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U.S. tariff threat hits European automakers' stocks

FRANKFURT, Germany — A U.S. warning that it may introduce tariffs on foreign auto imports hit shares in German carmakers BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen on Thursday, which together have a more than 90 percent share of North America's premium car market. Washington said on Wednesday it had launched an investigation into whether car and truck imports are a national security issue due to signs they had damaged the U.S. auto industry. That could lead to new U.S. tariffs — up to 25 percent — similar to those imposed on imported steel and aluminum in March. BMW and Daimler shares fell as much as 3.1 percent in early Thursday trading, while Volkswagen's dropped as much as 2.5 percent. "(U.S. President) Donald Trump is obviously not thinking about how to prevent a trade war. Import duties on cars would be a nightmare for the German auto industry and would lead to a massive sales impact," said Thomas Altmann at Frankfurt-based asset manager QC Partners. BMW on Thursday condemned the move to consider tariffs. "The BMW Group is committed to free trade worldwide. Barrier-free access to markets is therefore a key factor not only for our business model, but also for growth welfare and employment throughout the global economy," it said. Daimler, which makes Mercedes-Benz cars, and Volkswagen, which makes upmarket Audis and Porsches, were not immediately available for comment. German carmakers produced 804,000 cars at local factories in the United States and exported 657,000 German-made cars into North America last year, according to German auto industry association VDA. China took pains on Thursday to welcome German firms and investments, with Premier Li Keqiang talking up relations after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. BMW and Mercedes have expanded production capacity in the United States, but BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and Daimler have also invested billions to build new factories in Mexico in the hope of selling locally produced cars into the United States. German carmakers hiked vehicle production in Mexico by 46 percent to 620,000 cars last year, while production levels inside the United States fell by 6 percent to 804,000 cars because of a shift to Mexico, according to the VDA. BMW has its biggest factory worldwide in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and is the largest vehicle exporter among all the carmakers in the United States measured by value of goods exported. More than 70 percent of BMW's U.S.-made cars are exported.

BMW 4 Series spied with its future competition

BMW showed off its new 4 Series coupe in concept form at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, but it won't be long before we see the production model, evidenced by this modestly camouflaged prototype spotted testing. In case you forgot, the 4 Series serves as the replacement for the two-door versions of the BMW 3 Series, just as the upcoming 2 Series will effectively be the new version of the 1 Series coupe and convertible sold in our market.
This isn't our first glimpse of the 4 Series out testing, and we've even spied its droptop, Gran Coupe and too-hot M4 kin. We don't expect the final design to stray too much from the concept car seen in Detroit, albeit without the normal conceptual goodies like oversized wheels and with the overstyled front fascia toned down a bit. Our spy photographers even caught the 4 Series coupe hanging out with an Audi A5, giving us a good glimpse at how the two cars will stack up in terms of size and design.
It's still unknown exactly what engines will power the car when it comes to production, but since this thing is a derivative of the 3 Series, we expect the usual range of turbocharged four- and six-cylinder engines to be available, likely in 428i ad 435i guise (though, to be fair, the larger 640i coupe uses a 3.0-liter turbo engine, so there's even the potential for 440i nomenclature to work its way into the mix). We'll have to wait until the car officially bows later this year to know for sure.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan and BMW 8 Series spied south of Death Valley

Recently, we've stumbled upon a number of manufacturer prototypes running around. Usually, spy photographers sit and wait for hours with cameras primed in order to get a few shots of a car. We just got lucky. First, we caught the new Chevy Corvette ZR1 convertible during a Facebook Live video. A week or so later McGraw snapped a video of a ZR1 coupe cruising in his neck of the woods. Today, our ace photographer Drew Phillips caught a BMW test fleet filling up the new Rolls-Royce Cullinan and 8 Series coupe in Baker, Calif. Baker sits along Interstate 15, about halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It's just south of Death Valley, and, being late August, suggests that BMW was doing some hot weather testing. Drew was filling up his car when the fleet rolled in. There were at least two of the new king Rolls and a single 8 Series. Both cars were wearing a full swirl camouflage wrap. It's not an uncommon place to see prototypes. Still, seeing a whole fleet roll in is quite a sight. We've seen official photos of the Cullinan before, but these pictures give us our best view of the profile and rear we've had so far. From a distance, it looks like a high-riding version of the new Phantom with a hatch in place of the trunk. The taillights are obviously just filler units. Expect the final version to look very much like the squared off LED units on the Phantom. Likewise the interior and engine should be straight from the Phantom. That means a twin-turbocharged V12, though power is likely to be sent to all four wheels. We've seen the full BMW 8 Series concept a few times now. The proportions on the production car look the same, with a long hood and even longer wheelbase. The nose isn't quite as aggressive as the concept, but we expected the styling to be toned down to meet crash and safety standards. As for engines, look for six, eight and (hopefully) 12-cylinder power under the hood. A plug-in variant is also expected. Both cars have been in development for a long while, so look for full debuts sometime this auto show season. Maybe we'll happen upon some more test mules between now and then. Related Video: