2016 is heading towards a record year for Infiniti Motor Company, with sales well above last year.

• 20,000 vehicles sold around the world in November, up 5%
• 6% growth leading to record sales of 204,000 year-to-date
• All-time record sales month in Mexico of 222 vehicles, up 25%

INFINITI achieved its best November sales month and is on track for 2016 to be the best sales year in its history.  From January – November, INFINITI set a new global record for sales in the first 11 months, with almost 204,000 vehicles sold, an increase of 6% compared to the same time last year. INFINITI sold 215,000 vehicles in 2015.

Total November sales of more than 20,000 were up 5% versus November last year. November sales in Mexico were an all-time record of more than 222 vehicles, a 25% increase from last year.

Roland Krueger, President of INFINITI Motor Company said, “INFINITI is on track to have a record sales year this year, thanks to the strength of our expanding product portfolio and the hard work of everyone at INFINITI.

The QX30 compact vehicle recently went on sale in China, where we also showed the new Q60 coupe for the first time. INFINITI had its best sales month ever in Mexico in November. Sales of the Q60 are strong in the US which is INFINITI’s largest market around the world. Customers around the world appreciate the combination of attributes our vehicles offer – from dynamic design and superior performance, to driver-assist technologies and great fuel efficiency.”

In China, INFINITI set a new November sales record with more than 4,000 vehicles sold, a 6% increase from November 2015. Year to date, INFINITI sold almost 37,000 vehicles in China, an increase of 3% over the same period last year. The QX30 compact crossover went on sale at the Guangzhou Motor Show in mid-November, and was featured in an Air+Style Snowboard event in November at the iconic Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing.

From January to November, INFINITI sold more than 15,200 vehicles in Western Europe, up 143% from the same period last year. In the UK registrations have increased by 170% compared to 2015 and is 149% ahead for the calendar year. This is largely driven by excellent reception of INFINITI’s all-new Q30 and QX30 compact entries by the company’s customers.

In the United States, INFINITI sold 12,112 vehicles, a 4% increase from November 2015, and more than 120,000 vehicles from January – November, a 1% increase.

In Asia and Oceania, INFINITI has sold more than 6,100 vehicles between January and November, a record for the region and an increase of 24% over the same period the previous year. 

MEXICO - Toyota to open a new plant, its 15th in North America, which will commence production in 2019 to produce the Corolla.

• Celebrates the construction of its fifteenth plant in North America and its latest investment in Mexico

Along with the local community, Toyota celebrated the groundbreaking of Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Guanajuato (TMMGT), its fifteenth manufacturing plant in North America, during a ceremony in Apaseo el Grande today.

TMMGT will produce the Corolla, the top selling car in the world, beginning in 2019, and employ approximately 2,000 team members from the Bajio region. 

With an annual vehicle capacity of 200,000 units per year and a one-billion-dollar investment, TMMGT will serve as the model of manufacturing for Toyota thanks in part to its design built on the anticipated Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA). 

TNGA will serve as a catalyst for building more models on common platforms, making intelligent use of common parts, and fully leveraging Toyota’s supply chain.

“TMMGT will afford us the opportunity to boost vehicle quality and appeal while achieving cost savings through production engineering innovations,” said Mike Bafan, TMMGT president. “This plant will also be simple, sustainable, mindful of its environment and highly competitive. Ultimately, this means our customers will benefit from our cars being produced locally with the highest quality and environmental standards.”

Attending the ceremony were Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Board Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada, TMMGT President Mike Bafan, Toyota de México Group Vice President Jun Umemura, Toyota Motor Sales de México CEO Tom Sullivan and Toyota Motor Sales de México  General Counsel and Government Affairs Director Luis Lozano; accompanied by Guanajuato Governor Miguel Márquez Márquez, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo and Apaseo el Grande Mayor Gonzalo González Centeno.

“Toyota’s investment in Guanajuato represents a long-term sign of our commitment to Mexico, its people and the Bajio region,” said Takeshi Uchiyamada, TMC board chairman. “TMMGT will play a key role in how we make products in the future, while setting a standard for manufacturing excellence in the industry.”

He also highlighted that under Toyota’s Environmental Challenge 2050, which seeks to reduce the company’s global carbon footprint, Toyota will lower CO2 emissions and water usage by fifty percent. In Guanajuato alone, the automaker will help clean up Rio Queretaro and strengthen water conservation.

Moreover, Toyota announced it will aid the needs of the local community through mobility thanks in part to a donation of five Hilux trucks and uniforms to the local police and fire departments.

Once production begins at TMMGT, Toyota will have the capacity to produce approximately 2.2 million vehicles annually in North America.

Both Renaults finish the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix with Palmer gaining spots whilst Magnussen drops.

