Alcoa Launches Eight New Cast Aluminium Wheels
Alcoa Automotive has announced that it has launched eight new cast aluminium wheels for Nissan and Chrysler Group.
Alcoa Automotive has announced that it has launched eight new cast aluminium wheels for Nissan and Chrysler Group.
Schrader Electronics Ltd, part of Tomkins Industrial and Automotive Division, has been awarded the contract to supply remote tyre pressure monitoring systems (“RTPMS”) to Mercedes starting in 2006.
ACEA figures for 2003 passenger car sales hardly make good reading for European car manufacturers. The only country to show significant sales increases in 2003 was Finland, with an increase of around 30,000 units. Portugal’s drop in sales though of almost 27,000 almost wipes out that gain. Despite claims in the UK of a good year for car sales, the actual figure shows only a 0.6 per cent increase. Overall the market in Western Europe shows a fall of 1.3 per. Looking at vehicle manufacturer sales the only western manufacturer to make any gains has been BMW with a meagre 1.4 per cent increase in sales, largely generated by sales of the Mini. For all the other groups it is bad news, with sales down between 1.3 and 10.2 per cent (the latter at the long ailing Fiat Group). Japanese and Korean manufacturers though can smile as sales for all bar Suzuki and Mitsubishi are all on the increase, with Nissan and Mazda performing particularly well, and Korean manufacturer Kia making an incredible comeback from the brink of extinction.
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The Japanese car makers Honda and Nissan have decided to bring new models onto the American market that are to be equipped with Michelin’s PAX system, writes Modern Tire Dealer referring to an announcement made earlier this week at the Detroit Auto Show. The French tyre manufacturer hopes to achieve a bigger share on the market. The PAX system itself will be produced in the United States.
A ballot for strike action at the Nissan car plant in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, is under way after Nissan management refused to hold talks with the Amicus Trade union over compulsory re-location of the company’s purchasing department. Balloting of workers in the purchasing department could mean that Nissan are faced with the threat of strike action for the first time in the plant’s history. The result of the strike ballot is expected on 8th December.
Neil Burrows (44) has been appointed to the newly-created role of Marketing Director for Goodyear Dunlop UK. He joins the company from Nissan Europe,
where he was responsible for advertising and brand management across Europe. Before this he was Marketing Director of Nissan (GB).
European and US car manufacturers are catching up with their Japanese counterparts in Europe in terms of productivity. Toyota, Honda and Nissan averaged 87.5 cars per worker, in a report issued by the World Markets Research Centre – the European average is 58.6 cars/worker. But the gap is narrowing; Europe-based Japanese companies improved productivity by 5.4 per cent last year, while the improvement average for non-Japanese European manufacturers was 7 per cent.
Three years ago, Nissan had debts of 2,100 billion Yen ($17.4 billion) but the company has recently announced a cash surplus of 8 billion Yen. Last year’s operating profit was a record 737 billion Yen (5.5 bn Euros); an increase of over 50 per cent. Net profit was up 33 per cent, at 495 billion Yen (3.7 bn Euros). In addition, Nissan’s operating margin of 10.8 per cent is the highest in the industry. Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn forecast higher operating profits and increased unit sales for the year ahead.
In 1999, Nissan told its suppliers that they had to reduce prices if they wanted to keep the car manufacturer’s business. Since then Nissan has achieved a turnaround, achieving its 20 per cent cost cutting target a year earlier than planned. Despite this, Nissan has asked suppliers for a further 15 per cent cost cut and some have reacted angrily, pointing out that Nissan made a record net profit of $3.2 billion last year.
Car manufacturers Renault and Nissan strengthened their ties with the announcement that the French car maker is to raise its equity stake in Nissan from the present 36.8 per cent to 44.4 per cent, at a cost of 215.9 billion Yen (1.84 billion Euro). Nissan will take a 15 per cent in Renault later on this year.
The market for off road vehicles is constantly changing; also the market for suitable tyres and wheels. In the 80s Japanese car makers Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki, Mitsubishi and Honda created this market with 4 wheel drive vehicles able to be used on rough terrain. Now the 4×4 cars have become more suitable for use on the streets and the term Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), replaces the former “Off Road Vehicle”. Car manufacturers like Ford, Chrysler, BMW and Mercedes have discovered that this has become more than just a niche market. Explorer, Cherokee, X5 and M-class are closer to luxury cars than those for use off the beaten track. Some tyre manufacturers have developed their off-road programme in this direction, whilst others have directly used the platform of existing passenger car tyres for this new generation of vehicles. The 4×4 tyre market will grow within the next few years as a lucrative market segment for the tyre industry, tyre dealers and also for the light alloy wheel business. Typical consumers in the 80s, with sparsely-equipped Suzukis, were not able to invest much money in tyres and wheels, but nowadays drivers of these cars are members of a more affluent society. The trends are very similar to passenger cars, with sizes becoming larger, faster, V, W, Y and Z speed ratings and higher load indices.
Nissan has made the decision to build its new Micra model at its Sunderland, UK, factory, rather than France, following approval of a 40 million Pound grant. The news is expected to secure 500 jobs at the plant and has been welcomed by the Government as evidence of Nissan’s long-term commitment to the north east. It is thought that Nissan will demand that, in the future, more of its component suppliers for cars made at Sunderland submit invoices in Euro rather than Sterling.
Japanese car producer Nissan is investing 930 million US-Dollars in a new plant in Canton (Mississippi). Construction began at the beginning of April. The new plant will have a production capacity of 250,000 cars per annum and employ 4,000 people.
As announced in a press conference in Tokyo, car manufacturer Suzuki will supply 3,000 so called minicars a month to Nissan from 2002 onwards. With this agreement Nissan will enter the small car segment – with a maximum capacity of 660 cc – which already has a market share of 30 percent in Japan.
General Motors, which currently uses Firestone tyres as OE equipment on some 14 different models will be changing some cars and trucks to other Bridgestone brands this summer. Nissan will be dropping Firestone from its US Altima saloon when it relaunches in September. Both manufacturers stressed that the tyres they use were not connected with the Ford/Firestone recall troubles. However, GM’s Terry Rhadigan says,” We want our customers to have peace of mind.”
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