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Chrysler looking to boost Japanese sales by 21% with launch of new Grand Cherokee

Filed under: Japan, Crossover, Chrysler, Jeep

Jeep Grand Cherokee

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is selling like hotcakes here in the States, with sales of the new crossover up 130 percent in January. Chrysler hopes the Grand Cherokee will find similar success overseas, with Automotive News reporting that the automaker is hoping the new Jeep will help boost sales by 21 percent in Japan.

By the numbers, this means that Chrysler is counting on the Grand Cherokee to bump sales up from 2,350 units in 2010 to something closer to 3,000 in 2011, with the Jeep accounting for anywhere between 500 and 1,000 of those transactions. That’s only a few days worth of sales here in the United States, but considering the fact that Jeep sold only 88 units in all of 2009 in Japan, being able to move 1,000 units is indeed a big step forward.

We can see how Japanese car buyers would be interested in the Grand Cherokee, but the attractive and capable ‘ute isn’t the most popular vehicle in Japan. That honor goes to the Jeep Patriot, with 760 sales in 2010.

Gallery: Review: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Chrysler looking to boost Japanese sales by 21% with launch of new Grand Cherokee originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Mexico’s Mastretta hoping to turn Top Gear notoriety into sales

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Etc., UK, Celebrities

Mastretta MXT

Mastretta MXT – Click above for high-res image gallery

Mexican sportscar manufacturer Mastretta is making the best of a bad situation. The company is attempting to capitalize on the furor over insulting comments that the presenters of Top Gear made about the automaker and Mexico in general. According to Drive.com, since the incident, traffic to the company’s website has skyrocketed, and more importantly, orders for the Mastretta MXT have leapt as well. According to Carlos Mastretta, the company’s general manager, the manufacturer now has orders from countries in Europe as well as Brazil and Chile. Mastretta has recently begun to receive inquiries from the States, as well.

The jump in attention is thanks solely to the dust up over the Top Gear comments. According to Drive.com, the MXT was a relative unknown – even in its home country. While Mastretta is a well-known manufacturer of public-transportation vehicles, few knew that the company is also responsible for this new sportscar before hearing about the confrontation between the BBC and Mexico’s ambassador to the UK.

The Mastretta MXT is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter Ford Duratec four-cylinder engine with around 250 horsepower, and the company says that the vehicle should be good for 0-60 mph dashes in the high four-second range thanks to its lightweight design.

Gallery: Mastretta MXT

[Source: Drive.com]

Report: Mexico’s Mastretta hoping to turn Top Gear notoriety into sales originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boca Raton Concours scores ‘first’ sales: Ferrari FF, Benz SLS Roadster, Audi R8 GT, etc. *UPDATE

Filed under: Performance, Auctions, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Luxury

2012 Ferrari FF

2012 Ferrari FF – Click above for high-res image gallery

Are you a mega-wealthy car enthusiast that’s always eager to be first in line when it comes to supercars? Here’s a tip for you: Buy a plane ticket (or fuel up the jet) and head on down to Florida for the Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance.

Now in its fifth year, this upper-crust car show has been gaining momentum in the concours community, in part by scoring a lot of “firsts” for the auction portion of its event. Auctiongoers in past years have had a shot to buy the first U.S. examples of the Audi R8 5.2 FSI V10 and Spyder R8, Ferrari California and 458 Italia and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.

On the docket for this year’s festivities? How does the 2012 Ferrari FF, 2012 Audi R8 GT and 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster. According to The DuPont Registry, each car will be the first of its kind sold in the United States. If you need to pick up something for your kids or the wife, Mercedes has also supplied a 2012 CLS63 Limited Edition, of which only 30 are to be made – and, of course, this is also the very first one sold.

*UPDATE: If you were booking travel arrangements to Florida with the goal of winning yourself the first example of Ferrari’s FF shooting brake… don’t. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County (the organization for whom the concours auction is to benefit) has issued a formal retraction – the Ferrari FF will not be available for auction. Please read the official press release after the jump for more details.

