Japanese auto companies extend plant shutdowns

Japanese auto companies are extending shutdowns of plants affected by the country's devastating earthquake and tsunami, but some parts factories in Japan will resume production later this week.

Toyota Motor Corp. says it will extend production halts at Japanese plants through March 22, affecting about 95,000 vehicles. The company suspended production beginning March 14.

But the world's biggest automaker is resuming production Thursday at factories that make replacement parts for vehicles already on the road.

Nissan Motor Co. is resuming production at two plants on Thursday and Friday for as long as its inventory of parts lasts. Three other Nissan plants are halting production until Sunday.

Automakers in Japan have shut production to assess damage at factories, ports and roads.

Style over Power

The Ford Escort has been roaming the streets of Europe since 1961, however, North American was introduced to this vehicle in 1981. This was crafted basically after inspiration hit over the success of its European model. And if the Ford Escort has been a success in Europe, it has well been another success for the Ford Motor Company, its manufacturer, with its introduction to the US.

This vehicle shares most of its parts with the European Ford Escort Mk 3. However, this vehicle, the Ford Escort of North America, bears a design and styling that is different from its European counterpart. When it was introduced, Ford made certain that it was available in two body styles that comprised of the 3-door hatchback and the wagon that sported four doors. It was also manufactured in five trim levels that include the base, the L, the GL, the GLX, and the SS. This vehicle come equipped with a small engine that starts with the 1.6 liter 68 hp upon its introduction, up until the 2.0 liter 130 hp engine that was mounted on the final version of the Ford Escort – the Ford Escort ZX2. What was standard was a 4-speed manual transmission, and given as an option was the 3-speed automatic transmission.

California firm to sell China-made electric cars

A startup California developer of electric cars said Wednesday its first model will be manufactured in China and go on sale in the United States this year.

CODA Automotive Inc.'s four-door sedan will be produced by a Chinese partner based on one of its models that has been adapted for electric drive and to meet U.S. safety standards, said CODA's CEO, Philip F. Murtaugh. He said CODA will produce batteries in China with another partner and supply technology and engineering skills.

CODA plans to begin sales in California this year and expects to sell 10,000 to 14,000 vehicles in its first 12 months, said Murtaugh, a former chairman of General Motors China who joined Santa Monica-based CODA last month.

"I'm very confident we will launch our vehicle in the second half of this year," he said in an interview with a group of reporters.

If it can meet that deadline, CODA could become one of the first companies to sell a Chinese-made car in the United States following announcements by several brands of plans for such sales. CODA has postponed previously announced sales timelines, but Murtaugh said it should be able to stick to its latest schedule.

CODA's plans and the unusual structure of its manufacturing partnership expand on fast-growing ties between auto companies in the United States and China, the world's two biggest vehicle markets.

Carmakers focus on green power as fuel costs rise

Just when carmakers thought it safe to roll out new models in the wake of the economic crisis - 170 premiers are advertised for the Geneva Auto Show opening this week - a spike in fuel prices has cast a new shadow over the industry and redoubled attention on green technologies.

Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it is boosting its offering of low-emissions technologies and will have five alternative powertrains to market in Europe by 2013.

Stephen Odell, the chief of Ford Europe, told reporters that the new powertrains will include hybrid, pure electric and plug-in hybrid technologies.

Fuel prices, driven sharply higher in the past month by tensions in the Middle East, have raised worries that consumers may shy away again from buying a new vehicle.

"With our capabilities in regular combustion engines and with five electric vehicles in production we are well placed," Odell said.

February auto sales seen up but oil risk looms

U.S. auto sales are expected to show a gain of about 20 percent from the still-depressed levels of a year earlier in February, but the recent rise in oil prices could slow or even derail the industry's recovery, analysts and industry executives say.

Major automakers are set to report auto sales data for February on Tuesday.

The sales results represent one of the first snapshots of U.S. consumer demand, and the February data are expected to show steady demand without evidence of the kind of accelerating turnaround that some analysts had forecast.

For the fifth consecutive month, the annualized sales rate is expected to hold above 12 million vehicles in February.

The average forecast of 41 economists surveyed by Reuters was 12.6 million vehicles on that basis for February, about flat from the sales rate in December and January.

Ford Motor Co's sales analyst George Pipas said the consistent pace of sales was encouraging even though there was a risk that the recovery might not find a higher gear as quickly as expected.

"I think this could be seen as the base for an increase in sales in spring and summer, potentially," Ford Motor Co's sales analyst George Pipas told reporters in a briefing Monday. "Maybe there are things like oil that could jeopardize that."

