Germany's Volkswagen said Wednesday it sold a record number of vehicles in 2017, putting it on track to hold on to the title of world's largest carmaker two years after its "dieselgate" emissions scandal.

Some 10.74 million vehicles from VW or its subsidiaries ranging from Porsche and Audi to Skoda and Seat rolled out of dealerships last year -- an increase of 4.3 percent over the previous year, the carmaker said.

"We are grateful to our customers for the trust these figures reflect," chief executive Matthias Mueller said in a statement.

VW's sales look likely to outstrip Japanese rival Toyota's, whose annual figure for last year is expected to stand at around 10.35 million units.

Nevertheless, the Wolfsburg-based group is still facing a growing challenge from the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, which also laid claim to the top spot on Wednesday.

Its chief Carlos Ghosn told the French national assembly that, excluding trucks, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi sold 10.6 million vehicles worldwide last year.

"The alliance is the world's biggest carmaker, that's just been confirmed," Ghosn said, arguing that the VW figure included 200,000 heavy trucks, which shouldn't be included in the total.

VW's strong performance underlines its recovery from the blow it was dealt two years ago, when it admitted in September 2015 to cheating regulators' emissions tests on millions of diesel cars worldwide.

It has since begun to rebuild its reputation in some of the world's most important markets, with Chinese sales adding 5.1 percent to 4.2 million vehicles last year and US sales rising 5.8 percent to 625,000 vehicles.

Growth was more spectacular in South America, at 23.7 percent, but sales only reached 522,000 units in absolute terms.

Meanwhile, sales in Central and Eastern Europe including Russia rose by 13.2 percent to 745,000 vehicles.

But growth in Western Europe was more sluggish, with shipments up 1.4 percent at 3.6 million units.

Looking to the group's different brands, generalist VW booked an increase of 4.2 percent to 6.2 million units, while Skoda added 6.6 percent to 1.2 million and Seat 14.6 percent to 468,000 units.

Luxury Porsche shipped 246,000 cars, up 3.6 percent on the year, while Audi fell behind high-end rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz with 0.6-percent growth to 1.9 million vehicles sold.

Truckmaking units MAN and Scania both reported 11.6-percent growth.

Looking to the future, Mueller said VW was making "decisive investments in the mobility of tomorrow".

VW announced in November that it would invest more than 34 billion euros ($41 billion) in future vehicles and technologies -- such as electric and hybrid cars, autonomous driving and digitalisation -- by 2022.

Source: AFP

New details have emerged regarding the next-generation VW Golf. According to Auto Express, which spoke to several Volkswagen honchos at a supplier meeting, the eighth-generation model will make its debut next year at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The new Golf Mk. VIII will also spawn a plug-in hybrid model, GTI, and Golf R, but the e-Golf appears to have been shelved.

Both of the Golf's performance-oriented forms, the GTI and Golf R, will get substantial increases in power for a total of 250 and 350 horsepower respectively. That will put the GTI on roughly equal footing with the Ford Focus ST and Subaru WRX, and the the Golf R at the same level as the Ford Focus RS and closer to the Mercedes-AMG CLA45 and GLA45 models.

The e-Golf, which VW had previously told us would arrive with a roughly 186 mile range, will disappear with the new generation according to Auto Express. The outlet reports that it's a casualty of VW's focus on the I.D. line, particularly the I.D. hatchback. That hatchback is due to arrive a year after the new Golf in 2020 for Europe, and VW says that it will deliver on the 373-mile maximum range (European cycle) quoted for the concept. In the U.S. the first I.D. product we'll see is the production version of the I.D. Crozz in 2020, followed by a version of the I.D. Buzz van in 2022. Of course, it's also possible that the current-generation e-Golf might linger on for a year until the I.D. hatchback goes on sale.

For more information on what's coming for the next-generation VW Golf, be sure to check out our previous coverage on the hatchback.

Car makers appealed to Americans' deep love of SUVs and trucks on Monday at the Detroit Auto Show, unveiling a host of choices from luxurious to utilitarian, while also beefing up the humble sedan.

From European car makers to American icons, there were dozens of new offerings for the North American market. While sedans and electric cars were still in the game, the industry clearly favored the large SUVs and trucks that are the source of high profit margins and prefered by US consumers two to one.

To meet Americans' changing buying habits and preferences, newly offered trucks and SUVs were more luxurious and family-friendly, stuffed with more technology and premium materials, while lower-cost, paired down versions of the same models were also offered.

In some cases, manufacturers have also tweaked vehicles to make them slightly taller than those of the prior generation. That's a response to consumers who enjoy a greater sense of command over the road.

"Pickup trucks are not just work trucks at all any more. They are much more seen as family cars," said industry analyst Rebecca Lindland of Kelley Blue Book.

Analysts said 2018 would be the year of trucks and SUVs, which have been making a dramatic comeback the last several years after a precipitous decline during the Great Recession starting in 2008.

The top five selling vehicles in 2017 were the F-150 pickup, the Chevrolet Silverado pickup, the Ram 1500 pickup,  the Toyota RAV4 SUV and Nissan Rogue SUV, in that order.

With gas prices still affordable, the economy booming, and unemployment low, analysts said US consumers are preferring higher-priced, amenity-laden, large cars compared to more modest family sedans and small compacts.

"Consumers, as soon as the recession was over, were ready to buy vehicles. And we really haven't seen a deterioration," said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive, adding that recently passed US tax cuts are also likely to fuel pickup and SUV sales.

The larger models are highly profitable for car makers. Ford's F-150, the best selling car in the US in 2017, had an average transaction price of $58,000, Lindland said.

- Larger, 'muscular'

Unveilings commenced at a rapid clip on Monday, even after some major car makers debuted new models over the weekend.

Fiat Chrysler offered an updated Ram pickup, boasting of new multifunction USB ports, a 12-inch touchscreen display and support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, among other features.

In an effort to add some excitement to a waning sedan market, Volkswagen revealed a new Passat -- its higher-end sedan -- with more than 20 design changes and a sportier option. BMW premiered a new coupe version of its i8 hybrid electric vehicle, promising enhanced power and range.

BMW also expanded its SUV lineup with the new X2 -- designed to fit in between its X1 and X3 compact utilities and distinguishing itself in a crowded crossover market with the company's signature zip and a "distinctive exterior design."

The auto show gave a boost to three models by awarding its annual best of the year distinctions.

The 2018 Honda Accord was awarded best car of the year, helping the Japanese company's family sedan best its top rival, the Toyota Camry -- also a finalist for the award.

Among utility cars, Volvo's XC60 SUV was the winner, a much-needed boost for the Chinese-owned Swedish car company as it aims to reassert itself into the American market.  

Ford's massive Lincoln Navigator SUV won, in the truck category, in part because of its towing capability, an awards representative said.

Some automakers tried to stand out with flash and glamour.

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger emerged from a redesigned Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV on Sunday night. GM brought out a redesigned Silverado on Saturday night against a backdrop of earlier models dating back decades -- emphasizing its roots in American history.

"Muscularity is very important in a truck," said GM's design chief Michael Simcoe, while introducing the Silverado.

At the same time, he said consumers are increasingly looking for luxury in trucks.

"We have customers who want luxury car levels of refinement and comfort," he said. "This is the fastest growing segment in the truck business."

As demand for batteries drives a surge in the price of cobalt, the Democratic Republic of Congo is gearing up to overhaul its mining regulations to harvest more profit from the coveted metal.

The global boom for smartphones and electric cars has pushed up the price of cobalt, a key ingredient in top-range batteries, to $75,000 (almost 63,000 euros) a tonne -- an increase of 127 percent in one year.

DR Congo is the world's leading producer of cobalt, where authorities consider the previous mining code to favour foreign investors at the expense of the economy.

The central African country is also the top African producer of copper, currently trading on the London Metal Exchange at more than $7,000 a tonne for the first time in three and a half years.

Congo's production of copper has rocketed from 27,000 tonnes in 2002 to more than a million tonnes today, according to the preamble to the new mining code.

