Latest Auto News

Autoblog's Ultimate Toyota Recall Guide   Recalls happen all the time in the auto industry. Some are glitches that affect things like window switches, radio buttons and seat recliners. Others, however, involve more complicated components that directly affect your safety while driving. It's important that all recalls are handled well by auto manufacturers so that every owner of a recalled vehicle has the opportunity to get his or her vehicle fixed in a timely manner. Most of the time, that's exactly what happens. Sometimes, it doesn't. The situation involving Toyota vehicles that may experience sudden unintended acceleration is one of those times. As things stand, the information out there regarding two major recalls of select Toyota vehicles – one for floormats and another for sticking accelerator pedals – is confusing, so we've assembled the Ultimate Toyota Recall Guide for every current owner of an affected Toyota vehicle and anyone considering the purchase of a Toyota vehicle in the near future. We hope it aids your understanding of what's going on, though there are still many unanswered questions so keep coming back to it as we update its content on a daily basis. Source : http://www.autoblog.com (2/1/2010)

January auto sales in Japan rise 36.8%   Japan’s new automobile sales in January rose 36.8% from a year earlier to 238,362 units for the sixth consecutive month of growth, an industry body said Monday. The sales of passenger cars, which do not include minivehicles with engine displacement of up to 660 cc, surged 42.8% to 219,844 units, said the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. However, truck sales dropped 9% to 17,556 units and bus sales fell 7.6% to 962 units. Source : http://www.japantoday.com (2/1/2010)

China overtakes Japan as world's No.1 auto maker: report   Feb. - China overtook Japan as the world's biggest auto producer in 2009, after Japan's production fell 31.5% to 7.93 million units, according to data released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, sources reported. However, in the past year, China's auto production jumped 48.3% to 13.79 units, and the U.S. produced 5.7 million units and slid into third position. Japan had been the world's largest auto maker since it surpassed the U.S. in 2006. Besides, China has replaced the U.S. as the world's largest auto market. Vehicle sales jumped 46% year on year to 13.6 million units last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The figure is likely to increase to about 15 million units this year. Source : http://www.chinaknowledge.com (2/1/2010)

Auto sector sees accelerated sales growth in Jan   While car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd sold a total of 95,649 vehicles including 14,562 units of exports in January 2010 versus 71,779 in January 2009, India’s second largest car maker Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) posted a 40.8% growth in domestic sales and 42.6% increase in exports. The company’s total sales for January 2010 stood at 52,635 vehicles as against 37,171 vehicles in January 2009. Commenting on HMIL’s performance, its Director of Marketing and Sales, Arvind Saxena, said, “We have started the year on a right note and we hope the momentum will continue with the help of the stimulus package offered by the government.” Commercial and passenger vehicles major Tata Motors reported a 77% growth (yoY) in its total sales at 65,478 units for the month of January 2010 versus 36,931 units. The company’s domestic sales grew 74%, and came in at 62,202 units, while its exports stood at 3,276 units versus 1,227 units (YoY). January sales for the Nano stood at 4,001 units, while the other passenger vehicle sales surged 43% at 28,547 units. The company’s commercial vehicle sales were up at 35,957 units versus 17,373 units in January 2009. General Motors India too recorded an upsurge of 139% at 9,421 units as against 3,937 units in January 2009. This is the highest-ever monthly sales figure posted by the company. The company’s latest offering Chevrolet Beat clocked over 10,000 bookings in 24 days. The country's largest maker of utility vehicles and tractors Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) reported a 71% surge in sales at 30,149 units. The company’s January tractor sales stood at 15,925 unites versus 9,438 units in January 2009. “There has been a price increase in January at Rs 5,000-10,000 per vehicle,” said the company’s management. Two-wheeler major TVS Motor Company too reported 1,25,578 units in sales against 93,729 units in the corresponding period of the previous year taking the cumulative growth for the period April 2009 to January 2010 to 12% with sales of 1,234,632 units against 1,100,453 units in the comparable period of the previous year. The company’s President of Marketing, HS Goindi, in an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18 said that he was confident of improving the run rate in the months to come. Top motorcycle maker Hero Honda posted sale of 3.89 lakh units in January 2010 versus 3.15 lakh units in January 2009. This is the thirteenth consecutive month of more than three lakh units sale. The company’s management says that it is to launch three new products in the next two months. India Yamaha Motor too registered 17,598 units sales versus 18,320 units clocked in January 2009. Source : http://www.moneycontrol.com (2/1/2010)

