The fate of General Motors’ Opel brand has yet to be decided, but Carl-Peter Forster – GM’s Europe president – feels that Magna is the leading bidder for the German brand. Canadian supplier Magna is currently in a bidding war with Belgian investor RHJ International for the Opel brand.
Read the rest of this entry »

Honda’s global production in 2008 rose to a record high with booming demand in China offsetting sluggish sales in the United States and Europe, while worldwide output by Toyota slumped for the first time in seven years.

Japan’s No. 2 automaker said Wednesday it rolled out a record 3.96 million vehicles, up 1.2 percent year-on-year.
Read the rest of this entry »

Hyundai’s Kia brand was considered an also-ran automaker just a few years ago, but the Korean automaker has really been stepping up its efforts as of late. Kia will continue that push with a host of new technologies in the coming years, with the first showing up in European markets later this year.
Read the rest of this entry »