PARIS, March 8 (Reuters) – Stellantis (STLAM.MI) said on Wednesday it had reached a preliminary agreement with South African authorities to build a production site, its first in the country, by the end of 2025.
Under the deal, the new plant will be set up in one of South Africa’s special economic zones, the Franco-Italian carmaker and local authorities said in a joint statement.
Continue reading “Stellantis agrees to build first plant in South Africa”
March 8 (Reuters) – Piedmont Lithium Inc’s shares (PLL.O) rebounded from early losses on Wednesday sparked by comments from short seller Blue Orca Capital, which alleged that mining licenses in Ghana obtained by a company it invested in were through what appeared to be “textbook corruption”.
In 2021, Piedmont invested $100 million in Atlantic Lithium (A11.AX) to secure spodumene – high-purity lithium ore – from Atlantic’s mine in Ghana. Piedmont has a spodumene supply agreement with electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O).
Continue reading “Piedmont Lithium shares rebound after tumbling on short-seller report”
PTI – “On International Women’s Day, we take pride in launching this unique initiative to invite 100 women to be trained on driving heavy commercial vehicles and buses at our driver training centre in New Delhi. In line with our brand philosophy of ‘Koi Manzil Door Nahin’ we aim to bring alive the dreams of these women,” Ashok Leyland Managing Director and CEO Shenu Agarwal said.
Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland has launched a new campaign ‘Embrace Equity’ commemorating International Women’s Day being celebrated on Wednesday, the company said. The initiative is an attempt to provide women with equal opportunities and the city-based firm has invited 100 women to New Delhi to be trained on driving commercial vehicles at its training institute.
Continue reading “Ashok Leyland rolls out Embrace Equity programme”
HAMBURG, March 8 (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is waiting to hear what Europe’s response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act will be before progressing with plans to build further battery plants in Europe, the company said on Wednesday.
“De facto it is the case that we are getting ahead far faster in North America,” a person close to the matter said to Reuters, declining to be named.
Continue reading “Volkswagen pauses on Europe battery plants, awaits EU response to IRA”
BERLIN, March 8 (Reuters) – Germany auto parts maker Continental (CONG.DE) predicted rising sales would boost margins this year, as it moves beyond supply chain disruption and Russian asset impairments that in 2022 contributed to a fall in net income of nearly half.
Announcing results on Wednesday, CEO Nikolai Setzer also said the company was selling its operations in Russia including its factory in Kaluga.
Continue reading “Continental predicts higher margins, selling Russia operations”
March 8 (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) needs to focus on productivity at its mass-market brands to cope with a step up in competition this year as supply chains improve, car production rises and consumers remain under pressure, executives said on Wednesday.
“2023 must be the year of productivity,” finance chief Arno Antlitz told staff newspaper 360 Grad (360 Degrees).
Continue reading “Volkswagen focuses on productivity in challenging year”
PTI – The auto major’s market share however declined marginally to 41.40 per cent in February from 42.36 per cent in the year-ago period. Similarly, Hyundai Motor India’s market share last month dipped to 13.62 per cent against 14.95 per cent in February 2022.
Maruti Suzuki India and Hyundai Motor India saw a dip in their market share in February while Tata Motors Mahindra and Kia India witnessed an year on year increase last month. As per the retail sales data collated by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), Maruti Suzuki’s retail sales last month stood at 1,18,892 units as compared with 1,09,611 units in February 2022.
March 6 (Reuters) – American carmakers will lean on technology to keep the horsepower wars going among their electric muscle cars, a tectonic shift from the big, rumbling motors of the past.
Muscle cars – long dominated by models such as Ford Motor Co’s (F.N) Mustang, the Stellantis-owned Dodge Charger and General Motors Co’s (GM.N) Chevrolet Camaro – have played a crucial role in American culture with movies or TV shows like “Bullitt” and “The Dukes of Hazzard”, while also serving as a brand halo that drove other sales.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 6 (Reuters) – Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) plans to sell bonds worth $1.3 billion, it said on Monday, as weakening demand and lofty costs tighten a cash crunch around electrical vehicle makers.
