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Mercedes-Benz to cut production time, halve number of vehicle architectures

Mercedes-Benz is restructuring its global production network to cut the average production time for its models to 30 hours by 2015 from 43 in 2008. "We have increased productivity by 2 percent a year over the last few years. We will be accelerating our productivity efforts," Mercedes production boss Wolfgang Bernhard said during an investor conference that was part of the automaker's plant opening in Kecskemet, Hungary, on Thursday.

Acura reverses product plans

Acura is reversing course in North America as the brand suffers through the shift from high-performance luxury vehicles and the cancellation of its V8 and rear-wheel-drive programs. There is "a certain level of confusion" about Acura in the marketplace, Honda Motor Co. CEO Takanobu Ito told Automotive News at the Tokyo auto show.

VW Amarok: Volkswagen pick-up comes to UK in 2011

Volkswagen will launch the Amarok pick-up truck in the UK in spring 2011. It’s the first time since the 1980s that a VW pick-up has been sold in Britain. VW plans to sell just a couple of thousand Amaroks a year in the UK in a full year; the big markets for this truck are utility-centric markets such as Australia and both north and south America (the VW Amarok is built in Argentina).