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William Diem

Correspondent
WardsAuto

Based in France, Diem covers the European market.

Articles by William Diem
Ford Back in France 
France and local governments invested €125 million in the project to build automatic transmissions, and Ford agreed to keep employment at its reacquired facility at 1,000 jobs for five years.
France Revising Auto Industry Support Groups’ Mission 
The public-private research consortium, under the gun to produce more than research papers, will put more emphasis on meeting market demands.
April Vehicle Sales Hint at European Market Recovery 
Despite last month’s uptick, the sales pace must gain speed if auto makers’ forecast of a 5% decline this year is to be reached.
U.S. Senate Committee Probes Implications of Semi-Autonomous Cars
“Until cars assume complete responsibility for driving, the critical challenge is to design vehicles so that drivers clearly understand how the car works. Even small design changes can violate drivers’ expectations and confuse them.”
Peugeot Prepping New C-Segment Entry for Fall Launch 
The 308 is among the compact vehicles built on the new EMP2 platform whose lighter weight achieves carbon-dioxide emissions as low as 85 g/km in one diesel-powered version.
France Steers Market Toward Higher-Mileage Vehicles 
The CCFA, the French auto makers association, says only 17.5% of cars registered in the first four months paid malus taxes, while 34.9% were awarded bonuses.
French Auto Makers Push New Strategies, Despite Roadblocks 
Renault is trying to fill its French factories again, after recently moving some production to other markets, while PSA tries to persuade the European Union that it has not received non-competitive help from France in the form of a E7 billion loan guarantee.
Europe’s March Sales Remain Stuck in Low Gear 
Industry-watchers continue to expect a full-year decline of about 5%, to 11.5 million units, indicating the steepest slides will end sometime later in the year.
VW Expert Says Technical Issues Slowing EV Growth 
The uncertainty of future demand is a basic problem, Christian Mertens says, noting predictions by various consulting groups range from 25% hybrids and EVs on the road in 2020 to less than 5%.
Citroen Woos China With Premium DS Brand
The “Wild Ruby” DS concept will be the star of the Citroen stand at the Shanghai auto show next week. The brand is tying itself to the tradition of French luxury, saying the SUV was “conceived in Paris, capital of fashion and jewelry.”
PSA Tops French Patent-Application List Again 
Eighty of the auto maker’s patent applications are for the Hybrid Air project. The system improves mild-hybrid powertrains by recovering energy as compressed air and reusing it as quickly as possible with the next acceleration.
France Light-Vehicle Sales Slide 15.4% in March 
The CCFA auto industry association continues to maintain its outlook for the year that calls for a 5% decline, meaning the market is expected to bottom out and begin recovering sometime in the next nine months.
Alliance Hones Logistics for Dacia, Duster U.K. Sales 
The auto makers say the addition of Dacia shipments to the Port of Tyne will lower the cost of both Dacia and Nissan-Infiniti imports.
February Deliveries Indicate Continued European Slump 
While sales were off 9.5% after two months, industry leaders continue to predict the market will be down only 4% to 5% for all of 2013.
Renault to Create Premium Sub-Brand, After Backing Away From Daimler 
The idea is to replicate rival brand Citroen’s successful move upmarket with its DS3, DS4 and DS5 cars that are based on the C3, C4 and C5, but with different bodies and features.

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  • May Sales Should Return to Trend
    A WardsAuto forecast calls for the month’s SAAR to return to 15.2 million light vehicles after slipping to 14.9 million in April.

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