We’ve already got the Renault/Nissan Alliance, so why not a General Motors/ PSA Peugeot-Citroen one? Well according to PSA Chief Executive Philippe Varin that might just be a possibility, at least from a manufacturing standpoint.

Varin says that PSA is currently in talks with General Motors, discussing the possibility of GM teaming up with the French automaker to help stem the latter’s stagnant sales in Europe (on which it heavily relies) as well as helping reduce manufacturing costs.

The idea is to see both automakers develop and manufacture cars and powertrains through a joint effort in Europe, though each manufacturer would retain its separate branding, marketing and distribution network.

This is seen as adding benefits to both PSA and Opel, GM’s  European arm which, like Peugeot, is currently struggling to compete against giants like Volkswagen and Renault, thanks to high labor costs and limited manufacturing capacity.

The venture will also give Peugeot improved access to overseas markets such as China and South America; it could possibly even witness a return of the brand to the US for the first time since 1992.

However, any joint venture between the two companies will have to receive the blessing of the Peugeot family, which still controls some 30 percent of PSA stock. In addition with failed merger talks between Peugeot and Mitsubishi still relatively fresh on some minds, Varin is understandably cautious about any future alliances, though with European sales dropping by 8.8 percent last year and Peugeot stock halving in value over the last 12 months, any joint venture would certainly be welcome news.

In the meantime while discussions take place, Peugeot is doing what it can to weather the current economic storm, Varin having recently announced that the company will be selling some 1.5 billion euros ($1.98 billion) in assets to help alleviate debt, which currently stands at around 3.4 billion euros ($4.5 billion).

[Source: Auto News]

In the auto business, 2011 proved to be the year of the Koreans; both Hyundai and affiliate Kia sold a record number of vehicles, while their shares outperformed those of other automakers, including the likes of heavyweights such as General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen.

That said, some of the sales in new vehicles from the Koreans actually cannibalized others within their ranks, notably the Kia Optima (K5 in South Korea), which after its latest redesign saw orders triple, though some of that came at the expense of Hyundai’s Sonata, which only saw demand increase by some 5.2 percent in the same period.

There’s every chance the same thing could happen again with Kia planning to launch the more upmarket K9, designed to go after the same customers as the Hyundai’s Genesis and Equus.

Frank Ahrens, a spokesman for Hyundai said the car-to-car rivalry between the two brands extends to all segments. Further complicating matters is the fact that although Hyundai and Kia are overseen by the same chairman (Chung Mong Koo) and share a development center, they are run as two separate companies and arch rivals at that.

There’s no question that Hyundai’s original 51 percent purchase of Kia Motors back in 1998 rejuvenated the brand and helped it grow into a purveyor of world-class vehicles with competitive prices. All the same, the companies need to sort out their differences now more than ever because it seems global competition is going to intensify in 2012 especially with Honda and Toyota returning to pre-disaster capacity.

This will likely mean Hyundai and Kia will need to develop a successful alignment strategy for their respective product lines, for example: focusing one brand on premium products and the other on volume sales. In doing so, they stand a greater chance of stealing sales from Japanese, American and European rivals instead of each other.

It seems that signs of greater product differentiation between Hyundai and Kia’s offerings are afoot; Kia’s European COO, Paul Philpott, said during a recent interview that “Hyundai will become the mainstream brand with Kia [functioning as] the sportier, dynamic little brother.”

[Source: Bloomberg]

Dany Bahar, the current CEO of Lotus is reportedly looking for a buyer to purchase the company from current Malaysian parent Proton.

Given that Proton itself was recently acquired by Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom, the reason for Bahar’s strategy is probably the fact that DRB has little interest investing in a small volume specialty sports car brand, especially since Lotus hasn’t earned a profit since being originally acquired by Proton in 1996.

At present, Lotus requires funding of around £500m ($790 million) for the development of future street cars, which includes new Elan, Elise and Esprit models.

So far, no offers for purchasing Lotus have been confirmed, though some sources say that Genii Capital, the international investment firm which currently owns the Lotus Formula 1 Grand Prix team, would seem the most likely scenario, though reportedly a number of Chinese companies have also expressed interest.

[Source: Auto Express]

It seems, from a financial standpoint, things are getting better for Chrysler Group.  The company reported a total net income of some $183 million last year.

This money earned, included a $551 million loss, required to service outstanding debts (namely repaying the money it owed to the US Treasury and Canadian governments in full, some six years ahead of schedule and we might add, with interest).

Considering that a year ago, Chrysler reported a net loss of $652 million and that 2011′s income exceeded estimates, the report represents rather good news.

In fact, in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone, Chrysler earned some $225 million (versus a loss of $199 million in Q4 2010) even though it’s been introducing a number of new or significantly refreshed vehicles, programs, which tend to eat up considerable resources.

As of this month, Chrysler has achieved all the goals laid out two years ago following the companies restructuring. This, plus performance resulting from transactions, has led Fiat S.p.A,to increase its stake in the company to some 58.5 percent.

Upon the announcement of  Chrysler’s 2011 earnings, Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne (shown above) declared, “the house is in good order. We are proud of the work we’ve done. Now we greet a new year of high expectations with our heads down, forging ahead and focused on executing the goals we’ve set for ourselves as a company.”

Not since the original 1978-81 M1 (shown) has BMW‘s performance division offered a bonafide supercar, yet as the performance envelope is pushed further with the division’s other offerings, the idea to launch a halo, bespoke model has been gaining traction.

Yet, despite enthusiasm from within the ranks of M division, including development boss Albert Biermann, it’s currently proving tough to convince management at BMW itself to green light such a project. Currently, the resources are available to build the car but it simply isn’t considered a profitable exercise especially given BMW’s current business strategy which requires that each model in the product portfolio make money.

