Automotive industry

March sales report reveals 16 cars over 3,000 cc sold, defying expectations in a shifting automotive landscape

European Commission investigators are to inspect Chinese automakers in the coming weeks as part of a probe into whether to impose punitive tariffs to protect European electric vehicle (EV) makers, three people involved in the process said.

Carmakers produced a total of 1.35 million vehicles in January-November, up 11.5 percent from a year ago, data from the Automotive Manufacturers' Association (OSD) have shown.

Passenger car production increased more than 22 percent to 876,000, while commercial vehicle production fell 4 percent year-on-year to 473,000.

An accident involving a minibus carrying schoolchildren occurred on the Plovdiv-Karlovo road, Nova TV reported. The vehicle hit an jeep. A teacher and a child were taken to hospital. They are in good condition and contactable.

Authorities have announced a raft of regulations aims at bringing exorbitant prices in the secondhand car market under control.

The price of secondhand cars put up for sale online should not exceed that of new cars, said Trade Minister Ömer Bolat.

Representatives of the auto industry expect around 400,000 to 450,000 vehicles to be sold in the next 7 months with total car sales on the local market reaching around 900,000 this year.

The first five months of 2023 saw record sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles as many consumers turned to cars as safe "investment."

The Indian owner of carmaker Jaguar Land Rover is set to select Britain over Spain to for a giant battery plant employing up to 9,000 people, the BBC reported Wednesday.

The broadcaster, citing sources familiar with the matter, added that the boss of JLR owner Tata Motors was expected to fly into Britain next week to finalise the deal and meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Demand has been rising for secondhand cars in a market trying to fend off the tight supply of new vehicles.

Besides the availability problems, what drives the demand is people's expectations that prices will go up in the coming months due to the perceived depreciation of the local currency.

Rescue workers are on the scene at factory 56 in Sindelfingen, which assembles the S-Class, according to the Bild newspaper.
According to a German newspaper report citing police, the suspect was detained after the shooting at the factory.
It added that the background of the shooting is still unclear.

Nearly 98,000 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) were sold in Türkiye last month, pointing to a 62.7 percent increase from April 2022, data from the Automotive Distributors' and Mobility Association (ODMD) have shown.

Last month, 77,400 passenger cars were sold on the local market, translating into an annualized increase of 69.9 percent.