SHANGHAI: A sharp drop in first-half profit at the biggest Chinese carmaker underlined how slowing economic growth and higher .fuel prices are putting the brakes on the Chinese auto sector.
TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan: General Motors said Thursday that it had "essentially finished" designing its first plug-in hybrid car, the Chevrolet Volt, and would have production-ready prototypes within 10 days.
The automaker still has considerable work to do on the car's lithium-ion battery and other technology in the two years before the Volt is scheduled to go on sale, but completing the design is a milestone for what is arguably the most crucial car in decades for GM.
General Motors (GM) India has signed an agreement with the Gujarat government to train students of the Tarsali Industrial Training Institute (ITI). According to the agreement, GM India will develop and provide technical courses on automotive technology through Tarsali ITI.
"There is considerable shortage of trained manpower in automotive sector. The first of its kind experiment will help develop skills in students,' said Karl Slym, president and managing director of General Motors India.
With a price tag of about Rs 1 lakh, the Nano will cost about half as much as the cheapest car currently on the market. But, some environmentalists are dreading the prospect of hundreds of thousands of low-cost cars hitting polluted and over-crowded roads around the world in the next few years.
Bernard Simon Carmakers aim to improve margins with more pricing power on small models. General Motors' assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, is a rarity these days. At a time when the carmaker is trimming capacity and chopping jobs across North America, Lordstown is about to hire 1,400 workers for a third shift. The plant owes its good fortune to building the sporty, fuel-efficient Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 cars. While demand for big sport-utility vehicles and pick-up trucks has plummeted, Cobalt sales jumped by 18 per cent in the first five months of 2008.
UK registrations of 4x4 vehicles tumbled by more than 18 per cent last month in a powerful sign that Europeans are joining the headlong scramble out of large gas-guzzlers seen in the US. The data from Europe's second largest car market mirrors collapses in largevehicle sales under way in other European countries, and comes as petrol prices touch new highs and consumers delay big purchases.
Wilmington: General Motors Corp on Tuesday said it was closing four truck plants and could sell its Hummer brand to cut slow-selling trucks and SUVs from its lineup in response to higher gasoline prices the automaker now sees as a permanent threat to its business.
