production
Buick Verano, Chevrolet Cruze Production Remains Postponed
Chevrolet‘s Cruze conundrum is causing collateral damage for Buick and continuing longer than expected. General Motors halted production at the Lordstown, Ohio plant of the globally distributed sedan, citing problems with a parts supplier, though the company didn’t disclose specifics. “A further process review shows General Motors is not ready to resume production of the Chevrolet Cruze…
Chevrolet Cruze Production Halted, Unnamed Supplier To Blame
General Motors halted production of their popular Cruze sedan yesterday after a supplier issue hampered production. Chevrolet says they plan to resume production as soon as possible, though they declined to disclose what the issue was. Production officially stopped around 1 p.m. EST according to a spokesperson for the Lordstown, Ohio, factory where the Cruze…
Acura MDX To Be Built In Alabama To Offset Rising Yen
Honda announced today that they would use excess capacity at their Alabama plant following a $300 million investment in the facility. The investment will allow for a total of 340,000 units anually. Rising exchange rates are forcing Honda to devote more resources to North American production while reducing exports. Honda will shift their Acura MDX…
Jeep Wrangler Production To Stay In Toledo, Ohio
Despite concerns within Jeep, Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed yesterday that the Wrangler will continue to be manufactured in Toledo, Ohio exclusively. The question about moving production comes for a couple of reasons. First, because of remarks made in September by Jeep brand CEO Mike Manley that Chrysler was exploring production of Jeep vehicles in…
Japanese Automakers Re-Start Production In Thailand
While Thailand is mostly known for sandy beaches, fake watches and other pleasures that need to be paid for in cash, Thailand has a strong manufacturing base, with many automakers producing vehicles and components in the developing nation. October’s flooding, which ravaged the Southeast Asian country, made a major dent in the production figures of…
Saab Production May Restart In 8 Weeks
According to Inside Line, Saab may be ready to re-start production at its factories in as little as 8 weeks, after being sold to two Chinese automakers for $142 million. While Saab was valued at $660 million this summer, both Pang Da and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. managed to purchase the company at a rock…
Cummins Forecasts Spike in Demand for Diesel Engines
The world’s economy stinks, gas is expensive and we’re all watching our wallets closely. You might assume that would also indicate less car parts being sold, but not for diesel engine manufacturer Cummins. “Several of the economies where Cummins operates are clearly weakening,” COO Tom Linebarger told analysts last month. “We really don’t know how…
Kia To Focus On Quality Ahead Of Lineup Expansion
Kia will hold off on expanding its production facilities and sales targets in favor of improving the quality of its vehicles, CEO Lee Sam-ung told Automotive News at a launch event for its new Rio hatchback. “Quantitative growth is important, but qualitative growth is also important. We plan to focus on improving product quality and…
General Motors Scaling Back Full-Size Truck Production
General Motors will idle its Fort Wayne, Indiana plant for one week in November to help bring pickup truck production in line with slowing demand. The plant will be idled for the week of November 7th, and no Chevrolet Silverado or GMC Sierra pickups will be produced at that time. GM has reported a 108…
Chevrolet Makes Way For Three Models In Kazakhstan Assembly Deal
Chevrolet cranks up its production capacity for the fourth quarter as the Azia Avto plant in Kazakhstan agrees to support the production of three new Chevy models. As the largest automaker in Kazakhstan, the Azia Avto plant is responsible for more than 87 percent of all passenger cars in the country. GM considers Kazakhstan and areas…
Toyota North American Line-Up Production Returns To 100 Percent
It’s only been a mere six months since Japan was devastated by earthquake and tsunami, but on September 13, 2011, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing Executive Vice President Steve St. Angelo proudly announced that all Toyota models in the North American line-up have finally returned to 100 percent production. Just weeks after the quake hit…
Alfa Romeo Discontinues The 159
Fiat will be gradually discontinuing the beautiful Alfa Romeo 159, as reports have indicated that production of the 159 has come to an end at the assembly plant in Naples, Italy. Last minute 159 buyers may have some luck because the vehicle has been stockpiled by dealers ahead of the factory’s temporary closure. Sadly, the 159 suffered…
