Archive for March, 2008

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Mitsubishi Motors transfers production of SUV for PSA Peugeot Citroen

Friday, March 28th, 2008

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) announces today that it has decided to transfer production of all EU-bound SUVs it supplies to PSA Peugeot Citroen from its Mizushima Plant (Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture), where they are currently built, to its European production hub, Netherlands Car B.V. (”NedCar”, Born, The Netherlands).

The transfer will be effective as of January 2009.

This decision was driven by MMC’s desire to optimize its production capacities according to demand for each model, minimizing missed sales opportunities.

A 100% Mitsubishi Motors facility, NedCar currently builds the European Colt family of compact cars. From August 2008, NedCar will add production of the Outlander SUV.

In parallel, production of the non EU-bound PSA Peugeot Citroen SUVs will be transferred to MMC’s Nagoya Plant (Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture), starting November 2008.

Source: Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

If you are looking for Japanese used SUV exporters, please visit : http://www.japanautopages.com/business_type/exporter.php

Posted in Worldwide, Japan, Japanese Makers, SUV, Foreign Makers | Comments Off

Mazda Announces Japan Staff Recruitment Plan for FY2009

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Mazda Motor Corporation has announced its staff recruitment plan for fiscal year (FY) 2009. Mazda will offer a total of 690 positions to prospective employees in Japan. These are broken down into 250 engineering, 50 administrative/clerical, 360 manufacturing and 30 medical/other open positions.

Minoru Mitsuda, executive officer and general manager of Mazda’s Human Resources Division, said, “Mazda has completed improvements to increase its production capacity in Japan. Now we are recruiting the excellent people we need to achieve our mid-term plan. We are continuing to recruit an optimal number of employees for the long-term. This year, for the 2009 staff recruitment plan, we’ve adopted an ongoing concept called ‘Go Beyond.’ The plan aims to recruit employees brimming with enthusiasm under the slogan, ‘Make Mazda go beyond what it is today. Go beyond what I am today.”

Source: Mazda Motor Corporation

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Mazda to Showcase All-New Mazda6 and Mazda Taiki Concept at the 2008 Beijing Motor Show

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

—Mazda Motor Corporation will showcase the European specification of the all-new Mazda6 (known as the all-new Mazda Atenza in Japan) and Mazda Taiki, the fourth concept car in the Nagare design series, at the 2008 Beijing International Motor Show* from Sunday, April 20, through Monday, April 28, 2008.

* Officially titled the 2008 Beijing International Automobile Exhibition, the press days are Sunday, April 20, and Monday, April 21. The public days are Tuesday, April 22, through Monday, April 28, 2008

All-new Mazda6 (European specification)

Mazda Taiki The new Mazda5 Hydrogen RE Hybrid, equipped with Mazda’s hydrogen rotary engine, will be exhibited along with other future environmental and safety technologies to promote Sustainable Zoom-Zoom, Mazda’s long-term vision for technology development. Around the world, the Sustainable Zoom-Zoom plan aims to harmonize driving pleasure with environmental and safety performance. Based on this vision, Mazda is committed to working towards a sustainable future that brings continued happiness and excitement to everyone by offering vehicles that “look inviting to drive, are fun to drive, and make you want to drive them again.”

New Mazda5 Hydrogen RE Hybrid Mazda will also debut the freshened Mazda RX-8 ahead of its introduction to the Chinese market. The Mazda MX-5 (known as the Mazda Roadster in Japan) Power Retractable Hard Top will be shown as a reference model. A total of 16 vehicles* from nine model lines will be exhibited on the Mazda stand. * On press days, 14 vehicles from nine model lines will be displayed. Source: Mazda Motor Corporation If you are looking for Japanese used Cars, Vans, SUV, MUV, Van, Wagons exporters, please visit : http://www.japanautopages.com/business_type/exporter.php

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Concept Kizashi 3: The North America-Focused Final Model in the Concept Kizashi Series

