Retail News CRM

Category: Automotive

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Auto and Car news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Harley-Davidson plans a Thailand factory to serve SE Asian market

    Harley-Davidson plans a Thailand factory to serve SE Asian market

    otorcycle maker Harley-Davidson said on Thursday it will build a plant in Thailand, a major Asian automotive hub, to serve the growing Southeast Asian market, a move criticized by a U.S. labor union.

    The company did not give a figure for the planned investment in Thailand’s Rayong province, southeast of Bangkok.

    Katie Whitmore, Harley-Davidson public relations manager, said the company had its best results in Asia-Pacific in 2016, though she gave no numbers.

    The Thailand facility “will allow us to be more responsive and competitive in the ASEAN region and China,” Harley-Davidson public relations manager Katie Whitmore said.

    “Increased access and affordability for our customers in the region is key to growth for the company in total,” she said. “There is no intent to reduce H-D U.S. manufacturing due to this expansion.”

    The plant would let Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson avoid Thailand’s up to 60 percent tariff on imported motorcycles and help it get tax breaks when exporting to Thailand’s neighbors, thanks to a trade arrangement among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN).

    Harley opened a plant in India in 2011. It also assembles motorcycles at a plant in Brazil.

    After the New York Times reported on Harley’s planned Thai investment, United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard on Tuesday said the decision was “a slap in the face to the American worker and to hundreds of thousands of Harley riders across the country.”

    USW represents members at Harley plants in two U.S. states and 850,000 workers in North America.

    Gerard also said that production outside the U.S. “puts in jeopardy the success that has propelled Harley over the years.”

    Whitmore said motorcycles assembled in Thailand would have the same “authentic look, sound and feel” as those manufactured in the U.S.

    Demand for Harley motorcycles in the U.S., the company’s biggest market, continues to be slow as its loyal baby boomer demographic changes ages.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Tata Aims to Build on Recent Truck Gains in Thailand

    Tata Aims to Build on Recent Truck Gains in Thailand

    Indian automaker Tata is moving production in Thailand as part of a company reset that aims to increase its Thai sales 83% this fiscal year to roughly 3,000 units.

    With a 10-year contract up at the Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant in the south of Bangkok, Tata has signed a renewable 5-year pact with the Bangchan General Assembly plant, 20 miles (34 km) west of central Bangkok.

    Since its opening in 1970, Bangchan has been the home to assembly operations for 14 brands.

    Production will begin at Bangchan after the installation of assembly equipment at a cost the Bangkok Post puts at TB500 million ($14.5 million). The facility will have a capacity of 8,000 Tata Xenon pickups and 2,500 Tata Super Mint pickup trucks in a 1-shift operation.

    Tata says Xenon production will launch in September.

    The automaker says its Tata Super Ace line will be assembled in both right-hand and left-hand drive versions.

    To help reach its local sales target, Tata says it also will introduce more models to local showrooms.

    Tata Thailand CEO Sanjay Mishra says sales grew 19% year-on-year in the 2016 fiscal year ending March 31. “Fiscal year 2016 marked Tata’s best retail performance in Thailand ever,” he says in a statement.

    “Fiscal-year 2017 is a big step for the company’s future – we are making announcements for exciting new models as well as assembly upgrades and initiatives, new investment for the Super Ace Mint small truck and emerging opportunities that will deliver profitable and sustainable growth in Thailand.”

    Sales of Xenon pickups, the automaker’s core product in the Thai market, rose 38% to 1,398 units last year, The Nation newspaper reports.

    “With the major-change Xenon pickup to be launched in Q4 of this year, we expect to deliver 2,100 units of the new model – 1,800 domestic and 300 export – 500 units of the Super Ace Mint truck for a market share of about 10% for this type of car, 300 units of the Ultra and 100 units of heavy trucks this year,” Mishra says.

    “Our goal is being a full-range trucking solution provider, and we will be the only player in the entire commercial-vehicle segment.”

    Lees ook:

  • Chinese regulator approves VW-JAC Motor electric car venture

    Chinese regulator approves VW-JAC Motor electric car venture

    Germany’s Volkswagen AG and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group have received approval from Chinese regulators to form a joint venture to make electric vehicles, the two automakers said on Monday.

    The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top state planner, gave a green light to JAC and VW to build 100,000 pure battery electric vehicles annually in a project worth 5.1 billion yuan ($740 million), according to a JAC Motor stock exchange filing.

    A VW spokesman confirmed the approval but said certain administrative procedures still needed to be completed for a joint venture contract to be signed with JAC Motor.

