Yes folks, there’s a ghost in the house and the temptation is to say, it’s the ghost of safety. Okay, that’s a bit laboured in the week of Halloween, but safety was an underlying theme in some of this week’s news. Rather than news of recalls per se, the focus moved a little bit to some of the fallout from them.
For instance, consumers in China, it would seem, are a tad emboldened of late. A mere ‘yes, we will fix it’ won’t suffice if people feel there is a delay that is unwarranted. Amazing, in the context of all the things people in China might possibly want to put their energy into grumbling about.
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CHINA: Protests grow against VW recall action
Moving to the US, Chrysler hasn’t, apparently, been doing too well in quality surveys lately. Changes of personnel may be related.
US: FCA names Chernoby head of quality
And that long-running Takata airbag recalls situation now sees the NHTSA getting a little bit heavy with Takata.
US: NHTSA ramps it up with Takata over airbags
Still on the safety theme, remember how things we take for granted now used to be not always there when we climbed into a car? Well ESP is going mandatory in the EU.
BELGIUM: Europe-wide mandate for ESP on cars & LCVs
On other themes, there was this interesting news on the transmission front.
SOUTH KOREA: Details of new transmission for next Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
And the prospect of a US-EU free trade deal and the industrial benefits has got some people excited.
BELGIUM: New CLEPA CEO cites TTIP benefits for automotive
Big corporations would be potential major beneficiaries of any such deal. And here’s a gorilla doing very well.
GERMANY: Volkswagen Group posts nine-month profit up 55% to EUR2.8bn
Some of the clever stuff going on with suppliers continues to fascinate. Can’t wait for a go with this. Not 100% sure I trust my eyeballs.
US: Visteon concept for HMI uses eye movement
And there’s been a show on in Sao Paulo. Not sure what was shown? Try our cheat sheet (thanks Glenn).
SAO PAULO SHOW: World premieres
While we are on emerging markets, we had this from Tony in Jakarta. Indonesia has turned down this year.
ANALYSIS: Q1-Q3 ASEAN sales down 11%
But Indonesia has good prospects longer term. It helps if you know what that market needs…
INDONESIA: Low Cost Green Cars to be ‘game changer’ in Indonesia – analyst
We also carried some analysis of the Indian vehicle market and industry this week. Prospects are good for the long-term, but recent developments have provided cause for concern.
October 2014 management briefing: India automotive update
Talking of emerging markets and cause for concern, Russia has been a worry lately. However, maybe, just maybe, geo-political Ukraine-related tensions are easing. And maybe there will be actions to support the depressed car market.
RUSSIA: Moscow mulls recycling extension post New Year
We also had a couple of good interviews on just-auto this week. One was from my colleague Calum with Hans Hendriks at Johnson Controls and I also got some time with Barb Samardzich, Ford Europe’s COO.
INTERVIEW: Han Hendriks, Johnson Controls Automotive Interiors
INTERVIEW: Ford Europe COO Barb Samardzich
On the product side, how does a diesel Maserati sound? Read all about it…
VEHICLE ANALYSIS: Maserati Ghibli diesel
And still on new product, Opel/Vauxhall has its new (I won’t say ‘all-new’) Corsa. Read all about that and also a nice Halloween themed element to the media launch event.
VEHICLE ANALYSIS: Vauxhall Corsa
Oh, and JLR’s engine manufacturing centre has opened. That is good news for UK plc.
Have a nice weekend (and Happy Halloween!)
Dave Leggett, Editor, just-auto.com
