Autoparts Report

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GM Revises Downward Estimates Of 2001 & 2002 North American Car Sales.
General Motors has cut expectations for 2001 North American car sales to 16.4 million from 16.8 million, and to 15.5 million in 2002 amid price competition and volatile demand after the recent terr . . .

Tower Automotive Arranges Financing For Its Milwaukee Frame Assembly Line.(Brief Article)
Tower Automotive, Inc. said that it successfully completed a $126 million lease financing for Tower's new Dodge Ram frame assembly line located in its Milwaukee facility. GE Capital's Structured Fi . . .

DaimlerChrysler Starts Construction On Indiana Transmission Plant.(Brief Article)
DaimlerChrysler said they has started construction on a $455 million project at their Indiana Transmission Plant (ITP) located in Kokomo, Indiana. The project plan is for production of the "W5A580, . . .

Johnson Controls Completes Two European Acquisitions.(Brief Article)
Johnson Controls, Inc. said it has completed its two previously announced European acquisitions: the automotive electronics business of Sagem SA and the German automotive battery manufacturer Hoppe . . .

Dana Forms European Joint Ventures For Piston Rings With Japanese Producer.(Brief Article)
Dana Corp. and Riken Corp. said they agreed to form piston ring sales and manufacturing joint ventures in Europe. The joint ventures is being formed to meet the advanced piston ring requirements of . . .

Delphi Plans Marketing Effort In India.(Brief Article)
Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. said that it planned a big push into aftermarket sales in India, directly addressing car owners looking for replacements. Delphi officials said that the firm planned . . .

Consumers Ready For Hybrids, According To New Study.(Brief Article)
Hybrid vehicles are getting the attention of the global consumer, according to a new research study. Consumers are ready to purchase hybrid engine vehicles, and are willing to pay up to a 10 percen . . .

U.S. September Auto Sales Helped By Incentives.(Brief Article)
Most automakers posted better than expected U.S. sales in September as a wave of new discounts helped draw buyers into showrooms despite growing economic pessimism after the Sept. 11 attacks in New . . .

Findings On Chinese Replacement Windshield Dumping Delayed Until Feb. 2002.(Brief Article)
The U.S. Department of Commerce said that it has pushed back the final determination on dumping charges against Chinese manufacturers of replacement windshields until Feb. 1, 2002.The final determi . . .

Nissan Workers Reject Union Representation.(Brief Article)
Nissan employees at Nissan North America's Smyrna plant voted to reject the United Auto Workers' attempt to represent them, The National Labor Relations Board said. The official count sheet shows . . .

Federal-Mogul Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection.(Brief Article)
Federal-Mogul Corp. filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, as a result of asbestos-related law suits. The move by Federal-Mogul comes amid a sharp s . . .

TRW's Electrically Assisted Steering Systems Winning OE Customers.(Fiat and Renault )(Brief Article)
TRW Inc. said it has been awarded contracts of over $900 million from Fiat and Renault for its Electrically Assisted Steering (EAS) products. These contract awards bring TRW's annual sales for its . . .

Delphi Develops X-by-Wire Technology for Europe.(Brief Article)
Delphi Automotive Systems' said its systems engineers have been working closely with European automakers to determine how X-by-Wire technologies can be brought to reality on passenger vehicle appli . . .

GM Said It Has Developed The "World's Most Powerful Fuel Cell Stack".(Brief Article)
General Motors' latest fuel cell stack sets a new world standard for power density that packs 60 percent more power than any competitor, GM said at a recent fuel cell technical conference in London . . .

Ford To Evaluate Millennium Cell's Hydrogen On Demand Fuel System.(Brief Article)
Millennium Cell Inc., a development-stage company that has created a proprietary technology to safely generate and store hydrogen, said that it has provided the Ford Motor Co. a prototype Hydrogen . . .

GM, Suzuki, & Others Form e-Business Alliance In Japan.(Brief Article)
General Motors Corp., Suzuki Motors Corp., Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. have formed a joint venture company to develop e-business synergies and leverage Internet-based technolog . . .

Toyota Unit To Build New Compressor Plant.(Brief Article)
A unit of Toyota Motor Corp., said it would invest 20 billion yen ($170.2 million) to build a plant in Japan to make compressors for car air conditioners. The plant, to be built in Higashiuracho in . . .

