David Lawder, Daina Solomon, David Shepardson

Reuters

6 Min Read

The United States is testing powers to protect workers under the trade deal replacing NAFTA and asked Mexico on Wednesday to probe alleged abuses at a General Motors Co (GM.N) factory, a move that may put tariffs on some of the firm’s profitable pickups.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said her office and the Department of Labor received “information appearing to indicate serious violations” of worker rights in an April union contract vote at GM’s Silao factory in central Mexico.

Continue reading “U.S. and Mexico target GM labor ‘violations,’ testing new trade deal”

Reuters

1 Min Read

Swedish automaker Volvo Cars said on Wednesday it is considering listing on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange this year.

The company, which is owned by China’s Geely Holding Group (GEELY.UL), also said it extended Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson’s contract to the end of 2022.

Geely’s Hong Kong-listed unit Geely Automobile (0175.HK) and Volvo Cars scrapped a merger plan in February. read more

Reuters

by Lucia Mutikani

5 Min Read

U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in nearly 12 years in April as booming demand amid a reopening economy pushed against supply constraints, which could add fuel to financial market fears of a lengthy period of higher inflation.

The report from the Labor Department on Wednesday also showed a strong buildup of underlying price pressures, extending a stocks selloff on Wall Street. Most economists were, however, unwavering in their belief that the surge in prices would be temporary, noting that the main drivers of the bigger-than-expected inflation increase were hotels and airlines, industries that were hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Continue reading “U.S. consumer prices post largest gain since 2009 as inflation ramps up”

3 Min Read

Reuters

by Aditi Shah

India’s leading automobile dealers association on Monday said sales will take longer to recover than they did after the first wave of COVID-19 infections last year as the virus spreads to villages and smaller towns.

Auto sales, especially cars and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs), bounced back strongly last year as buyers rushed to buy private vehicles to ensure safety and maintain social distance.

With infections now spreading to rural areas, a recovery is expected to take longer, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) said. The association said it expects sales to return to their peak levels of March 2019 only by fiscal year 2023 – about two years from now.

Continue reading “Indian auto dealers predict slow sales recovery as virus spreads to rural areas”

1 Min Read

Reuters

Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG.N) on Monday launched an all-electric motorcycle brand “LiveWire,” the latest effort by the company to ramp up bets on the rapidly growing electric-vehicle market.

Named after Harley’s first electric motorbike, which was unveiled in 2019, the “LiveWire” division is slated to launch its first branded motorcycle in July.

Continue reading “Harley-Davidson launches all-electric motorcycle brand ‘LiveWire’”

2 Min read

Reuters

by David Shepardson

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Monday it was opening a formal safety probe into more than 1.1 million Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T) Accord vehicles over sudden loss of steering control reports.

The agency said the engineering analysis covers 2013 through 2015 models and said “under normal driving conditions, with no warning or input from the driver, the vehicle may veer or jerk out of its intended path of travel.”

Continue reading “U.S. opens safety probe into 1.1 million Honda Accord vehicles”

3 Min Read

Reuters

by Aaron Sheldrick

Some Toyota Motor (7203.T) shareholders have criticized its President Akio Toyoda for questioning Japan’s plans to ban conventional cars only days after the firm said it was reviewing its climate lobbying and aimed for carbon neutrality by 2050.

The five investors, who collectively have around $500 billion in assets under management and spoke exclusively to Reuters, said the carmaker risks falling behind competitors that are rolling out electric vehicles, while giving cover for other companies seeking to avoid big changes to meet climate goals.

Japan’s Toyota signalled a shift in its climate change stance last month when it said it would review its lobbying and be more transparent on what steps it was taking as it responded to increased activist and investor pressure.

Three days later though, in his capacity as head of the Japanese automobile Manufacturers Association, Toyoda questioned the country’s decision to ban new internal combustion engined vehicles by 2035 in its quest for carbon neutrality.

“What Japan needs to do now is to expand its options for technology. I think regulations and legislations should follow after,” Toyoda said.

Continue reading “Investors chide Toyota’s Toyoda for questioning combustion car ban”

Reuters

3 Min Read

Franco-Italian carmaker Stellantis (STLA.MI), expects to achieve its European carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions targets this year without environmental credits bought from Tesla (TSLA.O), its CEO said in an interview published on Tuesday.

Stellantis was formed through the merger of France’s PSA and Italy’s FCA, which spent about 2 billion euros ($2.40 billion) to buy European and U.S. CO2 credits from electric vehicle maker Tesla over the 2019-2021 period.

