Reuters

2 min read

MILAN, June 18 (Reuters) – Ferrari (RACE.MI) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have entered an agreement to make Amazon’s (AMZN.O) cloud computing unit the luxury carmaker’s cloud storage, machine learning, and artificial intelligence provider, AWS said on Friday.

The deal will help Ferrari streamline design and testing of its cars, and allow its Scuderia Ferrari Formula One racing team to launch a digital fan engagement platform, AWS said in a statement.

Continue reading “Ferrari, Amazon’s AWS enter agreement on data”

PTI

2 min read

Auto component maker Sona BLW Precision Forgings’ initial public offer was subscribed 2.28 times on the last day of subscription on Wednesday.

The initial public offer (IPO) received bids for 24,43,02,138 shares against 10,71,05,262 shares on offer, according to an update on the NSE.

Continue reading “Sona Comstar IPO subscribed 2.28 times”

Julie Zhu, Pei Li

Reuters 4 min read

HONG KONG, June 17 (Reuters) – China’s market regulator has begun an antitrust probe into Didi Chuxing, three people with knowledge of the matter said, just as the ride-hailing giant is pushing ahead with what could be the largest initial public offering in the United States this year.

The probe, reported here for the first time, is the latest in a sweeping crackdown on China’s so-called “platform” companies, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK), and Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK).

Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE China’s IPO-bound Didi probed for antitrust violations – sources”

Reuters

2 min read

LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) – Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) will accelerate the launch of electric cars slated for the middle of this decade while phasing out fossil-fuel versions, as it revamps its electrification strategy, Manager Magazin reported on Thursday.

Many of the electric vehicle models the German carmaker has planned for 2024 or 2025 will be moved forward a year and their fossil-fuel equivalents will be dropped from the lineup, the magazine reported, citing sources close to the matter.

Continue reading “Daimler speeds up shift to electric vehicles, Manager Magazin reports”

David Shepardson

Retuers 4 min read

WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday again rejected attempts to lift regulations to allow for the deployment of thousands of autonomous vehicles as union groups and attorneys campaign against the legislative proposal.

The committee rebuffed the bid by Republican Senator John Thune to attach measures lifting regulations on autonomous vehicles to a $78 billion surface transportation bill after he sought last month to attach it in May to a bill on China tech policy.

Continue reading “U.S. push for self-driving cars faces union, lawyers opposition”

2 min read

Analysis Period is January 2021 to May 2021. Cars taken into consideration are, those which were not here during LY same period. The parameter considered is volume sales.

We take a closer look at the top-selling cars this year, which are launched recently. The Kia Sonet continues to impress by the day. The compact SUV from Kia has got strong acceptance in the mass market segment and has raced away ahead every month with more than 6,000 numbers every month on monthly basis. Currently, it is ranked1 in terms of the new cars that were launched. Kia Sonet stood at 39,705 units.

Continue reading “Top 5 New Car Launches in India this year 2021-Year Till Date. Kia Sonet, Mahindra Thar & others.”

Reuters

2 min read

TOYOTA CITY, June 16 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp’s (7203.T) shares reached a record high on Wednesday, earning a rare message of thanks from the company’s president at its annual general meeting (AGM).

The share price of Japan’s no. 1 carmaker exceeded 10,000 yen ($90.84) on Tuesday for the first time, as investors welcomed Toyota’s strong sales, electric plans as well as its ability to tackle a global chip shortage better than the competitors.

Continue reading “Toyota thanks shareholders for support after shares hit record high”

Nick Carey

Reuters 4 min read

June 16 (Reuters) – Among the major carmakers, Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and Volvo are doing enough to electrify their vehicle lineups in Europe and the EU needs to set tougher CO2 emission limits if it wants to meet Green Deal targets, according to a climate group’s study.

Sales of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids almost tripled last year, boosted by tighter emission standards and government subsidies. read more Continue reading “Only Volkswagen, Volvo doing enough to electrify in Europe – study”

Hyunjoo Jin, Chavi Mehta

Reuters 4 min read

June 16 (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) self-driving unit Waymo said on Wednesday it raised $2.5 billion in its first fresh funding round in a year, after a string of defections of executives rekindled concerns about the technology struggling to scale up.

