Short Torque

Tesla plans to unveil Model 3 on March 31

Tesla Motors Inc said that it is on track with development of its long-awaited Model 3, the company's mass market raison d'etre. Tesla said the new model would be unveiled on March 31, the first time the company has set a date for the event, and reiterated that it will start production and deliveries in late 2017.

CEO Elon Musk affirmed that the Model 3 is on schedule, and said that sales will be better than expected this year and that money-losing Tesla is now "in striking distance" of a positive cash flow.

Tesla is pinning its hopes of getting out of the red and into sustainable profitability with its new car, whose lower price is expected to broaden its appeal to more buyers. The Model 3 will have a price tag of roughly $35,000 before incentives such as the federal tax credits or state rebates.

German makers recall 2.3 million cars in US

Daimler AG, Volkswagen AG and BMW AG recalled about 2.3 million US vehicles since Feb 9 to replace potentially defective Takata Corp air bags.

The recalls, detailed in company statements and government filings, are part of the 5.1 million vehicle recall expansion, the largest consumer-safety recall in US history, which Takata telegraphed to US regulators in late January. The German companies join Honda Motor Co and Ford Motor Co, both of which already widened recalls following the ninth US fatality linked to Takata air bags.

Costs are mounting for automakers as a result of the recall to replace the Japanese supplier's air bags that can deploy with too much force, spraying shrapnel at passengers.

Mercedes beats BMW in January sales race

BMW lost ground in the luxury-car sales race in January, dropping to third place as Mercedes-Benz moved closer to its goal of unseating its rival this year.

Global deliveries of BMW cars rose 7.5 percent in January to 133,883, but lagged behind Mercedes' 20 percent leap to 150,814 cars.

Audi had the slowest growth among the world's three biggest upscale car brands, with its sales rising 4 percent. But the Volkswagen AG unit still outsold BMW with 143,150 vehicles.

The Swedish premium automaker Volvo Cars sold 33,761 units in January, up 9.4 percent year-on-year, while its 22.9 percent growth in the Chinese market topped the world. Lexus reported selling 20,933 units in January, a decrease of 9.5 percent on a volume basis, despite Lexus LX sales volume increasing 99.7 percent.

Safety concerns lead to recalls in China

Three automakers have announced recall plans in China, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said earlier this month.

Mazda recalled 46,702 of its local-made Mazda 6 sedans because of concerns about faulty airbags. The affected cars were manufactured between May 8, 2004 and Oct 25, 2005.

Great Wall Motor will recall 8,291 of its compact model C20R from March 10, due to the potential safety risks caused by faulty electric steering control units.

The recalled cars were manufactured between Jan 3, 2013 and March 5, 2015.

And, from Feb 15, Jeep will recall 634 of its imported Commander and 723 of its imported Grand Cherokee due to a problem with car keys that if touched by the drivers' knee, which may lead to the engine stalling.

(China Daily 02/15/2016 page18)