U.S. crude futures have pulled back from highs above $100 per barrel but investors remain concerned about the security of oil supplies from the Middle East.

Court: Family can sue Mazda over seat belt death

The Supreme Court will let Mazda be sued in California courts in case involving a woman who died while wearing a seat belt across her lap in her family's minivan.

The high court in a unanimous judgment Wednesday agreed to let the lawsuit go forward, despite complaints from the car company that federal regulators gave it an option on whether to install lap belts or lap-and-shoulder belts in the middle seats in the back of the van.

Thanh Williamson's family wants to sue Mazda Motor of America Inc. because it made its 1993 Mazda MPV minivan with only lap seat belts in the middle seat of the van's second row. Williamson, who was from Utah, died in a 2002 accident; her family says her body jackknifed around the lap belt causing fatal internal injuries.

Federal regulations require lap-and-shoulder belts for the front seats and the rear outer seats but give companies an option on the rear middle or aisle seats. The Williamsons want a court to say that Mazda was negligent for not putting the lap-and-shoulder belts on the inner seats on its own.

But Mazda said it is immune from lawsuits because the federal government in 1989 gave it a choice of installing either lap or lap-and-shoulder seat belts in the middle rear seat. A lawsuit forcing them to use lap-and-shoulder belts, the company said, would invalidate the choice being offered by the regulation.

GM head vows to focus on China

China will play a much bigger role in General Motors Co.'s plans including clean energy vehicles as it moves to capitalize further on rapid growth in the world's largest auto market, the company's CEO said Tuesday.

Calling China "the crown jewel in the GM universe," Chief Executive Daniel Akerson said the automaker plans to launch more than 20 new or redesigned cars in China over the next two years.

"China is central to our global strategy," he said at a news conference. "We want to understand the preferences that the China market wants. We bring our best designs, best technology to China."

GM sold more cars and trucks in China last year than it did in the U.S. for the first time in the company's 102-year history. An expansion of sales into provincial cities helped the company sell 2.35 million vehicles in China in 2010, up 29 percent from the previous year.

Mazda Motor tumbles to quarterly loss

TOKYO (AP) -- Mazda Motor Corp. sank into the red in the October-December quarter, unable to overcome a stronger yen and lackluster sales in Japan.

The Japanese automaker said Thursday it booked a quarterly net loss of 2.67 billion yen ($32.7 million). It had net profit of 4.42 billion yen a year earlier.

Revenue inched up 0.5 percent to 560.24 billion yen ($6.9 billion) while operating profit slid 90 percent to 1.05 billion yen ($12.9 million).

Demand for cars in Japan fell sharply in the quarter after government subsidies for green car purchases expired, Mazda said. It also cited foreign exchange losses and higher sales costs.

The Hiroshima-based car maker said it is implementing steps to boost profitability across the company, including expanding sales in China, Thailand and other emerging markets.

Mazda, whose models include the Miata roadster and RX-8 sportscar, is a relatively small player in the auto industry, with a 5 percent market share in Japan and a 2 percent share in the U.S.

In December, Ford cut its stake in Mazda from 11 percent to 3.5 percent, marking a symbolic shift in a longtime U.S.-Japan auto alliance.

In contrast to bigger rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., Mazda is taking a slower path when it comes to hybrid and electric cars. It has high hopes for its next-generation gasoline and diesel engines that feature significantly improved fuel efficiency. The technology will make its debut this year in the Demio, which can reach 30 kilometers per liter (75 miles per gallon).

Mazda left its outlook for the year ending March 2011 unchanged. It continues to forecast net profit of 6 billion yen on revenue of 2.3 trillion yen.

The company reported earnings after financial markets closed. In trading Thursday, Mazda's shares fell 2.5 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, worse than the Nikkei 225 stock average's 0.3 percent decline.

Mazda bases its earnings on Japanese accounting standards.

Honda Civic remains top seller

You can't tell from recent sales figures that Honda's long-running Civic small car is months away from a new, ninth-generation model debut. The current, 2011 Civic is selling fine, even setting a record for December sales at year-end 2010.

Honda's 2011 Civic retains the successful formula that has made the Civic a perennial top 10 seller in the United States - a reputation for reliability, good fit and finish, a selection of engines and transmissions, interior comfort and good fuel economy. Pricing isn't a bargain, however.

Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, is $16,355 for a base, 2011 Civic DX coupe with 140-horsepower, four-cylinder engine and manual transmission. The lowest starting price for a 2011 Civic sedan with the same 140-horse engine and manual is $16,555. Prices go up to $27,900 for the top, leather- and navigation-equipped 2011 Civic gas-electric hybrid model.

Competitors include the 2011 Toyota Corolla, which starts at $16,360 for a sedan with 132-horsepower, four-cylinder engine and manual transmission, and the new, 2012 Ford Focus, which starts at $16,995 for a sedan with 140-horsepower, four-cylinder engine and manual transmission. Pricewise, the 2011 Hyundai Elantra sedan, with a 148-horsepower, four-cylinder engine and manual transmission, undercuts the Civic and others with a starting retail price of $15,550.

Chrysler projects profitable 2011 ahead of IPO

(Reuters) - Chrysler Group LLC forecast a return to profit for 2011 as it gears up for an initial public offering in the second half of the year and launches an array of new and revamped vehicle models to stimulate its recovery.

The automaker, which is managed and 25 percent owned by Fiat SpA, on Monday projected net income between $200 million and $500 million for 2011. It expects its 2011 revenue to jump by nearly one-third to $55 billion.

Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has said Chrysler must report a "couple" quarters of net income before its expected IPO this year. The company must also refinance high-interest government loans for lower-cost debt before a public offering.

Chrysler, the No. 5 automaker by sales in the United States, emerged from a U.S. government-funded bankruptcy in mid-2009.

Kia Motors' 2010 net profit, sales hit records

SEOUL, South Korea Kia Motors says annual net profit and sales surged to all-time highs last year as it sold a record number of vehicles.

Kia said Friday that it earned 2.25 trillion won ($2.02 billion) in 2010. That was a gain of 55 percent from 1.45 trillion won the year before.

Revenue rose 26 percent to 23.3 trillion won. Global sales volume increased 39 percent to 2.13 million vehicles.

Company spokeswoman Pamela Munoz said the annual net profit, revenue and vehicle sales figures were all Kia's best ever. She said operating profit was also a record.

Kia Motors Corp. is South Korea's second-biggest automaker after Hyundai Motor Co. Together they form the world's fifth-largest automaker.

Nissan plant keeps Japan jobs, sends green message

YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) -- The Leaf electric car is rolling down the bustling assembly line at Nissan's Oppama plant, taking the place of a gasoline engine compact whose production was moved abroad last year.

The Oppama plant in the Tokyo suburb of Yokosuka is a showcase for Nissan Motor Co.'s ambitions to be a leader in green auto technology. And the plant, shown to reporters Tuesday, is good publicity for the company amid recent moves by Japanese automakers including Nissan to send production and jobs overseas.

The Leaf, which started being delivered in late 2010, replaces the March subcompact whose production was moved to Thailand last year - the first case of a mass-selling model from a major Japanese automaker being produced overseas and then being imported back for sale in Japan.

In the same way that Detroit has lost auto jobs in the last few decades, moving production abroad is a growing shift among Japanese automakers. They have felt more urgency to cut costs lately because of the surging yen, which makes Japan's exports more expensive overseas.

But Nissan Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga says it's important to keep auto production in Japan, even though it's easier to make short-term profits with overseas production.

He points out the Leaf, which sells for under 3 million yen ($36,000) with government subsidies in Japan, is worth about three times the March, ensuring more value for Japanese production.

The Leaf's suggested retail price including destination charge in the U.S. is $33,600. Some states offer incentives and rebates for the electric car, and a taxpayer can claim a $7,500 federal tax credit for purchasing a Leaf in the U.S.

"We cannot allow Japan's manufacturing prowess to be rotted away, just because of the high yen," Shiga told reporters earlier this week.

Models packed with new technology like the Leaf could be the answer.

Toyota sold 8.4M vehicles in 2010 to hold top spot

TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota sold 8.42 million vehicles globally in 2010, narrowly remaining the world's top automaker ahead of General Motors amid recall woes in the key North American market.

GM also released a new tally Monday for its global 2010 sales, at 8.39 million vehicles, slightly fewer than Toyota's number, but a dramatic 12 percent rebound from 7.48 million vehicles the year before.

The race between the two giants appears to be getting close, with the chance the tables could be turned, seeing GM once again rising to the top.

"General Motors is going strong, and it's a sure sign of its re-emergence," said Yasuaki Iwamoto, auto analyst with Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, Toyota wasn't showing much growth in North America - and growing slower in China than GM - partly because it lacks the U.S. automaker's extensive model lineup such as large-size sedans, he said.