WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Senior executives at 12 major international automakers on Friday urged California’s two U.S. senators to oppose a proposal to give union-made electric vehicles an additional $4,500 tax credit.

The automakers including Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and BMW AG (BMWG.DE), which said in 2020 they collectively employed over 9,000 California residents and generated $19.7 billion for the state’s economy, asked Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla in a letter seen by Reuters “to oppose any federally funded EV consumer incentives that do not treat California’s auto workers as equal to every other American auto worker.”

Continue reading “12 automakers urge California senators to oppose union EV tax credit”

WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) – The European Union, Germany, Canada, Japan, Mexico, France, South Korea, Italy and other countries wrote U.S. lawmakers saying a proposed U.S. electric vehicle tax credit violates international trade rules, according to a joint letter made public Saturday.

A group of 25 ambassadors to Washington wrote U.S. lawmakers and the Biden administration late Friday saying “limiting eligibility for the credit to vehicles based on their U.S. domestic assembly and local content is inconsistent with U.S. commitments made under WTO multilateral agreements.” Continue reading “International opposition mounts over proposed U.S. EV tax credit”

FRANKFURT Oct 29 (Reuters) – German technology group Robert Bosch (ROBG.UL) has earmarked more than 400 million euros ($467 million) for investments in microchip production in Germany and Malaysia next year to ease a global shortage.

A lack of chips for automakers has disrupted vehicle production around the world, with suppliers relying almost exclusively on chips from only a few manufacturers in Asia and the United States. Continue reading “Bosch to invest more than 400 mln eur in chip production”

Oct 29 (Reuters) – Shares of Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O) rose marginally in premarket trading on Friday after social media giant Facebook rebranded itself to build the “metaverse”, a shared virtual environment.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday the new name reflects the company’s work invested in the metaverse, rather than its namesake social media service, which will continue to be called Facebook. Continue reading “Meta Platforms shares rise as Facebook rebrands to focus on metaverse”

BANGALORE/SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) board member Ira Ehrenpreis sold shares of the electric carmaker worth more than $200 million on Wednesday, after the stock crossed the $1,000 mark for the first time to hit a record, according to filings.

Antonio Gracias, a former Tesla board member whose term expired earlier this month, also filed his planned sale of $610 million worth of shares on the same day, filings showed. Continue reading “Current, former Tesla board members cash in on stock rally”

LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) reported a higher quarterly profit on Friday despite a 30% drop in Mercedes-Benz unit sales due to a global semiconductor chip shortage, as it focused on more profitable luxury cars and cut costs, and said it should meet its 2021 profit targets.

The German premium carmaker said it expects chip supplies to improve in the fourth quarter. It said the shortage should continue in 2022 but should improve compared to 2021. Continue reading “Daimler powers through chip crunch, 2021 targets on track”

STOCKHOLM, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST) shares surged 22% on their Stockholm market debut on Friday after wrapping up Europe’s biggest IPO of the year so far, in a boost for new issues markets and carmakers’ vision of an electric future.

The Gothenburg-based company cut the size of its listing and priced it at the bottom of a previously-announced range on Monday, valuing it at just over $18 billion and making it Sweden’s second largest listing yet.

Continue reading “Volvo Cars leaps 22% on debut in boost for IPOs and electric cars”

LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) – The global semiconductor chip shortage cost Volkswagen and Stellantis a combined 1.4 million vehicles in lost production in the third quarter, Europe’s two biggest carmakers said on Thursday, though both reported some early signs of improvement.

Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), Europe’s top car company and also the world’s No. 2, cut its outlook for deliveries, toned down sales expectations and warned of cost cuts as it reported lower-than-expected quarterly operating profit.

Continue reading “Europe’s top carmakers count mounting cost of chip crunch”

TOKYO, Oct 28 (Reuters) – A global parts and chip shortage is taking a heavy toll on Japanese firms with seven out of eight automakers seeing global output drop in September, casting doubt over the central bank’s view the impact of supply constraints will be temporary.

Toyota Motor (7203.T) said on Thursday it saw global output slump 39.1% in September from a year earlier to 512,765 units, marking the second straight month of falls. Continue reading “Global supply constraints deal heavy blow to Japanese firms”

BRUSSELS, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Italian luxury sports car maker Ferrari (RACE.MI) on Thursday won its dispute with a German car design company after Europe’s top court agreed with its arguments that it owns the design right to the appearance of its race track car Ferrari FXX K.

