Toyota Motor and 3 others will replace the airbag inflators (SteelGuru)
Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) and 3 other Japanese car makers said that they will recall a total of more than 3 million vehicles worldwide to fix faulty airbags supplied by Takata Corp. (7312). Toyota, Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC), Nissan Motor Company (7201) and Mazda Motor Corpmpany (7261) said that Thursday they will replace the airbag inflators as they may catch fire due to improper manufacturing. Of the total of 3.39 million vehicles, Toyota said that it will recall 1.73 million vehicles in North America, Europe, Japan and other markets, while Honda said that it will recall 1.13 million vehicles globally.
Toyota-Ford tiff shows challenge of measuring global auto sales (DetroitNews)
For the second time in seven months, Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) both claim to produce the world’s top-selling car. The clash shows how counting in the global automotive industry is complicated. Ford says its Focus compact car was the leading global nameplate, with 1.02 million sales last year, citing R.L. Polk & Co. data that pegged Toyota’s Corolla deliveries at 872,774. Toyota replied with a statement that said it sold 1.16 million Corollas.
Honda Motor to roll out two new utility vehicles in India, aims to sell 2 lakh units (EconomicTimes)
Getting its act together in India, Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC) after launching Amaze in the growing compact sedan space is readying to roll out in two to three years a slew of diesel variants and two new utility vehicles that will enable the Japanese car maker to participate in the fastest-growing segment in the Indian passenger vehicle market. An MPV (multi purpose vehicle), based on the Brio platform codenamed 2NH, is likely to hit the market at the end of 2014, which will be followed by a compact SUV (sports utility vehicle) based on Jazz platform in 2015. Hironori Kanayama, MD, Honda Cars India, who underscored India being a “strategically important market” for Honda’s global operation, said: “Our counter attack in India has just begun with the Amaze. We have a lot to do. Small cars, UVs are all under study. The SUV market is the fastest growing segment and we are studying every segment surrounding the UV space, small or premium. You can anticipate some interesting moves from Honda.”
Honda plans smaller diesel engine for emerging markets (Business-Standard)
Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC), which drove into the Indian diesel car market last week, is looking at developing a diesel engine with reduced capacity, to power small cars in emerging markets. Atsushi Arisaka, chief engineer, large project development, Honda R&D-Asia Pacific, said, “We are looking at a diesel engine with engine capacity between one and 1.2 litres. Once developed, it can be used on small cars.” While Arisaka declined to specify a timeline, company sources said a final product usually comes out two to three years after a project starts.
Tesla Tries To Sway Texas Officials with Its New Plant to Build New Electric Pickup (Nitrobahn)
Elon Musk, CEO and co-founder of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), had been to Texas recently to speak to the local officials to convince them to let the company sell its cars to the consumers directly and not with the help of a dealer. In the current scenario, Tesla has two “stores” which is located in the selected districts of Austin and Dallas and the third one all set to be built in Houston. But as of now they would not be able to give out the pricing information or test drives to the potential customers until Musk would convince the Texas Automobile Dealers Association to allow them to sell the cars by themselves and not with the help of an outsourced dealer.
