Tesla Motors shares fell the most since early July Monday, the first day insiders could sell shares that they bought during the electric carmaker’s initial public offering six months ago. Get the full story »
Inside these posts: Auto sales
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U.S. auto market picks up speed in November
Though still far from robust, the U.S. auto market continued its slow recovery in November as consumers headed for showrooms, enticed by heavy month-end advertising.
General Motors Co. the first of the major automakers to report Wednesday, said that November sales rose 21% from a year earlier, to 168,704 vehicles, after factoring out the Pontiac, Hummer, Saturn and Saab brands it closed or sold as part of its bankruptcy reorganization last year.
Through the first 10 months of this year — prior to the reports of November sales — the industry has been averaging about an 11% gain. Get the full story »
GM offering may leave out many small investors
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.
Sources: GM planning to drop Goodwrench in U.S.
From Automotive News | General Motors Co. is dropping the GM Goodwrench car mechanic brand in the United States as the company moves to redirect the marketing emphasis around its four core vehicle brands, sources say.
GM says it expects 3Q earnings from $1.9B to $2.1B
General Motors Co. says it expects net income of $1.9 billion to $2.1 billion when it announces third-quarter results next week.
The earnings forecast was announced ahead of an expected filing with federal regulators giving details of the company’s initial public stock offering. Get the full story »
Ford reports higher October sales
Ford Motor Co. says its October U.S. sales rose 19.2 percent, led by big increases in trucks and small cars. In the Chicago area, Ford’s sales rose 20.9 percent.
General Motors, Honda and others have already reported strong sales of crossover wagons last month, and Ford was no exception. Sales of the redesigned Edge crossover were up 24 percent, while Ford Escape sales rose 17 percent.
Ford says sales of the F-Series pickup rose 24 percent, thanks in part to a month-long truck promotion. Get the full story »
Hyundai leads carmakers in October vehicle sales
Hyundai Motor America, the largest automaker to report Tuesday, said its U.S. sales rose 38 percent last month to 42,656 vehicles from 31,005 the previous year.The gain was led by sales of the Sonata, which totaled 17,505. That was more than double a year ago. The automaker introduced turbo and hybrid versions of the model.
Profit soars at Honda, Mazda on sales growth
Japanese automakers Honda and Mazda posted hefty profits despite a strengthening yen as the global recovery and government incentives for green cars drove sales higher.
J.D. Power scales back 2011 auto sales forecast
J.D. Power and Associates Thursday cut its forecast for 2011 U.S. total light vehicle sales, based on a slower economic recovery than expected.
Next year’s total light vehicle sales forecast was cut to 12.9 million vehicles from 13.2 million. Get the full story »
Ford, Chrysler, GM see September sales gains
Bloomberg News | General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC and Nissan Motor Co. said U.S. sales rose in September as the industry recovers from its worst year in almost three decades.
Deliveries at GM, the largest U.S. automaker, climbed 11 percent from a year earlier to 173,155, the Detroit-based company said in a statement today. Ford, the second-largest, increased sales 41 percent to 160,873, the Dearborn, Michigan- based company said in a statement. Get the full story »
BMW recalls over 350,000 vehicles on brake issue
A Rolls Royce car at a showroom in London, Oct. 1, 2010. BMW is recalling some of its own brand and Rolls-Royce cars because of a potential braking problem. (Reuters/Paul Hackett)
Bloomberg News | BMW, the world’s biggest maker of luxury cars, said it’s recalling almost 350,800 BMW-brand and Rolls-Royce models worldwide to repair a power-brake system fault.
The voluntary recall involves fixing brake-pressure pumps on 345,000 BMW 5-, 6- and 7-Series models and 5,800 Rolls-Royce cars built from 2002 until 2010, Frank Strebe, a BMW spokesman, said today in a phone interview from the Paris Motor Show. The new version of the 5-Series sedan isn’t affected, he said.
The fault was detected when drivers complained that they needed to push harder on the brake pedal on cars with high mileage, Strebe said. The Munich-based carmaker is telling customers to bring in their vehicles as a “pro-active” measure, and that the fault poses no safety issue, he said, adding that he doesn’t have an estimate of the cost to BMW. Get the full story »
GM veteran to lead Volkswagen in U.S.
Volkswagen has named a former Ford and GM executive to lead the German automaker’s ambitious growth plans in the U.S. Get the full story »
Post clunkers funk hits August auto sales
Auto sales, once a bright spot in the economic recovery, grew fainter last month.
The pain was widespread. Big car companies General Motors, Ford and Toyota all saw sales slip. Smaller automakers like Subaru suffered too, as did companies that appeal to the budget minded, such as Kia and Hyundai. Get the full story »
Midwest manufacturing output rises in July
Midwest manufacturing output increased in July, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, after revised data showed slight slippage in June. Get the full story »
