Amazon.com Inc-backed electric vehicle start-up Rivian Automotive is in talks with ministers about building a factory in the UK that could include a big state support package, Sky News reported on Saturday.
The company, which is also backed by Ford Motor Co (F.N), has been in negotiations with the British government for weeks about the construction of a plant near Bristol, the report added.
Continue reading “Amazon-backed Rivian in talks with ministers over UK factory -Sky News”
Reuters 3 min read
Daimler (DAIGn.DE) will keep a 35% stake in the trucks division it plans to spin off this year, the luxury carmaker said on Friday, giving more details on a landmark corporate split it hopes will boost share values.
The spinoff of Daimler Truck Holding AG as a separate listed entity, first announced in February, will be voted on by Daimler shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting on Oct. 1.
Continue reading “Daimler to keep 35% stake as trucks business goes solo”
1 min read
Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) Skoda Auto raised its global deliveries to 515,300 cars in the first half of the year from 426,700 cars in the same period last year, the carmaker said on Friday.
Skoda said that its net cash flow was 678 million euros in the January-June period, compared to -25 million euros last year.
Continue reading “VW’s Skoda Auto raises deliveries to 515,300 cars in H1”
Reuters 4 min read
Trevor Milton, the billionaire founder and former chief executive of Nikola Corp (NKLA.O), was criminally charged on Thursday with defrauding investors by lying to them about the electric- and hydrogen-powered truck maker.
Milton, 39, pleaded not guilty at a hearing in Manhattan federal court to two counts of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud over statements he made from November 2019 to September 2020 about Nikola’s products and technology.
Continue reading “U.S. charges Nikola founder Trevor Milton with lying to investors”
Reuters 4 min read
The White House has told U.S. automakers it wants them to back a voluntary pledge of at least 40% of new vehicles sales being electric by 2030 as it works to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, sources briefed on the matter said.
The administration is set as early as next week to roll out proposed revisions to vehicle emissions standards through 2026. Sources said a voluntary electric vehicle (EV) target could be as high as 50% but emphasized that no agreement with automakers has been reached and many details remain under discussion, including whether that pledge will include various types of gasoline-electric hybrids.
Continue reading “Biden wants U.S automakers to pledge 40% electric vehicles by 2030 -sources”
Reuters 3 min read
Panasonic Corp (6752.T) said first-quarter operating profit surged more than 27 times, handily beating expectations as demand for home appliances and automotive batteries recovered from a particularly weak COVID-hit year.
Profit for April-June rose to 104.4 billion yen ($950 million) from 3.8 billion yen a year earlier, some 50% higher than market expectations and its strongest performance for a first quarter since 2008.
2 min read
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution said on Thursday they would set up a joint venture (JV) in Indonesia to establish a battery cell plant for electric vehicles (EV), investing $1.1 billion with each owning half the business.
The JV will help Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and its sister company Kia Corp (000270.KS) secure a stable supply of EV batteries at a competitive price for their battery electric vehicles.
Continue reading “Hyundai Motor, LG’s battery unit to invest $1 bln in EV partnership”
2 min read
Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) must change its approach to how it sells electric vehicles (EV) in China, the world’s largest car market, Chief Executive Herbert Diess said, in a response to poor EV sales there.
“Sales are picking up but it requires focus and different approaches as the customers for the EVs are much younger and different to our customer base we are having with the more traditional brands like Volkswagen in China,” Diess told journalists after first-half results release. read more
Continue reading “Volkswagen CEO: we need to change e-car approach in China”
Reuters 7 min read
Carmaker Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), plane maker Airbus (AIR.PA) and energy major Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) all posted bumper financial earnings on Thursday reflecting a generally buoyant mood among European companies emerging from the coronavirus pandemic. read more
European stocks hit record highs, taking their cue from the positive outlook and increased investor payouts offered by many companies reporting on one of the busiest days on the financial calendar.
Continue reading “Money rolls in for Europe Inc as companies banish pandemic blues”
Reuters 3 min read
Ford Motor Co (F.N) on Wednesday boosted its 2021 profit forecast after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, lifting the No. 2 U.S. automaker’s shares nearly 3%.
While an ongoing global chip shortage cost Ford market share in North America, Europe and China, higher prices on more profitable models such as large pickups and SUVs helped increase revenue and operating profit in North America, its largest market.