Gallery: 2012 Ferrari FF

[Sources: DuPont Registry, Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County]

Continue reading Boca Raton Concours scores ‘first’ sales: Ferrari FF, Benz SLS Roadster, Audi R8 GT, etc. *UPDATE

Boca Raton Concours scores ‘first’ sales: Ferrari FF, Benz SLS Roadster, Audi R8 GT, etc. *UPDATE originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Saab looking for 15-20k sales this year

Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Crossover, Saab

Saab 9-4x

2012 Saab 9-4X – Click above for high-res image gallery

Saab Cars North America (barely) lived through a horrible 2010, with sales of only 5,445 units. For perspective, Toyota makes that many Camry sedans by Thursday of most weeks. Part of the problem, no doubt, was Saab’s flirtation with oblivion and the resultant crippled supplier base and a lack of consumer awareness, but a lack of new product also played a big role.

Automotive News reports that Saab execs are assuring dealers that 2011 should turn out a lot better, with projected U.S. sales of between 15,000 and 20,000 units. That’s a significant sales recovery, and at least part of the increased volume should come courtesy of a strengthening auto market. But increased sales alone won’t enable 400 percent growth. Luckily, Saab has some new product in the pipeline, with the 9-4X crossover scheduled to arrive in May, while continued sales of the 9-5 sedan and the upcoming wagon variant (scheduled for Fall, 2011) should further boost the bottom line.

Will the 9-4X prove popular enough to move Saab over the sales hump? We don’t doubt it, if only because the company’s sales bogey is so low. And it helps that the 9-4X is attractive and poised to hit the market at a time when customers are clamoring over high-end CUVs.

Gallery: 2012 Saab 9-4X

2012 Saab 9-4X

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Report: Saab looking for 15-20k sales this year originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: GM sales boosted by incentives, analysts fear return of ‘push’ model

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., GM, Earnings/Financials

According to Automotive News, some analysts are accusing General Motors of sliding back into bad habits by boosting sales with heavy incentives. The report says that GM’s 22-percent sales jump in January was largely fueled by laying piles of cash on the hood. On average, GM handed out $3,762 per vehicle last month – the highest incentive figure of any of the six largest automakers. That number represents a 29-percent increase over the same month last year, and Edmunds.com analysts are concerned that the automaker has begun pushing too many models on dealers with plans to move them with incentives.

GM, meanwhile, says that while the company did institute a “modest” increase in incentives last month, it doesn’t plan on falling back into the rut of driving production with the cash. The company saw Chevrolet sales jump 19 percent, while Buick and GMC enjoyed a 32-percent increase, all of which were driven largely by more free-flowing consumer credit.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Report: GM sales boosted by incentives, analysts fear return of ‘push’ model originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 05 Feb 2011 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM posts 23% January sales gain, still down from December

General Motors today posted 178,896 total sales in January, a strong 23-percent gain from a year ago. According to the automaker, sales were up in all segments of the market, led by strong crossover and pickup sales. Fleet sales were down seven percent, though commercial sales gains wiped out that deficiency. Sales to retail customers were up 36 percent.

It’s not exactly all good news, however. Sales were actually down 20 percent from December. Check out all the details in GM’s press release after the break.

Continue reading GM posts 23% January sales gain, still down from December

GM posts 23% January sales gain, still down from December originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan blows by Honda in global automotive sales

Filed under: Honda, Nissan

In the U.S., the pecking order among Japanese automakers looks like this: Way out in front is Toyota, followed by Honda and Nissan respectively. On a global scale, however, Nissan has finally leapfrogged Honda for second banana status. Torque News reports that Nissan’s global sales soared 21 percent in 2010 due in part to exploding business in China. All told, Nissan moved 4.08 million units during the calendar year.

Honda also saw increased sales, but it managed only a five percent gain. That’s 3.56 million vehicles sold, or about 500,000 fewer units than its rival. 2010 was a very solid year for Nissan, as well its alliance partner Renault, which also fared very well. Together the two automakers combined to sell 7.3 million cars and trucks. That’s more than Ford or Volkswagen, though Renault-Nissan sales aren’t officially counted together when the final rankings are tabulated at the end of the year. Toyota led all automaker sales for the year, followed by General Motors and VW.