The announcement came a day after General Motors Co’s (GM.N) majority-owned Cruise self-driving car subsidiary said it would gain access to a $5-billion credit line.

Continue reading “Alphabet’s Waymo raises $2.5 bln in first fresh funding in a year”

Reuters

3 min read

June 16 (Reuters) – Britain is in talks with six companies for building gigafactories to produce electric vehicle batteries, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people briefed on the discussions.

Ford Motor Co (F.N), Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T), LG Corp (003550.KS), Samsung (005930.KS) and start-ups Britishvolt and InoBat Auto are in talks with the British government or local authorities about locations for potential factories and financial support, according to the report. (https://on.ft.com/3wu1eYz)

Continue reading “UK in talks with 6 firms to build gigafactories for EV batteries -FT”

David Shepardson

Reuters 3 min read

WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) – General Motors Co will boost global spending on electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion through 2025, a 30% jump over its most recent forecast as it pursues EV leadership, people briefed on the matter told Reuters.

As part of that spending, the No. 1 U.S. automaker will build two additional U.S. battery plants and move ahead some of its EV investments, said the sources, who asked not to be identified. In November, GM upped its spending plans from $20 billion, a figure that was announced in March before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the auto industry.

Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE GM to boost spending on electric vehicles by 30%”

Ben Klayman

Reuters 2 min read

DETROIT, June 16 (Reuters) – Polestar, the premium electric vehicle maker owned by China’s Geely (GEELY.UL) and Volvo Cars, will build its Polestar 3 electric SUV at Volvo’s U.S. plant in South Carolina starting in the second half of 2022, the brand’s chief executive said.

Thomas Ingenlath told Reuters in a telephone interview that the Polestar 3 is “nicely suited for the U.S. as a … big, tall, grown-up SUV. This is a win-win situation.”

Continue reading “Polestar to make electric SUV at U.S. Volvo plant, starting in 2022”

Ben Klayman, Joseph White

Reuters 2 min read

Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and General Motors Co (GM.N) said on Monday they are pushing ahead with developing flying cars, with the South Korean company expressing optimism it could have an air-taxi service in operation as soon as 2025.

A GM executive said it could take until 2030 for air-taxi services to overcome technical and regulatory hurdles and reach commercialization.

Continue reading “Hyundai, GM serious about ‘flying car’ efforts”

Nick Carey

Reuters 3 min read

Jaguar Land Rover will begin tests later this year on a hydrogen fuel-cell prototype model based on its Land Rover Defender vehicle as the carmaker looks to expand its zero-emission car options, the company said on Tuesday.

JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors (TAMO.NS), earlier this year said that its luxury Jaguar brand will be entirely electric by 2025, and the more rugged, off-road Land Rover brand will launch six pure electric models over the next five years. read more

Continue reading “JLR to begin testing prototype hydrogen Land Rover this year”

2 min read

Commercial Vehicle retails / registrations have dipped by a mammoth -193 percent in May 2021 over April 2021. Overall CVs sold in May 2021 were 17,534 units, down 193% percent over 51,436 units in April 2021. Do note that the sales declined even though the May 2021 base was low last year. However, the shut down of plants is one of the bigger attributed factors here.

Continue reading “Commercial Vehicle Sales for May 2021. Tata Motors maintains the leadership followed by Mahindra.”

1 min read

The three Wheeler segment emerged as the early adaptors of electric vehicles and currently, Electric Rickshaws have gained a crucial hold in sales. All EVs combined have almost outsold the Market Leader Bajaj in May’21 volumes as per FADA’s registration data!

Continue reading “Three Wheeler Industry Retail Volumes for May 2021. Bajaj Auto Retains Rank 1.”

Jeffrey Heller

Reuters 5 min read

Veteran leader Benjamin Netanyahu handed over power in Israel on Monday to new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett but remained defiant as the patchwork government faced tensions with Palestinians over a planned Jewish nationalist march.