The case has implications for a wide swathe of industries, in particular luxury brands seeking to protect their designs from knock-offs, and manufacturers of complex products made up of numerous components. Continue reading “Ferrari wins EU court backing in rights spat with German car designer”

MEXICO CITY, Oct 28 (Reuters) – U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. will suspend production at its Hermosillo factory in northern Mexico from November 1-5 due to material shortages, according to a union statement issued on Thursday.

Continue reading “Ford to suspend production at Mexican plant due to shortages – union”

STOCKHOLM, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Geely-owned automaker Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST) said its initial public offering (IPO) was substantially oversubscribed as it geared up for its bourse debut in Stockholm later on Friday.

Gothenburg-based Volvo Cars, owned by Geely Holding (GEELY.UL) which will retain the vast majority of shares in the company, said the IPO would see it add more than two hundred thousand new shareholders. Continue reading “Volvo Cars IPO oversubscribed ahead of trading debut”

Oct 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. auto sector’s production slump this year is more than a big minus for Detroit – it’s a major drag on the entire economy.

Gross domestic product growth slowed to the weakest pace in more than a year during the third quarter at just 2% annualized. That was less than a third of the growth rate in the preceding quarter.

Continue reading “Detroit’s chip woes drag on U.S. economic growth”

TURIN, Italy, Oct 27 (Reuters) – Stellantis’ (STLA.MI) four new electrified platforms are expected to each underpin the production of 2 million vehicles a year, the automaker’s head for Italy said on Wednesday.

Since the creation of the world’s fourth largest carmaker at the beginning of this year through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA, Chief Executive Carlos Tavares has pushed for a convergence of the combined group’s 14 brands to achieve a goal of over 5 billion euros ($5.8 billion) in annual synergies and accelerate its transition to cleaner mobility.

Continue reading “Stellantis’ four new EV platforms to each support 2 mln vehicles a year-exec”

WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers union backs U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration’s proposed tougher vehicle fuel economy requirements but does not support even more stringent requirements that some environmental groups have sought.

The union outlined its position in written comments to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which set a deadline of Oct. 26 for comments, which were still being posted on Wednesday.

Continue reading “United Auto Workers union backs Biden fuel economy proposal”

SEOUL, Oct 28 (Reuters) – South Korea’s SK Innovation (096770.KS) will invest $30 million in Ford Motor-backed solid-state battery developer Solid Power Inc, with an aim to jointly produce batteries, the companies said.

The South Korean battery maker, which supplies electric car batteries to carmakers including Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), will buy shares in Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation III, a shell company through which Solid Power plans to go public through a merger that will value the combined firm at about $1.2 billion.

Continue reading “South Korea’s SK Innovation to invest $30 mln in Solid Power”

Oct 27 (Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) on Wednesday said it is launching a new partnership with rental car company Hertz to offer 50,000 Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) vehicles as a rental option for its ride-hail drivers by 2023.

Uber drivers can rent a Tesla through Hertz starting on Nov. 1 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Washington DC, with the program later this year expanding to cities nationwide, the ride-hail company said in a blog post.

Continue reading “Uber partners with Hertz to offer 50,000 Tesla rentals to U.S. ride-hail drivers”

BERLIN, Oct 26 (Reuters) – Car and truck makers from Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) to Nissan (7201.T) and Ford (F.N) have embraced the narrative that reducing carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement should be a key tenet of their business agenda.

Are they doing enough? Research shows their goals are still a far cry from what is needed, but the jury is out on whether automakers alone are responsible for the shortfall. Continue reading “Analysis: Doomed to fail? How carmakers’ climate vows fall short – and who’s to blame”

DETROIT, Oct 26 (Reuters) – General Motors Co’s (GM.N) electric commercial vehicle business, BrightDrop, will build out a dedicated dealer network to drive growth, the unit’s head said on Tuesday.

While Travis Katz, BrightDrop’s chief executive, did not disclose how many dealers will be in the network, he said it will be smaller than GM’s retail network and focused in urban markets. The locations will be tailored to serve fleet customers such as FedEx (FDX.N) and Verizon (VZ.N), which GM supplies vehicles to by contract. Continue reading “GM electric commercial vehicle unit to build dedicated dealer network”

Oct 26 (Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is nearing an agreement to plead guilty to criminal conduct to resolve a multiyear emissions fraud probe surrounding Ram pickup trucks and Jeep sport-utility vehicles with diesel engines, people familiar with the matter said.