Ford Crown Victoria Being Hoarded By Police Departments
After serving for more than 30 years, the Ford Crown Victoria has established a sterling reputation as the police car of choice. Ford is ending production of the Crown Vic Police Interceptor at the company’s St. Thomas, Ontario, factory and despite stopping sales of Crown Vics to consumers in 2008, Ford continues to make them available to…
Toyota Targets 8 Million Cars Built In 2012
Toyota is eager to regain its “world’s largest automaker” title back. So by 2012, if things go according to plan, expect to see a lot more Toyota products on the roads: 8 million, to be specific. This target is 1 million more than what Toyota will build this year. The company is gunning for this lofty…
Toyota Won’t See US Sales Increase Until September
Still plagued by the effects of the March 11th earthquake, Toyota won’t be able to turn a profit Stateside until September. Sales of Toyotas have been plummeting since May: 33% then and 21% in June, and a projected 21-33% for the month of July. This comes on a total 4% slide from the first quarter,…
Porsche Increasing Cayenne Production as Global Demand Surges
Porsche is planning to double its sales to 200,000 units by 2018, and the German automaker is expecting the SUV side of sales to take the lead in achieving this goal, especially considering the Cayenne is already the best selling vehicle in its lineup. The automaker wants to increase production of the Cayenne by 10…
Nissan Expects To Continue Gaining Market Share On Honda and Toyota
The damage caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami has affected manufacturing throughout Japan, however Nissan says that it anticipates being able to continue to gain market share from Honda and Toyota in North America. Honda and Toyota stopped production entirely in the months following the earthquake and tsunami, however, Nissan was able to…
Fisker Karma Nears Production, Leonardo DiCaprio To Get The Very First One
The birth of the Fisker Karma has not been easy. The project has seen delays and customers have seen the price go up over the years, before the car even set foot on any showroom floor. However, it now seems that the project is finally well on its way to hit the open road, as…
36,000 Toyota Prius Hybrids Coming To The United States For Summer
America’s ongoing insatiable desire for the Toyota Prius is about to be sated: the Japanese factory is sending 36,000 examples our way, just in time for summer. Global availability of the Prius is still low. Currently, the Prius is at a 4-day supply in America and many dealers don’t have a single example on their…
Toyota And Honda Plan To Hire 5,000 Workers As Japan’s Industry Recovers
Toyota and Honda plan to hire as many as 5,000 temporary workers in Japan for the first time in more than a year as the automotive industry recovers from the March 11 earthquake. Toyota will be hiring between 3,000 and 4,000 temporary workers from mid-July as the company plans to increase production in October. This…
Saab Production Will Remain On Hold For Another Two Weeks
Saab’s ongoing drama will remain at a standstill for another two weeks. Saab’s Trollhattan factory in Sweden, has not produced vehicles for most of April and May because of issues regarding paying suppliers. The factory bounced back in late May, but was quickly forced to stop production when part supplies ran out yet again. “There will be…
Aston Martin Rapide Production Slows Down
Aston Martin has decided to reduce production on the Aston Martin Rapide in order to match output to sales. The British company said they will now produce around 25 cars per week, making 1250 cars a year. Initially, Aston Martin envisioned producing 2000 cars in 2007/2008. Sources have even claimed that Rapide production may drop…
Hyundai Resumes Production After Suicide Of Factory Worker
After an employee committed suicide at a Hyundai plant in Korea, the company reports that it has resumed production. The employee of Hyundai’s South Korea factory accused the company of “suppressing the labor movement,” forcing the company to shut down on Thursday and meet with labor officials. An agreement was made with the union, and…
Audi Q3 Begins Production In Spain
Audi’s latest cute-ute (are people still using that phrase anymore?) is entering production in Spain, at the clip of 100,000 per year. The Q3 will be built in Martorell, Spain, in a plant normally reserved for SEAT. Volkswagen recently spent about 330 million Euros in upgrading the facility in anticipation, and is betting big on…