“We have the skills and we’d love to do it,” Biermann said recently. “We’ve discussed it several times but  [so far] we’ve never been able to make the business case.”

[Source: Autocar]

Along with the Saab saga, the story of VW‘s attempt to buy Porsche AG has been nothing short of a soap opera, with twists and turns at every juncture. After previous attempts by the Wolfsburg automaker to purchase the remaining shares in the smaller Stuttgart concern fell through, it now appears, the deal may be on again.

Both automakers have talked about consolidation for years, yet when former Porsche CEO Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking’s attempt to buy a larger stake in VW fell through, the tables turned; thanks to German law that required Volkswagen to buy shares in Porsche instead.

However, despite VW currently owning more than 49 percent of Porsche and the two companies sharing an upper management structure, there’s still little in the way of cohesiveness when it comes to operations, each firm doing its own thing when it relates to aspects such as R&D, engineering, manufacturing and sales and marketing. This is something that’s proving particularly troublesome, especially for strategic projects, such as upcoming EV vehicles and new lightweight sports cars.

Now, it appears that greater integration between the two companies might finally become a reality this year, information leaked by sources at VW suggest that Porsche has put in an option to sell its remaining 50.1 percent of shares this November.

If that does come to pass, Volkswagen could purchase Porsche outright by the end of the year, however German tax complexities mean that if an outright purchase were to take place before VW can exercise its own call option on the remaining shares (which would be March at the earliest) the merger would be subjected to higher taxation, not something that either company wants.

Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen and Porsche, is clearly frustrated at the present lack of integration between the two companies, something he reiterated earlier this month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

“We want to cooperate with Porsche in such a way that as many synergies can be leveraged as soon as possible,” he said, “without needing to have a lawyer stand next to a Porsche employee every time he screws something into a Volkswagen or vice-versa.”

[Source: Reuters]

Despite all the current hype surrounding Electric Vehicles and the seemingly huge amount of money some automakers are investing in them, a recent survey among global auto executives by consulting firm KPMG revealed that most are skeptical about the future success of EVs.

In fact among the 200 executives surveyed anonymously, two-thirds predict that sales of both Hybrid and pure EVs will only account for around 6 percent of total vehicle sales in Europe and the US by 2025. Nonetheless, it appears a large majority still think automakers will continue to invest large in EV technology, regardless.

Around 81 percent of those surveyed said they anticipate larger investments in battery technology for EVs, some 85 percent predict more investments in electric motor development, while 76 percent see greater resources being allocated to electronics designed for EVs.

From the results of the survey, Gary Silberg, KPMG’s national auto industry leader believes that many automakers are “hedging their bets. They are saying that we don’t know yet what the winning vehicle technology will be for the future, and so they are going to invest in all of it and let the market decide.”

Besides EV technology, the survey also revealed that many executives, from different parts of the world, believe that Chrysler and Ford Motor Company will gain global market share over the next five years, 47 percent predicting Ford’s market share will increase, while 31 percent believe Chrysler will show gains.

According to Silberg, these findings are indicative of a more positive public perception of both companies, which will translate into greater global sales and market share.

[Source: Automotive News]

For the first time since 2007, just prior to the US economy tanking, and with things still spluttering along on many fronts, the new numbers are very encouraging from America’s second largest automaker.

As for where the biggest gains have been, Ford is reporting healthy demand for small cars, such as the B-segment Fiesta and the larger C-class Focus (shown), which look to post sales increases of some 20 percent for the year.

Light trucks have also been doing well, with the breadwinning F-150, along with the outgoing Escape and Explorer looking to post strong gains (current estimates predict around a 30 percent increase by the time all’s said and done), according to an official statement released by the company.

According to Ford’s US vice president for sales and marketing, Ken Czubay, “the industry sales rate has exceeded 13 million in each of the last three months.” He also believes that “the current momentum is not an aberration.”

Let’s hope he’s right. So far, following the announcement, investors seem to agree, as Ford stock rose 0.5 percent to $10.73 today, reversing a trend that has seen shares fall more than 30 percent so far this year.

[Source: The Detroit News]

With court appointed administrators having taken over the remnants of Saab following the automaker’s bankruptcy, exactly what to do with the company’s assets is still very much an ongoing process.

Recently, Bloomberg reported that among the suitors interested in acquiring Saab assets, which so far have been Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. Ltd  and the Turkish government, Mahindra & Mahindra, the giant Indian conglomerate, has now also stepped forward.

Reportedly, talks are underway between Mahindra & Mahindra and Saab’s administrators. So far, as to which Saab assets are up for grabs, little has been revealed with Mahindra & Mahindra in particular remaining very tight lipped on the matter.

In addition, the same sources have reportedly said that despite these discussions, talks between the administrators and the Turkish government remain ongoing as well since Turkey has expressed interest in launching it’s own domestic vehicle brand. At present, acquiring Saab assets in order to do so appears to be the most logical step for the Turkish Government.

[Source: Bloomberg]

You’ve probably been noticing that fuel prices have been creeping up lately, as usually jittery investors see signs that the economic outlook is improving.

In the automotive sector there’s also some positive news; JD Power and Associates, along with the LMC Authority, are predicting that new vehicle sales in the US will reach 13.4 million this month, up from 12.7 million in December last year, this despite a reduction in sales incentives to move metal during 2011. Current estimates from both groups predict even stronger demand in 2012, with current projections set at some 13.8 million units.

“For the third straight time, light-vehicle sales are posting strong selling rates at the close of the year,” remarked Jeff Schuster, LMC’s senior vice president.  ”Next year, the automotive industry will look to build upon the strong finish to 2011, but the real test in 2012 will be weathering a summer selling slowdown and posting a full year of a progressive recovery,” he said.

[Source: Automotive News]