The code should "make the mines a true motor of the development of the country", according to Minister of Mines Martin Kabwelulu, who has overseen the industry since February 2007.

From the Katanga provinces in the southeast to North and South Kivu on the eastern border via the central Kasai region, the subsoil is rich in gold, diamonds and coltan, another mineral used for electronic products and often cited as an illegal source of finance for conflict.

After many twists and turns, the Congolese government in December presented parliament with its revised version of the 15-year-old mining code, increasingly seen as detrimental to the interests of the state.

"The former code of 2002 was meant to be attractive for investors because then we were in a state of war," Henri Muhiya of the influential Roman Catholic episcopate told AFP, referring to the Second Congo War of 1998-2003.

"We've realised that the investors indeed came, but the profits weren't shared out in a fair way between them and the country," added Muhiya, the secretary of the natural resources commission of the episcopal conference, which has amended the text before parliament.

"We're going to try to find a balance," he said.

- Economic patriotism -

The new code, passed by the National Assembly and now in the hands of the Senate, provides for "a broadening of the base and the raising of mining royalties," according to Muhiya.

It sets out taxes of up to five percent on "strategic metals" -- most likely including cobalt -- and six percent on precious stones.

Kinshasa is introducing a form of economic patriotism by raising the stake of the state in the capital of mining companies and outsourcing tasks related to the industry "only to firms in which the majority of the capital is owned by Congolese nationals".

DR Congo authorities also want to ensure the repatriation of at least 40 percent of the revenue of minerals that are sold for export.

Multinational firms have fired back, charging that the new mining code would "significantly weaken the confidence of investors", in a joint letter to the speakers of both houses of parliament.

The protest was signed by the Congolese subsidiaries of giants in the sector, China Molybdenum, Rangold, the Swiss firm Glencore and MMG, an Australian-Chinese venture.

"Our partners have for 15 years -- these words aren't too strong -- cheated and stolen from us. That has to stop," the chief executive officer of the powerful Gecamines state mining firm, Albert Yuma, stormed in November.

- 'Regime cash machine' -

The DRC should control its mineral resources like "our Arab brothers have benefitted from the control of oil," said Yuma, leader of the national business community and close to President Joseph Kabila.

Kabila's second and last elected five-year mandate ended on December 20, 2016, but has been extended in a church-brokered deal at the cost of severe repression.

The vast money in mining has to be seen in the context of DR Congo's chronic reputation for corruption and the deep poverty that afflicts most of its 80 million citizens.

Reliable figures for turnover and employment in the mining industry are elusive in a country where much economic activity is unregistered and even the size of the population is unknown, given the absence of a recent census.

Last July the British NGO Global Witness described the mining sector as the regime's "cash machine" and its revenues were being wasted by a "toxic combination of corruption and mismanagement".

The number of new cars sold in Europe topped the 15-million mark for the first time in a decade in 2017, the bloc's industry body calculated in new data published Wednesday.

New car registrations rose for the fourth consecutive year, growing by 3.4 percent to 15.1 million units last year, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said in a statement.

The last time the number had exceeded that was in 2007 when a total 15.9 million new cars were registered.

In the wake of the global economic crisis of 2008, new car sales skidded to as low as 11.8 million in 2013, but have been on the rebound in recent years.

The strongest increases in sales last year were seen in Italy and Spain, where new registrations were up by 7.9 percent and 7.7 percent respectively.

Sales were up by 4.7 percent in France and by 2.7 percent in Germany, ACEA calculated.

By contrast, new cars sales slumped by 5.7 percent in Britain, the first decline in six years, as the country grapples with its decision to quit the EU.

In December alone, however, new car registrations were down by 4.9 percent across the EU as a whole, largely because there was one working day less than in December 2016.

Sales were down in almost all European markets in December, apart from Spain where new registrations were up 6.2 percent.

British car sales plummeted by 14.4 percent in December, ACEA calculated.

German giant Volkswagen remains Europe's biggest carmaker, commanding a market share of 23.6 percent, the data showed.