Indian Oil Q3 net profit falls 76 per cent news   Indian Oil Corp, India's largest state refiner, reported a 76 per cent fall in net profits for the third quarter in 2009-10, compared to the same period last year. The loss was due to the failure of the government to make up for the the subsidy for domestic retail automobile fuel. In a regulatory statement, IOC said its net profit for the quarter ending 31December, 2009 was Rs695 crore, as against Rs2958 crore for the same period in 2008. However, the total income has marginally fallen for the period to Rs71,088 crore in 2009 from Rs 72,351 crore in 2008 - a 1 per cent difference. The April-December 2009 period saw the gross refining margin increase to $4.84 per barrel, as against $3.37 per barrel in 2008. The government had sanctioned a budgetary support of Rs7,100 crore for 2009-10 for under-recoveries on kerosene and cooking gas. So far, the refiner has received Rs4,482 crore as grants for the nine month period from April to December 2009. Source : http://www.domain-b.com (2/1/2010)

TABLE-Japan non-mini auto sales +36.8 pct in Jan   TOKYO, (Reuters) - Automobile sales in Japan, excluding 660cc minivehicles, rose 36.8 percent in January from a year earlier to 238,362 vehicles, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said on Monday. Sales at top-ranked Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), excluding the Lexus brand, rose 42.9 percent, while those of Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) rose 24.3 percent and Honda Motor Co (7267.T) gained 65.3 percent. The following is a sales breakdown, with percentage changes from a year earlier, for January: TOTAL238,362 (+36.8) Cars219,844 (+42.8) Trucks17,556 (-9.0) Toyota Motor (7203.T)120,987 (+45.3) - Toyota brand 117,154 (+42.9) - Lexus*3,833 (+201.8) Nissan Motor (7201.T)38,260 (+24.3) Honda Motor (7267.T)36,510 (+65.3) Mazda Motor (7261.T)14,119 (+31.9) Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T)4,652 (+55.7) Suzuki Motor (7269.T)4,174 (-8.4) Fuji Heavy (7270.T)4,731 (+15.7) Imports9,710 (+8.9) Source : http://www.reuters.com (2/1/2010)

Armada Data profits drop 51 per cent despite its highest Q2 revenue in history   MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Armada Data Corp. (TSXV:ARD), an automobile and dealer data services company, has recorded the highest quarterly revenue in its history. The Toronto-area company said Monday it booked revenues of $750,628 in the quarter, a gain of almost 70 per cent from the $453,046 it generated a year ago. However, quarterly profit was down sharply to $19,140 or a penny a share in the second quarter ended Nov. 30 compared with $39,142 or a penny a share in the same period last year. Expenses for the quarter were up sharply at about $721,000 compared with some $400,000 in the year-earlier period. "I am pleased to report a very successful second quarter," said president and chief financial officer Paul Timoteo in a release. "All of our major business divisions posted impressive gains." Armada collects automobile and dealer data and reformats it for online use. The company sells the information to insurance companies, new-car retail buyers, small-fleet vehicle buyers and marketing agencies. Among its many divisions, the advertising and marketing department experienced the highest growth as its revenues almost tripled. However, its insurance services was the biggest revenue generator, booking nearly $300,000, up from $184,810 in the year-ago period. The company, which has no debt said that although a robust economy contributes to greater number of cars sold, "a down economy has proven to have an equally positive impact as both individuals and insurance companies become more cost conscious," Armada stated in a release. During Monday trading on the TSX Venture market, shares of the company dipped a penny to 34 cents. Source : http://www.google.com (2/1/2010)

Mazda MX-5 Anniversary Edition   A limited-edition Mazda MX-5 will be unveiled at the Geneva motor show to celebrate the two-seater's 20th anniversary. Just 2000 of the Anniversary Edition MX-5s will be built and they'll be made available only in Europe. Each comes with a special edition stainless steel scuff plate and unique serial number from 1 – 1000. What's new? The limited-edition model is based on the 1.8-litre SE soft-top roadster, but gets a special styling pack. This includes a chrome grille, door handles and headlight fascia, 17-inch alloy wheels and 20th anniversary logos. Three exterior colours will be available: true red, crystal pearl white and – new for this edition only – aurora blue. The interior gets colour-coded elements to match the exterior paint, too. The Anniversary Edition's dynamics get a boost, too, with the addition of a front suspension bracing bar to give it a more sporty edge. Other Mazdas at the Geneva motor show The all-new Mazda 5 will also be making its debut at the Geneva motor show in March. The 5 gets a new 2.0-litre petrol engine that's approximately 15% cleaner than the unit it replaces, thanks to Mazda's i-stop engine stop-start system. Mazda will also be showcasing its next-generation Sky concept, which includes the Sky-G petrol and Sky-D diesel engines, along with the Sky-Drive automatic gearbox – all of which combine cut emissions and increase fuel economy. A face-lifted Mazda 6 will make up the third of Mazda's premieres at the Geneva motor show. The cleaner, more efficient 6 will be heading for the UK in late spring. Source : http://www.whatcar.com (2/1/2010)

