Articles by John Reed

Land Rover, whose sport utility vehicles are prime targets for green-minded politicians, will cut the average carbon dioxide emissions of its vehicles by some 20 per cent by 2012, which is more than the average cuts the European Union is seeking; according to its managing director.The brand and its sister Jaguar marque, which their owner Ford Motor wants to sell, are investing pound stg. 700 million ($1.6 billion) in CO2 improvements in their five-year business plan, with most of the money earmarked for Land Rover, Phil Popham told the Financial Times.The EU is preparing legislation requiring car makers to reduce their cars' average CO2 emissions through improved vehicle technology to 130 grams per kilometre by 2012, about 18 per cent lower than last year's average of 160g/km.Land Rover, like BMW, Porsche and other premium car makers, is unlikely to meet the target, and favours legislation that will take into account vehicles' weight, size or other relative factors when mandating cuts.“The pound stg. 700 million is a bit north of a 20 per cent improvement,” Mr Popham said. “We can meet the intent of the legislation in terms of percentage improvement, but there's no way we're going to get the fleet average down to 130g/km.”Land Rover and Jaguar, with no smaller vehicles in their line-up, are seen as two of Europe's brands most vulnerable to souring political sentiment on high-emission cars. After lagging behind competitors in developing smaller and cleaner cars, they are now investing heavily in them.At last month's Frankfurt Motor Show, Land Rover teased viewers with a film showing an image of a smaller concept vehicle expected to be unveiled next January in Detroit. The crossover-type vehicle was shown pulling out of a parking garage alongside a Mini, making it clear it would be smaller than anything in Land Rover's fleet.Land Rover is installing emissions-cutting 'stop-start' systems on its 2009 Freelander vehicles, which it will make standard on its fleet. The brand is expanding its diesel offering and developing a full hybrid car.CO2 is seen as perhaps the biggest single risk factor dogging the sale of Land Rover, which, unlike Jaguar, is profitable and reporting record global sales.Potential bidders doing due diligence on the brands including; Ripplewood Holdings, Terra Firma, Cerberus Capital Management, TPG, One Equity Partners, and India's Tata Motors; are privately pressing Ford for guarantees on the issue.London Mayor Ken Livingstone is mooting a flat pound stg. 25 a day congestion charge for big cars. 

In his 15 years at BMW, the Munich car maker's US-born head of design has overseen the creation of some of the industry's most admired and imitated, if controversial, cars.

German chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in on the issue yesterday. In a speech in Beijing, she described plagiarism and copyright infringement in China as 'a big problem.'DaimlerChrysler said it would consider unspecified legal action if Chinese carmaker Shuanghuan Automobile showed the Noble, which it says closely resembles its Smart Fortwo minicar at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show.“We take intellectual property protection very seriously,” a DaimlerChrysler spokesman said.“We decided to reserve the right to pursue legal action.”BMW said it was considering legal action against the importer of another Shuanghuan vehicle the CEO, which it claims closely resembles a previous version of its X5 sports utility vehicle that was discontinued last year. Shuanghuan and China Automobile Deutschland, the importer, could not be reached for comment.Ms Merkel said “If suddenly a car turns up that looks like a Smart but isn't one, but rather a copy produced by not entirely legal means, then that's not good.”DaimlerChrysler, which following its sale of Chrysler, is due to change its name to Daimler in October has not elaborated on its legal plans, but the company is understood to have contacted Shuanghuan about the issue.The German company last year succeeded in stopping another Chinese producer, CMEC, from bringing to market another vehicle that closely resembled the Smart.Global carmakers, including Germany's, are seeking to entrench their positions in China, now the world's second-largest vehicle market after the US, while seeking to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights.More Chinese Cars: Great Wall Motors

