#BertelSchmitt

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel made appreciative noises o ver the 4 billion EUR GM wants to invest into Opel through 2016, but gave no indication that she is willing to chip in.

GM CEO Dan Akerson and his dispatched-to-Europe fixer Steve Girsky emphatically denied that its loss-making Opel arm is up for sale or might be merged into a joint venture with equally loss-making Peugeot.

Auto sales in China rose 10.88 percent in March to 2,035,100 units, data of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show. Analysts expected a more robust rise after sales grew 15 percent in the January-February period.

Long feted as “the next China,” the Indian car market turned into a big disappointment: India’s annual car sales fell for the first time in a decade in the financial year just ended, Reuters says.

“Carmakers in India, two years ago the world’s hottest growth market after China, have seen high interest rates, rising fuel prices and prolonged economic gloom turn an industry recently growing at 30 percent a year into one plagued by huge discounts, showrooms full of unsold cars, and chronic overcapacity.”

Researchers are quickly getting disenchanted by the high price of lithium-ion batteries, paired with a growing number of high-profile incidents involving smoke and fire, Reuters says in an in-depth analysis. Some are looking way beyond Lithium-Ion. Some go back to technology that is older than the car: Lead-Acid.

A few months ago, we discussed what Nissan/Renault’s Carlos Ghosn calls a “structural decline” of Europe: Missing car buyers, brought on by a sudden decline of births around 1970. A population peak that now sits smack in the middle of the prime new car buying age, which in most of Europe is between 40 and 60 years, will retire in a few years, throwing Europe’s car industry in turmoil. Daimler, which has some of the oldest buyers, is beginning to feel the pain.

Yesterday, Ford announced that its Focus “is officially the world’s best-selling passenger car,” with 1,020,410 units sold worldwide in 2012. That according to registration data compiled by Polk.

“Wrong” Toyota said today.

When Lee Iacocca was a Ford regional manager, he helped pioneer auto loans. Consumers could buy a 1956 Ford for 20% down and $56 a month. The loans were paid off in just 36 months. In the final quarter of 2012, the average term of a new car note stretched out to 65 months, says Experian. 17% of all new car loans in the past quarter were between 73 and 84 months. A few were as long as 97 months. This trend bears huge risks for consumers and industry, says the Wall Street Journal.

Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech solidifies his and the Piech-Porsche clan’s control of Europe’s largest carmaker by placing his wife in positions of power. A year after taking a seat on Volkswagen’s supervisory board, Ursula Piech will be up for certain election to Audi’s supervisory panel at the annual shareholders’ meeting on May 16, Reuters reports.

Last week, GM CEO Dan Akerson said that GM might move production away from South Korea if tensions with North Korea escalate. Today, Korea labor unions said Akerson is using the crisis as a pretext to gain the upper hand in upcoming labor talks.

Ford says now what Matt Gasnier said months ago: The Ford Focus model was the world’s best-selling passenger car in 2012. Ford’s assertion is based on data from automotive consulting firm Polk.

Ferrari abandons its trademark red for a limited-edition version of the California 30 convertible targeted at the Japanese market.

On Friday, Fisker fired most of its rank-and-file employees, 160 out of a total 210, and promptly got into hot water for doing so. The law firm Outten & Golden filed a class-action lawsuit for not giving employees a 60-day notice under California’s WARN act.

Audi has – via Audi Connect – turned its cars into mobile WiFi hotspots for a few years already. Now comes the killer price: For just $15 a month, you can have all you can eat wireless internet in your car.

Have you experienced panic attacks due to a wayward and unfindable car key? Toyota’s parts arm Denso is here to help, for a 3,980 Yen ($41) fee. That’s the JDM cost of Denso’s key finder, a small receiver with a buzzer and a LED light that can be wirelessly activated by a smartphone via Bluetooth.