Nov. 17, 2010 at 4:30 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos
By Dow Jones Newswires
Fiat SpA made its official return to the U.S. market after a 25-year absence Wednesday with the unveiling of its Fiat 500 subcompact car at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The vehicle will be sold primarily in urban centers such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
With a starting price of $15,500, the car will go on sale in about 130 Chrysler Group LLC dealerships across the country starting in January. The price is about $500 less than its main competitor, BMW AG’s Mini Cooper. Get the full story »
Nov. 17, 2010 at 3:35 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Bankruptcy,
IPOs,
Updated
By Reuters
General Motors raised $20.1 billion in the biggest U.S. initial public offering in history, pricing the shares at the top of the proposed range in response to huge investor demand.
GM sold 478 common shares at $33 each, raising $15.77 billion, as well as $4.35 billion in preferred shares, more than the initially planned $4 billion. Get the full story »
Nov. 17, 2010 at 12:31 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Energy
By Julie Wernau
Beginning next year, electric vehicle owners park for free in the Village of Oak Park. An ordinance, passed this week by the Oak Park Village Board of Trustees, also gives plug-in vehicle owners free parking at meters and in Village lots and garages as well as Village vehicle stickers at no charge.
“We realize that this step is largely symbolic at this time, given that all-electric vehicles are just beginning to become available,” said Village Manager Tom Barwin. Get the full story »
Nov. 17, 2010 at 10:11 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
IPOs,
Investing
By Associated Press
When General Motors finally offers stock to the public later this week, small investors will probably be left out in the cold.
Pension funds, mutual funds and other big institutions all want a piece of the rehabilitated GM. That means the three dozen banks divvying up the new shares may not have much left for individual investors.
And being left out of the initial public offering can mean being left out of some big profits: Shares of newly public companies sometimes jump 10 percent or more on the first day of trading, handing easy money to those lucky enough to get access at the offering price.
Nov. 17, 2010 at 5:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
IPOs
By Reuters
General Motors Co. Wednesday set the final terms for a landmark initial public offering that could raise up to $22.7 billion after a surge of investor interest in an automaker that had fallen from blue-chip status to government bailout.
At the high end of its price range, the IPO could be the largest ever in the United States — and a major first step toward break-even for a $50 billion U.S. government bailout of the 102-year-old company. GM plans to sell 478 million common shares for $32 to $33 each and $4 billion worth of preferred shares, according to an amended filing with U.S. securities regulators Wednesday. Get the full story »
Nov. 16, 2010 at 3:39 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Environment,
Green
By Reuters
A model stands next to Chevrolet's new Volt at the Orange County Auto Show on Oct. 7, 2010. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
General Motors is stepping up production of its new Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle to try to meet “huge demand,” a top executive said on Tuesday.
Speaking at an event where the Volt was named Motor Trend magazine’s 2011 Car of the Year, GM product chief Tom Stephens said: “If you look at where we were originally, in terms of what we thought the volume would be, we have stepped it up.”
Stephens declined to give a new production forecast. Most recently, GM, the world’s No. 2 automaker, had said it planned to build 10,000 Volts in 2011 and 45,000 in 2012. Get the full story »
Nov. 16, 2010 at 7:36 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
IPOs
By Associated Press
A confident General Motors has added 20 million shares of preferred stock to its initial public offering, and it raised the estimated price range for common shares by about 14 percent to $32 to $33.
The Detroit automaker, just 16 months out of bankruptcy protection, will now sell 80 million shares of preferred stock for $50 each when its offering takes place on Thursday. Common shares will be sold by the U.S. government and two other owners, who inherited the stock for helping GM get through a painful restructuring last year.
Nov. 16, 2010 at 6:22 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos
By Associated Press
Honda will stop selling its Civic sedans in Japan because sales are lagging compared with smaller models, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday. Production in Japan of the gasoline-engine Civic for local sales ended in August, and will end in December for Civic hybrids, although manufacturing of export models will continue, the company said. Get the full story »
Nov. 15, 2010 at 4:24 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
IPOs,
Updated
By Reuters
Strong investor demand is expected to drive the pricing of General Motors’ initial public offering to $30 per share or higher, above the initially proposed range, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
GM earlier filed to sell shares for $26 to $29 each. Get the full story »
Nov. 15, 2010 at 4:15 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Environment
By Associated Press
The chief executive of Nissan Motor Co. says the automaker’s alliance with Renault could produce 500,000 electric vehicles a year globally by 2013. Get the full story »
Nov. 15, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Environment,
Technology
By Mary Jane Grandinetti
Ford has chosen Chicago as one of the initial markets for its electric Focus, due to hit showrooms late next year.
Ford based the rollout markets on commuting patterns and hybrid purchase trends, among other criteria. The other first markets are Atlanta; Austin and Houston, Texas; Boston; Chicago; Denver; Detroit; Los Angeles; San Francisco; San Diego; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Portland, Ore.; Raleigh/Durham, N.C.; Richmond, Va.; Seattle; and Washington, D.C.
The Focus Electric will be powered by a 23 kWh lithium-ion battery with a system that uses a liquid heating and cooling system to maximize battery life and driving range. Get the full story »
Nov. 14, 2010 at 11:14 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
China,
IPOs,
International
By Reuters
China’s SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd has agreed to take a stake in General Motors Co if Chinese regulators approve a deal to deepen an existing alliance between the two automakers, four people familiar with the matter said.
The potential investment from SAIC is part of a surge in investor interest in GM that is expected to push the pricing of its shares to $29 or above in the the U.S. automaker’s initial public offering, one of the sources said. Get the full story »
Nov. 12, 2010 at 12:26 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
IPOs
By Reuters
General Motors Co. is still accepting investor orders for shares in its initial public offering and is not expected to close the order books until early next week, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The IPO is expected to price around the top end of the range and exercise the full greenshoe, two sources said. Get the full story »
Nov. 11, 2010 at 2:57 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Recalls
By Associated Press
Nissan Motor Co. says it is recalling more than 600,000 vehicles in North and South America and Africa due to steering or battery cable problems. Get the full story »
Nov. 11, 2010 at 2:32 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Government,
IPOs
By Reuters
The U.S. Treasury should make General Motors Co. suspend its planned initial public offering to ensure a better return for taxpayers on the government’s stake in the company, safety and consumer advocates said Thursday.
In a letter to President Barack Obama, the group led by consumer advocate Ralph Nader said the administration has a fiduciary responsibility to take a measured approach on the stock sale and leverage ownership to make strides on auto safety and fuel efficiency. Get the full story »
