This Weeks OEM Headlines
Dodge Viper ordering halted amid car’s final year – The 2017 Dodge Viper is an endangered species with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV no longer taking orders while it assesses how many cars are available for the supercar’s final year of production. Dodge boss Tim Kuniskis, head of Fiat Chrysler-North America head of passenger car brands, recently told The Detroit News that the company has no plans to extend Viper production past the 2017 model year.
Ford halts Mustang production for week amid slow sales – Ford Motor Co. is halting production at its Flat Rock Assembly Plant this week to trim rising inventories of the pony car, a spokeswoman confirmed Monday. “We continue to match production with demand,” spokeswoman Kelli Felker said in an email. “Mustang remains the top seller in its segment in total and retail sales.” Mustang inventory stood at 89 days at the end of September and analysts say a healthy target is closer to 60 days supply.
Honda expands SUV production in U.S. – Honda Motor Co (7267.T) is expanding capacity for the new generation of its CR-V sport utility vehicle, shifting production to the United States from Mexico in a move that will intensify competition in one of the U.S. auto industry’s hottest segments. Honda executives unveiled the re-engineered 2017 CR-V Wednesday at Detroit’s Eastern Market. They said the company plans to expand overall output of the vehicles in North America by building CR-Vs at factories in Alliston, Ontario, East Liberty, Ohio and for the first time at a plant in Greensburg, Indiana.
Toyota and Suzuki Say They Are Considering an Alliance – In a foreshadowing of a possible new alliance in the automobile industry, Toyota and Suzuki said on Wednesday that they were discussing a wide-ranging business partnership. The manufacturers, both Japanese, were vague about what might happen. A merger, even a partial one, would effectively bring Suzuki into the orbit of the much larger Toyota, which regularly vies with Volkswagen to be the world’s biggest automaker.
