Executive Motoring
- The news you choose »
- Login to Add to Watchlist
Categories
Car vouchers on offer for redundant staff
General Motors and Chrysler are offering a new round of retirement incentives including vouchers for cars and buyouts to hourly workers in a bid to reduce their workforces and inventory, Bloomberg has reported. GM is offering its US workforce cash and a $25,000 voucher to buy a vehicle as an incentive to retire or leave the company. Chrysler's programme offers retirement-eligible workers $50,000 in cash and a voucher of $25,000 for a new Chrysler vehicle if they leave.
Nissan tops sales in UAE, Qatar
Nissan Tiida was the best selling car in the UAE as well as being the best selling compact vehicle in the Qatari market during November 2008, according to a press statement by Nissan Middle East. The Tiida offers an appealing blend of space, technology and value for money, said Hirotaka Mima, passenger vehicle brand manager at Nissan Middle East.
Egypt Land Rover sales up 49%
Land Rover has announced that 2008 sales in its Egypt market are up by 49% on 2007. The Range Rover Sport was the best selling model, with annual sales up by 15%. The LR2 and LR3 also recorded large increases. Sales in Algeria went up by 267% compared to 2007, while Tunisian sales recorded an increase of 200%.
Nissan rules out price drop
Nissan Middle East has issued a statement following speculation that all car brands would drop their retail prices by 40% or 50% in the region over next three months due to the world financial crisis. During a recent visit to the GCC by Nissan President and CEO, Carlos Ghosn, it was confirmed that a short-term slowdown in GCC sales could be expected but overall Nissan was optimistic about the growth potential in the Middle East.
Land Rover sales up 20% in Mena
Land Rover has announced its combined sales for 2008 in the Middle East and Africa (Mena) region has gone up 20% higher than the previous year. Land Rover LR2 had the highest growth, with sales up by 36.8%, followed by the Land Rover LR3 which saw an increase of 20.2%. A total of 11,061 cars were sold in Mena in 2008.
White is top vehicle color choice
DuPont has released 'The 2008 DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Report', which says white is the top vehicle color choice in North America for the second straight year, and is a strong player globally, with 'white effects' allowing consumers to differentiate cars subtly to express their individuality.
Cadillac unveils world's fastest production V8 sedan
The world's fastest V8 production sedan, the all-new CTS-V, has been officially launched in the UAE. The CTS-V delivers an SAE-certified 609 horsepower from its V8 engine and an acceleration of 3.9 seconds from 0 to 100kph with the help of its suite of technical and design enhancements - including Magnetic Ride Control and the addition of a new automatic transmission with paddle-shift controls.
Toyota to recall more than 1.35 million cars
Toyota Motor Corp plans to recall more than 1.35 million Vitz and two other models globally to fix a defect in the seatbelt, the exhaust system or both, the automaker announed yesterday. In Japan, 525,898 Vitz, Belta and Ractis cars built from January 2005 to April 2008 will be recalled. A combined 830,000 units in Europe, North America and other markets will also be recalled. The Vitz subcompact is called Yaris in many markets.
VW sales rise 23% in 2008
Volkswagen Middle East has announced that it set a new record with regional sales exceeding 11,000 vehicles in 2008, an increase of 23% compared to 2007. The Touareg was the most popular Volkswagen car in the Middle East, representing 28% of VW's total sales for 2008. Following closely behind was the Jetta, which contributed to 22% of total sales, and the Passat, which accounted for 21%. The Eos had the biggest growth increase of 44% compared to 2007.
AGMC reports 17% rise in BMW sales in UAE
AGMC, the importer of BMW cars for Dubai, Sharjah and the northern emirates in the UAE, has announced a 17% increase in annual sales for 2008 over the previous year. The dealer sold 4,221 automobiles during the year, making the UAE the highest sales volume market in the region for the European car manufacturer.
Toyota holds 35% of Gulf sales
Toyota sold 516,000 units in the Gulf, nearly 35% of the 1.4 million units sold in the region by all automakers in 2008. Toyota Motor Corporation is expected to make moderate growth of 3% to 5% in 2009. The global automobile market shrunk 3.7% to 69.1 million units last year, down from 71.8 million in 2007.
Doha to host Speed Car night race
From February 12 to 14, Qatar will host the first-ever night race of the Speed Car and GP2 Asia Series. The six-leg Speed Car series and GP2 Asia Series is being held in Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar and Malaysia. The drivers will compete in V8 620bhp stock cars.
Dubai RTA, Toyota test hybrid cars
Dubai's transport regulator Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Toyota Motor Corporation are in the final stages of testing hybrid vehicles for the UAE market. If the tests are successful, Toyota and its UAE distributors Al Futtaim Motors will roll out hybrid Toyota and Lexus vehicles soon.
Infiniti M35 car of choice for Kuwaiti ministry
Through its distributor Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-Babtain, luxury car brand Infiniti is to supply the Kuwait Ministry of Health with the Infiniti M35 mid-size luxury sedan. The twelve vehicles supplied are set to serve the Ministry in various fields.
Rolls-Royce rocks in Middle East sales
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars 2008 sales in the Middle East have increased by 48%, surpassing the record 40% growth achieved in 2007, the company has announced in a press statement. The region sees four Middle East dealers joining the global top ten dealerships with Abu Dhabi and Dubai taking first and second place respectively, with Saudi-Arabia and Kuwait also joining the top ten for the first time.
It looks like you are using a Mac - check out our 
Web Feeds