(March 11, 2014) MUNICH — With 141,093 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles delivered worldwide, a 5.6 percent gain over February 2013, the BMW Group achieved its best-ever February sales result. A record number of 273,999) automobiles have been delivered to customers since the start of the year, an increase of 6.6 percent  compared with the same period last year.

(March 11, 2014) ROCKLEIGH, N.J. — Volvo Car Group has completed a research project using magnets in the roadway to help the car determine its position. The research, which has been financed in strategic co-operation with the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), is a potential key to the implementation of self-driving vehicles.

(March 10, 2014) Volvo Cars has won a coveted "hat-trick" of awards after its new Concept Estate concept car was named "Car of the Show" by several international media.

Autoblog.com, the respected automotive online commentary site, stated: “You don't have to be a crazy car guy to appreciate that … Volvo is in the middle of a new golden era of automotive design right now." Publications in the UK and the Netherlands reserved similar praise on the Concept Estate, further cementing the car’s status as one of the stars of the 2014 Geneva Motor Show.

(March 10, 2014) HANOVER, Germany — The automobile is approaching a new era of digitalization which will have fundamental impact on the mobility of the future. “The two ground-breaking inventions, the automobile and the computer, are moving closer together. We need to shape the mobility of the future in an even more intelligent, more networked way,” said Dr. Martin Winterkorn, the chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen, at the opening ceremony of CeBIT 2014 in Hanover, one of the premier events in the worldwide digital industry.

(March 10, 2014) DEARBORN, Mich. — William Clay Ford, who helped steer Ford Motor Company into the modern era as an employee, director and influential member of the Ford family, died this morning at his home from pneumonia. Ford, 88, served as drector emeritus and was the last surviving grandchild of the company’s founder, Henry Ford.

(March 10, 2014) BRENTWOOD, UK — Ford has achieved a landmark double victory in the Arctic Van Test — one of the most grueling tests of vehicle performance on the planet. The all-new Ford Transit and the all-new Ford Transit Connect finished first in their respective classes after competing in the punishing five-day ordeal that subjects vehicles and drivers to extreme challenges in ice, cold and snow, in the frozen north of Finland — where temperatures can drop as low as -58 degrees.

(March 10, 2014) AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chrysler Group is recalling 25,250 SUVs to improve pedal feel during certain aggressive braking maneuvers.
 
A supplier raised concerns about the performance of a component that accommodates Ready Alert Braking, a Chrysler Group safety system that primes brakes for optimal response when making a sudden stop. Brake function was neither lost nor out of compliance with regulation, but pedal feel was not consistent with customer expectations.

(March 9, 2014) David Beckham has joined Jaguar as a brand ambassador and will support significant forthcoming Jaguar product launches in China. British sporting icon Beckham will feature in above-the-line marketing campaigns for the brand in one of its most significant international markets.

(March 7, 2014) GENEVA — When the Lexus LF-NX concept was introduced last year at the Frankfurt and Tokyo Motor Shows, customer feedback was positive. Customers who liked the LF-NX will be happy to know the production version, NX, derived from the concept (shown below), will be revealed at the 2014 Beijing International Auto Show next month. 

(March 8, 2014) AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Taxi Electric will be the first private taxi company to add the new 100-percent electric Nissan e-NV200 taxi to its green-energy zero-emission fleet. The combination of Nissan's zero-emission technology, in the form of the 100-percent electric Nissan Leaf, and Taxi Electric's ground-breaking city transportation model have been a recipe for success since the start of operation in 2011.