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AUTO PRODUCTION: Mazda: Skyactiv-X engine still on track for U.S. launch

It may be a while before Mazda's innovative Skyactiv-X engine -- which combines gasoline and diesel combustion traits -- reaches North American showrooms.

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AUTO PRODUCTION: Twilight of combustion engine comes for Germany

The completed combustion engine fitted into a BMW M5 is a 1,200-piece puzzle that weighs more than 181 kg (400 pounds). There are about 150 moving parts whose interlocking precision can catapult a six-figure sports car to 97 kph (60 mph) in 3.3 seconds.

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AUTO PRODUCTION: Toyota to give royalty-free access to hybrid-vehicle patents

Toyota Motor Corp said it would offer royalty-free access to its hybrid-vehicle technology patents through 2030, as it seeks to expand use of lower emissions vehicles before the global auto industry shifts to all-battery electric cars.

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AUTO PRODUCTION: Carmakers Get No Relief in China as Auto Sales Keep Plunging

China’s car sales fell for the ninth consecutive month in February, pulling automakers deeper into a slump that’s threatening their long-term growth plans in the world’s largest market.

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AUTO PRODUCTION: Chinese NEV market

China’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market thrived in 2018, supported by the subsidies already in place, coupled with the advent of the new dual-credit system. We estimate that total output and sales exceeded 1.05 million units and 1.08 million units, respectively, last year. These figures – which encompass battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and extended range electric vehicles (EREVs) – equate to robust year-on-year (YoY) growth of 84% (production) and 88% (sales).

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AUTO PRODUCTION: BMW may stop making Mini at Cowley if there is no-deal Brexit

BMW has said it might be forced to stop making the Mini at its Cowley plant near Oxford in the event of a no-deal Brexit, putting more than 100 years of carmaking at the site at risk.

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AUTO PRODUCTION: Demographic ‘time bomb' awaits automakers

General Motors' plan to idle or close five North American plants points to industrywide turmoil ahead. Electric vehicles, autonomous cars and new mobility services will radically reshape the auto industry in the coming decade. But as executive boards debate their future business model, they are overlooking another looming threat: the demographic time bomb.

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AUTO PRODUCTION: Honda to Shut U.K. Factory in Latest Blow as Brexit Looms

Honda Motor Co. said it plans to close its factory in the U.K. in the biggest blow yet to the British auto industry already buckling under thousands of job cuts and the loss of key models in the run-up to Brexit.

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