The BMW group is set to invest a total of one billion US dollars over four years in the American market. The resources will be channelled towards a new adminstrative and training centre in New Jersey, increasing the sales network and broadening production in the Spartanburg facilities.

These are all strategies that should take advantage of the current weak dollar compared to the euro. Currently the BMW factory in South Carolina assembles about 160,000 vehicles a year, but with the new investment estimates are up arounf 240,000 vehicles by 2012. To the X5 and X6, produced only in the US, the new X3 will be added, currently manufactured in Austria. 500 new jobs should also be created in the new complex.

Continue reading: BMW will invest one billion dollars in the US

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After Ford’s announcement to curb pick-up production, American giant General Motors has announced that it won’t be renewing development programs for the next generation pick-ups and full-size SUV of the group’s brands.

The news comes after reports over recent months which have revealed the crisis in the American automotive world, too often deaf to the winds of change. Sales have continued to drop in inverse proportion to the rise in petrol prices.

Rather than wasting resources on future generations of Escalade, Silverado, Tahoe and the like, General Motors will focus on investing in the development of the range. Movement is being made towards niche markets of crossovers and petrol savings, where everyone seems to be leaning these days.

Via | DetroitNews

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After the 15.9 percent fall in sales on its own territory, Ford is preparing itself to convert some of its manufacturing facilities, currently dedicated to trucks and pick-ups, into car production to respond to market evolution.

We should soon see the results of Friday’s top management meeting at the Dearborn headquarters, where unionists and production managers also participated. Discussions included business evolution and solutions to remain in step with changing times.

Details should emerge next month, according to Automative News, but we can anticipate that the facilities in question are likely to welcome some production of European models. The aim is to offer more cost-effective and practical options and to cut the total number of the platform in the short term.

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These two models weren’t on the list of Audi’s offerings: can it be that they forgot to add them? Surely not, even if the two in question, a compact SUV and a new supercar, will be destined for the US market, at least for the moment. The aim of 200,000 cars a year over the ocean needs to met as soon as possible.

Johan de Nysschen, executive vice president of Audi America, anticipates the compact SUV’s debut, smaller than the Q5: a kind of “lifestyle product” with a similar concept to the Toyota Rav4. “I think this segment will expand for some time,” says Nysschen, also revealing that they may eventually abandon the letter ‘Q’ after an agreement with Nissan: so this won’t be called Q3.

In the course of the same interview, a whispering about supercars also sparked some interest: it’s emerged that there will be the possibility of seeing a new supercar. It’s not clear whether the manager was referring to a change in the R8 (perhaps the spider or the V10).

It has also been revealed that the A1 has had its wings clipped: Nysschen has stated that the smaller car will not hit the US market in the first year of its life cycle.

With thanks to Bugatti&91

Via | Autoweek.com

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It appears the Japanese are asking help from the “enemy” to globalise the apple of their eye: according to unconfirmed reports, Toyota wants to collaborate with General Motors to export a Prius production line to an American facility.

The Tokyo company has apparently spied facilities in Vermont, California, as a possible place to welcome the first site of hybrid production outside of Asia - current assembly is shared between Japan and China. The previous joint-venture between NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing Inc.) and GM would be the first, fundamental point of departure to start negotiations.

Despite usual denial of reports, this could be the first step towards achieving the objective of one million hybrids by 2010.

Via | Autoblog.com

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The commercial relaunch of the Italian company will inevitably pass to the United States, at least that’s what many employees and the protagonist in the launch, Sergio Marchionne, are thinking.

Sergio recently received an honorary degree in management engineering from the Polytechnic university of Turin and has said that “it’s impossible to manufacture cars in Europe and then sell them to the US while making a profit”. Alfa Romeo is evaluating, with calculator in hand, the best adapted facilities overseas for the production of some models from its range.

Continue reading: Alfa-Romeo: American production in Ontario

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What lovely sarcasm this ad has in its presentation of the Bmw X3: not as vulgar as other American SUVs.

Via | Carscoop.blogspot.com

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In spite of stringent new anti-pollution laws in California eagerly pursued by the governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, request for fabulous supercars does not seem to be dwindling in the Golden State, especially in Los Angeles which has one of the highest rates of luxury car ownership in the world.

This could explain Lamborghini’s decision to increase its presence in the rich American state, as it’s expecting an increase in sales in the coming years. On this basis, the new quarter for the brand will be born in the Santa Monica area.

The new centre will deal exclusively with the Northern American market and is the first outside of national borders for the company. It appears management has decided that a market which absorbs 41 percent of all Lamborghini’s sold throughout the world deserves some special attention.

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In America bio-ethanol is much talked about and car manufacturers are providing models capable of utilising this fuel (also called E85) in the place of green petrol. Oil prices don’t look like stopping their climb and is logical that any news related to possible savings escalates quickly.

This has been the case of the the “Micro Fueler”, a petrol station in the home that costs 10,000 dollars and produces 132 litres of fuel a week, using sugar, water and electric energy. The sugar is the waste from the work, and is still easy to find at low prices especially in South America.

Success has still to be seen, as are the savings: it would require 60,000km a year and two years to realise the investment, according to experts. The company producing this machine is called E-Fuel Corporate, you can go to their site for more information.

With thanks to xtom

Via | Repubblica.it

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Could the leap year bring bad luck to the Japanese? Toyota could be about learn: in the US market, after a consistent fall in sales throughout 2007 (less 28 percent in last quarter), the negative trend continues for the current year, such as to see a possible decline of 27 percent by the end of 2008.

If this trend cements itself, Toyota would mark the first negative result in terms of profit after nine years of constant growth. President of the company Katsuaki Watanabe, has recognised the difficulty in participating in a market gripped by economic crisis, such to oblige management to focus on new strategies to reduce costs.

All in all, the “black hole” of the United States hasn’t overshadowed advances in other countries, especially emerging ones: in China there has been an increase of 20 percent, while in the Middle East and South Africa growth has skyrocketed.

Via | Omniauto

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