investment Archives

Report: Lotus hiring 100 after securing £100m investment

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Lotus, Earnings/Financials

Lotus Badge

Lotus is getting a shot in the arm courtesy of corporate parent DRB-Hicom, which has announced a 100-million pound ($152.3M USD at today’s rates) investment in the Hethel, UK-based manufacturer. The troubled brand was also in the news last week, with DRB announcing a new, three-year plan that would see variants of existing models introduced.

The money will create 100 new jobs in Hethel, with 45 new engineers, 40 manufacturing operatives and 18 university grads joining the team. Lotus has already seen an uptick in sales this year, according to a Norfolk-based news site, with 40 to 45 cars being produced per week and 722 road cars and 45 race cars sold between January and May. Even sales in the UK have seen a big jump – Lotus only moved 70 units in 2012, but it’s already sold 80 cars in the first half of 2013.

Better yet, Lotus is citing an increased demand for its cars around the globe as the motive behind the new hires. While still quite uncertain, Lotus looks like it might finally be on the right track.

Lotus hiring 100 after securing £100m investment originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Aug 2013 17:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason headlining classic car investment group?

Filed under: Classics, Earnings/Financials, Celebrities

Nick Mason drives the 1937 Auto Union Type D at Goodwood

Classic rock fans recognize Nick Mason as the drummer from Pink Floyd, but classic car enthusiasts know him just as well for his automobile collection and regular column in Octane magazine. Now the musician/car nut is headlining a different kind of group: an investment fund.

Based on the growth in value of some of the top collector cars the past few years, IGA Automobile is putting together a portfolio of historically significant and highly collectible cars for its investors. The new investment fund targets raising $150 million in capital and turning it around over the course of seven years to earn its investors a 15% profit. To get there, IGA is looking at buying cars like Ferrari 250 GTO, Aston Martin DB4 Zagato, Ford GT40, McLaren F1, Shelby Daytona Coupe and Porsche 917 and selling them at a profit.

The fund has solid basis for its financial projections: record prices have been fetched in the past few years by such exemplary automobiles as a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa ($12 million), a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder ($11 million) and a 1936 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic (~$35 million). Overall, Hagerty’s “Cars That Matter” index rates prices for collectible postwar automobiles as having gone up 67% from 2006 to the end of last year, compared to the S&P 500 Index, which dropped 5.9% over the same time period.

[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Mark Thompson/Getty]

Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason headlining classic car investment group? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 13:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xenatec Maybach Cruiserio coupe enters production with Saudi investment

Filed under: Coupe, Europe, Maybach, Middle East, Luxury

Xenatec Maybach Crusiero coupe

Xenatec Maybach Cruiserio coupe – Click above for image gallery

Want to get your hands on a Maybach coupe? You’ve got two options. First would be to commission a replica of the Exelero concept car on the chassis of a Dodge Viper. That’ll set you back €550,000, or about $730k at today’s conversion rates. Your other choice is to have Xenatec convert a Maybach 57 S limo into a coupe for €675,000 ($894k).

We brought you initial news of the project back in May, followed by details in October. For a quick refresher, the German coachbuilder brought in Fredrik Burchhardt, designer of the original Exelero, to pen the modified shape for the coupe. The result keeps most of the saloon’s mechanicals in place – including the 600+ horsepower twin-turbo V12 – only with modified bodywork, cabin and (of course) two longer doors instead of four.

Seen until now only in sketches, the Xenatec Maybach coupe has been (awkwardly) dubbed the Cruiserio, and it has just made its debut at Daimler headquarters in Stuttgart. The project is now being underwritten by a €70 million ($93M) investment from AutoKingdom of Saudi Arabia. Over the course of three years, Xenatec and AutoKingdom ambitiously anticipate building 100 examples, and say they’ve already got enough orders to keep them busy for the next year or so. Can’t wait that long? The first example is up for sale out of Riyadh, with a price tag of just under a cool million.

Gallery: Xenatec Maybach Cruiserio

Gallery: Maybach 57 S Coupe by Xenatec

[Source: JamesList via World Car Fans]

Xenatec Maybach Cruiserio coupe enters production with Saudi investment originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chrysler confirms $843M investment in Kokomo, IN plants

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Chrysler

Sergio Marchionne at the Kokomo, IN plant

Sergio Marchionne stopped by Chrysler’s transmission manufacturing facilities in Kokomo, Indiana and delivered some good news. The Chrysler Group plans to invest $843 million into the plants to modernize them and prepare for the production of a new front-wheel drive automatic transmission. This pushes the automakers total investment dollars near the $3 billion mark, dating back to June of 2009, with $1.1 billion of that earmarked specifically for the Kokomo facilities. More importantly, this announcement should have 2,250 employees breathing a little easier because it allows their jobs to be retained.

