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Crunch watch Jan 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard, Ben Pulman and Gareth Evans Motor Industry 30 January 2009 12:39 Friday 30 January 2009• Honda is about to close the Swindon factory for four months when Friday's shifts are finished; the shutdown will affect 2500 of the 3700 staff, who will receive full pay for two months and then 60% pay for the next eight weeks (BBC News)• Porsche has announced a sharp drop in sales and likely profits. It forecasts a 27% drop in 911, Boxster, Cayman and Cayenne sales to around 34,000 units in the six months to the end of January 2009 (Financial Times, subscription required)• Ford wants Washington to do more to stimulate car sales, after posting a record loss of nearly $14.6 billion earlier this week (Detroit News)• Honda's quarterly profit has crashed by 90% – forcing the Japanese car maker to halve its annual profit target (Detroit Free Press)Thursday 29 January 2009• Ford of Europe is a bright spot in the Blue Oval's quarterly results today, making $1.06 billion pre-tax profit in 2008 (up from $997m in 2007). It's the first profit of more than $1bn since 1989 (Automotive News Europe, subscription required)• Volvo suffered a 'disastrous 2008' with a pre-tax loss of $1.46bn.

Salon Privé 2010: The Cars

Salon Prive 2010 gets underway today for three days Salon Privé. It’s an event we are always happy to cheerlead because it offers a  great day out in great surroundings together with some of the best and most interesting cars on the planet – with complete access. Salon Privé 2010 kicked off today in the sumptuous grounds of the Hurlingham Club in Chelsea under an azure sky with just a trace of mackerel cloud for most of the afternoon.

Nissan boosts electric charging network

NISSAN is accelerating plans for a European-wide Quick Charge (QC) network for electric vehicles by giving away 400 new quick charging stations free of charge. These new points will boost existing networks and give EV customers greater freedom and flexibility by effectively extending the range of their car. Countries across Europe have been asked to pitch for a charging network and the best ‘bids’ will win an allocation of chargers.