French group PSA, which makes Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands, saw its market share balloon to 15 percent from 8.9 percent after it recently acquired the German and British automakers Opel and Vauxhall from General Motors.

French rival Renault ranked third with a market share of 12.7 percent, the ACEA data showed.

Source: AFP

Speaking at the World Future Energy Summit’s Mobility Conference in Abu Dhabi, Gary D. West, Urban Active Operations Manager General Motors International, today reaffirmed General Motor’s commitment to contributing to an all-electric future with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.  

Sitting at the forefront of the future mobility revolution, General Motors has identified the four major pillars currently transforming the transportation sphere: in-vehicle connectivity, sharing, electrification and autonomous driving, according to West.

West also expanded on General Motors’ commitment to an all-electric future by discussing plans to launch two new all-electric vehicles in the next 18 months which will be the first of at least 20 new all-electric vehicles launching by 2023.

As part of General Motor’s electrification efforts in the region, Chevrolet is also taking part in the 2018 Global Electric Vehicle Road Trip (Global EVRT) taking place between January 18 and 26, 2018. As the Official Electric Vehicle Partner for this 1,217 kilometer cross-desert road trip between the UAE and Oman, Chevrolet is providing three new Chevrolet Bolt EVs, offering participants the opportunity to test drive the vehicle almost one year before it goes on sale in the region.  

Speaking at the Global Electric Vehicle Road Trip launch event, Molly Peck, Chief Marketing Officer General Motors Middle East, said “Firmly dedicated to furthering the knowledge and adoption of EVs in the region, we are thrilled to be part of the 2018 EVRT Middle East edition. We can’t wait for participants to get behind the wheel and experience the Chevrolet Bolt EV’s outstanding green credentials that combine innovative technologies and an unprecedented driving range of over 500km.”

Committed to playing a major role in the next chapter of the Middle East EV story, Chevrolet Middle East is gearing up to bring the Chevrolet Bolt EV to select markets across the region at the end of 2018 to form the backbone of the region’s electric vehicle fleets.

BMW, which has been losing ground in the US luxury market to Mercedes, is hoping to turn the tide with a spate of new SUV offerings.

At the Detroit Auto Show Monday, the Bavarian auto giant presented for the first time its new model X2, a smaller SUV -- part of a series of six new and upgraded SUV models the company is counting on to reignite growth in the US.

BMW in 2017 held onto its crown as the top global luxury carmaker ahead of Mercedes, thanks to strong gains by its British brand Mini.

But not counting the Mini, BMW-branded car sales have lagged those of Mercedes globally since 2016, and the situation has been especially severe in the United States, a key market for all luxury brands.

BMW, together with Mini, sold 405,000 cars in the US in 2015 -- about 30,000 more than Mercedes that year.

But after declining two years in a row, BMW sales last year came in at 354,000, almost 20,000 below Mercedes.

BMW Group chief financial officer Nicolas Peter told reporters Monday that the drop was due to a refresh of its US fleet and expressed confidence in a turnaround.

"We believe we'll see a slight growth in the US market in 2018," Peter said, pointing to the new SUV lineup and greater supply of the popular Five series of luxury sedans.

"The US market is an important market to us," he added.

The new offerings come as BMW finds itself competing not just with traditional rivals such as Mercedes, Toyota's Lexus and rising Volkswagen brand Audi, but also with electric carmaker Tesla.

"BMW took another hit in 2017," said Bertrand Rakoto, a Detroit-based analyst for Psycar."Their sales didn't actually fall that much, but part of the reason was due to heavy incentives."

BMW gave rebates of $5,400 per car in the US last year, far above the $3,800 average for all US cars, according to Automotive News, a US trade publication.

"That's a big rebate for a luxury brand," said Rakoto, who said the brand-new X2 could give BMW a boost.

"SUVs are so popular in the US, but you need a lot of different options to satisfy different markets," he said.

- Underwhelming designs -

Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer of the Center for Automotive Research said BMW became blinded by its own success.

"They became too cautious in terms of design," Dudenhoeffer said, deeming the conservative Series 2 Tourer a flop compared with its legacy of spiffy models.