Shares in Rivian fell nearly 7% in after-hours trading.
Initial investors will get an option to buy an additional $200 million of the bonds for settlement 13 days after the bonds are issued, Rivian said in a statement.
Continue reading “Rivian plans to sell $1.3 bln in bonds to shore up capital, shares fall”
MEXICO CITY, March 6 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) could begin producing its first cars in Mexico next year, with the electric vehicle maker close to receiving its final permits allowing factory construction to begin in Nuevo Leon near the U.S.-Mexico border, the state’s governor said on Monday.
“They are waiting for the final permits … once that’s done, they can start, hopefully this very month, in March,” Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia said in an interview.
Continue reading “Tesla could begin producing autos in Mexico next year -Mexican official”
WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) – Union challenger Shawn Fain is narrowly leading United Auto Workers (UAW) President Ray Curry in a runoff election, a court-appointed monitor said on Monday, but the race is too close to call.
Fain received 69,118 votes and Curry has 68,473 votes – a difference of 645 votes – but there are 1,608 unresolved challenged ballots. “The outcome of this race cannot be determined until a sufficient number of these challenged ballots are resolved,” the monitor’s office said.
Continue reading “United Auto Workers challenger holds narrow lead in race for union president”
WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) – A U.S. auto safety regulator said on Monday it is opening a probe into the self-certification by Zoox, Amazon Inc’s (AMZN.O) self-driving vehicle unit, in 2022 of a robotaxi without traditional driving controls.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sets the requirements for such vehicles and a company then develops its own process to prove that they meet the requirements. In September the NHTSA had directed Zoox to answer questions about its basis for certifying its vehicle, and that review is ongoing.
Continue reading “U.S. opens probe into Amazon’s Zoox robotaxi self-certification”
March 6 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden has pledged that fighting climate change will deliver millions of middle-class jobs with good wages to Americans with union membership cards.
But in the six months since passage of Biden’s signature climate change law, a large majority of the $50 billion of announced investments in domestic manufacturing to support the clean energy transition has been in states with laws that make it harder for workers to unionize, according to a Reuters analysis of corporate and state announcements.
Continue reading “Biden’s clean energy factory jobs may elude U.S. union workers”
PTI – The domestic components industry stands to gain from the manufacturing of components for internal combustion engines (ICE) moving to India as the major Western markets of US and Europe migrate towards electric vehicles.
India’s auto components industry is expected to grow around 10-15 per cent in FY24, driven by both domestic and export market demand despite fears of recession in major markets of US and Europe, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India said on Monday. The auto components industry which clocked a turnover of USD 56.5 billion in FY22 with a growth of 23 per cent over the previous year is expected to end FY23 with a growth of 15 per cent.
Continue reading “Auto components industry to grow 10-15 pc in FY24: ACMA”
DUNTON, England, March 6 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co’s (F.N) push to use reams of data generated by its vans and trucks – from engines to oil filters or brake pads – to attract more customers in the European and U.S. commercial vehicle market plays out on a 9-metre-long (30 ft) screen at its UK headquarters in Dunton east of London.
During a recent visit by Reuters, that screen showed real-time data from 114,000 vans in Britain so far covered by Ford’s FORDLiive monthly subscription service.
Ford employees were focused on the 98.3% of the vans that were in service – and of those, roughly 8% in need of repairs fairly soon or urgently – but concentrated even more so on the 1.7% vehicles out of action.
Continue reading “Ford taps masses of vehicle data to stay ahead in commercial van market”
JAKARTA, March 6 (Reuters) – Indonesia will provide incentives to boost sales of electric vehicles (EVs) starting March 20, as part of efforts to accelerate adoption and attract investment from companies like Tesla, senior cabinet minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Monday.