    Volkswagen, China’s largest foreign automaker, has pledged to rapidly develop a range of electric vehicles as the Chinese government aggressively promotes the segment as a way to cut intense smog in much of the country.

    VW already has joint ventures with China FAW Group and SAIC Motor Corp Ltd in the country.

    The has company previously said it aims to sell 400,000 “new energy vehicles,” a category which includes pure electric and plug-in petrol-electric hybrids, in China by 2020 to meet strict Chinese fuel economy and emissions regulations, with electric vehicles made with JAC Motor coming in addition to that figure.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Korea emerges as top Asian importer of Benz, BMW

    Korea emerges as top Asian importer of Benz, BMW

    Korea has become Asia’s largest importer of Mercedes-Benz and BMW vehicles this year, as the two German carmakers sold more vehicles in Korea than Japan for the first time ever.

    Chinese motorists buy more Mercedes-Benz and BMW vehicles than Koreans do. But both firms roll out and sell their models through joint ventures with local Chinese firms. Hence, Korea is the populous continent’s de facto leader in terms of Mercedes-Benz and BMW vehicle imports.

    The Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said that Mercedes-Benz sold 24,877 cars in the first fourth months of this year, while BMW sold 18,115, up 48 percent and 32.4 percent from a year earlier, respectively.

    The luxury carmakers sold 21,365 and 15,818 cars respectively in Japan during the January-April period, up just 0.7 percent and 2.2 percent from the previous year.

    Based on its larger population and higher income, Japan has remained the largest Asian importer of the two luxury brands. Japan’s population is more than double that of Korea and its GDP per capita is 20 percent higher than that of Korea.

    But Korea dethroned Japan this year because of a months-long sales ban on Audi-Volkswagen vehicles here. The carmaker stopped selling its vehicles in Korea after the emissions scandal last summer but it did not face such troubles in Japan.

    During the sales suspension, Mercedes-Benz and BMW increased their sales in Korea’s import car market.

    The two combined to sell 57 percent of the import cars in Korea over the four months, up from 41 percent last year. In Japan, however, the figure only edged up from 38 percent to 40 percent.

    Analysts expect Mercedes-Benz and BMW will dominate the market for a while. The KAIDA also said BMW sold more cars than Mercedes-Benz in April.

    Mercedes-Benz maintained its top position until this March but fell to second place due to a short supply of its popular new E-class model. Lexus came in third in the number of sales, followed by Toyota and Honda.

  • Renault, Peugeot commit to raise orders from troubled parts maker

    Renault, Peugeot commit to raise orders from troubled parts maker

    French car makers Renault and Peugeot have committed to increasing their orders from ailing components-maker GM&S Industry after their chief executives spoke with Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, his ministry said on Sunday.

    The future of the company, which employs 277 people in central France and is facing liquidation, was a priority of President Emmanuel Macron’s new administration, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

    Renault agreed to raise its orders by 5 million euros to 10 million while PSA committed to lifting its purchases by 2 million euros to 12 million, the ministry said in a statement.

    “These commitments will allow the firm in 2017 to reach a turnover close to 25 million euros, and make it possible for it to continue operations and pursue takeover discussions,” it said.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Chinese demand for supercars races ahead at full-speed

    Chinese demand for supercars races ahead at full-speed

    Chinese demand has helped boost supercar sales around the globe to double-digit growth, according to a new report by automotive market research company Jato. While the United States remains the largest market for ultra-luxury car sales, China is close behind at number three, with demand last year jumping 54 percent to about 4,400 units. To compare, the second biggest market, the UK, only saw a 15.6 percent growth.

    Jato cites Forbes’s swelling billionaire list as evidence for the increasing demand for ultra-luxury automobiles around the globe—overall, supercar sales are up by 16 percent in 2016 from the previous year. China added 65 billionaires for a total of 400 to the list last year, the most of any country on the list, and its role in the supercar market reflects this.

    Supercars, which include brands like Aston Martin, McLaren, Bentley, and Ferrari, have long been valued by Chinese consumers for boosting their status quo, but the report notes that supercar brands are increasingly innovating to respond to changing consumer needs. For example, many of the automakers have recently introduced luxury SUVs to their lineup, of which have witnessed a major market in China as families are getting larger. There is also more demand for sustainable vehicles, especially in China, where environmental concerns like pollution are rampant. Luxury car brands have been quick to respond—out of the 10 brands featured in Jato’s report, nine of them have announced plans for releasing electric or hybrid automobiles.

