Friday 29 January 2016

Europe sees 9 per cent car growth - JATO


Last year was the second year in a row in terms of positive growth in car sales in Euope, with the increase driven by Spain and Italy and other smaller markets

Thursday 28 January 2016

BMW commits to GKN's new CV joint


GKN Driveline has been able to reveal itself as vendor of choice for new lightweight constant velocity joint (CV Joint) system in the BMW 7 Series, production of which began over six months ago at Plant Dingolfing, Germany.

Tuesday 26 January 2016

Daimler set to launch DI CNG in cars?


Bosch and Daimler are working on a joint programme to introduce direct injection (DI) CNG engines in passenger cars.

Monday 25 January 2016

McLaren sets ambitious targets

McLaren Automotive will be hoping that the economic storms buffeting emerging regions, such as Brazil, Russia and China (how long before China - already dumping steel - starts dumping cars in Europe), will not swamp its forecasts for this year and next.

Sunday 24 January 2016

‘Defeat device’ all-clear for Renault, as…


Tests conducted so far on a number of Renault vehicles have not revealed the presence of any ‘defeat devices’.

Master achieves record output in 2015

According to Renault sources, the company's Sandouville plant in France built 93,000 New Trafic and vehicles for Renault and its partner GM in 2015.

Thursday 21 January 2016

Vauxhall builds 60,280 Vivaros in 2015


Vauxhall built over 60,000 vans in the UK last year, making it Britain’s leading van maker for the 14th year running, according to SMMT figures.

Ricardo to support US natural gas engine work


Ricardo will partner with Gas Technology Institute (GTI) to enable natural gas engines to provide a fuel-efficient, low-emissions alternative to diesel power in California, US, for medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles (excluding Class 8).

Proton low-emission engine set for 2017 launch


Proton of Malaysia and Ricardo of the UK have just celebrated the ‘first fire’ of the prototype of an innovative new engine family set to spearhead the next phase of the Malaysian automaker’s growth, even to the point of making a return to Europe.

British car output rises 4% in 2015


British manufacturers made more cars in 2015 than any year since 2005.

Thursday 14 January 2016

LDV Maxus sets van sights on UK and Europe


Plans are in place to import 3,000 LDV Maxus V80 vans, made in China, into the UK where the design originated in 2000, when it was a joint venture between LDV in Washwood Heath, Birmingham and Korea's Daewoo.

Tuesday 12 January 2016

As VW shrinks, 2016 will be ‘challenging’


Volkswagen Group suffered a two per cent sales drop in 2015 caused by its diesel crisis and shrinking markets, as the boss plans for 2025.

Monday 11 January 2016

BMW sets sales record in 2015


BMW’s sales seem unchallenged by world events. In 2015, BMW scored its most successful year ever for the BMW Group with annual sales climbing six per cent to set a new record for the fifth year in a row.

Friday 8 January 2016

JLR sees 5 per cent sales growth for 2015


JaguarLandRover (JLR) has achieved its best ever full year global sales performance in 2015, retailing 487,065 vehicles, up 5 five cent on the prior year.

Thursday 7 January 2016

Ricardo fires up three-cylinder engine


A new prototype engine has been fired-up for the first time at a ceremony held at Ricardo’s Shoreham Technical Centre, UK.

VW’s MEB offers ‘breakthrough’ technology


No doubt in an attempt to take the US public’s eye off its woes with diesel car emissions and point the eye to the future, Volkswagen AG has launched its BUDD-e, an idea of motoring life in 2019 – one year ahead of Audi’s 2018 e-tron.

Audi e-tron set for 2018 production


The Audi e-tron quattro concept, launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is an all electrically-powered sport SUV set for 2018.

Wednesday 6 January 2016

VW shares fall after US lawsuit


The supervisory board of VW faces a difficult time. Yesterday, shares of Volkswagen AG fell six per cent following plans by the US government to file a lawsuit.

Tuesday 5 January 2016

Robot man Engelberger dies aged 90


Joe Engelberger, who did more than almost any man to introduce robotics into the automotive industry, has died aged 90

KERS production "on track" for mid-2016


Torotrak has begun detailed testing of its ‘second generation’ KERS design on rigs and in a new Wrightbus Euro VI StreetLite bus.

Monday 4 January 2016

Ricardo triples niche-engine capacity


Ricardo’s niche engine assembly plant at Shoreham, UK, has now tripled in size to provide improved technical capabilities, paving the way for  future low-volume, multi-variant engine production. The site can now produce 5,000 engines a year, 100/week.

Cummins, Eaton receive ‘killing’ remark from Daimler


Frank Reintjes, Daimler Trucks’ global head of powertrain and manufacturing, has said that for proprietary, that is independent, suppliers of engines, transmissions and drive axles in North America, the complexity of meeting the operating requirements ‘of all customers and all their different applications, is killing them’.