The incentive programme will cover sales of 200,000 electric motorcycles and 35,900 electric cars, said Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita. It will also cover the conversion of 50,000 combustion engine motorcycles, he added.
Continue reading “Indonesia to provide incentives to boost EV sales, attract investment”
March 6 (Reuters) – British new car registrations jumped 26% in February from a year ago, raising the prospect of nearly half a million plug-in cars joining the roads by the end of this year, according to industry data released on Monday.
The upcoming spring budget on March 15 should include setting out a long-term plan for investment in charging infrastructure to meet demand from battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said in a statement.
Continue reading “UK’s new car registrations jump 26% YoY in February”
BERLIN, March 6 (Reuters) – Germany’s transport minister said on Monday that he was optimistic a row with the European Union over a bid to ban new cars with internal combustion engines could be solved, but added a decision did not need to be made in the coming days.
“We are on the right track,” said Volker Wissing on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting at Meseberg, near Berlin, which EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attended on Sunday.
Continue reading “German minister says on right track with EU over combustion engine phase-out”
March 6 (Reuters) – Lordstown Motors Corp (RIDE.O) on Monday posted a bigger loss for the fourth quarter, as the electric-vehicle (EV) maker struggled with production costs and missed its delivery target for the Endurance pickup truck in the period.
EV companies that went public in past few years have been battling surging costs and challenges in securing supply of parts to make enough vehicles to meet the sector’s burgeoning demand.
Continue reading “Lordstown Motors loss widens on steep costs, delivery delay”
PTI – Maruti Suzuki India expects semiconductor shortage to continue for the next few quarters leading to further increase in order backlog of certain models, according to a senior company official. The country’s largest carmaker has seen its pending bookings stretch to 3.69 lakh units with Ertiga leading the pack with close to 94,000 bookings.
Maruti Suzuki India expects semiconductor shortage to continue for the next few quarters leading to further increase in order backlog of certain models, according to a senior company official. The country’s largest carmaker has seen its pending bookings stretch to 3.69 lakh units with Ertiga leading the pack with close to 94,000 bookings.
Continue reading “Maruti Suzuki expects chip shortage to continue for few more quarters”
PTI – “One of the focus sectors for HCL Technologies, especially in engineering services is semi chip. Our plan is to double our business. There is an internal plan to do it in a period of three to four years. I say only three to four because it is ongoing and we see demand enough to do that,” HCL Technologies executive vice president and BU head Ameer Saithu said.
IT company HCL Technologies expects to double semiconductor services business in 3-4 years following capabilities that it will develop around electronic chip plants to be set by its group firm, a senior company official said here. HCL Group is among the companies that have applied to set up electronic chip plants under the “Scheme for Compound Semiconductors” and HCL Technologies will assist HCL Corporate in end-to-end processing of chips.
Continue reading “HCL Tech aims to double semiconductor biz in 4 years”
PTI – EV market is ripe for adopting SSBs in large scale as we stabilize the battery cells and higher layers of 32 layers with 100Ah from current 8 layer prototype which is 3 Ah. We are open to test this battery cell and battery packs. We used Quantum algorithms and AI to optimize our batteries in record time.” Further Aswanth Krishnan Co-founder and Director of QpiVolta suggested, “We have achieved energy density of 360 Wh/kg in our NMC based cell and 220 Wh/kg in our cobalt free LFP cells.
Business Wire India QpiVolta which is a subsidiary of Qpi Technology announced India’s first high energy density Lithium metal based Solid State Battery pouch cell. Dr Nagendra Nagaraja Co-founder and CEO of QpiVolta suggested, “In 2021 we announced that we will use Quantum and AI material simulation to come up with solid state batteries which are superior in energy density and safe.
PTI – Olectra Greentech Limited, a subsidiary of Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), on Monday said it has received an order for 550 pure electric buses from the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC). A press release from the firm said it is the single largest order for electric buses in South India from TSRTC and is vital in Telangana’s electric mobility step for large-scale clean, green public transportation.