Minutes after meeting Bennett, Netanyahu repeated a pledge to topple the new government approved on Sunday by a 60-59 vote in parliament.

Continue reading “New Israeli government faces tension with Palestinians over Jerusalem”

Reuters

2 min read

Chinese automaker Geely (GEELY.UL) will keep working on vehicles powered by methanol even though the effort may fail, chairman Li Shufu said on Sunday.

Zhejiang-based Geely, among a small number of automakers developing methanol-powered vehicles, is testing methanol taxis in some western Chinese cities as well as developing methanol-powered trucks at its commercial vehicles unit.

Continue reading “China’s Geely to press on with methanol vehicles, chairman says”

Reuters

2 min read

The average age of U.S. cars and light trucks rose to a record 12.1 years in 2020, as Americans drove fewer miles and scrapped more vehicles during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to IHS Markit.

The research firm said the two-month increase in vehicles’ average age over the 2019 figure could be short-lived as sales of both new and used cars continue to pick up as the pandemic eases.

Continue reading “Average age of U.S. vehicles hit record 12.1 years in 2020-IHS Markit”

PTI

2 min read

Auto component maker Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona Comstar) on Wednesday fixed a price band of Rs 285-291 a share for its Rs 5,550 crore initial public offer (IPO).

The three-day IPO will open on June 14 and conclude on June 16. The bidding for anchor investors will open on June 11, according to the company.

Continue reading “Sona Comstar sets price band of Rs 285-291/share for Rs 5,550 crore-IPO”

Tim Hepher

3 min read

Airbus and Boeing watch out – one of the world’s largest aircraft owners says passenger planes could see their wings clipped by the rapid spread of flying taxi startups.

Commercial air travel already faces competition from high-speed trains in parts of the world. But the head of Irish aircraft leasing firm Avolon said competition would shift skywards as it invested up to $2 billion in aerial shuttles.

Continue reading “Flying taxis could poach passengers from planes, Avolon says”

Anirban Sen, Yilei Sun, Ankit Ajmera, Echo Wang

Reuters 3 min read

Didi Chuxing, China’s biggest ride-hailing firm, on Thursday made public the filing for its long-anticipated U.S. stock market listing, setting the stage for what is expected to be the world’s biggest initial public offering this year.

The company – backed by Asia’s largest technology investment firms, SoftBank (9984.T), Alibaba (9988.HK) and Tencent (0700.HK)– did not reveal the size of the offering, but sources familiar with the matter had previously told Reuters that it could raise around $10 billion and seek a valuation of close to $100 billion.

Continue reading “China’s ride-hailing giant Didi sets stage for mega New York float”

Reuters

2 min read

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) will aim to make all its global factories carbon neutral by 2035, a senior executive said on Friday, pulling forward the goal by 15 years from 2050.

Toyota’s chief production officer Masamichi Okada said the automaker will focus initially on introducing new technologies for processes such as painting, coating and casting.

Continue reading “Toyota aims to make its factories carbon neutral by 2035, says exec”

Reuters

4 min read

Inside the first new auto assembly plant built in the Motor City since 1991, the smell of hot metal hangs in the air as new Jeep Grand Cherokee L SUVs head down the welding line.

For Stellantis NV, (STLA.MI) that is the smell of money. For the City of Detroit, it means nearly 5,000 jobs.

Continue reading “Detroit becomes ‘Jeep City’ with first new auto plant in 30 years”

Hyunjoo Jin

Reuters 3 min read

Tesla Inc will deliver a high-performance version of its Model S on Thursday, aiming to reignite interest in the nearly decade-old sedan and fend off rivals such as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Lucid Motors in the luxury electric vehicle market.

Tesla (TSLA.O) redefined electric cars in 2012 when it launched its high-end Model S with a sleek design and long driving range, but is facing a raft of new challengers.

Continue reading “Tesla to launch high-end Model S ‘Plaid’ to fend off Mercedes, Porsche”

David Shepardson

Reuters 1 min read

Detroit’s Big Three automakers and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union said on Wednesday that workers will continue to be required to wear masks in workplaces.