BMW May Build Assembly Facility In Thailand.(Brief Article)
Thailand's Industry Deputy Minister Pichate Satirachaval said that BMW planned to invest at least $1.36 billion to build a new manufacturing plant in Thailand in 2002. Pichate said BMW planned to . . .

Hyundai To Consider Production In Brazil.(Brief Article)
According to reports in the German newspaper, 'Die Welt', the Korean Hyundai car manufacturer may begin to build a compact car in the Mercedes-Benz factory in Juiz de Fora (Minas Gerais), Brazil wh . . .

Renault Considers Expansion In Mexico.(Brief Article)
Renault is considering the construction of a plant in Mexico, despite the uncertainty of the world economic situation, according to a report by Mexico City daily el Economista columnist Tomas de la . . .

Decoma To Purchase Assets Of Lighting Manufacturer.(Brief Article)
Decoma International Inc. said that it has entered into an agreement with KPMG Inc., in KPMG Inc.'s capacities as the court appointed receiver and monitor of Autosystems Manufacturing Inc., to purc . . .

Ford Fiesta To Get SKF Bearings.(Brief Article)
Swedish roller bearing maker SKF said it had been chosen as the main supplier of bearings for Ford's new Fiesta car in a deal worth more than 200 million euros ($185 million) over the model's life . . .

Fiat To Buy Diesel Engines From Isuzu.(Brief Article)
Isuzu Motors Ltd , Japan's largest maker of light trucks, will supply diesel engines for cars to Fiat SpA starting in September 2002, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. Isuzu, owned 49 percent by . . .

China Said It Is Encouraging Foreign Tie-Ups With Auto Parts Companies.(Brief Article)
The Chinese government is encouraging foreign companies to invest in car parts industries, an official source said recently at an international seminar. The government encourages multinationals to . . .

Brazilian Autoparts Are Diversifying.(Brief Article)
Autoparts manufacturers who set up shop in Brazil in order to supply Peugeot Citroen and Renault are beginning to make contracts with other car companies in order to diversify their production and . . .

Freudenberg-NOK To Extend Holidays To Avoid Layoffs.(Brief Article)
In response to the move to layoff employees during the current soft auto parts market, Freudenberg-NOK is implementing a unique plan to avoid widespread reduction of workers, the company said. The . . .

Johnson Controls Sells Seat Cooling Technology To German-Based W.E.T.(Brief Article)
Officials at W.E.T. Automotive Systems Ltd. said that the firm has acquired the technical, manufacturing and commercial rights in North America for ComfortCools seating technologies from Johnson Co . . .

Ford European Says It will Regain Lost Market Share.(Brief Article)
The head of Ford's European unit vowed that it would double the company's share of the continent's small car market, as a result of his company's redesigned Fiesta. "We're looking to double where w . . .

Hybrid Battery Market To See Rapid Growth.(Brief Article)
The market for advanced Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) batteries will grow from approximately $70 million this year to over $250 million by 2005 and is expected to top $500 million by 2009, accordin . . .

GM To Build New Parts Distribution Facility In California.(Brief Article)
General Motors Service Parts Operations said it will build a new parts distribution facility in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. The facility will handle automotive replacement part shipments to more than . . .

GM Agrees To Buy Most Assets Of Daewoo.(Brief Article)
General Motors Corp. will acquire all overseas units of Daewoo Motor Sales but not all of Daewoo's plants in Korea, reports out of Korea said. The fate of Daewoo Motor Sales' 30 units in 30 countri . . .

U.S. Imports Of Auto Parts Fell In First Half.(Brief Article)
A slowing economy and a softening demand for autos, resulted in lower imports of auto parts into the United States in the first half of 2001. First half imports fell to $31.3 billion, a decline of . . .

Auto Production Was Slowed By Parts Shortages After Terrorist Attacks.(Brief Article)
The ripple effect of tightened security at U.S. borders forced many auto parts and auto assembly facilities to temporarily stop production. Border traffic tie-ups and the clampdown on air freight r . . .

Automotive Telematics Usage Set To Explode, Study Says.(Telematics Research Group)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
According to a new study published by Telematics Research Group, automotive telematics is in the infancy stage and is on the start of an explosive growth cycle. While only 5 percent of new autos so . . .