    While supercar brands are no doubt having good luck with the Chinese consumer in general, many are also now having to consider how the emerging affluent in China are getting younger and more digitally savvy. Maserati, an ultra-luxury brand that wasn’t on Jato’s list, made an effort to reach this market by opening a Tmall store, but others have room to grow when it comes to bridging their online presence with call to actions to bring customers into their showrooms. And with surging demand, the opportunity to reach China’s digital natives is likely only growing wider.

    Lees ook:

  • VW’s JV in China to recall nearly 600,000 vehicles over fuse fault

    VW’s JV in China to recall nearly 600,000 vehicles over fuse fault

    Volkswagen AG’s joint venture in China, FAW-Volkswagen Automobile, will recall 577,590 Golf and Sagitar cars because of a headlight fuse defect that may lead to safety risks, the quality watchdog said.

    The recall covers 416,364 Golfs produced between September 2009 and May 2014, and 161,226 Sagitars produced between July 2010 and March 2012, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

    The watchdog said the defects could cause headlight failure.

    FAW-Volkswagen, majority owned by state-owned China FAW Group, could not be immediately reached for comment. Volkswagen China declined to comment.

    In March, Volkswagen recalled over 1 million Audi vehicles due to potential leaks and coolant pumps faults.

    The German carmaker delivered nearly 4 million vehicles in China last year, two fifth of its global sales.

    Lees ook:

  • Daicel, Toyota affiliate plan capital tie-up to expand air bag businesses

    Daicel, Toyota affiliate plan capital tie-up to expand air bag businesses

    Japanese chemicals maker Daicel and auto parts maker Toyoda Gosei Co said on Friday they will invest 1 billion yen ($8.98 million) in each other’s equity, deepening ties as both companies expand their global air bag businesses.

    Daicel, which produces inflators used in air bags, along with polymer and plastic products, and Toyoda Gosei, which makes air bag modules, steering wheels and other auto components, have been growing their air bag-related businesses since a global recall of inflators made by Takata Corp has snowballed since 2013.

    The companies would take a stake of about 0.3 percent in each other and discuss research and development opportunities that would enable them to further expand globally.

    Headquartered in Japan’s automaking heartland of Aichi Prefecture, Toyoda Gosei is a group company of Toyota Motor Corp , which owns a 43 percent stake in the firm. Toyota also owns a 4.3 percent stake in Daicel.

    Osaka-based Daicel supplies inflators to Takata, which has become its biggest customer as the embattled Japanese air bag maker struggles to produce enough replacement inflators in the global auto industry’s biggest ever recall.

    Daicel also sells inflators to Key Safety Systems, the Chinese-owned, U.S.-based components maker which is in talks with Takata about a financial rescue.

    Air bags and other safety-related products accounted for 28 percent of Toyoda Gosei’s annual revenue last year, up from 27 percent the previous year.

    It has been increasing air bag sales to Toyota, Honda Motor Co and other automakers in the last few years, as an increasing number of automakers shift away from Takata.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • BlackBerry working with automakers on anti-hack tool

    BlackBerry working with automakers on anti-hack tool

    BlackBerry is working with at least two automakers to develop a security service that would remotely scan vehicles for computer viruses and tell drivers to pull over if they were in critical danger, according to a financial analyst.

    The service, which would also be able to install security patches to an idle car, is being tested by luxury automakers Aston Martin and Range Rover, Macquarie analyst Gus Papageorgiou said in a note to clients sent late on Monday.

    Auto security is among several areas that BlackBerry is betting will boost its revenue after the Canadian company lost its dominance of the smartphone market to Apple Inc and others over the past decade.

    John Wall, the head of BlackBerry’s QNX division, and company spokeswoman Sarah McKinney both declined to comment.

    Matthew Clarke, a spokesman for Aston Martin, said in an email he was not aware of the company testing such a product. Representatives with Range Rover’s parent company, Jaguar Land Rover, could not be reached for comment.

    The service could be launched as early as next year, generating about $10 a month per vehicle for BlackBerry, according to Papageorgiou, who has followed BlackBerry for more than 15 years.

    Vehicles increasingly rely on dozens of computers that connect to each other as well as the internet, mobile networks and Bluetooth communications systems that make them vulnerable to remote hacks.

    “Although a connected, more software-centric automobile offers tremendous advantages to consumers, it also opens the doors to hackers,” Papageorgiou wrote in his note.

    Automaker interest in cyber security has risen dramatically since 2015, when two hacking experts uncovered vulnerabilities in Fiat Chrysler vehicles that led to a U.S. recall of 1.4 million autos.