Olectra Greentech Limited, a subsidiary of Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), on Monday said it has received an order for 550 pure electric buses from the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC). A press release from the firm said it is the single largest order for electric buses in South India from TSRTC and is vital in Telangana’s electric mobility step for large-scale clean, green public transportation.
Continue reading “Olectra bags order for 550 e-buses from Telangana RTC”
PTI – The construction work of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway will be complete by the end of December this year, reducing the journey time between the two cities to two hours, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said. “Work on the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway project will be over by December end and from January 1 next year people will be travelling from Dehradun to Delhi in just two hours.
The construction work of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway will be complete by the end of December this year, reducing the journey time between the two cities to two hours, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said. “Work on the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway project will be over by December end and from January 1 next year people will be travelling from Dehradun to Delhi in just two hours,” Gadkari said during a visit to Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh on Sunday.
Continue reading “Delhi-Dehradun Expressway to be complete by Dec end: Nitin Gadkari”
TAIPEI/DETROIT, March 6 (Reuters) – Foxconn wants to do for electric vehicles (EVs) what it has done with the iPhone, but first, it needs to find the next Apple – and fast.
The Taiwanese contract manufacturer faces competition in the market for creating white-label EVs that can be tailor-made for clients, whether that’s a major automaker or a delivery provider or any other company.
Continue reading “Analysis: Foxconn races to become an EV player and the clock is ticking”
FRANKFURT, March 3 (Reuters) – Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) laid the foundation stone for a sustainable battery recycling factory in Kuppenheim, southern Germany on Friday.
The pilot plant will have an annual capacity of 2500 tonnes and will contribute to the production of more than 50,000 battery modules for new electric Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
Continue reading “Mercedes-Benz begins building battery recycling factory in southern Germany”
WASHINGTON/FRANKFURT, March 3 (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) off-road brand Scout Motors said on Friday it would build a $2 billion manufacturing plant near Columbia, South Carolina, for trucks and SUVs.
The investment could potentially create 4,000 or more permanent jobs and more than 200,000 Scout vehicles could be produced annually at the facility.
Continue reading “Volkswagen’s Scout to build $2 bln plant in South Carolina”
MEXICO CITY, March 3 (Reuters) – Mexico would not be able to match the incentives offered under a U.S. act to tame inflation if Tesla Inc builds a battery plant in the country, Mexico’s finance minister said on Friday, days after Tesla announced the construction of a “gigafactory” there.
Tesla (TSLA.O) has not confirmed whether it will also build a battery plant in Mexico, but local officials say Tesla has visited the central states of Hidalgo, Queretaro and Puebla to scout potential sites.
March 3 (Reuters) – LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is leaving OpenAI’s board to avoid conflicts of interest as he backs more artificial intelligence companies, he said in an online post.
Hoffman, who has invested in and advised the startup since its 2015 founding, said his venture capital firm Greylock is funding companies such as presentation generator Tome, which are paying for tools from OpenAI, the creator of chatbot sensation ChatGPT. Hoffman also co-founded Inflection AI, one of the highest profile startups working on technology similar to OpenAI’s.
Continue reading “OpenAI’s long-time backer Reid Hoffman leaves board”
March 3 (Reuters) – Rivian Automotive Inc (RIVN.O) on Friday said it was sticking to its official production forecast of 50,000 electric vehicles in 2023 after a Bloomberg news report said its executives had told employees it could possibly produce as many as 62,000 this year.
The 62,000 figure was said in an internal meeting and was taken out of context, the Rivian spokesperson said.
Continue reading “Rivian stands by 2023 production target despite media report”
March 3 (Reuters) – Urban scooter company Lime sued Hertz Corp on Thursday alleging unfair competition and accusing the rental car giant of improperly hiring the startup’s senior engineers.
San Francisco-based Neutron Holdings Inc, which does business as Lime, filed the lawsuitin California federal court seeking unspecified monetary damages and an injunction “to recover and protect its trade secrets.”
