DETROIT – More problems for Toyota. It’s agreeing not to contest the record fine that NHTSA slapped on it. It faces yet another hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives next month about unintended acceleration, this time by Henry Waxman. And it got hit by yet another recall. The company says the cable that holds on the spare tire on the Sienna minivan could rust and the spare could fall off, creating a major road hazard.
And finally some Toyota news that’s not negative. Bloomberg reports that Toyota is going to come out with a hybrid minivan based on the Prius. It will have three rows of seats, use lithium-ion batteries and will be out next year. It will be the first of a family of new models that will be sold under the Prius name.
And here is an eye-popping headline for everyone who follows the supplier industry. Delphi is profitable once again in North America. Ward?s reports that after four years in bankruptcy, Delphi is back in the black and ready to grow again. It quotes Delphi’s chairman Rodney O’Neill as saying the company managed to snare $89 billion in new business over the coming years. He expects sales to grow from $11 billion this year to over $15 billion in the next two years. And says Delphi will invest 11 percent of its revenues in R&D, which is an extremely high percentage rate.
Earlier this month we reported that Geely was looking to position Volvo as China?s brand of choice for its government officials, and it looks like that could happen thanks to a new mandate. According to Gasgoo, the Chinese government is expected to mandate that more than 50 percent of government fleet purchases be from domestic brands. And the new guidelines will also exclude most vehicles made by joint ventures. China is expected to pay 100 billion yuan or about $14.5 billion on vehicles this year. Currently Audi is the brand of choice among China’s government officials.
To view this video podcast, or read the transcript, click on AutoLineDaily
a>>