The joint statement from the UAW and General Motors Co (GM.N), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Chrysler-parent Stellantis NV (STLA.MI) said it was continuing the requirements “out of an abundance of caution.”

Continue reading “Detroit Three automakers will continue to require facial coverings”

Giulio Piovaccari, Stephen Jewkes,Giuseppe Fonte

Reuters 3 min read

Italy aims to spur total investments of more than one billion euros ($1.22 billion) to build an electric car battery factory with car maker Stellantis (STLA.MI) expected to play a leading role, three government sources told Reuters.

In the plan it sent Brussels in April to access EU Recovery Funds, Rome has earmarked around 600 million euros of public money for the project to build a gigafactory in Italy.

Continue reading “Italy aims to generate over 1 bln euro investments for gigafactory, sources say”

Reuters

1 min read

Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) plans to develop self-driving trucks with logistics subsidiary Cainiao, Chief Technology Officer Cheng Li said on Thursday.

Cheng also said Cainiao aims to introduce 1,000 autonomous delivery robots in China over the next year.

Continue reading “Alibaba to develop self-driving trucks with logistics unit Cainiao”

Tina Bellon

Reuters 8 min read

Uber and other gig economy companies are trying a new approach to ending their battles with unions, and getting ahead of possible federal regulation that could upend their business based on classifying workers as independent contractors.

In New York, for example, gig economy companies are working with several unions including the Machinists and Transport Workers Union to strike a compromise that would allow drivers and food delivery workers to organize in a union and negotiate minimum pay and other benefits without being reclassified as employees.

Continue reading “Gig companies’ push for state-level worker laws faces divided labor movement”

Reuters

3 min read

Speculation over the future of Italian fashion group Armani came to the fore on Wednesday after the Milanese brand said it had no interest in a tie-up with luxury sports car maker Ferrari (RACE.MI), as proposed in a plan by investment banks.

Succession plans at the firm founded by 86-year-old designer Giorgio Armani, known as King Giorgio in the fashion world, have long been the subject of speculation.

Continue reading “Armani’s future in focus as group denies any interest in Ferrari tie-up”

Giulio Piovaccari

Reuters 5 min read

Ferrari (RACE.MI) has turned to technology industry veteran Benedetto Vigna to drive the luxury sports car maker known for its roaring, high-octane engines into a new era of silent, electric powertrains.

Vigna, a 52-year-old Italian and physics graduate, currently runs the biggest division of chip maker STMicroelectronics (ST) (STM.BN), where he has worked since 1995 and helped pioneer screen technology used in early Apple (AAPL.O) iPhones. read more

Continue reading “Ferrari turns to tech for an electric era chief”

Trevor Hunnicutt, Ernest Scheyder

3 min read

The United States must work with allies to secure the minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries and process them domestically in light of environmental and other competing interests, the White House said on Tuesday.

The strategy, first reported by Reuters in late May, will include new funding to expand international investments in electric vehicles (EV) metal projects through the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, as well as new efforts to boost supply from recycling batteries.

Continue reading “U.S. must work with allies to secure electric vehicle metals -White House”

Reuters

1 min read

The Biden administration is creating a new federal task force to address near-term supply chain issues plaguing a host of industries, the U.S. Commerce Department said, adding it will release the findings of its 100-day review later on Tuesday at the White House.

The administration is also creating a new data hub to monitor near-term supply chain vulnerabilities, track supply and demand disruptions, and better share information with private sector, the department said.

Continue reading “Biden administration creates task force to supply chain shortages”

Aditi Shah, Sudarshan Varadhan

3 min read

An Indian court tasked industrial safety officials on Tuesday with visiting carmakers in the southern state of Tamil Nadu to draw up uniform safety guidelines for workers during a second devastating wave of COVID-19 infections amid the pandemic.

Workers at the Indian unit of Renault-Nissan had asked the Madras High Court for operations to be halted, saying social distancing norms were being flouted and the risk to their lives outweighed the health benefits provided by the company.

Continue reading “Indian court orders state to set uniform COVID-19 rules for carmakers”