[Source: The Detroit Bureau]

Nissan blows by Honda in global automotive sales originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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McLaren recruits Audi’s Greg Levine to lead sales and marketing

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Marketing/Advertising, MISC

Greg Levine, McLaren Sales and Marketing Director

You can have a great product on your hands, but if you don’t sell it right, it ain’t worth jack. That’s why McLaren has hired Greg Levine.

A 15-year industry veteran, Levine comes to McLaren from his position as head of operations for Audi in the UK. Prior to that, he served as head of sales and marketing for Audi in South Africa, where Levine was credited with ushering the R8 to market – critical experience on which McLaren is keen to capitalize.

In his new position as head of global sales and marketing, Levine is responsible for bringing the new McLaren MP4-12C to market and overseeing an upstart network of 35 dealers in 19 countries. Sales are projected to be 1,000 units in the first full year, of which the United States is expected to account for 400 units. Details of the announcement are in the press release after the jump.

[Source: McLaren]

Continue reading McLaren recruits Audi’s Greg Levine to lead sales and marketing

McLaren recruits Audi’s Greg Levine to lead sales and marketing originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi reconsidering Q3 for U.S. sales?

Filed under: Crossover, Audi, Rumormill

Audi Cross Coupe Quattro Concept

Audi Cross Coupe Quattro Concept – Click above for a high-res image gallery

Is Audi going to bring its Tiguan-for-the-country-club Q3 over to the United States? Originally the automaker said nein! to the idea of a subcompact crossover on American soil, but now Audi is reportedly reconsidering offering the Q3 Stateside.

BMW is getting ready to launch the X1 here in the U.S., and Audi wants a cut of the North American subcompact crossover action. Since the American car-buying public is fairly wagon-averse, this move makes sense for Audi and could be a strong move to help it reach the aggressive sales goals it has set for itself.

The Q5 has already been a sales winner for the brand here in the States. In 2010, sales of the compact crossover rose 70 percent, and having a smaller Q3 in Audi showrooms would allow customers to still get in on the quad-rung crossover action for a bit less cash.

Gallery: Audi Cross Coupe Quattro

[Source: Motor Trend]

Audi reconsidering Q3 for U.S. sales? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Overwhelmed by traffic, Beijing turns to new car sales lottery

Filed under: China, Government/Legal

In 2009, China became the largest auto market on the planet, surpassing the United States. 2010 proved to be more of the same, as China cemented itself as the king of car sales. But while automakers are living the high life in China, the capitol city of Beijing is trying to slam the brakes on new vehicle sales.

The problem, according to a Christian Science Monitor report, is that traffic has become so bad in the densely populated metropolis that the government has banned car sales until an auto sale lottery takes place. That’s right; if you’re in Beijing and you’d like a new car or truck, you’re going to have to put your name in a hat and hope for the best.

The first monthly lottery will take place on January 26. Each will give 20,000 prospective motorists authorization to actually buy a car. So far, a reported 100,000+ buyers have already entered the lottery. China will draw 240,000 names during the course of the year. Customers who sell their vehicle or lose it in an accident will be exempt from the lottery and they’ll be able to keep their plate for a future vehicle purchase. The lottery is expected to help Beijing car sales in half this year, compared to the 850,000 units moved in 2010. To further free up the stifling rush hour traffic, the government has also banned cars with out-of -city plates from traveling on Beijing roads during peak travel times.

The lottery will doubtless slow the pace of car sales, but that won’t do much to solve Beijing’s traffic woes. Motorists and dealers alike tell The Christian Science Monitor that they hope the move to a lottery system will buy Beijing officials the time needed to improve the city’s infrastructure and improve public transportation.

[Source: The Christian Science Monitor via Yahoo! | Image: Stan Wiechers via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 License]

Overwhelmed by traffic, Beijing turns to new car sales lottery originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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