INTERVIEW: Saab is key to GM but has to perform – GM’s Henderson (REG)

As GM looks to offload its Hummer brand, how does the company feel about perennial financial underachiever Saab? GM COO Fritz Henderson tells Dave Leggett that while the brand is strategically important to GM, it is no sacred cow and has to perform.

BELGIUM: ACEA asks for loans and scrapping incentives (REG)

European vehicle manufacturers are asking for a EUR40bn low-interest loan package plus scrapping incentives to help survive the current financial crisis and meet future CO2 emission requirements.

GERMANY: Porsche plans new entry model with VW (REG)

Porsche is planning to work with Volkswagen on a new entry model for the group.

• UK: "Stormy" September sales subside (REG)
  New car registrations in the UK fell 21.2% year on year to 330,295 units in what trade group the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) called “stormy September” (also an apt description of the month's weather).
• GOLDING’S TALK: The man who sewed together the new 7 Series (MEM)
  The new BMW 7 Series is stuffed full of aluminium. That is no surprise because all the makers of high-end cars are frantically trying to get weight and CO2 emissions down and fuel efficiency up.
• BRAZIL: Fiat Linea wades into the mid-size battle
  The Brazilian new car market is so hard-fought no automaker is willing to let the slightest chance of holding or boosting its share slip by. One way to ensure maximum segment coverage is to use all available architectures.
• GERMANY: VW brakes international expansion (MEM)
  Volkswagen is slowing its international expansion plans in light of the growing global financial crisis.
• UK: West Europe car sales at lowest level in 10 years (MEM)
  Figures released by JD Power Automotive Forecasting show that car sales in Western Europe fell by 9.2% in September. The firm said that the market had fallen to its lowest level in over a decade.
• BRAZIL: Renault Sandero Stepway a Mercosur exclusive (MEM)
  Renault gave its Brazilian unit the privilege of launching the Sandero Stepway. Development was focused on South American consumers with no plans for European sales, at least initially.
• INDIA: Skoda readies finance arm as sales rise (MEM)
  Skoda Auto will set up Skoda Finance in India by the end of the year, following Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Hero Honda and Mahindra & Mahindra who all have their own finance subsidiaries.

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• US: Credit crunch carnage continues
• PARIS SHOW: GM Europe's pound problem
• GERMANY: LDV eyes Mini-alike rebranding
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Paris in a nutshell
3rd October 2008 15:07

I am back from Paris now. I wish I had had longer, but the simple fact that there is never enough time at shows is inescapable. I had a number of interviews scheduled yesterday (read more >>

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• The Growth of India and China: Harnessing the Fastest Expanding Automotive Markets in the World
• The Global Oil Paradox: Transforming the Automotive Industry
• “Russia: The New Automotive Manufacturing Frontier”: A GlobalAutoIndustry.com Seminar

• Indian Automobile Sector - A Booming Market
  Published Oct 2008 - (£ 550.00)
• Intelligence Set: Global market review of front-end modules for passenger cars and light trucks – forecasts to 2014 plus six supplier profiles (download)
  Discounted Price - 10% Off Normal Price
  Published Sep 2008 - (£ 594.00)
• Door Modules Report
  Published Sep 2008 - (£ 682.00)
• United States Autos Report Q3 2008 (download)
  Published Sep 2008 - (£ 425.00)
• China industry research and market forecast: automobile parts and accessories manufacturing industry, 2008-2009 (download)
  Published Jun 2007 - (£ 2000.00)

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The future for hydrogen in automotive transportation

Ten years ago, the dream of a hydrogen economy, with hydrogen used to power vehicles and homes, was 10-20 years away. Ten years later and a hydrogen economy is still decades away. Despite advances in fuel-cell technology development and a raised awareness of the need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, barriers to a hydrogen economy remain – not least the lack of a viable hydrogen supply infrastructure and concerns over the well-to-wheel benefits of hydrogen. This month's briefing looks at how realistic a short-term adoption of auto hydrogen power is, reviewing what the key manufacturers are working on, Government policy and which markets might be closer to reality than we think.

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