We know Chrysler is getting ready to launch its eight-speed transmission, but this new transmission in development has yet to be revealed.

“For years, Kokomo has been at the center of our powertrain strategy and the potential of an additional investment reaffirms that position,” said Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Chrysler Group LLC. “When introduced, this new front-wheel drive transmission, along with the previously announced eight-speed transmission we will also produce in Kokomo, will transform our future products and position them as leaders in marketplace. With the promise of investing more than $1 billion into our Kokomo facilities within the last six months, we are demonstrating our commitment to this community and our dedicated workforce. We appreciate the support of the UAW and the City of Kokomo, and look forward to continuing a partnership that will see the Chrysler Group once again become a successful and competitive enterprise.”

New transmissions, more stable jobs and a new Charger? 2011 is certainly shaping up to be brighter than last year for the Pentastar.

[Source: Chrysler]

Continue reading Chrysler confirms $843M investment in Kokomo, IN plants

Chrysler confirms $843M investment in Kokomo, IN plants originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 Nov 2010 15:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM confirms $145M investment in Orion, ponders new name for Chevy Aveo?

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Hatchback, Chevrolet, GM, Rumormill

2012 Chevy Aveo show car

Chevy Aveo show car – Click above to enlarge

General Motors was happy to show off its revamped Chevrolet Aveo at the Paris Motor Show last week. The car is a fresh change of pace from the last generation Aveo, and a strong step forward for Chevrolet in the subcompact segment. It may be a good car, but word on the street around the company’s Orion Township plant suggests that The General might be ditching the Aveo moniker. Apparently, GM wants to distance itself from the lackluster last generation car. A new name could go a long way in helping the car get off on the right foot, but seeding a new name in this industry among potential consumers costs tens of millions of dollars, so it would likely be a very costly decision.

Buick Verano teaser Speaking of costly, as expected, GM confirmed yesterday that it will spend $145 million on its Orion plant to build both the Aveo (or whatever it ends up being called) and Buick’s first premium small car in over 20 years, the Verano (teaser at right). The investment, GM says, will save 1,500 jobs. The Orion plant, you may recall, was earmarked to produce the U.S. version of the Chevrolet Orlando, a three-row MPV that was subsequently canceled for the States.

You can read about GM’s investment in the company’s official press release after the jump (note that while GM talks of the Buick Verano by name, it only refers to “Chevrolet’s new small car,” adding fuel to the name-change fire).

Gallery: Paris 2010: Chevrolet Aveo

Paris 2010: Chevrolet Aveo

Sources: Detroit Free Press]

Continue reading GM confirms $145M investment in Orion, ponders new name for Chevy Aveo?

GM confirms $145M investment in Orion, ponders new name for Chevy Aveo? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: SV Motors head indicted for investment fraud

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Etc., Government/Legal, Specialty

SV Motors 9 Competizione – Click above for high-res image gallery

Exactly a year ago today, we got our first real-life glimpse of the SV Motors 9 Competizione, an American/Italian mash-up built atop the C6 Chevrolet Corvette and coated in custom carbon fiber coachwork. 365 days later and the dream has turned into a nightmare.

Joseph Viloa (aka Giuseppe Viola), a 58-year-old investment consultant based in San Francisco, CA and the man behind SV Motors, has reportedly been indicted by a federal grand jury on aggravated identity theft, mail and wire fraud. In the process, he allegedly bilked victims for around $7 million – two million of which went into the design and production of the SV 9. And this wasn’t the first time he’s run afoul of the law.

Viloa was previous convicted of fraud, serving five years in Arizona, and is currently behind bars in Maricopa County where he’s awaiting trial for another fraud case from 1990. His latest round of illegal escapades reportedly ran from 2004 to 2010, during which he may have defrauded at least 60 investors.

From what we can gather, only a handful of SV 9s were produced, so assuming the Feds get their conviction, the only time you’ll see a Competizione is at the occasional auto show and – yes – as Lafayette’s ride in True Blood re-runs. Top tippage Brian!

Gallery: SV Motor Company 9 Competizione

[Source: SFGate]

Report: SV Motors head indicted for investment fraud originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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