Isuzu Also Joins OEConnection.(Isuzu Motors America Inc.)(Brief Article)
Isuzu Motors America, Inc. is the first Asian automaker to join OEConnection, LLC. Realizing the growing demand from wholesalers to quickly access parts and other products, Isuzu -- with approxim . . .

Volvo Joins OEConnection's Parts and Service Web Portal.(Volvo Cars of North America Inc.)(Brief Article)
Volvo Cars of North America, LLC has become the latest automaker to join OEConnection, LLC, the Internet-based original equipment parts and service portal. OEConnection is the new venture owned and . . .

Covisint Saw $35 Billion In Second Quarter Auction Value.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Covisint Inc., the automotive industry business to business exchange, saw a substantial increase in the value put through its online auction function during the second quarter, and is pushing to be . . .

Covisint Introduces New Supplier Chain Application.(in partnership with SupplySolution Inc.)(Brief Article)
Covisint said it has released Version 4.0 of the Covisint Fulfillment Service, its direct material fulfillment application. This newest release of the hosted application is currently available to a . . .

GM Makes Offer For Some Of Daewoo Facilities, Korean Sources Say.(General Motors Corp. may purchase Kunsan and Changwon plants)(
General Motors is offering to buy two plants from South Korea's bankrupt Daewoo Motors for $782 million, the Korea Economic Daily said, citing no sources. GM and Daewoo's main creditor, state-run K . . .

European Auto Industry Facing Downturn.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
European car sales are expected to continue to slide in 2001 and 2002, according to European auto analysts, unless world markets reverse their downtrend. Europe's manufacturers could be forced to t . . .

Toyota To Build Light Trucks In Mexico By 2004.(Toyota Motor Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Toyota Motor Corp. said it will build an assembly plant for pick-up trucks in Mexico and it expects to have the facility operational by 2004, a Japanese newspaper reported. Toyota will initially bu . . .

Mexican Auto Parts Industry Declines By 12 Percent In First Half.(Brief Article)
Mexico's automobile parts industry has been strongly affected by the economic slowdown in the United States, the market of 80 percent to 90 percent of its production. Companies like San Luis Rasini . . .

Brazil's Autoparts Sector Expected To Decline By 15 Percent In Second Half.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
The Brazilian autoparts sector is expecting a 15 percent drop in business for the second half of the year following a very good first six month period. Despite the predicted decline, the Sindicato . . .

Toyota Unit To Form Chinese Seatbelt Facility In China.(Toyodabo Shanghai Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included
Toyoda Boshoku Corp., a group unit of Toyota Motor Corp., said it will form a subsidiary in Shanghai to produce woven tapes for seatbelts, with an investment of $10 million. T . . .

Toyota Said It Plans To Cut Parts Procurement Costs By 30 Percent.(Toyota Motor Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Toyota Motor Corp. is on track to meet its target of cutting parts-procurement costs by about 30 percent over three years, according to a top Toyota executive. Toyota said it is examining 173 categ . . .

Japanese, German Companies Form Flat Flex Cable Products Joint Venture.(Panta Sumida)(Brief Article)
Sumida Corp., Tokyo, a manufacturer of electronic components for automotive applications, said that it has signed a joint venture agreement with Panta GmbH, Radeberg, Germany, a manufacturer of Fla . . .

Visteon Captures Renault Business In Europe and Mexico.(Visteon Corp. awarded contract from Renault)(Brief Article)
Visteon Corp. said its facilities in Europe and Mexico have won significant business to supply Renault with interiors products and climate control components. Since March 2001, Visteon said it has . . .

GM To Use Continental's New Hybrid Engine In 2004.(Brief Article)
Continental AG said that General Motors Corp. would make available Continental's new hybrid engine on two large pickup models in 2004, the tire and auto parts maker's first car-series contract for . . .

Visteon Forms New Speech Recognition Unit.(Infinitive Speech Systems L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
Visteon Corp. said it has set up a new subsidiary to develop and market speech recognition software. The former parts arm of Ford Motor Co. said the new subsidiary, Infinitive Speech Systems LLC, w . . .

Delphi Energy & Chassis Systems Makes Large Investment On New Product Development.(Delphi Energy and Chassis Systems)(Brief Arti
Delphi Energy & Chassis Systems, a division of Delphi Automotive Systems said it has invested more than $240 million in business growth spending through the first two quarters of 2001. Investment p . . .