BRASILIA, June 5 (Reuters) – Brazil’s government will partially reintroduce a federal diesel tax this year to pay for leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s plan to bring down the cost of vehicles, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Friday.

The plan offers tax credits to manufacturers who lower auto prices. Last year, former President Jair Bolsonaro eliminated the diesel tax until the end of 2023 to combat inflation ahead of the presidential election.

Continue reading “Brazil to reintroduce diesel tax to pay for Lula’s auto program”

HELSINKI, June 5 (Reuters) – Sweden-based Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST) on Monday posted a 31% rise in sales in May compared with a year earlier, selling 60,398 cars.

The 31% rise comes after a strained 2022, when the company, like other automakers, felt the effects of persistent COVID-lockdowns in China, chip shortages and other supply constraints that hampered production.

Continue reading “Volvo Cars sales up 31% in May as it recovers from past years”

• Launches first-of-its-kind project for 2^nd life EV battery for a sustainable environment
• Introduces 5kWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) as first product

Gurugram, June 05, 2023: MG Motor India, a British automobile brand with a 99-year-old legacy, has joined forces with LOHUM, India’s largest producer of sustainable energy transition materials, to establish a comprehensive ecosystem for the reuse, and life cycle management of EV batteries. MG India and LOHUM partnership aims to develop the concept of second-life solutions for batteries, ensuring their efficient utilization and contributing to the circular economy. The project will harness the potential of used batteries by repurposing them as Battery Energy Storage Products (BESS), effectively extending their life cycle and optimizing resource usage.

Continue reading “MG Motor India and LOHUM Collaborate for ‘Second Life’ EV Battery Solution”

PARIS, June 5 – For French President Emmanuel Macron, it was a light-bulb moment.

In an ornate ballroom at the Palace of Versailles last July, the head of Taiwan’s ProLogium took out a pair of scissors and cut one of its solid-state batteries the size of a credit card in half. The small bulb it was powering continued to shine.

Continue reading “France rolls out the red carpet for EV battery factories”

June 5 (Reuters) – Britain’s new car sales still below pre-pandemic level despite a rise it witnessed in May from a year earlier, according to the preliminary industry data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Monday.

The SMMT will provide the final figures for the month at 0900 GMT.

Continue reading “UK auto industry body says new car sales rise in May, but below pre-COVID level”

PTI – “At RNAIPL, our unwavering commitment to environmental responsibility is imprinted in everything we do. We have set ourselves on an ambitious roadmap to Carbon Neutrality by 2045 and this goal underlies our drive towards utilization of more green energy, optimization of energy consumption.” company managing director Keerthi Prakash said.

PTI – Mahindra & Mahindra is looking at maintaining leadership position in the fast-growing sports utility vehicle segment in the current fiscal with demand remaining robust for its model range, according to the group CFO Manoj Bhat.

• 27 million kgs of CO2 saved in the nearly 19Cr. kms cumulatively driven

Gurugram, June 03, 2023: MG Motor India, an iconic British automobile brand with a 99-year-old legacy, today announced a significant milestone achieved by its flagship electric vehicle, the MG ZS EV. As the world prepares to celebrate World Environment Day on June 05, the MG ZS EV has surpassed an impressive distance of over 19 Cr. kilometres, solidifying its position as a popular electric vehicle among environmentally conscious drivers in India.

Continue reading “MG Motor India Demonstrates Commitment to Sustainable Mobility with MG ZS EV’s Impressive CO2 Savings on World Environment Day”

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) – Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI) and General Motors (GM.N) paid a total of $363 million in civil penalties for failing to meet U.S. fuel economy requirements for prior model years, documents seen on Friday by Reuters show.

The record-setting penalties include $235.5 million for Stellantis for the 2018 and 2019 model years and $128.2 million for GM covering 2016 and 2017, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which administers the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program.

Continue reading “Exclusive: Stellantis, GM pay $363 million in US fuel economy penalties”

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) – The U.S. auto safety regulator routinely fails to meet its internal timelines for completing auto safety defect investigations, a government report released on Thursday found, hindering its ability to quickly respond to severe safety risks.

The Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General said that 26 of 27 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigations in its 2018 to 2019 sample did not meet the agency’s timeliness targets, and faulted other aspects of its review of safety defects.

Continue reading “US auto safety agency fails to meet internal timelines in defect probes, report says”

DETROIT, June 2 (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) Chief Executive Mary Barra had a message on Friday for investors and rivals who see no profitable future in autonomous vehicles: You’re wrong.

Barra told attendees at a Sanford Bernstein conference she sees a “giant growth opportunity” in GM’s Cruise autonomous vehicle unit, and predicted personal self-driving cars would be on the market before the end of the decade.

