 News of January 18, 1999
(the
 will lead you
to the full article)
Page 1 of 3
| Nine global automakers yesterday (January 12,
1999) announced the formation of a new trade association called the Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers. Company representatives include from left: |
- Thomas McGurn of BMW,
- George Peapples of General Motors,
- Jay Amestoy of Mazda,
- Jim Olson of Toyota,
- Bob Mercer of Volvo,
- Tim MacCarthy of Nissan,
- Joe Kennebeck of Volkswagen. Seated are
- Peter Pestillo of Ford, who is chairman of the Alliance
and
- Rob Liberatore of DaimlerChrysler, who is vice chairman.
|
Representatives of nine global automotive companies presenting the
charta of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturerers
|
 TH!NK Electric: Ford
invests in Norwegian Company |
| DETROIT, Mich., January 6, 1999 – Ford Motor Company is
taking a major step to jump-start the development of affordable small electric vehicles. Ford
has entered into an agreement to obtain controlling interest in Norwegian-based Pivco
Industries, the manufacturer of the two-passenger TH!NK electric city car. TH!NK debuted
at the European Electric Vehicle Show in Brussels, Belgium, last October, to widespread
acclaim from the automotive and environmental press.
TH!NK is a lightweight, plastic-bodied zero emission vehicle designed for customers who
want an environmentally friendly small car for commuting to and around the city.
|
Jac Nasser and the TH!NK car |
| Renault to
take 20% stake at Nissan Cupertino, Jan 17, 1999 (Automotive Intelligence)
– The French car producer Renault is assumed to take a 20% interest in the Japanese
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., as some business papers reported. Renault´s declared strategy is
to force globalization. Recent example is the take over of Romania´s automaker DACIA. The
cooperation with Nissan would allow to share manufacturing sources in overseas, where
Renault has almost no presence. The other main area of cooperation would be sales.
Nissan is known to have other talks with DaimlerChrysler concerning the sale of its
Nissan Diesel Motor company. As well as DaimlerChrysler and Ford is reported to be
interested to tie-up with Nissan. DaimlerChrysler is expected for talks next week in Tokyo
|
|
New showroom in Paris "Le Rendez-Vous Toyota" intends to support
Toyota’s new image Toyota (Nov. 5, 1998): Cars
will not be sold at this new French attraction on Champs-Elysées, whose main target is to
be a messenger of the new Toyota-Feeling. Toyota is targeting to the younger and also the
female client base. Responsible for the new campaign is Uniplan International in
Kerpen, Germany.
The new showroom appears not much like a classical car
showroom, but represents a new trend like the showrooms of Shiseido or Nike. It includes
- an Internet-café,
- a bistro with international cuisine,
- multimedia installations with interactive games,
- video programs and
- a Lexus-luxury-lounge.
During the whole year several events are planned, for example, the cable
TV station Paris Premiere will broadcast from the showroom on a regular basis. The cost
for this showroom targets DM 10 mill. Toyota´s 2003 sales target for Europe is
810.000 cars which means a European market share of 5%, an increase of 2% from 1998. |
 |
|
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Copyright Automotive Intelligence, www.autointell.com
All Rights Reserved .
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