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Suzuki Motor Corporation has exciting plans to enter the midsize (D-segment) market in the third phase of its global strategy. At the 2007 International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Suzuki wowed the motoring public by signalling its midsize intentions with the Concept Kizashi. Then at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, Suzuki gave a further taste of its midsize production-car ideas in the form of the Concept Kizashi 2. At the 2008 New York International Auto Show, Suzuki will be unveiling the culmination of its flagship preview series: a midsize sport sedan called the Concept Kizashi 3. Suzuki's entry into the midsize segment Since launching the Swift in 2004, Suzuki has been pursuing a global strategy in line with its "Way of Life!" brand slogan. In the first phase of its global strategy, Suzuki focused on sportiness, launching the Swift, Grand Vitara, and SX4. In the second phase of its global strategy, Suzuki focused on family-oriented user-friendliness and environmental compatibility, launching the Splash and unveiling a design study for the subsequent Suzuki world strategic model. True to its spirit of innovation and challenge, Suzuki is now moving forward with the third phase of its global strategy ― a phase in which it will enter the midsize segment through an initiative first highlighted by the Concept Kizashi at the 2007 International Motor Show in Frankfurt. The theme of this phase is "status".

Suzuki has made a name for itself as a specialist in compact cars and sport utility vehicles. It sold 2,375,000 vehicles worldwide in 2007, and its mid-term five-year plan calls for production of more than three million vehicles in the fiscal 2009. But even with its ongoing sales and production growth, Suzuki needs to expand its car lineup beyond the compact-car segment in order to make a further leap forward as an automaker and accommodate the diverse lifestyles of customers who want to stay with Suzuki when purchasing larger, midsize cars. The future production model will be built at Suzuki’s brand-new Sagara plant in Japan, currently under construction, and provide an accessible alternative to the near-luxury segment, and while a firm timetable has not been announced, Suzuki will deliver a Kizashi-influenced sport sedan to North American dealers in 2010.

The Concept Kizashi series was developed by Suzuki’s Advanced Design Group to reflect a dynamic athlete in motion, taking design cues from a strong, honed physique while displaying the performance, strength and style befitting a flagship vehicle. The design theme began with Concept Kizashi, which made its debut at the 2007 International Motor Show in Frankfurt, and the Concept Kizashi 2, unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show last October, which further revealed Suzuki’s new design language. The Concept Kizashi 3 represents the completion of the Kizashi series and provides a closer-to-production vision of Suzuki’s future sport sedan offering. The Kizashi’s “super sport” identity, a core component of the Suzuki brand DNA, is tempered by the vehicle’s overall mission to provide strong, refined urban performance.

Evoking the physical superiority and dignity of a world-class athlete, the Concept Kizashi series was developed by Suzuki to create a substantial presence that redefines the traditional performance sedan and moves the Suzuki brand upscale. The overall design theme suggests physical strength from intense daily training, with the strong will, commitment and presence of a champion.

Source: Suzuki Motor Corporation

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Order received for TRT Generating System in Brazil

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced today that it has received an order for a top pressure recovery turbine (TRT) generating system with a capacity of 22,020 kW from the Brazilian steel company Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN). The system is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2009.

The TRT generating system is driven by the exhaust gas pressure generated from the steelworks’ blast furnace and converted into electricity using a turbine. In addition to energy savings, noise is reduced when gas passes through the turbine. Because of the system’s environmentally friendly features, TRT generating systems have been adopted for all large blast furnaces in Japan.

Kawasaki’s TRT generating system is unique in that it doesn’t rely on a conventional governing valve to control the blast furnace’s top pressure, instead employing the turbine’s variable stator blades. This method does not control the gas flow rate from the blast furnace by adjusting the valves, but adopts a method that continuously adjusts the angle of the blades. This enables efficient, low-noise generation with minimal energy loss, even when the gas flow rate and pressure from the blast furnace change.

In Brazil, demand for power has recently risen considerably, leading steel plants to introduce their own power sources for electricity supplies. The order for a TRT generating system from CSN reflects this shift in Brazil’s socioeconomic status.

Kawasaki has already sold 41 TRT generating systems around the world, demonstrating their high reputation. In Brazil, the systems have been delivered to CST (capacity: 20,000 kW), Gerdau Açominas (11,340 kW) and Usiminas (18,800 kW).

Source: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.

Posted in Worldwide, South American Region | Comments Off

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