NEWSMAKER-Cost-cutter Diess seen driving change as Volkswagen CEO

FRANKFURT, April 10 (Reuters) – Loved by investors and prepared to take on trade unions, Volkswagen brand boss Herbert Diess is likely to finally get his chance to lead Germany’s biggest carmaker which is expected to change faster under his cost-cutting style. Diess is known for squeezing more savings out of suppliers than fellow managers… Continue reading NEWSMAKER-Cost-cutter Diess seen driving change as Volkswagen CEO

China’s President Xi Jinping offers U.S. possible trade concessions

Chinese President Xi Jinping reviews an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Photo: Mark Schiefelbein, AP) BEIJING – President Xi Jinping promised Tuesday to cut China’s auto tariffs and improve intellectual property protection in possible concessions aimed at defusing a worsening dispute with Washington over trade… Continue reading China’s President Xi Jinping offers U.S. possible trade concessions

Ford Debuts More Upscale Focus to Trade Sales for Richer Margins

As Ford Motor Co. rolls out a redesigned version of its Focus compact car in China and Europe, it’s also debuting a strategy to be more choosy about which buyers it battles for and where. The automaker is taking the wraps off upscale grades of the car in London including the Focus Vignale, expanding the… Continue reading Ford Debuts More Upscale Focus to Trade Sales for Richer Margins

Alphabet’s Waymo Takes a Page Out of Google’s Android Playbook

When Google set out to tackle the smartphone market with its Android operating system, it picked off the more vulnerable subscale brands with little software expertise. Within three years, those phone makers had surged up the sales charts to become the biggest players. At the time of Android’s launch in 2008, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and… Continue reading Alphabet’s Waymo Takes a Page Out of Google’s Android Playbook

Germany May Inflict More Diesel Pain on Carmakers

Germany is preparing to take another run at shoring up diesel as it seeks to balance efforts to improve urban air quality with concerns about lost jobs from the technology’s decline. Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer signaled automakers including Volkswagen AG and BMW AG could be hit with more painful measures to reduce smog-causing emissions, while… Continue reading Germany May Inflict More Diesel Pain on Carmakers

Gunnar Kilian becomes HR Director

The car maker Volkswagen wants to rebuild its leadership. The successor to SPIEGEL information has already been determined for the personnel director. Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg Tuesday, 10.04.2018 18:35 clock The Volkswagen Group is building his board around, In addition to CEO Matthias Müller and HR Director Karlheinz Blessing go. Blessings successor is already clear… Continue reading Gunnar Kilian becomes HR Director

Toyota’s China Crisis

The world’s biggest carmaker and the world’s biggest car market should be made for each other. So why is Toyota Motor Corp. misfiring in China? As recently as 2015, it was the No. 2 marque in the country, behind the eternally dominant Volkswagen AG.  Since then, though, sales have flatlined, while rivals have picked up… Continue reading Toyota’s China Crisis

BMW, Daimler, Toyota: Speech by China’s head of state Xi inspires the auto industry

Lexus production The Toyota luxury brand would benefit particularly strongly from the market opening. (Photo: AP) Automakers like BMW. Daimler and Toyota are likely to over the Message from the Chinese President Xi Jinping pleased: This announced in his speech on Tuesday to lower import tariffs on cars later this year. In doing so, the… Continue reading BMW, Daimler, Toyota: Speech by China’s head of state Xi inspires the auto industry

BMW and Mini launch pay-as-you-go subscription service

BMW and Mini have launched a subscription service that rolls all the costs of car ownership into monthly instalments. Payments, which start from £131 per week (equating to around £568 a month), include the costs of insurance and maintenance, as well as breakdown cover, as one bill. Although BMW is the first major car maker to offer such a service… Continue reading BMW and Mini launch pay-as-you-go subscription service