LEXUS HEAD DEFECTS TO FORD:The US head of Toyota's luxury Lexus brand has left the company for Ford in the third high-level defection from the Japanese carmaker to a Detroit rival in two months.
Jim Farley, who worked for nearly two decades at Toyota and Lexus, will join Ford in a new job as global head of marketing and communications, reporting directly to Alan Mulally, the US carmaker's chief executive.
Last month, Jim Press, head of Toyota's North American operations, was lured by Chrysler's new management to become its president and vice-chairman, taking 37 years of experience at the Japanese carmaker with him.
Deborah Wahl Meyer, formerly a top marketing executive for Lexus, joined Chrysler in August.
Ford's poaching of Mr Farley (45) a founder of Toyota's Scion youth brand, is a coup for Ford as it tries to halt the loss of US market share to Asian competitors and co-ordinate its global operations.
CAR SALES DOWN:New car sales in Europe were slightly down in September and virtually flat over the nine months, it was reported yesterday, as consumers remained cautious. European car registrations slipped 1.5 per cent in September, compared with a year ago, and were 0.8 per cent higher over the first nine months, the ACEA carmakers' association said. It said the September decline was influenced by one less working day than in 2006.
FORD SET TO SELL PREMIUM BRANDS:Ford expects to sell its Jaguar and Land Rover premium brands in the next two months, but does not expect to sell them separately, according to the president and chief executive of Ford Europe, John Fleming.
"We are well on and in two months at the most we'll know which of the groups interested in the brands will be their new owner," he told Spanish newspaper El Mundo. Fleming also said Ford was still analysing how the sale of its Volvo brand might affect the firm. Ford has been exploring the possible sale of Land Rover and Jaguar since June, as it continues the strategic review of its global operations.
UNION DEAL WITH CHRYSLER:The United Auto Workers union reached a tentative deal on a labour contract with Chrysler last week, just hours after thousands of workers had walked out on strike.
Chrysler said in a statement the deal would pave the way for the establishment of an independent retiree healthcare trust - similar to that agreed by the UAW and General Motors late last month.
MOTORWAY LANE PILOT SCHEME IN UK:Work has begun in Britain on a pilot scheme to build the first section of a dedicated High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane on a UK motorway.
The 2.75km lane will allow vehicles driving between Bradford and Leeds with more than one occupant to bypass traffic at a busy junction.
It is estimated that the pilot scheme could reduce peak-time journeys for those sharing their car by around eight minutes. Studies show that up to 84 per cent of vehicles using the junction currently have only one occupant. The new lane is due to open in spring 2008.