IRL: George's Vision Racing Stands Down   INDIANAPOLIS — Problems continue for Tony George, the founder of the Indy Racing League and former Indianapolis Motor Speedway president, who announced the shutdown of his IRL IndyCar Series team, Vision Racing, last week. George, who was ousted from his position as president of the IRL last year, has severed all connections with the Hulman-George family by stepping down from the board of directors of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Lack of adequate sponsorship was blamed for the action, which sidelines one of the IRL's popular rising-star drivers — and George's stepson — Ed Carpenter. The shutdown leaves the IRL with 19 full-time entries expected to compete in 2010, the 16th season for the series that was organized in the mid-1990s by George as an alternative to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), which had become the sanctioning body for IndyCar racing. George is the grandson of Tony Hulman, who rescued the famous Speedway from ruin after World War II when he purchased it and, with the help of three-time 500 winner Wilbur Shaw, rebuilt the track and restored its signature race, the Indianapolis 500. Last month, George resigned from the board of directors of the famous Speedway. Last year, he was ousted as president of the IRL. Source : http://www.insideline.com (2/1/2010)

Toyota recall spreads to cars in Middle East   TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp said it is recalling 2005-2010 model year Avalons and 2009-2010 Sequoia cars in the Middle East to fix faulty accelerator pedals that have led to the recall of a combined 4.4 million cars in North America, Europe and China so far. A spokeswoman said the company was still tallying the numbers of the cars subject to the recall. It remains to be seen whether any cars are affected in South America and Africa, she said. The pedals are not used in Japan, Oceania and Asia, excluding China. Toyota said it will give details on early Monday in the US on how it plans to fix gas pedals in more than 2 million vehicles. The automaker told the dealers about the plan Saturday after hearing from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it did not object to the fix, the dealers said. Toyota took out full-page ads Sunday in 20 major newspapers in the U.S., saying production was being put on ``pause,'' to put customers first. It does not give details of the planned fix. Toyota said last week it will halt production of the eight models covered by the recall, starting Monday, until they can be repaired, and has suspended their sales. Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com (2/1/2010)

Sensex stages smart recovery; Automobile stocks rally @ 10:40 hrs   As more front line stocks got into the recovery mode, the Sensex, which declined sharply in early trades this morning on weak global cues, briefly rebounded into positive territory a little while ago. A few stocks from power, oil, metal and PSU sectors have also posted notable gains .FMCG stocks continue to remain subdued. Bank stocks are off their lows and a few blue chips from the IT space have also recovered well. Thanks to hectic buying, several midcap and smallcap stocks have rallied sharply, lifting the Midcap and Smallcap barometers up by 1.25% and 2.16% respectively. The market breadth is quite strong at present. Out of 2397 stocks seen in action on BSE, as many as 1809 stocks are up in positive territory. 543 stocks are trading weak and 45 stocks are hovering around their previous closing levels. Mahindra & Mahindra has rallied to Rs 1044, recording a gain of around 2.5%. Maruti Suzuki has notched up a gain of 2% at Rs 1418. Tata Motors has gained around 0.6% at Rs 699, while Hero Honda is up with a gain of 0.5% at Rs 1566. Grasim Industries has gained 1.85%. Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Reliance Communications, BHEL, Reliance Infrastructure and ONGC have gained 0.5% - 1.5%. Wipro, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, Reliance Industries and ACC are up with marginal gains. BPCL has jumped to Rs 582, gaining as much as 7.75%. Jindal Steel has gained 2.65%. Suzlon Energy, GAIL India, Cipla, Unitech, Idea Cellular, ABB, Siemens, IDFC, Reliance Power, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Axis Bank are also trading in positive territory with notable gains.