Daily News Briefs: April 30, 2012

Here's what we've our eye on today:

• After overcoming "unspecified part" issues, the Dodge Dart will begin rolling off the road in Chrysler's Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant May 3, Bloomberg News reports. Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a conference call last week that "if I told you the preparation for the launch have been a walk at the park, I'd be lying through my teeth," Bloomberg notes. An Aero package, along with aerodynamic enhancements to push the auto's EPA highway mileage to 41 mpg, will come only at the base SE trim. The Aero goes on sale q4.
• The auto industry's benchmark Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate, or SAAR, could face some doubt over the following couple of months, Bloomberg News reports. Why? Last year's earthquake and tsunami in Japan cut inventory for many Japanese automakers, reducing the SAAR to under 12.5 million through some of the summer. SAARs typically are calculated using recent sales history. Analysts expect April sales to hit 14.3 million SAAR, keeping despite 2012's sales rate but outpacing any figure in 2011. Nissan and Chrysler may post the largest gains, while GM and Honda may decline, analysts told Bloomberg.
• Nissan's Infiniti luxury division expects to sell 200,000 cars globally in its next fiscal year ending March 31, Automotive News reports. That might be up 50,000 cars from the prior year. The emblem expects much of the expansion to come back from China, where Infiniti plans to construct more cars beginning in 2014. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told us earlier this month that the automaker desires to move more Infiniti production to the U.S. and China to minimize exposure to a surging yen, however the next-generation Infiniti G - the emblem's biggest U.S. seller, in-built Japan - will stay there, Infiniti chief Andy Palmer told Automotive News.
• GM and Isuzu could re-enter an alliance, Reuters reports via LeftLane News. GM is fascinated by buying a ten% stake within the Japanese automaker, which left the U.S. market after the 2008 model year. Toyota and Mitsubishi are among Isuzu's current stakeholders, and VW has an alliance besides.

From WhatNewsToday.net

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