FCA lawyers and U.S. Justice Department officials are brokering a plea deal that could be unveiled in coming weeks and include financial penalties totaling between $250 million and $300 million, the people said. Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE Fiat Chrysler nears plea deal in U.S. emissions fraud probe – sources”

PARIS, Oct 26 (Reuters) – Stellantis (STLA.MI), the world’s fourth-largest carmaker, will keep selling its upscale DS Automobiles brand in China, where by early next year it will unveil a new plan to boost disappointing sales, brand director Beatrice Foucher said on Tuesday.

Following the creation of Stellantis (STLA.MI) in January through the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA, chief executive Carlos Tavares promised to keep the group’s 14 brands on condition that each would focus on its strongest markets and segments. Continue reading “Stellantis to maintain DS brand in China despite disappointing sales”

Oct 26 (Reuters) – General Motors (GM.N) said on Tuesday it would install up to 40,000 electric-vehicle charging stations in the United States and Canada, as part of the automaker’s $750 million commitments to bolster its presence in the rapidly growing sector.

The announcement comes just months after the No. 1 U.S. automaker said it had signed agreements with some companies to offer its customers access to nearly 60,000 charging points across the same regions. Continue reading “GM to boost EV profile with 40,000 charging stations in U.S., Canada”

BEIJING, Oct 25 (Reuters) – U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) said on Monday it had built a research center and a separate data center in Shanghai, where it manufactures Model 3 sedans and Model Y sport-utility vehicles.

The auto research and development center, Tesla’s first outside the United States, employs engineers for software, electronics, materials and charging, it said in a statement.

Continue reading “Tesla opens new China research, data centers; will store data locally”

TOKYO, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Panasonic on Monday unveiled a new large prototype battery designed to help Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) lower electric vehicle (EV) production costs, in a move the Japanese company’s battery chief said would deepen business ties with its key U.S. customer.

During a media roundtable where Kazuo Tadanobu showed the battery that is around five times the size of those currently used by Tesla, he also said Panasonic had no plans to make cheaper Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries for more affordable EVs.

Continue reading “Panasonic unveils prototype battery to help Tesla lower production costs”

PARIS, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Michelin (MICP.PA) reported better-than expected third quarter sales on Monday, due in part to a strong rebound in demand for tyres for agricultural machinery.

The group, which makes tyres used in cars, aircraft, bicycles and industrial equipment, said sales totalled 6 billion euros ($6.98 billion) for July to September, up from 5.78 billion in the same period last year
Continue reading “Specialty tyres fuel Michelin’s third-quarter sales beat”

WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Engine manufacturer Navistar International Corp will pay a $52 million civil penalty and has agreed to prevent at least 10,000 tons of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions in a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over Clean Air Act violations.

The Justice Department said on Monday that Illinois-based Navistar, which was acquired by Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) Traton (8TRA.DE) truck unit for $3.7 billion in July, illegally introduced into commerce heavy-duty diesel engines not authorized by Environmental Protection Agency emissions rules.

Continue reading “Navistar to pay $52 million to resolve Justice Department emissions probe”

STOCKHOLM, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Volvo Cars shrank its initial public offering on Monday, pricing it at the bottom of a previously announced range and valuing the Geely-owned (GEELY.UL) business at just over $18 billion.

European and U.S. IPO markets have been hit by cancellations as inflation and global supply chain crunches have increased stock market volatility, while many more companies are reported to have pushed back plans rather than risk U-turns.

Continue reading “Volvo Cars gives itself $18 bln price tag as cuts IPO size”

BERLIN, Oct 25 (Reuters) – German carmakers will reveal the extent of the dent a global chip shortage has made in their third quarter earnings over the next ten days, as investors fret over the next bump in the road.

The scarcity intensified in the three months to the end of September, with passenger car output at German plants 35% below 2019 levels, auto industry association data shows, hitting sales of Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), Daimler (DAIGn.DE) and BMW (BMWG.DE).

Continue reading “Investors look beyond chip dent to German car earnings”

Oct 25 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) surpassed $1 trillion in market value on Monday after landing its biggest-ever order from rental car company Hertz, a deal that reinforced the electric car leader’s ambitions to top the entire auto industry in sales over the next decade.

Tesla shares surged as much as 14.9% to $1,045.02, making it the world’s most valuable automaker according to Reuters calculations based on its latest filing.

Continue reading “Tesla zooms past $1 trillion market cap on bet that the EV future is now”

CANBERRA, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Australia’s cabinet is expected to formally adopt a target for net zero emissions by 2050 when it meets on Monday to review a deal reached between parties in Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s coalition government, official sources told Reuters.