Continue reading “Scooter startup Lime sues Hertz for poaching engineers”
WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) – The United States and European Union are working toward agreement in principle on a deal to make European minerals eligible for tax credits, a senior EU official said Friday.
The $430 billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act passed in August requires rising percentages of battery minerals to come from the United States or a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partner.
Continue reading “EU, US working on deal to make EV minerals eligible for tax credits -EU official”
PTI – The collaboration will provide much-needed support for the development of renewable energy and green hydrogen projects in India, and help in achieving the government’s goal of 50 percent of installed energy capacity from non-fossil fuel based sources by 2030.
The European Investment Bank and state- owned Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) Limited are exploring a partnership on financing of renewable energy and green hydrogen projects in India. In this regard, Maria Shaw-Barragan, Global Director, European Investment Bank (EIB) and IREDA Chairman & Managing Directors (CMD) Pradip Kumar Das held a meeting in the national capital on Thursday.
PTI – The chief minister said a committee would be constituted to decide all the modalities and specifications for the prototype e-buses under the chairmanship of the state chief secretary. The state government is committed to provide best and comfortable transportation services to the people. He said that the state government is making earnest efforts to preserve and conserve the environment.
Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday asked the representatives of electric vehicles manufacturing companies to make the state-specific prototype electric buses in a time bound manner with modern technology. In a meeting with the representatives, he said that the buses should be made keeping in mind the hilly terrain, loading capacity and luggage space, a statement issued here said.
PTI – The company, which on Thursday introduced an updated version of its mid-size sedan City, plans to focus on products which are over INR 10 lakh price tag powered by petrol and hybrid powertrains. The company, which is present in India through a wholly- owned subsidiary, plans to do away with diesel models in the country.
Japanese auto major Honda plans to launch at least one new model every year in India with a focus on premium products as it looks to get its business on track in the country. The company, which on Thursday introduced an updated version of its mid-size sedan — City, plans to focus on products which are over INR 10 lakh price tag powered by petrol and hybrid powertrains.
Continue reading “Honda to focus on premium products to grow India business”
MEXICO CITY, March 2 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) planned factory in Mexico’s northern border state of Nuevo Leon will be built on a site spanning several thousand acres, almost twice the size of its factory site in Texas, with construction slated to start in three months, a Mexican official said on Thursday.
Jesus Nava, the mayor of Santa Catarina in the state of Nuevo Leon, said in an interview that Tesla is purchasing the site from private owners. He said the land spans nearly 4,200 acres in an industrial zone, more than double the size of Mexico City’s international airport.
Continue reading “Site of Tesla Mexico factory near double size of Texas plant, local official says”
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Thursday called on companies to ensure they comply with Russia-related sanctions imposed after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, warning that a failure to do so could lead to potential prosecution or enforcement actions.
Businesses should be aware of tactics being used to skirt restrictions and sanctions on Russia, including the use of shell companies, aliases, and obscured shipping information, among other warning signs, the U.S. departments of Justice, Commerce and Treasury said in a joint notice.
Continue reading “US urges companies to comply with Russia-related sanctions”
March 2 (Reuters) – Nevada on Thursday approved more than $330 million in tax abatement for electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) that is set to invest more than $3.6 billion in the state to expand its Gigafactory complex with two new factories.
Tesla said in January that one of the two new factories will mass produce its long-delayed semi-electric truck, and the other will make its new 4680 battery cell.
Continue reading “Tesla to get over $330 mln in tax abatement from Nevada”
HOUSTON, March 2 (Reuters) – Top energy executives and officials from around the world will descend on Houston next week just as the political fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago continues to distort global oil supply lines and put long-term energy security front of mind for governments.
Oil company chiefs and ministers will make their case for investment in all forms of energy – fossil fuels and renewables – to meet rising demand and at the same time accelerate the move toward the low-carbon industry of the future.
Continue reading “Big Oil to take centerstage at Houston meet as markets, alliances shift”
