Russia buzzing

Russian automaker Gaz and General Motors are planning a joint venture to build a $1 billion factory in Russia. Daimler may be involved as well.

The plant will have an annual capacity of 300,000 units, and will build a car to compete with Renault’s best-selling, low-cost Logan.

The local vehicle market in Russia is growing by leaps and bounds, and is on track to become Europe’s largest market by year end.

Read more at the Times Online.

Tags: Gaz, General Motors, GM, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry, Russia auto industry, Daimler

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Hyundai up in U.S.

In a recent post I mentioned that only Honda had increased sales during June in the U.S., where overall car sales fell 8% mainly due to high gas prices.

It turns out that Hyundai also had a good month, with a 14% increase compared to the same month in 2007. Hyundai had several stand-out models: sales grew 69% for their Elantra compact, 91% for their Accent subcompact and 26% for their midsize Sonata.

"This new era of high oil prices will be a good opportunity for us to expand our reach,"  said Yoon Mong Hyun, top strategist at Hyundai.

Tags: Hyundai, Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Accent, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry

New Toyota plant in Brazil

Toyota will most likely build a new plant in Brazil, to manufacture compact cars starting in 2011. The facility would have an output of 150,000 units per year.

Toyota already has two plants in Brazil, one that builds Corollas, and another that manufactures parts.

Tags: Toyota, Brazil, Toyota Brazil, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry

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VW plant in USA

Volkswagen will build a $1 billion in the U.S. (in the state of Tennessee). The plant will begin output in 2011 and will produce 150,000 units per year (and thus reach sales of 800,000 per year) including a new mid-size sedan destined for the North American market.

"The U.S. market is an important part of our volume strategy, and we are now very resolutely accessing that market," said Martin Winterkorn, VW’s CEO.

Tags: VW, Volkswagen, VW USA, Martin Winterkorn, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry

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Toyota Prius going solar

Toyota will install solar panels on the roof of their next-generation Prius hybrid cars during their 2009 redesign phase. The energy created will power the auto’s air conditioning system.

Tags: Toyota, Prius, Toyota Prius, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry, alternative energy, renewable energy, sustainable energy, hybrids, hybrid technology, solar cars, solar energy

More at Reuters.

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Only Honda is selling more in U.S.

Vehicle sales for June 2008 fell substantially in the U.S., compared to the same month last year. Only Honda was able to gain ground.

• Honda: Sales improved by 13.8 percent. June sales totaled 142,539 vehicles, a new monthly record. For the first half of 2008, Honda sales also rose, by 4.8 percent.
• Toyota sales fell by 11.5 percent. For the first half of 2008, they sold 1.24 million vehicles, down 6.2 percent.
• Ford sales dropped 28 percent. They sold 167,090 vehicles in June, and 1.1 million for the first half of 2008 (down 14 percent).
• GM sales were down by 18.5 percent (265,937 units in June compared to 326,300 a year ago). For the first half of 2008, sales were 1,6 million, 16.5 percent down. Hummer was especially hit with a drop of 59.3 percent.
• Nissan sales fell 17.7 percent, although sales of their more fuel efficient cars did grow.

Tags: Honda, Ford, GM, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry

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Tesla new electric sedan: Model S

Tesla Motors is already on the electric car map with their super-fast Roadster.

But now they’ve officially announced their next model, a sedan (named the Model S for now).

Tesla has agreed to build a manufacturing plant in California, which they just announced the sedan with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. California has given Tesla diverse incentives including tax breaks to lure them away from a previously announced plant location in New Mexico.

The Mode Sl will cost $60,000, seat five, and have a range of 360 km (225 miles) on a single charge.

Tags: Tesla, Tesla Model S, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry, alternative energy, renewable energy, sustainable energy, electric cars

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Least networked countries: blame your government

In a recent post I talked about how the most networked countries also happen to be the most developed nations, with Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland leading the pack. (For more, read the World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report).

The report’s co-author, Soumitra Dutta, notes that the key factors common to the top performers must all be spearheaded by government, and has this to say:

“… (The highest performing) countries have invested very heavily in education. If you look at the quality of education, Denmark ranks 5th in the world. If you look at internet access in schools, Denmark ranks 6th. So very strong investment in education, a highly educated workforce is very important.

“At the same time these countries have very stable, very open economies and they’ve invested a lot in making economies very easy for businesses. So if you look at the time required to start a business, Denmark ranks 3rd in the world and if you look at the number of procedures required to start a business, Denmark ranks 4th.

"Now all this has been coupled with a strong focus from the government in terms of pushing technology as a key enabler of the country’s growth and development. So if you look at the e-government readiness index of Denmark, it’s ranked 2nd in the world.

"So a very strong government push, a very educated population, good open regulatory environment – all these different factors make for a very good standing for these countries."

Related post: Most networked countries = most developed countries

Tags: Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden

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