Continue reading “Ford raises 2021 profit outlook, eyes shift to build-to-order”
2 min read
China’s CATL (300750.SZ) on Thursday became the first major automotive battery maker to unveil a sodium-ion battery, saying it planned to set up a supply chain for the new technology in 2023.
As electric vehicles become increasingly popular, demand for key battery ingredients, particularly cobalt, has spiked. That has spurred car and battery makers to seek alternatives to the current three main technologies – nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA), nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.
Continue reading “China’s CATL unveils sodium-ion battery – a first for a major car battery maker”
Reuters 1 min read
Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) on Wednesday raised its earnings outlook for the year, helped by a weaker yen and favourable demand in the United States and China, after reporting a surprise first-quarter operating profit.
The company also warned that a global shortage of semiconductor chips will significantly hurt sales volume in the July-September quarter, but added that demand for its newly launched, pricier models will mitigate the impact on profits.
Continue reading “Nissan raises earnings outlook, optimistic chip crunch will ease”
2 min read
Carmaker Aston Martin (AML.L) reported on Wednesday a 224% increase in sales to its dealers, boosted by its first sport utility vehicle, the DBX, as losses fell in the first half of the year.
The DBX 4×4, which first rolled off the production line just over a year ago, accounted for more than half of its 2,901 vehicles between January and June.
Continue reading “Aston Martin’s first SUV helps push up sales by more than 200%”
Continue reading “Morris Garages India turns 2 | What a Journey its been!”
Reuters 3 min read
Scotch whisky maker Glenfiddich has begun converting its delivery trucks to run on low-emission biogas made from waste products from its own whisky distilling process as part of a “closed loop” sustainability initiative, it said on Tuesday.
Glenfiddich said it has installed fueling stations at its Dufftown distillery in north-eastern Scotland that use technology developed by its parent company William Grant & Sons to convert its production waste and residues into an Ultra-Low Carbon Fuel (ULCF) gas that produces minimal carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions.
Continue reading “One for the road: Glenfiddich uses whisky waste to fuel trucks”
Reuters 2 min read
Macquarie Group Ltd’s (MQG.AX) asset management division has raised $6.9 billion for its latest fund dedicated to investing in North American infrastructure, well over its $5 billion target, the Australian bank told Reuters on Tuesday.
The fundraising was completed as U.S. lawmakers negotiate a plan to spend $1.2 trillion over five years on roads, bridges, ports and other public works projects, with some of the financing coming from private investors.
Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE Macquarie raises $6.9 billion for North America infrastructure fund”
Lisa Baertlein, Sanjana Shivdas
Reuters 2 min read
United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) shares fell to a three-month low on Tuesday on worries that growth from the pandemic-fueled e-commerce boom may be fading.
The company said second-quarter domestic volume fell 2.9%, with ground – composed largely of e-commerce deliveries – dropping 4% versus the year earlier.
Continue reading “UPS shares hit three-month low on worries e-commerce is cooling”
Gwénaëlle Barzic, Arno Schuetze
Reuters 3 min read
Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is in advanced talks with the hedge fund owners of Europcar (EUCAR.PA) about buying the French car rental company after a first bid from the German automaker was rejected in June, according to two sources close to the matter.
Volkswagen, which has owned Europcar in the past, is exploring an approach at about 0.50 euros per share, following its last offer at 0.44 euros, which would value Europcar’s equity at close to 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion), the sources said.
Continue reading “Volkswagen in advanced talks to buy Europcar – sources”
Reuters 4 min read
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has weathered the pandemic and supply chain crisis better than many of its rivals, achieving record deliveries last quarter. But Chief Executive Elon Musk faces pressure to deliver on breakthrough batteries and new factories and models, which are late.
Those questions, demand in China and the financial effect of a Bitcoin sell-off will be high on investors’ minds when the electric vehicle company publishes results Monday.
Continue reading “Analysis: Tesla’s plans for batteries, China scrutinized as Musk drops features”
Reuters 3 min read
Electric car startup Rivian said on Friday it has closed a $2.5 billion fundraising round led by investors Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and T. Rowe Price.(TROW.O)
The announcement came the day after the California-based company said it was exploring building a second U.S. assembly plant. Reuters, citing unnamed sources, reported on Thursday that Rivian’s planned plant, dubbed “Project Tera,” will include battery cell production. read more
Continue reading “EV startup Rivian announces $2.5 bln funding round led by Amazon, Ford”
Reuters 3 min read
General Motors Co (GM.N) and its Cruise robo-taxi subsidiary have filed a lawsuit to stop Ford Motor Co (F.N) from using the name “BlueCruise” to market its hands-free driving technology, the companies said on Saturday.