• Renault Sport Formula One Team’s Jolyon Palmer put in a strong and strategic charge from the back of the grid to take fourteenth in Sunday’s Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix.
• Jolyon started P21 and made a pit stop under the safety car at the end of the first lap. This meant he used Pirelli’s medium compound tyres for a massive 70-lap stint.
• Kevin Magnussen started from P14 and his race strategy was modified from a one to a two-stop strategy, with a final stint on the super soft tyres.

Kevin started the race from P14 with new set of Pirelli’s soft compound tyres. He stopped on lap 12 for a new set of medium tyres, then stopped on lap 51 for a new set of the super soft compound tyres.

Jolyon started the race from P21 – gaining one position as Romain Grosjean vacated the spot to start from the pit lane. Jolyon pitted at the end of the first lap under safety car conditions to exchange his new super soft tyres for a new set of mediums, which he ran with until the chequered flag.

Kevin Magnussen, #20, R.S.16-04: Started P14, finished P17

“Last weekend a late stint on the super soft tyres worked really well for us but today it wasn’t the same story. We just didn’t seem to have the outright pace we needed on any of the tyres we used. It was a frustrating race for me. My first set of soft tyres dropped away as we expected but then we didn’t seem to be able to maintain the pace on the medium tyres so we changed strategy to the super softs, but by then we were too far behind. I’m hoping that we can have a much better race in Brazil.”

Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.16-02: Started P21, finished P14

“I think fourteenth is as good as we could have got from starting at the back, so I’m happy! I had some really good fights with the McLaren guys, which was good fun, and 70 laps on one set of tyres is probably some sort of record… It was a bit of a challenge but in the end we were still going okay; we were quick enough to keep our competitors behind. All in all, I’m pretty happy with today.”

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

“Jolyon had a strong race where we made the most of an aggressive strategy and pitted him very early under the safety car. He drove 70 laps on the same set of tyres and was very consistent to finish in front of some of our nearest rivals. He put in a robust defence of his position, in particular against both Jenson and Fernando. It was a very strong race for him. Kevin had a puzzling race as he was well-placed at the start but he struggled for pace whatever the tyres. We’ll spend a lot of time checking the car and analysing the race to understand how we could have done better. For Brazil we certainly want both cars fighting for points."

MEXICO - The Tsuru sedan that has sold 2.4 million units will end production with a special commemorative Edition.

• Popular Nissan small car sold more than two million units in Mexico since 1984

Nissan confirmed today the end of production of the Nissan Tsuru in Mexico by May 2017. The popular Tsuru, with more than 2.4 million sales to date, has provided accessible, economical and dependable mobility for drivers across Mexico and other markets for more than three decades.

Tsuru has been an important product for Nissan to establish itself as one of the top investors and employers in Mexico. 

The company expects to continue its Mexican sales and production leadership despite ceasing production of the iconic sedan.

 "In the Mexican automotive industry, Tsuru is one of the top sales leaders," said Mayra Gonzalez, president and general director, Nissan Mexicana. "The majority of Mexicans have some history that binds us to the Nissan Tsuru. The sedan, which has a huge following, has provided families in Mexico high-quality, reliable and durable transportation since 1984."

Nissan also announced today a special commemorative version of the Nissan Tsuru will be sold beginning March 2017, with only 1,000 units available. The company will also continue to support Tsuru customers by offering service and parts for the repair and maintenance of its vehicles for the foreseeable future. 

Nissan confirmed that although no direct substitute for the Tsuru is planned, the company will direct customers toward models like the Nissan Versa, the industry's sales leader, as well as other models like Tiida, through their different available versions.

J.D. Power awarded Nissan Tsuru the highest level of customer satisfaction in its 2013 and 2014 Mexican Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study (MVOSS) that evaluated customer satisfaction in the subcompact category.

Nissan Mexico's overall production volume will not be affected by the Tsuru announcement due to production increases at the company's two Aguascalientes plants, including the recently introduced Nissan Kicks.

Additionally, the new Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance joint-venture manufacturing complex, COMPAS (Cooperation Manufacturing Plant Aguascalientes), will start production in late 2017. The COMPAS plant will allow Nissan to surpass the 1 million manufacturing benchmark in Mexico before the end of the decade and, when it's at full capacity, the company will add an additional 3,600 employees to its 15,000 team members in Mexico.

The countdown to the Golf MK8 starts here, with a host of information promoted for the fist seven generations.

• The history of this German bestseller features many record breaking milestones
• For 42 years a Golf has been sold every 40 seconds around the world

The countdown has begun: in early November, Volkswagen will be introducing a major update for its most successful model – the Golf. 

This best seller has been around for more than four decades. An entire generation has been named after it as Generation X is known as “Generation Golf” in Germany. No other European car has sold better. 

