US automaker Chrysler considered several new partnership options yesterday, including mergers with Renault-Nissan and General Motors, industry and union official said. Two sources, one an executive at a rival company and another a key official from the United Auto Workers (UAW), said talk of merger of Chrysler with Renault-Nissan had been alive for a week.
“I think that might make some sense. You would combine Asia, Europe and the US in one company,” noted the union official who asked not to be identified. “I don’t see what the advantage would be in combining Chrysler and GM since they’re both so heavy into trucks,” the official added.
Meanwhile, officials from both Chrysler and GM confirmed the two had been holding talks.
“As we have said, the company is looking at a number of potential global partnerships as it explores growth opportunities around the world,” said Chrysler spokeswoman Lori McTavish.
She said Chrysler entered into a partnership with Nissan earlier this year to build trucks for the Japanese automaker. Last month, it began building minivans for Volkswagen North America.
“Beyond those partnerships already announced however, Chrysler has not formed any new agreements and has no further announcements to make at this time,” McTavish said.
Tony Cervone, GM vice president of communications for North America, said GM was not going to comment on any discussion with Chrysler.
“Without referencing this specific rumor, as we’ve often said, GM officials routinely discuss issues of mutual interest with other automakers,” he said.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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