Continue reading “Stellantis to hit emissions target without Tesla’s help, says CEO”

Reuters

2 Min Read

When Rob Ferretti of car rental firm Gothamdreamcars looked up the selling price for a 2018 Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV, part of his luxury 25-vehicle fleet, he was elated it could fetch over $130,000 – nearly the same price paid three years ago.

It is a very good time for car rental companies. A very rare combination of low depreciation costs on existing fleets, higher rates and a global shortage of semiconductors that has squeezed new car production, pushed trade-in prices for older vehicles to record highs in March.

Continue reading “Low depreciation, higher rates give U.S. car rental firms rare perfect script”

Reuters

3 Min Read

Germany’s conservative-led government announced more ambitious plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions on Wednesday, prodded by a constitutional court ruling and with an eye to the opposition Greens’ lead in polls ahead of elections in September.

The court said last week the government had failed to set out how it would bring carbon emissions down beyond 2030 after a group of plaintiffs, including North Sea islanders fearing inundation from climate change – challenged the 2019 climate law as unfit for purpose. read more

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said Germany would now aim for a 65% cut in carbon emissions by 2030 and 88% by 2040. Under the new targets, Germany will also aim for nearly net zero emissions by 2045, rather than 2050 as initially planned, he said.

Continue reading “Germany sets tougher CO2 emission reduction targets after top court ruling”

Reuters, Elizabeth Culliford

5 min read

Facebook Inc’s (FB.O) oversight board on Wednesday upheld the company’s suspension of former U.S. President Donald Trump but said the company was wrong to make the suspension indefinite and gave it six months to determine a “proportionate response.”

Trump called the decision and his banning across tech platforms “a total disgrace” and said the companies would “pay a political price.”

The much-awaited board verdict has been watched for signals on how the world’s largest social media company will treat rule-breaking political leaders in the future, a key area of controversy for online platforms.

Continue reading “Facebook has six months to determine if Trump returns”

Carmaker Aston Martin (AML.L) posted a smaller first quarter loss in 2021 of 42.2 million pounds ($59 million) and said it continued to take steps towards profitability, as its sales to dealers more than doubled.

That compared with the 110.1 million pound loss the luxury brand posted in the same period last year, when it brought in fresh investment from billionaire Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll to shore up its finances.

The carmaker of choice for fictional secret agent James Bond has had a tough time since floating in 2018, as it failed to meet expectations and burnt through cash.

Continue reading “Aston Martin posts smaller loss as sales more than double”

Reuters, Christoph Steitz

1 Min Read

Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), Europe’s largest car maker, raised its operating margin target for 2021 on Thursday, pointing to stronger demand for more profitable cars in the first three months of the year.

The group now expects its operating profit margin to be 5.5-7% this year, versus a previous forecast for 5.0-6.5%, with vehicle deliveries and sales each up by more than a fifth.

The better outlook is mainly driven by improved demand for high-margin premium cars such as Porsche and Audi, a trend that has also been observed by rivals General Motors (GM.N), Daimler (DAIGn.DE) and Ford (F.N) and Stellantis (STLA.MI).

Continue reading “Volkswagen lifts margin target on demand for premium cars”

5 Min Read, Reuters,  Ben Klayman

Ford Motor Co (F.N) and BMW AG (BMWG.DE) are leading a $130 million funding round in a solid-state battery startup, Solid Power, as carmakers push to lower the cost of electric vehicles by investing in the development of affordable but powerful rechargeable batteries, the companies said on Monday.

The Series B investment round, which includes venture capital firm Volta Energy Technologies, allows Solid Power to expand in-house manufacturing capabilities and positions the battery maker to eventually supply future EVs, possibly by the end of the decade according to BMW battery cell technology chief Peter Lamp. Solid Power declined to say at what level the funding round values the company.

Continue reading “Ford, BMW lead $130 mln investing round in solid-state battery startup”

Reuters Sharay Angulo, David Shepardson

4 Min read

General Motors Co (GM.N) said on Thursday it will invest $1 billion in a manufacturing complex in Mexico, drawing immediate criticism from the union for U.S. autoworkers as it prepares to build electric vehicles in 2023 in the border state of Coahuila.

GM said it is building a new high-tech paint shop that will start operations from June at the Ramos Arizpe site, which currently assembles conventional internal-combustion vehicles, including the Chevrolet Equinox and Blazer models, along with engines and transmissions.

Continue reading “GM to invest $1 bln in Mexico to build electric vehicles”