionth Corolla Manufactured In Mississippi
15 Dec 2017, 8:39 UTC · by Mircea Panait
/ Home / News / Industry
When it comes to the world’s best-selling cars, nothing can live up to the popularity of the Corolla. Introduced in 1966 and upgraded from subcompact to compact in 1991, the Corolla is now in its eleventh iteration, and Toyota claims that it’d sold more than 44 million examples.
21 photosNorth America is one of the markets that made the Corolla the bestseller it is today, with the Japanese automaker opening a dedicated production facility in Mississippi in 2011 to support local demand. In December 2017, the North American plant celebrates the one-millionth Corolla manufactured, the red-painted example featured in the story’s main photo.
“To think this all started with one – one team member, one team, one car, and now the one-millionth Corolla is rolling off our line – is incredible,” declared Sean Suggs, vice president of manufacturing. “This is another feather in the cap of Toyota’s 1,500 team members who come together each day to produce ever-better Corollas.” The latter statement is no coincidence, for the Corolla prepares to be completely overhauled in 2019.
Priced at $18,550 before destination and available in seven trim levels (L, LE, LE Eco, SE, SE 6MT, XLE, XSE), the 2018 Corolla is exclusively available with a 1.8-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine in the United States.
Mated to either a continuously variable transmission or a six-speed manual in the case of the SE 6MT, the 1.8er develops 132 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque. The LE Eco is the most fuel-efficient of all models, being EPA-rated 30 mpg city and 40 mpg highway.
Standard features are aplenty for a vehicle of this size and price, with the entry-level L coming with bi-LED headlights, LED daytime running lights, rearview parking camera, Entune Audio, and Toyota Safety Sense P.
On that note, the next-generation Corolla promises more of everything, from improved comfort to superior safety, thanks to the adoption of Toyota’s New Global Platform.
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Toyota And Mazda Choose Huntsville, Alabama For U.S. Factory
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Toyota And Mazda Choose Huntsville, Alabama For U.S. Factory
10 Jan 2018, 19:31 UTC · by Mircea Panait
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A whopping $1.6 billion. That’s how much Toyota and Mazda will invest in setting up a production plant in Huntsville, Alabama. Announced in May 2016, the U.S.-based joint factory will open its doors in 2021 and will see up to 4,000 workers churn out up to 300,000 vehicles per year.
50 photosLocated approximately 150 miles from the Tuscaloosa site operated by Mercedes-Benz and 15 miles from Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama, Inc., the Huntsville facility is described by both parties as a “mutually beneficial long-term partnership.” What that means is, Toyota will acquire 5.05 percent of Mazda, whilst Mazda will get 0.25 percent.
Toyota’s 11th manufacturing plant in the United States, and the second in Alabama, will welcome the next generation of the Toyota Corolla to its assembly line. Mazda, meanwhile, announced that it’s working with the North American office “to introduce a totally new and different type of SUV,” a damn cryptic choice of words if you think about it for a minute.
The State of Alabama is, at the present moment, the 5th largest manufacturer of cars of light trucks in the U.S. of A. More than 150 tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers are supporting the industry, translating to something in the ballpark of 57,000 automotive manufacturing jobs in the Cotton State.
“The partnership between Mazda and Toyota will expand innovative automotive manufacturing in Alabama,” said governor Kay Ivey. “Their decision to locate this new facility in Huntsville is a testament to the talented workforce in our state. We are proud that this partnership puts Alabama on the forefront of technology in this dynamic global industry.”
Other than the new production plant, Mazda and Toyota are joined at the hip. First there’s electrification technology the two will share, then there’s the rotary extender engine, but that’s not all. If the wildest of rumors are to be believed, the next-generation Mazda6 is expected to go rear-wheel-drive thanks to the Toyota-developed FR platform. The same backbone is anticipated to help the RX-9 rotary sports car happen.
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2019 BMW X5 (G05) Coming Next Summer, Launching In Q3 2018
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2019 BMW X5 (G05) Coming Next Summer, Launching In Q3 2018
14 Nov 2017, 10:11 UTC · by Mircea Panait
/ Home / News / Car Profile
The X5 is one of the most successful members of the BMW lineup, with the mid-size sport utility vehicle being popular in Europe and the United States alike. Now in its third generation, the X5 prepares to make way for the fourth-generation model in the guise of the G05 X5. According to the latest reports, the newcomer should be presented in the summer of 2018.
31 photosWhat that means is, the F15 X5 won’t live to see the Life Cycle Impulse. And in turn, what that means is that the F15 X5 boasts one of the fastest turnarounds in recent memory for the BMW Group. But then again, it’d be foolish for the Bavarian automaker to milk out the current model as the X3 got overhauled from the ground up and the X7 is right around the corner. The question is, what is there to expect from the G05 X5?
First things first, the modular platform BMW calls CLAR serves as the backbone of the mid-size SUV. Wider and longer than the F15, the G05 will drop a few pounds compared to its predecessor, thus helping with both gas mileage and handling. Engine-wise, nothing much will change from the current model when it comes to the number of cylinders and number of gears in the ZF-sourced transmission. From a four-cylinder turbo displacing 2.0 liters in the xDrive40e plug-in hybrid to the 4.4L twin-turbo V8 in the X5 M, diversity is the name of the game.
From a design standpoint, the G05 X5 borrows styling from the latest-generation X3 and the Concept X7 iPerformance. The upright fascia is complemented by larger kidney grilles, while the roofline and quarter panels at the rear give the next-gen X5 a more hunkered-down stance.
BMW is already testing pre-production prototypes of the G05 at the Nurburgring and on the public roads, so here’s hope the newcomer touches down in the summer of 2018. According to BMW Blog, the current-generation X5 is scheduled to end production at the Spartanburg plant “in July 2018.”
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Panasonic to Start Mass Production of Electronic Rear-view Mirrors, the First Product Jointly Developed with Ficosa
Osaka, Japan – Panasonic Corporation announced today that it will start mass-production of electronic rear-view mirrors in September 2017, the first product jointly developed with Ficosa International S.A., a tier-one supplier of automotive parts and systems in Spain. In June 2015, Panasonic invested in the Barcelona-based company, which supplies automotive mirrors to a wide variety… Continue reading Panasonic to Start Mass Production of Electronic Rear-view Mirrors, the First Product Jointly Developed with Ficosa
1st year of Taxify South Africa
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China Harmony New Energy Auto’s After-Sales Unit Raises $41M
Hong Kong-listed China Harmony New Energy Auto Holding Ltd. has completed a spin-off of an after-sales unit, which has reached agreements to received RMB280 million (US$41 million) from a few strategic investors, according to a disclosure filing. Automobile industry-focused investment firm Leaguer Auto and Aotuo Investment have agreed to invest in Independent Aftersales Company, an… Continue reading China Harmony New Energy Auto’s After-Sales Unit Raises $41M