BMW posted record car sales for 2011 and forecast that a boom in luxury cars would keep it ahead of rivals this year as the world's biggest maker of premium cars enjoys strong demand from China and the United States.
President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Jonathan Browning told journalists the company will use global resources and a focus on the U.S. is a global (company) priority.
Hyundai Motor Co's Elantra won car of the year honors at the Detroit auto show on Monday, a marketing boost for the car with the fastest sales growth in the Korean automaker's line-up.
Audi, the premium car brand of Volkswagen , posted record sales in 2011 as demand for luxury cars in China and Russia helped it gain ground on bigger rivals like BMW and Daimler's Mercedes-Benz.
The Elantra beat out other finalists the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Passat to win the honor. The Land Rover Evoque won the truck of the year award. The car and truck of the year awards, in a 19th year, are chosen by 50 automotive journalists. To be eligible, a vehicle must be all new or substantially changed. Finalists for the truck of the year award included the BMW X3, Honda CR-V and the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque.
The Elantra beat out competing finalists Volkswagen Passat and the Ford Focus to claim the honor at the open of the 2012 North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center. Media days for the Detroit auto show began Monday morning, before it opens to the public on Jan. 14.
German exports bounced back in November boosting the country's trade surplus, a sign that Europe's largest economy may avoid a sharp slowdown in contrast to France which is expected to have run up a record trade deficit in 2011.
Volkswagen aims to sell more than half a million cars in the United States for the first time in 39 years, the company said on Sunday, building on its last year's global volume that topped the 8 million mark.
It's about sustainability of profits, and sustainability through efficient products that contribute to both the broader environment and consumer benefit that will be at the heart of every automaker's presentations. America's Big Three, in particular, have revealed they are still among the biggest and best global forces to be reckoned with through profitability and strong, advanced product in the past year or two.
BMW grabbed the top spot in the U.S. luxury auto market in 2011, edging out Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz brand, as both German automakers took advantage of inventory problems for Toyota Motor Corp's Lexus lineup.
Claims against Porsche
and Volkswagen filed with a German court have reached 1.8 billion euros ($2.3 billion), the court said, as compensation demands pile up for allegedly holding back crucial information from shareholders.BMW AG has sealed its position as the most successful luxury brand in the U.S. in 2011 by outselling Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz last month.
As one analyst said, the U.S. market isn't the cash cow it once was, but it's still a mature and profitable market, as opposed to more volatile emerging markets, or stagnant ones in Europe, said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with the consulting firm IHS Automotive, according to The New York Times.
The United States auto industry put a cap on its best year since crumbling to unforeseen depths in 2008, as the Big Three auto companies all reported strong December sales that met or exceeded analyst estimates.
An App of the Year doesn't deserve the title until POTUS joins the fray. President Barack Obama, arguably the first Technophile in Chief, joined picture sharing social network Instagram the night of the Iowa Caucuses. The move signals Obama's continued reliance on social media to connect with younger voters who were integral in his 2008 electoral victory.
Automakers ended the year with strong U.S. sales but forecast lower growth in 2012, as a sluggish economic recovery is expected to continue.
German car sales rose 6.1 percent in December as consumers brushed off an uncertain economic environment and bought more compact cars, high-margin vans and luxury saloons.
From farmers who swapped fields for cash to 20-something CEOs that inherited the family business, hot new money is flooding India's luxury car market as roaring sportscar engines announce the country's growing wealth on its roads.
Fuel-efficient cars and a slew of new SUV models will be unveiled at Delhi's Auto Expo later this week as global carmakers continue to rev up their activity in one of the world's few growth engines despite a recent slowdown in sales.
Pop artist and Brooklyn native James Rizzi died Monday in his SoHo, New York art studio from a heart condition at the age of 61, according to a statement written by manager Alexander Lieventhal, an executive at Art 28 GmbH & Co. in Stuttgart, Germany, which manages and sells Rizzi's work.
The backlash against twenty-four-hour connectivity has started.
Volkswagen has agreed to grant workers in Germany a rest from e-mails relentlessly filling the inboxes of their Blackberry devices out of hours.