In a statement released shortly after midnight Detroit time, GM said Ford’s use of the BlueCruise name infringed on GM’s Super Cruise trademark, as well as Cruise’s trademark.
Continue reading “GM, Cruise sue Ford to block use of ‘BlueCruise’ name for hands-free driving”
2 min read
The Passenger vehicles Industry registered a volume of about 1.05L units. This was a strong growth of about 74,164 Units over LY . The Industry growth was driven by Tata Motors which grew massively by more than 33,551 units. Followed by Mahindra which grew by 18,447 units and Ashok Leyland which grew by 13,175 units.
Are we bothered about the size & shape of fuel nozzle which fuels our IC Engine vehicle currently ? Its a no brainer question. It might have been a huge problem last century when we had graduated from horse carriages to Motor Vehicles.
The world owes a lot to the people who worked on the standardisation back then!
Now as we ring in the EV era, we need to make the size, shape and dimensions of the batteries, a no brainer for the generations to come.
Reuters 4 min read
Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler (DAIGn.DE) plans to invest more than 40 billion euros ($47 billion) by 2030 to be ready to take on Tesla (TSLA.O) in an all-electric car market, but warned the shift in technology would lead to job cuts.
Outlining its strategy for an electric future, the inventor of the modern motor car said on Thursday it would, with partners, build eight battery plants as it ramps up electric vehicle (EV) production.
Continue reading “Mercedes-Benz hits accelerator in e-car race with Tesla”
Reuters 3 min read
Britain’s competition regulator on Friday laid out guidelines to ensure a robust electric vehicle (EV) charging network to aid the country’s net zero plans, as it also launched a probe into some charge-point operators on highways and motorways.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Britain could require 10 times as many EV charge-points before 2030, as part of its study into the EV charging market to assesses availability and reliability of the charging points.
Continue reading “UK needs 10 times as many EV charge-points by 2030 -regulator”
Jonathan Saul, Muyu Xu, Yilei Sun
Reuters 6 min read
A new worldwide wave of COVID-19. Natural disasters in China and Germany. A cyber attack targeting key South African ports.
Events have conspired to drive global supply chains towards breaking point, threatening the fragile flow of raw materials, parts and consumer goods, according to companies, economists and shipping specialists.
Continue reading “Global supply chains buckle as virus variant and disasters strike”
Reuters 4 min read
General Motors Co (GM.N) said Friday it is issuing a new recall for nearly 69,000 Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide for fire risks after reports of two fires and will replace defective battery modules as needed.
The Bolt EVs were recalled in November for fire risks and at least one of the two new fires was in a vehicle that had already had the software update released as part of that recall.
Continue reading “GM issues new recall for nearly 69,000 Bolt EVs for fire risks”
Lisa Mattackal, Aaron Saldanha
Reuters 3 min read
The semiconductor shortage that has gripped the world could last well into 2022 and hit smartphone production next, foreshadowing deficient supply for a range of appliances and industrial equipment, industry executives and an economist said.
The automotive sector has suffered the most this year but supply to the sector could improve relatively soon, with China taking up some production demand that Taiwan could not meet, ING Greater China chief economist Iris Pang told Reuters Global Markets Forum this week.
Continue reading “Car chip shortage to abate, smartphones could be next: industry execs”
Reuters 3 min read
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is likely to set up a factory in India if successful with imported vehicles, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Twitter, after the company wrote to Indian ministries seeking a big reduction in import duties on electric vehicles, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.
The electric-car maker’s pitch to lower duties, however, is likely to face resistance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration which has championed high import taxes for many industries in a bid to boost local manufacturing.
Continue reading “Tesla lobbies India for sharply lower import taxes on electric vehicles – sources”
Reuters 3 min read
Electric car startup Rivian said on Friday it has closed a $2.5 billion fundraising round led by investors Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and T. Rowe Price.(TROW.O)
The announcement came the day after the California-based company said it was exploring building a second U.S. assembly plant. Reuters, citing unnamed sources, reported on Thursday that Rivian’s planned plant, dubbed “Project Tera,” will include battery cell production. read more
Continue reading “EV startup Rivian announces $2.5 bln funding round led by Amazon, Ford”
Reuters 4 min read
Volvo Cars has struck a deal to buy out parent company Zhejiang Geely Holding (GEELY.UL) from their joint ventures in China, in a move that could make a potential initial public offering (IPO) for the Swedish automaker more attractive to investors.
