Mazda Motor Corp. will build a Toyota subcompact car at its new plant in Mexico for sale in the United States.

Mazda will build a new subcompact car for Toyota, based on the Mazda2.
Mazda Motor Corp. will build a Toyota subcompact car at its new plant in Mexico for sale in the United States.
The new Toyota will be a rebadged version of the Mazda2 and go on sale in 2015. Toyota expects to sell 50,000 copies of the car a year.
The Mazda2 subcompact car competes with vehicles such as the Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Sonic, Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and Toyota's Yaris and Scion xD.
Through the first 10 months of this year, Toyota has sold 26,397 copies of the Yaris, up 17 percent from the same period in 2011, and 9,280 copies of the Scion xD, up 17 percent from last year. The Yaris and xD are imported from Japan, where current dollar-yen exchange rates means Toyota makes minimal profit or loses money on sales in the United States.
But the new Toyota is likely to be an addition to the automaker's lineup, not a direct replacement for the Yaris or xD, according to a Toyota spokesman. Toyota also plans to sell the car in Canada and Mexico.
The automakers announced the deal early Friday. The Mazda plant in Salamanca, Mexico, is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2014. It is designed to build the Mazda2 and Mazda3, with a capacity of 140,000 units a year. The Toyota production will add to the plant's capacity.
A redesigned Mazda2 is scheduled to arrive in 2014, which would coincide with the plant's opening. The current Mazda2, launched in 2007, was jointly developed with Ford Motor Co. and shares its platform with the Fiesta.
Ford has since minimized its ownership of Mazda and the two have stopped developing products together. Earlier this year, Mazda pulled out of a production joint venture with Ford in Flat Rock, Mich., that built the Mazda6 sedan. Ford uses Flat Rock to build the Mustang and is adding production of the redesigned 2013 Fusion sedan.
Mazda and Fiat announced in May that they would cooperate on the design of a new generation of the Mazda MX-5 Miata roadster, which will also produce a version for the Alfa Romeo brand.

BMW is set to preview its upcoming X4 SUV for the first time at the Detroit

BMW is set to preview its upcoming X4 SUV for the first time at the Detroit auto show in early January.
Confirmed by BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer earlier this year, the ute is set to debut as a near-production concept that will rival the appearance, dimensions and packaging of the Porsche Macan due to go on sale in North America in early 2014, according to highly placed BMW officials.
Although the all-wheel-drive X4 is set to share its monocoque steel platform, engines and underpinnings with the second-generation X3, it's earmarked to receive individual styling in a move intended to convey more sporting image and enable BMW to position it higher in its lineup for added profitability. Expect prices to start at around $42,000.
Autoweek first reported plans for BMW's Porsche Macan-fighter last two years ago (“Faceoff,” Nov. 17, 2010).
A series of design proposals made official by BMW in 2010 suggest the X4 will differ visually from the X3 in much the same way the larger X6 is distinguished from the X5, with a bullish front end, plunging coupé-style roofline, four conventional front-hinged doors and a heavily angled one-piece tailgate.
The German carmaker is yet to announce what engine options it plans to offer with the X4. Autoweek understands it will receive a combination of four- and six-cylinder gasoline and diesel units in line with those already used by the X3.
Most intriguingly, the SUV get a range-topping performance model from BMW's M division. Nothing is official just yet, but the X4 M due out toward the end of 2014 is planned to run a uniquely tuned version of the twin-turbocharged inline six-cylinder gasoline engine set to appear in the upcoming sixth-generation M3.
Also planned is a hot X4 M diesel (not likely for North America) running a detuned version BMW's tri-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine launched in the X5 and X6 M. It will form part of a fast expanding range of BMW M Performance models.
Production of the X4 will take place alongside the second-generation X3 at BMW's sprawling Spartanburg, S.C., manufacturing facility. Officials from the company's headquarters in Munich, Germany, have already confirmed an extensive expansion plan for the site, which also produces the X5 and X6.

Asia Pacific REIT Market Could Swell to $500 Billion

REITs continue to hold their strength, even in weakened global real estate markets, according to the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA).