    BlackBerry shares rose 5.3 percent to close at C$13.84 after touching C$14.15, the highest since March 2015.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Ford Motor to slash workforce by about 10 percent

    Ford Motor to slash workforce by about 10 percent

    Ford Motor is set to cut about 10 percent of its global employee headcount in an effort to boost profit and its sliding stock price.

    The job cuts, expected to be revealed as early as this week, would largely target salaried employees, said on Monday.

    The automaker is targeting $3 billion in cost cuts for 2017 in a bid to improve profitability in 2018, the journal said.

  • BMW 2 Series Coupe and Convertible updated for 2017

    BMW 2 Series Coupe and Convertible updated for 2017

    Baby sports car and open-top counterpart receive mid-life styling tweaks and optional all-wheel-drive in higher-end models. In the typical fashion of facelifted BMWs, changes in the new 2-series Coupe and Convertible are microscopic and would probably only be noticed by eagle-eyed enthusiasts.

    The front end, for one, has changed the most with bigger kidney grilles, restyled air vents and bi-LED lights made standard. While the M Sport trim sees more aggressive-looking bumper design, the lesser Luxury and Sport Lines get more subtle air intakes.
    Like in the recent facelift of the 4-series Coupe and Convertible, both 2-series models get more premium finish inside as well as a newly-designed instrument panel and central touchscreen.

    As the 2-series has no direct rival from Audi, Lexus or Mercedes-Benz – three other premium brands that make compact hatchbacks with front-wheel-drive – BMW is still keen in touting the 2-series as a genuine sports car for driving fans.
    However, the decision to offer xDrive all-wheel-drive in some potent models could be seen as an effort in broadening the appeal of the 2-series to another set of buyers wanting more driving security on slippery roads as well as more predictable manners under hard acceleration.

    The M240i, for one, has 340hp 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six with eight-speed automatic transmission with optional xDrive system. Likewise, the other petrol and diesel engine variances remain unchanged all the way down to the 218i, featuring 136hp 1.5-litre three-pot turbo motor.

    For the past few years, BMW has tried to lower the price point of the 2-series Coupe as much as possible by merely offering the 218i M Sport in Thai showrooms at 2.599 million baht apiece. However, it is claimed that that the 4-series Coupe is still the favoured choice among Thais. As the pre-facelift 420d Coupe M Sport went for 3.999 million baht, customers thought it might be just better to go for a bigger car with a four-cylinder engine. After all, luxury imports like these aren’t aimed at budget-minded punters.

    The revised 2-series goes on sale in world markets from July, although the Thai BMW office would concentrate more on the facelifted 4-series later this year due to the aforementioned reasons.

  • Mercedes-Benz ditches E220d in favour of E350e in Thailand

    Mercedes-Benz ditches E220d in favour of E350e in Thailand

    Sales of the diesel-powered executive saloon cease as the German automaker wants plug-in hybrids to account for 30% of total annual sales.

    Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) has launched its fourth plug-in hybrid vehicle: the E350e which follows the C350e, S500e and GLE500e.

    Like the C350e, the E350e uses a 2.0-litre petrol-turbo engine in conjunction with an electric motor, whose power from the lithium-ion battery can also be revitalised from the wall socket. The S500e and GLE500e employ a bigger 3.0-litre V6 petrol motor.

    Combined outputs in the E350e are rated at 286hp and 550Nm, while the maximum all-electric driving range is claimed at 33km. As the E350e spews out 44g/km of CO2 on the combined cycle, it is eligible for the new 5% excise tax imposed on locally made plug-in hybrids producing no more than 50g/km.

    There are three trims for the E350e: Avantgarde 3.49 million baht, Exclusive 3.79 million baht and AMG Dynamic 4.09 million baht.

    The similarly priced E220d has been dropped from the Thai E-class model lineup as Mercedes-Benz wants to promote plug-in hybrids in the country.

    Mercedes-Benz hopes that plug-in hybrids will account for 30% of total annual sales which is why diesel versions and other pure petrol derivatives aren’t available anymore. The same has happened in the C, S and GLE model ranges.

    BMW, meanwhile, is gearing up to launch the 530e in Thailand at the end of this year to rival the E350e. Volvo is also said to be preparing the introduction of the S90 T8.

    Unlike Mercedes-Benz, BMW is still selling diesel versions of the X5, 3 and 7-series as it wants to offer Thai customers with two distinct types of propulsion. BMW hopes that plug-in hybrids will account for 15% of annual sales this year.