Hangzhou-based Geely, which also owns a 9.7% stake in Daimler (DAIGn.DE), said earlier this year it was considering options for Volvo, including an IPO and stock market listing. In February, Geely’s Hong Kong-listed unit Geely Automobile (0175.HK) and Volvo Cars scrapped plans to merge. read more
Continue reading “Eyeing IPO, Volvo Cars to take full control of its Chinese business”
Reuters 4 min read
Self-driving startup Argo AI, carmaker Ford Motor Co (F.N) and ride-hail company Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) on Wednesday said they partnered to offer robotaxi trips to Lyft customers in Miami and Austin.
The service is expected to launch in Miami later this year and in Austin next year with a safety driver inside the Ford Escape hybrid vehicles. Over the next five years, the companies want to deploy at least 1,000 robotaxis in multiple cities.
2 min read
Office-space provider Workspace Group Plc (WKP.L) said on Thursday it was witnessing demand at pre-pandemic levels, with strong signs of London businesses returning to offices as restrictions ease, although some near-term uncertainties remained.
Office space operators such as Workspace are firefighting rent deferral and declines amid an extended moratorium on payments, while its clients are forced to cut costs and investments due to the coronavirus crisis.
Continue reading “UK’s Workspace says demand running at pre-pandemic levels as offices reopen”
Continue reading “VW Sarvottam 2.0 powering Customer Experience in a Sarvottam Way !”
2 min read
The Indian Auto Industry saw a total Volume of 31,80,039 units this Q1 for FY 2021-2022. This was almost double the LY volumes at a staggering 113.05% growth. The volume growth stood at 16,87,400 units against LY.
Reuters 3 min read
AutoNation Inc (AN.N) said it expects strong demand for new vehicles to continue into next year, as low-interest rates and robust demand helped the top U.S. auto retailer trounce quarterly earnings estimates.
The company said on Monday sales of new and used vehicles surged 42% and 37%, respectively, in the second quarter.
Continue reading “AutoNation tops earnings estimates, expects new vehicle demand to stay strong”
Reuters 4 min read
The big question hanging over Harley Davidson Inc’s (HOG.N) second-quarter results on Wednesday will be a familiar one: has the 118-year old brand sold enough bikes?
After struggling to broaden its appeal beyond middle-aged and affluent riders for several years, the company has gone back to what it knows best, which is selling big bikes, and the decision is making inroads under Chief Executive Officer Jochen Zeitz.
Continue reading “Back to basics may propel Harley’s profit although Street is wary of volume gains”
Reuters 2 min read
Intel Corp (INTC.O) unit Mobileye on Tuesday said it was testing self-driving vehicles in New York City, including the bustling Manhattan borough, in an effort to prove its technology can handle jaywalkers, construction zones and even horse carriages.
Mobileye Chief Executive Amnon Shashua said the company has begun testing camera-only vehicles in New York City in the past weeks. It is currently testing one car, with plans to add a second one later this year, a spokeswoman said.
Continue reading “Mobileye tests self-driving cars in New York City”
2 min read
Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T) and Daihatsu are joining a commercial electric vehicle coalition led by Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), the carmakers announced on Wednesday, helping the Japanese alliance expand its focus from trucks to smaller cars.
The two automakers will each acquire a 10% stake in the joint venture, on par with Isuzu Motors (7202.T) and Hino Motors (7205.T), while Toyota will hold a 60% stake, they said.
Continue reading “Suzuki and Daihatsu join Toyota electric vehicle venture”
1 min read
Germany’s BASF (BASFn.DE) said on Wednesday it has been chosen as the exclusive partner to develop high-performing lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles with Cellforce Group, a joint venture between Porsche (VOWG_p.DE) and Customcells.
As part of the collaboration, BASF will provide materials for high-performance battery cells for fast charging and high energy density. Cellforce Group will produce the high-performing battery.
Continue reading “BASF, Porsche to develop high-performing lithium-ion batteries”