Continue reading “GM chief Barra stands by her bet on autonomous vehicles”

PARIS, June 2 (Reuters) – Mercedes Benz Group (MBGn.DE), a longtime partner of Renault (RENA.PA) in vans, won’t take part in the French company’s FlexEvan electric project and will focus instead on its own premium electric vehicle VAN.EA, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

FlexEvan, scheduled to launch in 2026, is being developed for the Renault and Nissan marques and sources say it could also be joined by Renault Trucks, a brand owned by Sweden’s Volvo (VOLVb.ST).

Continue reading “Mercedes won’t join Renault’s new electric van project”

HONG KONG, June 1 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Wednesday afternoon in Beijing, a source familiar with the matter said.

The source declined to provide details of the discussions. The previously unreported meeting followed meetings with China’s commerce and industry ministers earlier in the day and with the foreign minister on Tuesday.

Continue reading “Elon Musk met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding in Beijing”

June 1 (Reuters) – Stellantis (STLAM.MI) will invest 160 million euros ($176.13 million) at its Rennes plant to launch a 100% electric compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in 2025, the Franco-Italian-American car manufacturer said on Thursday.

Stellantis will use the investment to set up a battery assembly workshop as well as one dedicated to plastic injection moulding, it said in a statement, adding the vehicle’s launch will happen on the future STLA Medium platform.

Continue reading “Stellantis to invest 160 million euros to launch all-electric SUV in 2025”

TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) – Japan’s Hitachi Astemo said on Thursday an auto industry veteran will take over as top executive from Brice Koch, who handled the automotive supplier’s response to misconduct over testing and other procedures for components going back as far as the 1980s.

Hitachi Astemo, which makes a wide range of car, motorcycle and train parts such as brake systems and powertrains, is a joint venture between Hitachi (6501.T) and major automaker Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T).

Continue reading “Japan’s Hitachi Astemo appoints Honda veteran as next CEO”

June 1 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) sued Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in U.S. court on Wednesday, accusing it of a price-fixing conspiracy that caused the automaker to pay inflated costs for health insurance products for its employees.

The lawsuit Ford filed in Detroit federal court accused the insurer and its regional Michigan branch of unlawfully dividing up parts of the country in a scheme to reduce competition with each other in order to drive “astronomical profits.”

Continue reading “Ford Motor Co sues Blue Cross Blue Shield in antitrust case over ‘astronomical’ profit”

PTI – According to Hinduja, the first of the five models planned for FY24 will be an electric bus meant for the European markets. It is expected to go on sale in January. This will be followed by two new low bus platforms for India – a 9-metre and a 12-metre bus.

PTI – In July, Hero MotoCorp will introduce its first motorcycle developed in collaboration with Harley Davidson. It is slated to be among the most affordable products from the stable of the cult American bike maker. Also on the cards are the next generation KTM 390 Duke from the house of Bajaj, Aprilia RS 440, Yamaha MT-03 and YZF-R3.

TOKYO, May 31 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Wednesday that information on customers in some countries in Oceania and Asia, excluding Japan, may have been left publicly accessible from October 2016 to May 2023.

Customer information that may have been accessible externally included names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and vehicle identification and registration numbers, the company said.

Continue reading “Toyota says some customers in Asia, Oceania face risk of data leak”

May 31 (Reuters) – Lucid Group (LCID.O) said it plans to raise about $3 billion through a stock offering, nearly two-thirds of which will come from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), sending shares of the luxury electric-vehicle maker down 9% after market hours.

PIF, which owns more than 60% of the company, has agreed to buy 265.7 million shares in a private placement for about $1.8 billion, Lucid said, implying a price of about $6.80 per Lucid share, compared with the stock’s Wednesday close of $7.76.

Continue reading “EV maker Lucid to raise $3 bln, mainly from Saudi’s PIF”

WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) – Ford Motor (F.N) said on Wednesday it is recalling 142,000 Lincoln MKC SUVs in the United States and advising owners to park outdoors and away from structures while it investigates the cause of under hood fires.

Continue reading “Ford recalls 142,000 Lincoln SUVs in US for fire risks”

WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) – The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed requiring automatic emergency braking (AEB) on all new passenger cars and light trucks and set new performance requirements, one of the most significant safety regulations proposed in recent years.

The new requirements proposed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) would require most vehicles to comply three years after being finalized and is expected to dramatically reduce crashes associated with pedestrians and rear-end crashes.

Continue reading “US proposes requiring automatic emergency braking in new vehicles”

May 31 (Reuters) – The cost to make electric vehicles may not drop to the level for gas-powered cars until after 2030 when the process becomes simpler and less labor-intensive, Ford Motor Co (F.N) Chief Executive Jim Farley said on Wednesday.

At an investor conference, Farley said that, for many automakers, EVs will remain more costly than their internal combustion engine counterparts until the second and third generation models go into production later in this decade.

Continue reading “Ford CEO says EV cost parity may not come until after 2030”