SAAB FIRST revealed its new SUV body style at the Detroit motor show earlier this year, labelling it as the 9-4X BioPower Concept.
Saab gets ready for new 9-4X SUV arrival
However, the Swedes are obviously serious about bringing this to the marketplace in a timely fashion. Codenamed GMT168, the Saab 9-4X will arrive in time for the 2010 model year.
Sharing the platform with the upcoming Cadillac BRX, it will be built at General Motors Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico.
Unlike the current Saab SUV, the 9-7X, this new 9-4X will be sold globally, making its way to Europe. Styling will be close to that of the concept, and powerplants will include a range of petrol engines and a new 250-horsepower diesel. The 9-4X will also offer Saab's XWD all-wheel-drive system.
Ford has exploratory talks about selling off Volvo
Ford has had exploratory talks with French carmaker Renault to sell Volvo, but the talks ended quickly due to price differences, according to sources briefed on the matter. The two parties have spoken again after their initial discussions, which were held last autumn, the sources said.
Ford has also had talks with Chinas third-largest automaker, Dongfeng Motor Group as a potential partner for Volvo, one of the sources said. Ford spokesman Mark Truby declined to comment directly but said: "We announced earlier this year that Volvo is not for sale and that we are focused on improving Volvo's business results."
Even though Ford has said it has no plans to sell Volvo, the automaker has been having informal talks with interested parties, the sources said.
Toyota names its new chairman for its European operations
Toyota has named Akio Toyoda - the great-grandson of its founder and a figure widely tipped as a future president of the carmaker - as head of its overseas business and chairman of its under-performing European operations.
He will replace Tokuichi Uranishi, currently Toyota's executive vice-president for Europe, who after 42 years at the carmaker will move to head Toyota Boshoku, its supplier subsidiary. Registrations of Toyota-branded cars in western Europe from January to May were down 12 per cent, the biggest drop for any carmaker according to ACEA, the European industry lobby group.
At 52 years of age Toyoda, a 24-year veteran of Toyota, is young by the standards of the company's other leaders, including Katsuaki Watanabe, its 66-year-old president and Toyoda has often been mentioned as a successor.