SEAT - automotive industry company news

SPAIN: Leon Mexico launch boosts SEAT’s rising share

24 May 2013

Volkswagen’s Spanish affiliate SEAT has launched the new Leon in Mexico, a move designed to strengthen the brand's strategy for international growth and profitability.

PRODUCT EYE: Lexus tries again with new IS

23 May 2013

A colleague who shall remain nameless asked, among fellow journalists, the rhetorical question during the European launch of the third generation IS: given the success of Audi, BMW and Mercedes on home European turf, why does Lexus bother?

AUSTRALIA: Ford to end local manufacture in 2016

23 May 2013

After announcing an after-tax operating loss of A$141m for the 2012 financial year, following a A$290m loss in 2011, Ford has finally thrown in the manufacturing towel in Australia and will close its factories in 2016.

US: Harman delivers NTG5 infotainment system for Mercedes-Benz S Class

21 May 2013

Harman says it has delivered the new NTG5 infotainment system for Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicles.

Q&A with Magna Seating

20 May 2013

Seat manufacturers must develop seats that are lighter, offer more space for occupants and incorporate environmentally friendly materials. Yet space creation inside the vehicle has become critical with the explosion of added content and features. Discerning tastes also mean consumers want more flexible living space within their cars. To find out how Magna Seating is meeting these demands, Matthew Beecham talked with three of the company’s top executives, namely Randy Koenigsknecht, VP Sales & Marketing, Jeff Lambert, VP Engineering and Global IT Services, Dino Nardicchio, Executive Director, Advanced Engineering and Consumer Interface Products.

US: Honda to make NSX in Ohio from 2015

14 May 2013

Honda's Acura unit said the new NSX hybrid supercar would be produced at a new 'Performance Manufacturing Center' in Ohio, a US$70m production facility of 184,000 sq ft to be housed inside the automaker's former North American logistics facility alongside existing R&D and production engineering operations.

FRANKFURT PREVIEW: Global debuts list [Peugeot 308 & Volvo VEA engine family added]

13 May 2013

The media days for the Frankfurt motor show are 10 & 11 September. Each time a vehicle or concept world premiere is confirmed for this biennial event, our preview list is updated.

Q&A with Lear Corporation: Review of vehicle seating

10 May 2013

Back in the 1970s, a car seat was a functional component with few or no added value features. Nowadays, with drivers spending more time in their car on longer commutes, they expect a comfortable ride. Matthew Beecham caught up with three top executives of Lear Corp to hear how the seat has become an integral part of the car’s overall design and appeal in the showroom. Here, Ryan Burns, Lear’s Vice President of Global Seat Engineering led the discussion with contributions from Karl Henn, Director of Seating Engineering and R&D and Mandy Sarotte, Vice President of Global Trim Sales.

BARCELONA SHOW: Global debuts [Final list]

10 May 2013

The media day for the Barcelona motor show was 9 May. Our preview list is now republished as an historic record of the vehicles which were global debuts.

GERMANY: BMW recalls vehicles over Takata airbag issues

10 May 2013

BMW is recalling some 220,000 vehicles worldwide from model years 2002 and 2003 as part of a wider recall affecting airbags made by supplier Takata. The BMW recall follows those announced by Japanese OEMs.

COMMENT: Can we stop talking about EV start-ups, please?

9 May 2013

Far too many analysts and writers have spent time covering electric cars by focusing overly on start-up automakers that formed to grab a piece of the emerging market for plug-in cars.

PAKISTAN: Toyota Boshoku to establish Pakistan JV

9 May 2013

Toyota Boshoku has concluded an agreement to establish a joint venture in Pakistan with Pakistani automotive component maker, Thal, and Toyota Tsusho.

PRODUCT EYE: Now entering new niche - BMW's 3 GT

8 May 2013

There's lots of talk these days from auto industry executives about entering new segments or niches. From BMW - and arch-rival Audi - there's less talk and more action; we've seen a vast expansion of both luxury brands' offerings over the last three decades and, especially from BMW, there is more to come after this latest: the 3 Series GT.