APREA CEO Peter Mitchell told the Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA) the REIT structure continues to be a fundamental driver of the securitization of real estate holdings in many international markets. 

"It has proved remarkably resilient in the face of the global financial crisis, particularly in Asia, because of their transparent and liquid characteristics." Mitchell said.

"Asia has the lowest level of securitized real estate in the world," Mitchell said. "It is estimated that only about 4 per cent of investment grade real estate in Asia is held in REIT-type structures,"

"Taking that last point, assuming an ultimate level of securitization of investment grade real estate of 25 per cent suggests a market that could grow to well over $500 billion US.  

"REITs in the US, Asia and Australia have recovered and performed much more strongly than other real estate asset classes since the crisis," he told Bernama.

Citing  Ernst & Young data, Mitchell said the global REIT market has grown to a total market capitalization of $568 billion US, growing by $138 billion last year alone. "Much of this growth has been in Asia," he said.

Just  before the launch of the first Japanese REIT (J-REIT), the market capitalization of REITs in Asia was around $2 billion US, he said. Five years later, it was about $50 billion.

"Today, there are about 144 Asian-based REITs with a market capitalization of approximately $127.7 billion US," he said.

On a total return basis, Mitchell told Bernama Asian REITs in most countries have outperformed equities regularly, particularly since the global financial crisis, and they have been superior performers on a risk and risk-adjusted return basis.

He noted the growth has been phenomenal, but the Asian REIT industry is only in its infancy, accounting for only 11.5 per cent of all global REITs, Bernama reported.

Mitchell told Bernama major investment banks confidently predict that in the near future market capitalization will comfortably exceed $100 billion US and continue to grow exponentially.

He said a number of compelling underlying factors for this growth include a large portion of real estate in Asia still held in private hands and weigh heavily on company balance sheets.

"This is not sustainable long term Mitchell said. "The REIT format is a much more efficient way for companies to hold real estate assets,"

Regardless of when India and China introduce their own REIT markets, their strong growth alone "will have cascading effects on the regional economies," Mitchell told Bernama.

Other factors, he noted, include more countries introducing REIT regimes, as in the Philippines, and more investment grade stock coming into the market "in the wake of strong economic growth throughout the region," Bernama reported.

Miami Condo Prices Spike 28% in Q3 Over Last Year

(Miami, FL) -- According to the Miami Association of Realtors, the performance of the Miami-Dade County residential real estate market continues to create opportunities for sellers, as limited supply and strong demand consistently yield significant price appreciation.

Median and Average Sales Prices

The median sales price for single-family homes in Miami-Dade County rose 5.06 percent to $189,000 in the third quarter of 2012 compared to the third quarter of 2011, and 2.2 percent compared to the second quarter of 2012. The median sales price for condominiums was $145,000, an increase of 28 percent year-over-year.

"The Miami real estate market continues to perform remarkably well despite the shortage of housing inventory that is limiting potential sales," said Martha Pomares, 2012 Chairman of the Board of the Miami Association of Realtors. "Such performance is reflective of the strong demand being fueled by both U.S. and international buyers.  Buyer interest will continue to positively impact our market long into the future."

Year-over-year, the average sales prices for single-family homes and condominiums increased 6.2 percent to $347,716 and 19.3 percent to $276,883, respectively.

Nationally, the median sales price of existing single-family homes was $186,100 in the third quarter, up 7.6 percent from the third quarter of 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors.  The national median sales price for condominiums was $180,800, a 7.7 percent increase over the previous year.

Homes Sales Remain Keeps Pace with Record Levels in 2011

Miami-Dade residential sales - including existing single-family homes and condominiums - increased a 0.61 percent in the third quarter, from 6,672 to 6,713, compared to a year earlier.  Following a record-breaking year in 2011, sales in Miami remain at historically strong levels.  In the third quarter, Miami sales of existing single-family homes increased 0.07 percent compared to a year earlier. The sales of existing condominiums increased one percent compared to the third quarter of 2011.