    Lees ook:

  • Fiat Chrysler recalls 1.25 million trucks over software error

    Fiat Chrysler recalls 1.25 million trucks over software error

    Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on Friday it would recall more than 1.25 million pickup trucks worldwide to address a software error linked to reports of one crash death and two injuries.

    The erroneous code could temporarily disable the side air bag and deployment seat of belt pretensioners – which reduce seat belt slack during impacts – during a vehicle rollover spurred by a significant underbody impact, such as striking onroad debris or driving off-road, the Italian-American automaker said.

    The company will reprogram computer modules in the affected vehicles to address this error.

    An FCA spokesman said the likelihood of an incident was very low because a sequence of events was needed to cause an incident.

    There is no definitive proof the error was involved in two accidents, one of which resulted in a fatality, but the automaker was conducting the recall proactively, he said.

    The spokesman declined to say whether the code was produced inhouse or by an FCA supplier, saying “we do not discuss supplier relationships.”

    Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on Friday it would recall more than 1.25 million pickup trucks worldwide to address a software error linked to reports of one crash death and two injuries.

    The erroneous code could temporarily disable the side air bag and deployment seat of belt pretensioners – which reduce seat belt slack during impacts – during a vehicle rollover spurred by a significant underbody impact, such as striking onroad debris or driving off-road, the Italian-American automaker said.

    The company will reprogram computer modules in the affected vehicles to address this error.

    An FCA spokesman said the likelihood of an incident was very low because a sequence of events was needed to cause an incident.

    There is no definitive proof the error was involved in two accidents, one of which resulted in a fatality, but the automaker was conducting the recall proactively, he said.

    The spokesman declined to say whether the code was produced inhouse or by an FCA supplier, saying “we do not discuss supplier relationships.”

    Fiat Chrysler has been working to move faster to address vehicle issues after being fined twice in 2015 by the NHTSA.

    In December 2015, the company was fined $70 million for failing to report vehicle crash deaths and injuries since 2003.

    In July 2015, Fiat Chrysler agreed to a $105 million settlement with NHTSA for mishandling nearly two dozen recall campaigns involving 11 million vehicles.

    It agreed to a three-year consent agreement and monitoring by former Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Dacia halts production after global cyber attack

    Dacia halts production after global cyber attack

    Romanian carmaker Dacia, owned by France’s Renault, said on Saturday some of its production had been hit by what appeared to be the global ransomware cyber attack that has infected computers in nearly 100 countries.

    Renault stopped production at several sites earlier on Saturday to prevent the spread of the cyber attack.

    “Part of Dacia’s production in Mioveni has been affected by disfunctionalities of IT systems and some employees were sent back home,” Dacia said in a statement. “The measure was taken to prevent extending the disfunctions, which at first glance are a consequence of the global cyber attack.”

  • Nvidia says Toyota will use its AI technology for self-driving cars

    Nvidia says Toyota will use its AI technology for self-driving cars

    Nvidia announced a partnership with Toyota Motor Corp on Wednesday, saying the Japanese car maker would use Nvidia’s artificial intelligence technology to develop self-driving vehicle systems planned for the next few years.

    Toyota will use Nvidia’s Drive PX artificial intelligence platform for its autonomous vehicles planned for market introduction, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said in his opening keynote at the company’s GPU Technology Conference in San Jose.

    Nvidia came to prominence in the gaming industry for designing graphics processing chips, but in recent years has been a key player in the automotive sector for providing the so-called “brain” of the autonomous vehicle.

    Nvidia, which also has partnerships with Audi and Mercedes, is among the more popular technology partners in the self-driving car race. Its partnership with Toyota is the latest in a string of alliances between tech companies, automakers and suppliers in the fast-growing sector.

    Nvidia’s Drive PX supercomputer fuses incoming data from the car’s hardware such as cameras and radar and uses artificial intelligence to help the car understand and react to its environment.

    “We’re talking about not just development now but the introduction of vehicles into the market,” said Danny Shapiro, Nvidia’s senior director of automotive. “Now we have the biggest (automaker) in Japan using our Drive PX platform.”

    In January, Nvidia and Audi (VOWG_p.DE) said the German automaker would use the Drive PX to help it put autonomous vehicle on the road starting in 2020. Nvidia is also co-developing with Mercedes a project to come to market within the next 12 months, both companies said in January.

    Toyota, which last year set up a U.S.-based Toyota Research Institute (TRI) to focus on AI and robotics, envisions a dual-track development of autonomous technology. It is simultaneously developing full self-driving cars while also working on what it calls “guardian angel” partially autonomous technology that may still require involvement from drivers.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook: