Tag: VW

Germany invests to prolong employees’ working lives

Two Porsche workers sit in swivel chairs on wheels, rolling around the factory floor in Leipzig as they inspect the underbody of a sleek black Panamera executive car hovering just above their heads. Using tools built in to their arm rests, they apply final touches to a car that will soon roll off the production… Continue reading Germany invests to prolong employees’ working lives

Less is more

The customer – the unknown quantity? Perhaps it would be better to refer to customers as challenging quantities, especially when it comes to designing technical devices for them, or programming software to suit their needs. The reason for this is no surprise, of course: there is no “one” customer to identify, but many diverse individuals,… Continue reading Less is more

TRATON corporate communications restructured

Corporate communications has been reorganized at TRATON, the 3-year-old truck and bus division of Volkswagen based in Munich. Wolfgang Meisen (35) became Head of Media Relations & Corporate Messaging on January 1, 2019. He reports to Julia Kroeber-Riel, the Head of Group Communications & Governmental Relations. The TRATON corporate communications department has been based on… Continue reading TRATON corporate communications restructured

F Series: Ford builds electric pickup

ford has announced plans to electrify US-popular F-Series pickups. What the vehicle will cost, is not fixed yet. Actually planned Ford for the F-series only a hybrid drive. January 17, 2019, 7:36 am, Andreas Donath F150 (Image: Ford) Ford wants to bring a fully electric version of its most important vehicle series on the market:… Continue reading F Series: Ford builds electric pickup

Luxury car sales slow down in India

NEW DELHI: Luxury car sales have decelerated. With the stock market remaining volatile through most of last year and liquidity pressure growing, reluctant buyers stayed away from new purchases or upgrades, leading to 5 per cent growth in volumes in 2018 against a 17 per cent surge in the previous year. Luxury car makers like… Continue reading Luxury car sales slow down in India

French Government Calls for Carlos Ghosn to Be Replaced as Renault’s Leader – The New York Times

PARIS — For nearly three months, as its chairman and chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, remained jailed in Tokyo on allegations of financial misconduct, the French carmaker Renault stood by him. But with Mr. Ghosn now facing the prospect of being detained for an extended period after a Tokyo court on Tuesday rejected his bail request,… Continue reading French Government Calls for Carlos Ghosn to Be Replaced as Renault’s Leader – The New York Times

Exclusive: British Lotus cars to be ‘Made in China’ at new Geely plant: documents

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The Chinese owner of Lotus plans to start producing the British sports car brand in China for the first time with the opening of a new 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) factory in Wuhan city, company job advertisements and government documents showed. FILE PHOTO: The Lotus Exige Sport 410 is seen during… Continue reading Exclusive: British Lotus cars to be ‘Made in China’ at new Geely plant: documents

British Lotus cars to be ‘Made in China’ at new Geely plant: documents

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The Chinese owner of Lotus plans to start producing the British sports car brand in China for the first time with the opening of a new 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) factory in Wuhan city, company job advertisements and government documents showed. A building of the Geely Auto Research Institute is seen… Continue reading British Lotus cars to be ‘Made in China’ at new Geely plant: documents

FCA to pilot car-sharing, subscription for Jeep owners

FCA to pilot car-sharing, subscription for Jeep ownersFiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is exploring new ways to boost sales of its money-minting Jeep brand through a three-month pilot with peer-to-peer car-sharing startup Turo and a trial subscription service for Jeep owners.
The automaker is recruiting owners to rent out their vehicles through Turo, which lists 350,000 models on its platform and pitches itself as a a way for motorists to offset their car payments. Fiat Chrysler also is partnering with Avis Budget Group Inc. on a three-month subscription service that will let owners swap their Jeeps for other vehicles, such as a Ram pickup or Dodge Challenger, said Tim Kuniskis, head of the Jeep brand in North America. Both pilots start next week in Boston and will be limited to the first 100 owners who register for each.
“All these people who are casually going, Is it for me or not for me?,’ I can then get them as potential prospects to sell them a brand-new Wrangler,” Kuniskis said in an interview at the Detroit auto show this week. “We’ll find out what’s good and what’s bad, what customers like and what they don’t like, and ultimately from that we’ll decide if we want to do this as something we promote to our dealerships at the time of sale.”
Mixed Success
Automakers and car dealers have been dabbling with flexible-ownership models, with mixed success. The goal is attracting younger consumers whose tastes have been shaped by the likes of Airbnb Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc.
General Motors Co. started a program last summer that lets owners rent out their GM vehicles using its car-sharing unit, Maven. GM’s Cadillac brand, BMW AG, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Porsche AG all have tried out subscription pilots, though Cadillac paused its program and BMW slashed the initial pricing of its subscriptions after Mercedes offered a lower rate.
The biggest stumbling blocks in figuring out the subscription model are pricing and delivery, Kuniskis said. Avis will supply the inventory for the pilot to spare local dealers the depreciation risk of holding the cars. Participants will be able to flip models as many as six times during the three-month period, two with delivery and the rest requiring them to pick up the vehicle themselves.
“We know all the pluses and minuses of subscription services, we’ve seen some challenges,” Kuniskis said. “Let’s step our toe in, let’s see if this is, No. 1, right for the brand. If it makes sense, let’s try it.”
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