BERLIN—Volkswagen has for the first time edged past Toyota as the world’s No. 1 automaker during the first half of 2015. VW sold 5.04 million units from January to June, while Toyota’s count during the same period was 5.02 million.
AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico—Five years after announcing their strategic collaboration, Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance are expanding its scope with the start of a manufacturing joint venture here. The automakers will invest $1 billion in the assembly plant, which produce compact cars for the Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti brands.
LA VERGNE, TN—American Standard Brands will establish a new manufacturing and distribution facility here. The manufacturer of bathroom and kitchen fixtures will invest $22 million and create approximately 600 new jobs with the project.
DETROIT—Chinese auto supplier YFS Automotive Systems Inc. will invest $26.9 million to build a new assembly plant here. The facility is expected to create 160 jobs.
WASHINGTON—Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods posted a sizable gain in June, but the advance was fueled by higher demand for commercial aircraft. Outside of this volatile category, a key category that represents business investment rose by a far more modest amount.
TOKYO—Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will shut its only North American assembly plant, in Normal, IL, by November if it can’t find a buyer for the factory, and will soon start shipping tooling back to Japan.
AUBURN, AL—German auto parts maker Schmidt Maschinenbau GmbH is building its first U.S. assembly here. The $17 million factory is expected to begin production next year.
ORANGE COUNTY, VA—Aerojet Rocketdyne will invest $11 million to expand its manufacturing operation here. The expansion is anticipated to create 100 new jobs.
CHICAGO—The rise of the U.S. dollar against the euro and other world currencies over the past year has reduced the cost-competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing compared with economies such as Germany, France, Japan, Australia and Brazil. However, the U.S. still maintains a significant cost advantage over these economies, and therefore manufacturers are unlikely to shift production to other nations, according to The Boston Consulting Group.
INDIANAPOLIS—Manufacturing employment increased in Indiana for a fourth straight year, according to data compiled by Manufacturers’ News Inc. Indiana manufacturers added 7,447 jobs from April 2014 to April 2015.
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