1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia on 2040-cars

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Hyundai tops VW and Buick in China, survey says

You may be aware of the long-time competition in China between Volkswagen and Buick, but another brand apparently should be in that conversation too: Hyundai. In a recently published annual consumer survey, the Korean company actually took the top spot to beat out its German and American rivals in second and third, respectively. The results were part of the China Brand Power Index that interviewed 11,500 people around the nation and was paid for by the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. While Hyundai proved popular with voters, its sales haven't necessarily shown that yet. According to Bloomberg, the brand had falling numbers in China for the first quarter of the year. Even Ford outsold the South Korean automaker in the same period, despite scoring lower on the survey. Meanwhile, Audi ranked as the populace's favorite luxury brand, which is hardly a surprise given the Four Rings' strong sales in China. In January alone the automaker saw a 15-percent boost in volume there. Parent company VW's strong performance was somewhat more surprising, though. State media severely criticized the German automaker in March, and customers protested last year for the allegedly poor handling of a recall.

Peugeot will prove it doesn't offer cheater diesels

Our diesels are clean, really. That's the message from French automaker PSA/Peugeot-Citroen as it plans to go on the offensive in response to Volkswagen's diesel-emissions scandal. PSA will go out of its way to prove its diesels are as clean as advertised. The company is looking at disclosing "real-world" fuel-economy statistics as soon as next spring and will use an independent entity to vet the numbers, Automotive News Europe says, citing comments that PSA/Peugeot-Citroen financial chief Jean-Baptiste de Chatillon made to reporters this week. Such efforts may be vital, since roughly two-thirds of the vehicles Peugeot-Citroen sells in Europe are powered by a diesel engine. Last month, VW admitted that as many as 11 million of its diesel-powered vehicles were programmed with software designed to cheat emissions-testing systems. The news shook up the industry, especially companies that sell a good chunk of diesels. The EU itself may start instituting "real world" fuel-economy and emissions testing as soon as 2017. French regulators have said they may eliminate diesel-fuel subsidies that currently make diesel fuel cheaper to customers than gas. That adjustment may occur as soon as next year, since it's been pushed up in response to the VW scandal. Peugeot-Citron continues to reiterate that it has never installed software that was designed to cheat emissions-testing systems. Additionally, the automaker was more than a decade ahead of European Union mandates for engine components designed to cut soot emissions, so the company is hoping its track record makes a difference. It wants to be perfectly clear about that. News Source: Automotive News Europe-sub.req.Image Credit: Cletus Awreetus/Flickr Green Volkswagen Citroen Peugeot Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal France psa peugeot citroen

North American production of foreign marques to jump in 2014

Wards Auto has released its North American Light Vehicle Production Forecast for 2014, and the report predicts foreign manufacturers will increase production on the continent some 3.9 percent by 2014. If accurate, that should see 123,000 additional cars, trucks and vans produced in North America, swelling the total number of units produced both by domestic and foreign manufacturers to 16.9 million light vehicles from a projected 15.6 million in 2013. Much of the increase can be attributed to the fact that Toyota intends to produce another car at its Blue Springs, MS plant as well as a new Lexus model at its Georgetown, KY facility in a year's time.
Likewise, Volkswagen intends to move production of a currently imported model to its plant in Puebla, Mexico. Daimler, Honda, Nissan and Mazda also plan to build additional models on North American soil for the first time. Around two-thirds of the new North American manufacturing will take place in Mexico, helping the country soak up a full 20 percent of the content's automotive production for the first time. You can head over to the Wards Auto site for the full report.