"At the same time, Mercedes and others developed new ideas that were really innovative and interesting," Dudenhoeffer said.

Meanwhile, when BMW made the plunge to invest in electric cars with the i3 and i8 models, it opted for a carbon fiber material for the body that reduced weight, but was more costly than other options and gave little additional value to the customer, Dudenhoeffer said.

He added Tesla could represent "a real threat" to BMW and other luxury car makers if it succeeds in its ambitious production ramp-up. Whether Tesla reaches its targets is an open question at this point, but successful execution by the California company could ignite sales of electric cars, he said.

Last year, Tesla sold 55,000 vehicles in the United States, up from almost nothing five years ago and now as much as Porsche.

Among more conventional players, Lexus, the upscale brand of Toyota, is not far behind the German duo -- and after that stands another big German brand: Volkswagen's Audi, which has more than doubled its US sales in seven years, coming in at 227,000 in 2017.

Source: AFP

Renault sold a record number of cars last year, the French carmaker said Monday, with global unit sales reaching 3.76 million, a rise of 8.5 percent over 2016.

Volumes were up in all the world's regions. The Asia-Pacific region had the strongest sales increase at 17 percent, helped by a doubling of sales in China, followed by Eurasia with 16.6 percent.

European sales grew 5.6 percent.

"Our strategy of range renewal and geographic expansion is continuing to bring results," said Thierry Koskas, Renault's sales chief.

Last year was the fifth straight year of rising sales for the Renault group, which includes the Renault, Dacia, Alpine and Samsung Motors brands and, for the first time last year, Russian maker Lada.

"In 2018, we will pursue our growth and internationalisation," Koskas said in a statement.

A revamping of model ranges helped the Renault brand make progress, including a complete overhaul of the Megane family and the launch of the Koleos model.

Renault remained European market leader in the electric-vehicle segment with a market share of 23.8 percent, it said.

The carmaker said it expected further sales growth in 2018 in a global car market projected to rise by 2.5 percent.

The European car market and that in Renault's home country France are both expected to expand by one percent this year.

Source: AFP

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler (FCA), swatted down speculation Monday that he might sell the group's popular Jeep brand and forecasted a future strategic plan by June in anticipation of his retirement.

"We're not going to break up anything," Marchionne said during a question and answer session with reporters at the Detroit auto show. He also offered a firm "no," when asked if he might sell Jeep.

Wall Street has speculated that FCA might sell off or spin off some units, while also exploring alliances. The speculation sent the company's stock to a record high last week.

The retiring CEO also predicted that a new strategic plan would be announced by the end of June and followed with an announcement of who will be his successor.

Marchionne offered a spoiler: the next CEO would come from the ranks of the current C Suite.

"My successor is going to come out from those ranks," he said, adding that with only men currently occupying those positions, "it's going to be a male that will succeed me."

The company has been engaged in getting its financial house in order and paying down debts by 2018, he said, and will next present a new strategic plan by June 1. That date is the anniversary of Marchionne taking the helm at Fiat.

The outspoken CEO valued the recently passed US tax cuts as being worth approximately $1 billion for FCA. He said the cuts ensured an economic boost and offered more confidence in the future.

"That's exactly what we, as an auto maker in the United States, were waiting to hear. I think it facilitated a number of decisions that needed to be done."

Marchionne credited the cuts with his decision to move production of the company's popular Ram pickup back to the US. It had been sent to Mexico almost a decade ago.

"I think it should have never left. It belonged to this country," Marchionne said

Emirates Auction, the leading company in the field of management and organization of public and online auctions in the Middle East, launched the first online auction for distinguished vehicle number plates of Category (H) in the Emirate of Ajman yesterday. The auction includes 44 number plates that are available to bid on through its website and smartphone application.
HE Omar Matar Al Mannai, Executive Director of Emirates Auction, stated that the first online auction in Ajman includes a number of distinguished vehicle number plates, which include one double-digit number plate, 10 three-digit number plates, 16 four-digit plates and 17 five-digit number plates. The auction can be accessed through the company's website and smartphone applications. The auction was launched on Monday evening and will continue until January 27.

