BMW/Toyota joint venture has progressed to the stage that Magna Steyr in Austria will be the build base.

BMW and Toyota have picked Magna Steyr to build their upcoming roadster developed from a joint platform, according to a report.

The next generation BMW Z4, likely to be called the Z5, and the Toyota Supra successor will run off the assembly line in the contract manufacturer's plant in Graz, Austria, starting 2018, the Kleine Zeitung local newspaper reported. It said annual production of 60,000 cars is planned for the two models.

BMW has said it will contract Magna Steyr to build a new model next year after it decided to end production of the Mini Paceman and Countryman in Graz this year but has not named the model. The Countryman likely will be built at the VDL Nedcar factory in the Netherlands that already produces the Mini hatchback, although BMW has not yet disclosed the new production location. The Paceman is being axed.

A Magna Steyr spokesman said the company was not yet permitted to say which BMW model would replace production of the Paceman and Countryman.

Spokespeople at BMW and Toyota Europe declined comment on the Kleine Zeitung report.

The current Z4 has been on the market since May 2009 and BMW executives said early this year that no final approval had been given for a replacement despite the completion of feasibility studies.

Demand for two-seaters is largely dormant, which prompted BMW to ax the Mini Coupe and Roadster, along with the Paceman. Z4 sales fell 47 percent in the first quarter and the model accounts for just three-tenths of 1 percent of BMW brand’s volume.

When asked then by Automotive News Europe whether it was still financially worth competing in the roadster segment, BMW CEO Harald Krueger said the company's cooperation with Toyota would help. "BMW has a long roadster tradition," he said. "We will occupy the segment once more. It's not big, but it's important for the strength of the brand."

Magna Steyr is a unit of Canada's Magna International and its specialty is building low volume cars, ideal for a niche model like a roadster. The Graz factory currently builds the Mercedes G class SUV and will add an as yet unnamed Jaguar Land Rover model in 2017. Production of the Peugeot RCZ coupe at the plant ended last year.

Earlier this month Magna Steyr said retooling works at the Graz plant are on schedule and will be completed next year. It forecast that annual production at Graz will surpass 200,000 vehicles in 2018. Last year Graz built 103,904 cars.

Christiaan Hetzner

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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to establish a new joint venture for FIAT, CHrysler and Jeep brands.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. will establish a joint venture to integrate sales and marketing for the Fiat, Chrysler and Jeep brands in China.

The move is intended to enhance cooperation between the two companies and pave the way for local Jeep production in China, according to GAC.

Currently, Fiat Chrysler has separate sales and marketing operations in China for the Fiat brand and Chrysler-Jeep.

GAC Fiat Automobile Co. builds two Fiat models - the Viaggio compact sedan and the Ottima compact hatchback -- in the central China city of Changsha.

GAC Fiat, 50-50 production joint venture between GAC and Fiat Chrysler, is building a second assembly plant in the south China city of Guangzhou. It's due to start production in 2016.

Three Jeep models, including one specifically developed for China, will be built in the new plant by the end of 2016.

Fiat Chrysler aims to sell 850,000 vehicles annually in China in 2018, up from 130,000 units in 2013, according to Mike Manley, the company's Asia chief.

Manley made the sales projections in May during a presentation of the company's five-year plan at Chrysler Group's headquarters in suburban Detroit.

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Volkswagen extends Chinese partnership until 2041.

• Agreement signed in Federal Chancellery in presence of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel
• Volkswagen and further Chinese joint venture partner SAIC agree on new proving ground in Xinjiang province
• Prof. Dr. Winterkorn: “Together with its strong partners Volkswagen is focusing on innovation, eco-friendly technologies and excellently trained employees in China.”
• Cooperation with Ministry of Education: Centers of competence for teacher training to be set up to strengthen expansion of dual vocational training system

After 20 years of successful cooperation the Volkswagen Group and its Chinese joint venture partner First Automotive Works (FAW) are extending their present partnership for a further 25 years, until the year 2041. In addition, the Volkswagen Group and the Chinese joint venture partner SAIC are investing in the Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW) proving ground in Xinjiang province, western China. Both agreements were signed in Berlin today in the presence of Li Keqiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. A joint memorandum concluded with the Chinese Ministry of Education concerning cooperation in the field of vocational training was already signed yesterday in Wolfsburg.

Based on today’s extended cooperation, Volkswagen and FAW will be able to significantly expand existing research and development activities in China and move into new business areas in the coming years, above all in the field of alternative drive technologies. The agreement was signed by Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for China and President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, and Xu Jianyi, Chairman of the FAW Group. Back in July of this year, Volkswagen and FAW agreed to expand their production capacity by building two new plants in Qingdao and Tianjin.

“Together with its strong partners Volkswagen is focusing on innovation, eco-friendly technologies and excellently trained employees in China. Today’s agreements pave the way for the sustainable development of China’s automotive industry and for the Volkswagen Group and its joint ventures to benefit from growth”, Winterkorn underscored during the signing ceremony.