GERMANY: Bosch adds “SplitView” technology for the Mercedes E Class

8 May 2013

Mercedes and Bosch have developed a 'SplitView' TFT display screen that uses different viewing angles to display two different programs on one monitor simultaneously.

GERMANY: New car sales climb 3.8%, 11% in Spain

7 May 2013

Sales of new cars in Germany, Europe’s biggest market, grew 3.8% to 284,400 vehicles last month compared with 273,900 in April 2012. It was the first increase for six months and the biggest since December 2011 according to industry data.

THE WEEK THAT WAS: Once more to the toy shop, brothers!

3 May 2013

Those three of you who peruse every bit of just-auto's home page every day will probably already know The Editorial Team had our annual Fun Day Out this week, courtesy of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Test Day. I've been going, on and off, sice 1987 and the agenda follows a refreshingly familar, welll-proven and immensely popular programme which I believe is unique to the UK auto industry. After earlier using other venues, the SMMT nowadays books Millbrook, the former Vauxhall Proving Ground (founded 1968), almost every importer/manufacturer shows up with the allocated six cars, caterers lay out a fine breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea - and we show up and go nuts.

PRODUCT EYE: Audi A3 Sportback

29 April 2013

It seems hardly a month goes by when there isn’t one new form or another of the new Audi A3 being announced. Glenn Brooks, who attended the UK launch of the Sportback, looks at what's ahead for the local importer's best selling model.

CHINA: Kongsberg Automotive wins China seats business

26 April 2013

Kongsberg Automotive’s Interior Systems division has announced that is to supply it pneumatic seat support systems and seat heat systems to two different luxury SUVs in the Chinese market.

SHANGHAI: Design teams clash over Ford Escort show car

22 April 2013

Ford is having something of an internal spat over the credit for its Shanghai show car, according to The Australian newspaper.

SPAIN: Jurgen Stackmann to replace James Muir as SEAT chairman

16 April 2013

The Volkswagen Group is reshuffling the senior management of SEAT, by appointing Jürgen Stackmann as the new division's new chairman as at 1 May. James Muir, the incumbent, will assume a senior management function within the Volkswagen Group and will report direct to the Board of Management.

PRODUCT EYE: Localised Leaf launches

12 April 2013

Nissan Europe suits liken the Leaf EV update - now 'localised' for and built in Europe - as a bit like an iPhone or iPad upgrade: looks much the same on the outside but new goodies lurk therein. And there was a big pricing surprise to announce as well.

COMMENT: Latest big recall on airbags not good for Toyota or Takata

11 April 2013

Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Mazda are recalling a combined 3.39m vehicles globally, all traced back to an identical problem with the passenger-side airbag supplied by Takata. IHS Automotive analyst Paul Newton considers the implications.

RUSSIA: GAZ Group launches new LCV

10 April 2013

GAZ Group’s Gorky Automobile Plant has started serial production of the new-generation GAZelle NEXT light commercial vehicle. Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, officiated at the launch by pressing the button to start production.

JAPAN: Toyota Boshoku forms interiors company in Laos

9 April 2013

Toyota Boshoku has established a new vehicle interior components company, Toyota Boshoku Lao. This is its first factory in Laos.

THE WEEK THAT WAS: Showtime in New York

28 March 2013

Award for the most cleverly orchestrated hype this week has gotta go to Tata Motors' Land Rover which unveiled its long-awaited Range Rover Sport in New York this week, a superb case study of how much the method of launching new cars has changed in the digital age.

UK: Nissan officially starts UK Leaf EV production

28 March 2013

Nissan on Thursday (28 March) officially started production of an updated Leaf EV for Europe at its Sunderland plant in north east England.

UK: SEAT confirms supplier of full-LED headlights

26 March 2013

A spokesperson for SEAT UK has named the supplier of the full-LED headlights for the new Leon.

JAPAN: Mazda 6/Atenza recall spreads

26 March 2013

Mazda has told Japan's transport ministry it is recalling 8,902 of its recently redesigned Atenza cars due to an electric system fault that may cause a fire.