Al Mannai stated that the auction has been popular since it launched and that the distinguished number plates that are available are varied and appeal to different tastes. He added that the number plates from Category (H) are unique because they are only made available through public and online auctions, which provides an opportunity for everyone to acquire distinguished vehicle number plates through the latest and most transparent bidding systems in the world.
One of the most prominent number plates in the online auction is number 12, which is the only double-digit number plate available. Other prominent numbers in the auction are three-digit number plates such as 120, 707, 555, 313 and 990, four-digit number plates such as 1122, 1881 3663 and 8800, and five-digit number plates such as 10100, 11100, 91111, 11112 and other numbers that are available for bidding through the company's website www.emiratesauctions.com, or by downloading the Emirates Auction smartphone application through Apple Store or Google Play.

In November of 2017, Emirates Auction held the first public auction on vehicle number plates in the Emirate of Ajman. The auction raised Dh9.131 million from the sale of 50 distinctive number plates of category (H), with the presence of more than 850 people.

With a wave, Kinji Asamura summoned a riderless motorcycle to his side in the Yamaha booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

The concept electric motorcycle, called 'Motoroid,' then balanced in position, holding its place even when Asamura tried gently to push it over.

Nearby, a robot that might seem suited for a futuristic action film was astride a production model Yamaha super-bike that it had ridden at speeds topping 200 kilometers per hour on a test track.

"The motor bike is the recent past, and the Motoroid is the future," Yamaha spokesman John Boreland told AFP as he glanced from one two-wheeled creation to the other.

"The object is to see what lessons can be learned to connect machine to human more effectively."

The robot-ridden Yamaha motorcycle, called 'Motobot,' is fast but blind, relying on pre-programmed routes, according to Yamaha.

Lessons learned so far from the research model include that "human beings react a hell of a lot quicker," according to Boreland,

Flesh-and-blood riders have also proven better at grasping the courter-intuitive notion of counter-steering and leaning through turns, he added.

The Motoroid model boasted autonomous features such as balancing on its own, recognizing riders, and being summoned with a wave.

Wings on the back of the seat were designed with the help of a psychologist to gently squeeze a rider's lower back in a sort of reassuring caress at potentially perilous high speeds, Boreland said.

"Somewhere along the line, this will all meld together so you'll be part of the bike and it will figure things out for you," Boreland said of insights and advances resulting from the concept motorcycles, which are not for sale.

Source: AFP

Volkswagen introduced a redesigned Jetta on Sunday at the Detroit auto show, aiming to renew interest in the compact sedan after it was tarnished in the company's global emissions scandal.

One thing that might help: more car for less money.

VW revealed the bigger and cheaper 2019 Jetta with only an internal combustion engine, as the German automaker continues to distance itself from its diesel emissions affair.

Despite the changes, the new Jetta is born into the world facing an uphill battle. Although it remained VW's best-selling model in 2017, sales tumbled 4.4% to 115,808 vehicles, as Americans rapidly ditch small cars in favor of crossovers and SUVs. 

Unlike many of today's new vehicles — which fetched an average transaction price of $35,126 in 2017, according to Cox Automotive — the Jetta is priced to sell.

The vehicle carries a starting price of $18.545, or $100 less than the previous model.

Designers gave the new model a "coupe-like exterior" with a quickly sloping roofline. The new model gets a 1.4-liter engine with 147 horsepower and six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission.

It's slightly longer, wider and taller than its predecessor, too — which is not unexpected as Americans seek out roomier rides.Volkswagen itself has capitalized on the transition to bigger vehicles, introducing a redesined Tiguan and creating a new large SUV called the Atlas, which is an early hit after sales began in 2017.

But the Jetta is still central to the automaker's American lineup. The Jetta's new design includes a large front grille aimed at presenting what VW called "bold character."

The Jetta also gets several new safety features. They include a standard rearview camera and optional forward collision alert, emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control.The new Jetta hits dealerships in the second quarter, adding to the more than 3.2 million units sold to American customers since it debuted.

Source: AFP