Volkswagen is further expanding its activities in western China – and is joining up with the Chinese joint venture partner SAIC to invest some €100 million in a new proving ground in the Xinjiang region to test models from Shanghai Volkswagen. The facility will be built to the south east of the Urumqi plant commissioned in August 2013. Heizmann and Chen Zhixin, President of SAIC Motor Corporation, also signed a joint agreement to this effect today.

“Our success in China would not have been possible without our long-standing Chinese joint venture partnerships”, Heizmann commented. “We are firmly convinced the extended cooperation with FAW we signed today reinforces our excellent strategic position going forward. We will be introducing our newest testing methods in China at our new proving ground, and will be paying very close attention to the appropriate training for our employees. This is clear testimony of Volkswagen’s commitment to the Chinese market.”

As Prof. Dr. Horst Neumann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for Human Resources, Organization and IT, underscored: “Dual vocational training along the lines of the system Volkswagen has implemented almost all over the world closely links theory and practice and ensures that young employees acquire a high standard of specialist skills. 

That is why we want to encourage even more higher vocational education institutions in China to commit to dual vocational training.” Together with Prof. Guiren Yuan, the Chinese Minister of Education, Neumann signed on Thursday in Wolfsburg a memorandum on cooperation in the field of vocational training in which the Volkswagen Group and the Chinese government undertake to expand the dual vocational training system in China. Plans include nine centers of competence for teacher training and for teaching programs that closely link theory and practice in line with the German vocational training principle. These educational facilities will specialize in tooling, automation technology, bodyshell technology and automotive technology as well as pedagogy. The first centers have already been set up in Changchun and Yizheng.

The Volkswagen Group is one of the most successful companies in the Chinese automobile industry. Together with its joint venture partners SAIC and FAW, the Volkswagen Group builds models from the Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi and ŠKODA brands for the Chinese market. Vehicle production includes engines and components manufactured locally by the Group and its partners. In total, the Volkswagen Group has a presence at 17 production locations in China comprising eight vehicle sites and nine component sites. Shanghai Volkswagen has already announced the building of a new factory in Changsha to expand vehicle production capacity. Furthermore, FAW-Volkswagen is to construct two new production plants in Qingdao and Tianjin.

In the first three quarters of this year, Volkswagen Group China together with its Chinese joint ventures Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen delivered more than 2.7 million vehicles, an increase of 15.2 percent on the comparable prior-year period.

Renault and Caterham's joint venture project will be cancelled

The deal between the two sides was forged in 2012, and resulted in Renault putting its Alpine factory in Dieppe and its 300-strong workforce into the 50:50 joint venture with Caterham. The partnership was called the Societe des Automobiles Alpine Caterham (SAAC) 

As a result, the two were set to launch lightweight two-seat sports cars under the Alpine and Caterham brands, co-developed by a joint engineering department.  

It is understood that both sports cars will still be launched on schedule in late 2016, although it is not clear if they will continue to share the same architecture and powertrains. The Alpine has been tipped to get 250bhp, with Caterham said to be chasing nearer 300bhp. The target kerb weight is 1100kg.

Neither Renault nor Caterham would confirm or comment on the split when contacted by Autocar.

However, reports of tensions between the two partners have been rife since it was confirmed the project would be delayed  earlier this year, after Renault instigated a minor redesign of its Alpine following customer clinics on the car's looks.

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CHINA - Ford posts a significant 55% increase in October Chinese sales, and 52% year to date

• Ford China October sales reach 93,969 wholesales, up 55%; year-to-date sales reach 741,818 wholesales, up 52%
• CAF October sales reach 70,173 wholesales, up 61%; year-to-date sales reach 536,421 wholesales, up 68%
• JMC October sales reach 21,724, up 36%; year-to-date sales reach 186,920, up 14%

Ford China continued to expand sales in October, with 93,969 wholesale units sold, up 55 percent from October 2012. Following a record third quarter, year-to-date sales also remain strong with 741,818 wholesale units sold, up 52 percent compared to the same period last year.

The Ford Focus led October sales with 39,710 wholesales sold in October, up 18 percent year on year and 48 percent year to date. The all-new Ford Mondeo—launched at the end of August—sold 7,805 wholesale units in October, and Ford’s impressive SUV lineup—the Explorer, Edge, Kuga and EcoSport—continued to be in high demand. The Ford EcoSport sold 6,484 wholesale units in October while the Ford Kuga sold 9,604 wholesale units.

Changan Ford Automobile (CAF), Ford’s passenger car joint venture in China, sold 70,173 wholesale units in October, up 61 percent compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date sales reached 536,421, up 68 percent compared to January to October 2012.

Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), Ford's commercial vehicle joint venture in China, also delivered fantastic October sales with 21,724 wholesale sold, up 36 percent compared to the same period last year. Strong JMC sales were driven by increased demand for the Ford Transit, which sold 6,036 wholesale units in October, up 19 percent compared to October 2012. Year-to-date sales for JMC reached 186,920 wholesale units, up 14 percent compared to January to October last year.

Ford closed October after hitting a major milestone in its Asia Pacific region, selling one million vehicles for the first time — with China contributing a large portion of that with its strong sales performance.