Mexico is on track to replace the Asian automotive giant, Japan, as the second-largest exporter of cars to the United States by the end of the year.An $800 million Honda plant opening Friday in the central state of Guanajuato will produce about 200,000 Fit hatchbacks a year, helping push total Mexican car exports to the U.S. to 1.7 million in 2014, roughly 200,000 more than Japan, consulting firm IHS Automotive says. And, with another big plant starting next week, Mexico is expected to surpass C

Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. is likely to be fined for violating a safety requirement and recall of cars of its leading popular models, a government official said Monday.According to Yoon Jin-hwan, the head of the transport ministry’s motor vehicles management division, the Japanese automaker has agreed to recall 5,232 vehicles of six models starting on March 27 for substandard materials surrounding seat heaters that can catch fire. “The automaker will also be fined as it failed to meet

Hyundai Mobis, Korea’s leading auto parts maker affiliated with Hyundai Motor, last Tuesday finished constructing its winter proving ground in northeastern China.The company said that the test site is some 125 kilometers from Heihe municipality in Heilongjiang province, one of the world’s most suitable locations for cold weather automotive testing along with Arjeplog in Sweden and Wanaka in New Zealand.The average temperature lingers at minus 20 degrees Celsius and can fall as low as 42 degrees

BMW Korea CEO Kim Hyo-joon said Thursday that the German carmaker’s first full electric model, the i3, will hit the Korean market in April, putting its sales forecast at 250 units this year. “Due to the global supply constraint, we have secured only 250 i3 cars this year. The figure will make up 25 percent of the total electric car sales this year in Korea,” he said at a press conference held at Hyatt Regency Incheon. “Electric cars are perfect for commuting within megacities like Seoul,” he sai

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest carmaker, said Wednesday its sales in India contracted 2.6 percent on-year in January, mainly due to sluggish overall demand on the subcontinent.The company, the flagship of Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth-largest automotive conglomerate, said sales hit 33,405 units in the first month of the year, down from 34,302 units a year earlier.India is the world’s third-largest single car market, and an important production and export base for the carmaker