Jaguar has announced pricing for the XF, a sports saloon seen as a make-or-break vehicle for the struggling British luxury brand that Ford Motor is trying to sell.The car will make its public debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show on September 11. Its reception will be watched closely by private equity and car-making groups now weighing bids for Jaguar and Land Rover, Ford's other UK premium brand. India's Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors, alongside at least five buyout groups, are weighing up the car makers for a possible bid.Jaguar said the XF, which will aim to compete with top German offerings such as BMW's 5-series, would cost from pound stg. 33,900 ($82,600) in Britain.The car maker described the model as “a dramatic expression of Jaguar's bold new design language” and its styling resembles the C-XF concept car unveiled in January in Detroit.“It's really key how this model takes to the market,” said Jonathon Poskitt, manager of JD Power, the European automotive sales forecast consultancy. “It's a really pivotal model.”Kevin Gaskell, chief executive of EurotaxGlass International, the automotive consultancy, said “It's absolutely crucial to the future of the company.”With a sporty styled exterior, the four-door XF seats five and boasts a number of innovative design features, including a rotary shift that rises into the driver's palm when the engine is started. The model will be available with a range of four engines, including a version with a 4.2 litre V8, petrol-supercharged engine, priced in Britain at pound stg. 54,900.Despite buoyant global luxury car sales, Jaguar has been losing money since 1999 and its sales have dropped from a peak of about 130,000 to 75,000 last year.The brand has seen some of its customers defect to bigger brands such as BMW, which sold 1.37 million cars last year, after Jaguar produced a string of cars that some critics described as stodgy.After failing to compete with larger volume luxury car makers such as BMW, Ford is now pursuing a “niche premium” strategy and emulating smaller producers, such as Porsche.Ford does not break down earnings for its premium brands but Jaguar's core British unit had reported pre-tax losses of pound stg. 258 million last year. 

BMW is considering developing a new car smaller than its Mini model as part of a review of its market position and car portfolio.If built, the vehicle will help the German car maker lower its mostly large-engined fleet's average carbon dioxide emissions as the European Union pushes ahead with CO2-cutting laws.According to three people with knowledge of the project, BMW has ordered initial work on prototypes of a low-emission car smaller than any of the company's models.“BMW is considering a small car under the Mini,” one of the people said. “It's very serious.”The car maker, which is based in Munich, declined to comment on its plans but is expected to give an update on an ongoing strategic review of its operations when it announces its quarterly results tonight.It is, however, unlikely to give any concrete details of the supermini idea or others it is mooting, believed to include acquisitions or platform-sharing with other manufacturers.BMW is solidly profitable, but the controlling Quandt family is keen to improve the company's performance as it faces stiffer competition from Volkswagen's Audi brand and DaimlerChrysler, which will soon be relieved of its loss-making US unit, Chrysler.According to people familiar with the project, BMW will be unlikely to use its brand for the new car, which might be built on the same platform as the next-generation Mini.German media has carried unconfirmed reports recently that BMW might team up with Mercedes on making a small car.The super-small city car or “fun car” segment is growing rapidly in Europe as regulators push for lower-emission cars.Fiat claims to have sold all its 60,000 current-year production for the revamped 500 supermini, which it launched last month.EU regulators are pushing car makers to reduce their average CO2 emissions by 25 per cent by2012.BMW has recently introduced several low-emission new models in its 1 Series range and is believed to be eager to avoid the mistakes made by Mercedes on its Smart city car, on which it has lost billions of euros since the car's launch in 1998.And Land Rover is considering developing a vehicle smaller than its Freelander sport utility vehicle, according to the head of the Ford subsidiary. 

Ford has asked Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and HSBC to advise on the sale, which is said to be in early stages and does not include Volvo, the third luxury brand in its Premier Automotive Group.The loss-making car company's share price was trading 1.5 per cent higher at $US8.36 on Monday afternoon after news of the sale. Ford is understood to be selling the two brands jointly.Jaguar and Land Rover's vehicles do not share common architecture, but the brands share purchasing and some other functions. Land Rover's Freelander 2 is made in the same facility in Halewood, England as Jaguar's X-type range.In March Ford sold control of Aston Martin, the sports car marque, to a Kuwaiti-led consortium in a £479 million ($1.12 billion) deal that included its own retained minority stake, worth £40 million.The company declined to comment yesterday on what it called “speculation”.Analysts were uncertain of how much Ford may get for the brands, whose earnings it consolidates with those of Volvo and Aston Martin. Ford's premium PAG group reported a pre-tax loss last year of $US327 million ($387 million).Land Rover, which sold a record 192,500 vehicles in 2006, is said to be profitable, but Jaguar, which is refreshing its line-up in an effort to regain market share, is losing money. “It may be `buy one, get one free',” said a person familiar with the two brands.The sale is likely to draw interest from buyout groups following last month's $US7.4 billion sale of loss-making US car maker Chrysler to private equity group Cerberus.Analysts said that many established car makers would baulk at taking on the two brands, whose large, powerful vehicles are costly to develop at a time of rising curbs on car emissions.Fiat Auto and Renault yesterday denied any interest in them.News of the sale followed months of denials by Ford that it was looking to offload the two brands. “They may be saying, `It's time to get back to what we know: volume car production,”' said Eric Wallbank of Ernst &Young in London.