By the end of last year, 32,590,025 Golf cars had been sold. 

In effect, therefore, over the last 42 years someone, somewhere in the world, decides to buy a new Golf every 40 seconds. Record-breaking statistics like these have shaped the car's history. And Volkswagen democratises progress to this very day with the Golf. 

• 32,590,025 vehicles by the end of 2015 – the Volkswagen Golf is the most successful European car ever.
• 21,517,415 vehicles– 2002 saw Golf sales overtake the hither to most successful car in the world: the Beetle.
• 10,000,000 vehicles – by 1988 the Golf had already broken through the ten million vehicles barrier.
• 1,000,000km – in 2003, a Golf Mk1 driver broke through one million kilometres on the clock. More “millionaires” followed.
• €188,938– the most expensive Golf (Generation V) was auctioned in 2005; the first owner was Pope Benedict XVI.
• €10,156– the German Chancellor Angela Merkel's first Golf (Generation II) was auctioned in 2012.
• 2,120 Golf cars per day– this works out at more than two thousand new Golf cars being produced and sold every day for four decades.
• 730 days for the first million– only two years after its debut, the millionth unit of the first Golf was delivered.
• 650 PS for the enthusiasts – the most powerful Golf ever was the GTI W12-650. It was presented in 2007 at the GTI meet at Wörthersee.
• 155 countries – today the Golf is manufactured in five factories (Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico) and exported to 155 countries.
• 5 drive worlds – the Golf is the only car in the world which is available with electric, hybrid, petrol, diesel and gas powered engineoptions.

WORLDWIDE SALES SEPT - Cadillac pushes its new models to give the brand 22% of growth.

• Fourth consecutive month of double-digit increases
• New CT6 and XT5 register highest monthly sales since launch
• Average transaction prices in US top $53,000 mark

Cadillac sold 30,061 vehicles globally in September, an increase of 22.2 percent. This is the fourth consecutive month of double-digit percentage increases for Cadillac, the last three of which have topped 20 percent.

Both the XT5 crossover and the CT6 prestige sedan reached their highest sales since launch.  Now firmly established as the brand’s top-selling product line, XT5 sold 9,421 units in September, a jump of 10.5 percent above the month prior.  CT6 sales grew 19.9 percent compared to the previous month. 

All other Cadillac product lines currently in production grew in September, including the Escalade (+28.4 percent), XTS luxury sedan (+29.7 percent), CTS (10.1 percent) and ATS (5.9 percent.) 

Cadillac sales rose in its four of largest markets, led by a 63.1 percent increase in China.  In the U.S., the brand experienced volume growth of 3.1% while continuing to earn a premium position in the marketplace. Cadillac average transaction prices topped $53,000 per unit (according to J.D. Power Information Network, Sept 25.)  Cadillac sales also saw substantial growth in Canada, Europe, Middle East and South Korea. For the year to date, Cadillac global sales are up 6.7 percent.

“Our results show Cadillac is earning growth through a disciplined strategy built on a foundation of product substance,” said Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen. “Both products launched this year continue to gain momentum, as we elevate all aspects of our business to a more premium position globally.”

Cadillac sales in key regions appear in the table below.

GLOBAL SALES BY PRODUCT LINE
	Sep-16	Sep-15	% Change	YTD-16	YTD-15	% Change
ATS	6,005	5,668	5.9	42,991	43,476	(1.1)
CTS	1,808	1,642	10.1	14.524	16.616	(12.6)
XTS	5,694	4,391	29.7	38,873	35,219	10.4
CT6	2,242	0	NEW	8,937	0	NEW
SRX	636	9,562	(93.3)	37,314	73,308	(49.1)
XT5	9,421	0	NEW	37,436	0	NEW
Escalade	4,249	3,309	28.4	31,656	29,620	6.9
ELR	6	37	(83.8)	535	765	(30.1)
Other	0	0	-	1	15	(93.3)
Total	30,061	24,609	22.2	212,267	199,019	6.7
SALES BY REGION
	Sep-16	Sep-15	% Change	YTD-16	YTD-15	% Change
United States	15,368	14,908	3.1	119,286	125,699	(5.1)
China*	12,539	7,687	63.1	77,028	56,873	35.4
Canada	1,264	1,172	7.8	8,751	8,932	(2)
Middle East	374	347	7.8	3,042	3,801	(20)
Mexico	146	160	(8.8)	1,273	1,271	0.2
EU- Russia**	167	102	63.7	1,452	1,061	36.8
South Korea	124	91	36.3	725	579	25.2
ROW	79	142	(44.3)	710	803	(11.6)
Total	30,061	24,609	22.2	212,267	199,019	6.7

*China retail sales

**Europe sales do not include Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro (which are offered in some European Cadillac dealerships.)