The ruling coalition has been divided over how to tackle climate change, with the government maintaining that harder targets would damage the A$2-trillion ($1.5-trillion) economy.

Continue reading “Australia’s cabinet to review deal on net zero emissions target -sources”

TOKYO, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Panasonic’s battery unit head on Monday unveiled a powerful prototype battery he said will deepen business ties with U.S. electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O).

He also said the company had no plan to make cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for electric vehicles.

Continue reading “Panasonic unveils prototype battery for Tesla”

NEW YORK/ SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 24 (Reuters) – U.S. electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) on Sunday rolled back the latest version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software, less than a day after its release, after users complained of false collision warnings and other issues.

The setback comes as Tesla is under regulatory scrutiny over the safety of its semi-autonomous driving technology, which it calls “FSD.”

Continue reading “Tesla pulls its new Full Self-Driving beta due to software ‘issues’”

Oct 22 (Reuters) – German solar car firm Sono Motors on Friday filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), looking to cash in on investor demand as governments worldwide push for a shift to greener transport.

Reuters reported in March that Sono is exploring a U.S. stock market listing that may value the company at more than $1 billion, citing people close to the matter.

Continue reading “German solar car firm Sono Motors files for U.S. IPO”

Oct 22 (Reuters) – Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) received reports of more than 4,000 instances of sexual assault on its ride-hailing platform between 2017 and 2019, it said, detailing the data in a safety report it had promised to publish about two years ago.

The company report, issued late on Thursday, showed sexual assault reports on its platform had increased from around 1,100 in 2017 to some 1,800 in 2019. But it said bookings increased at a higher rate during that time, resulting in a 19% drop in the overall incident rate.

Continue reading “Lyft records more than 4,000 sexual assault cases in long-overdue safety report”

DETROIT, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius told Reuters on Friday the automaker hopes to stabilize its supply chain for semiconductors during this quarter, but expects real relief from shortages of chips will not arrive until 2023.

Kaellenius, who is visiting Mercedes operations in the United States, said production of Mercedes vehicles during the fourth quarter will be lower than a year ago, which was an unusually strong quarter as the company began recovering from pandemic shutdowns.
Continue reading “Daimler CEO hopes to stabilize supply chain this quarter”

WASHINGTON/OTTAWA, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Canada said on Friday that U.S. proposals to create new electric vehicle tax credits for American-built vehicles could harm the North American auto industry and fall foul of trade agreements, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Separately, a Canadian government source expressed confidence a solution would eventually be reached but said Ottawa might have to launch a challenge through the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade deal.
Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE Canada says proposed U.S. EV tax credit could harm sector, mulls possible challenge”

LONDON, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Renault (RENA.PA) said on Friday it would cut output by 500,000 cars this year, more than double its previous forecast due to a crippling global semiconductor shortage, but maintained its profit outlook helped by higher car prices and cost cuts.

During a presentation to analysts, Renault Chief Financial Officer Clotlide Delbos said the carmaker’s visibility on the chip shortage in the fourth quarter was “still very poor because the information coming from suppliers is very unreliable.”

Continue reading “Chip crunch to cut Renault’s 2021 output by 500,000 cars”

LONDON, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Nearly one in five vehicles sold in the European Union in the third quarter was an electrified model as sales continued to soar while fossil-fuel cars slumped, according to sales data released on Friday by a trade organization.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA, which represents major European car, truck, van and bus makers, said that battery electric and plug-in hybrid model sales across the European Union made up just under 19% of all sales.
Continue reading “Electrified cars hit almost a fifth of EU Q3 vehicle sales”

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) talks with China’s CATL and BYD over battery supplies for its planned electric vehicle have been mostly stalled after they refused to set up teams and build U.S. plants that would solely cater to the tech giant, three people with knowledge of the discussions said.

The firms informed Apple sometime in the past two months that they were not able to meet its requirements, the people said. But the U.S. company has not given up hope of resuming talks with either CATL (300750.SZ) or BYD , according to one source.

Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE Apple’s talks with Chinese battery makers CATL and BYD mostly stalled -sources”

BERLIN, Oct 22 (Reuters) – German automaker BMW’s (BMWG.DE) first sales-ready battery electric i4 models rolled off production lines at its main plant in Munich on Friday, as the company expands its electric offering under industry-wide pressure to reduce emissions.

The car was made on the same assembly line as internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid models such as the BMW 3 Series Sedan and Touring, the company said, a shift that cost 200 million euros ($233 million) in investment in production structures.

Continue reading “BMW starts producing new electric model, commits to emissions-free transport at main plant”