Source : PTI | New Delhi: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said his ministry is finalising a policy for use of municipal waste in road construction. Addressing a press conference, Gadkari further said the government is considering offering incentives to construction equipment manufacturers for not using fossil fuels.

“We are finalising the policy for using municipal waste in road construction,” he said. Continue reading “Transport ministry finalising policy for using municipal waste in road construction: Gadkari”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: Electric mobility player GreenCell Mobility on Thursday said it has signed a green financing deal with Standard Chartered Bank for its INR 125-crore Surat E-Mobility project. Surat E-Mobility project consists of 150 electric buses in Gujarat and aims to reduce 1 lakh tonne of CO2 emissions over the project lifetime, the company said in a statement.

GreenCell has availed green loan by the leading global bank, Standard Chartered Bank, in a significant move to step up our efforts towards transforming India’s electric transportation landscape. Continue reading “GreenCell Mobility inks green financing deal with Standard Chartered Bank for Surat E-Mobility project”

Source : PTI | Gensol Engineering Ltd has bagged an order worth INR 75 crore to lease out 500 electric cargo vehicles from a logistics firm, a company statement said. The work order came through subsidiary company Gensol EV Lease Pvt Ltd, Gensol Engineering said in statement on Thursday.

“Gensol EV Lease bags order for more than 500+ Tata Ace Cargo EVs. This substantial order, valued at INR 75 crore, is from an all-electric logistics company,” it said. Continue reading “Gensol Engineering secures order to lease over 500 electric cargo vehicles”

Source : PTI | The Central government under its Smart City Mission has felicitated Jammu smart city for its e-mobility project, which includes successful operations of e-autos and e-rickshaws, officials said on Thursday. The city got the award under urban environment category of India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

The ISAC is organised under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ Smart Cities Mission. It rewards cities, projects, and innovative ideas that promote sustainable development across 100 smart cities. Continue reading “Jammu smart city bags award for its e-rickshaw, e-auto project”

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Ford Motor (F.N) Chief Executive Jim Farley on Friday accused the United Auto Workers union of holding up a new U.S. labor agreement in a bid to force the automaker to pay workers at new battery plants the same top wages as workers at assembly plants.

Farley also disclosed the automaker is awaiting “final language” from the U.S. Treasury on whether batteries made at a planned Michigan plant using Chinese technology will qualify for tax credits. Continue reading “Ford CEO says UAW holding labor deal ‘hostage’ over fate of battery plants”

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) – The Biden administration proposal to hike fuel economy standards through 2032 is not feasible and could cost automakers a total of more than $14 billion in fines, an automotive group said Friday.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors (VOWG_p.DE), Toyota Motor (7203.T), Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), Hyundai (005380.KS) and others, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Corporate Average Fuel Economy proposal “exceeds maximum feasibility” and that the agency projects “manufacturers will pay over $14 billion in non-compliance penalties between 2027 and 2032”. Continue reading “Automakers say they face $14 billion in fines from Biden’s ‘unfeasible’ fuel rules”

Summary

• About 25,000 UAW workers now on strike
• New plants affected in Chicago and Lansing, Michigan
• Ford CEO says talks not at an impasse yet

DETROIT, Sept 29 (Reuters) – The chief executives of GM and Ford blasted United Auto Workers leaders on Friday, and UAW chief Shawn Fain responded in kind, hours after the union escalated the strike that is now in its third week. Continue reading “GM, Ford chiefs clash with UAW as union expands strikes”

Sept 29 (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers dropped unfair labor practice charges against General Motors and Chrysler-parent Stellantis on Friday.

The union had filed the charges on Aug. 31 with the National Labor Relations Board charging the automakers had refused to bargain in good faith, which both companies strongly denied. The UAW on Sept. 15 launched the first-ever simultaneous strike against the Detroit Three automakers and now has targeted 43 facilities covering about 25,000 out of about 150,000 hourly auto workers. The companies and UAW have exchanged numerous contract offers over the last month. Continue reading “UAW drops unfair labor practice charges against GM, Stellantis”

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Sigma Lithium (SGML.V) on Friday challenged a Reuters report that a Brazilian court had imposed an “injunction” on its ability to sell or mine two plots where it planned open pits, and reiterated that it saw no hurdle to its expansion plans.

In a press release, Sigma said “recent media reports” had “incorrectly denominated as an ‘injunction'” a Brazilian judge’s ruling in a lawsuit between the company’s former co-CEOs. Sigma’s spokesperson and lawyers have repeatedly referred to the ruling as an “injunction” in recent weeks. Continue reading “Sigma Lithium questions reporting on Brazil mineral rights ‘injunction’”

Sept 29 (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Friday expanded its coordinated U.S. strike, this time targeting a plant at General Motors (GM.N) and Ford Motor (F.N) but refraining from an additional walkout from Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI).

The ongoing strike is the first-ever simultaneous labor action against the Detroit Three automakers and is now entering its third week after the earlier contracts expired on Sept. 15. Continue reading “Explainer: UAW expands strike against GM, Ford in Week 3, spares Stellantis”

Source : PTI | Tata Steel on Thursday said it has signed an agreement with Indian Oil Corporation Limited and its business associate to further reduce carbon footprint at its Ferro Alloys plant. The agreement encompasses LPG supply, installation of LPG facilities, and the operation and maintenance of the same at the company’s Ferro Alloys Plants in Gopalpur of Ganjam and Athagarh of Cuttack districts in Odisha, the steel major said in a statement.

Tata Steel has decided to transition from Furnace Oil and High-Speed Diesel to a more sustainable fuel option – Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) in response to the pressing environmental concerns and the global imperative to reduce carbon emissions. Continue reading “Tata Steel inks pact with IOCL to further reduce carbon footprint”

Sept 28 (Reuters) – New vehicle sales in the United States are projected to rise for a sixth consecutive month in September on strong demand, according to an industry report, though the strike by United Auto Workers’ (UAW) union has clouded the outlook going forward.

U.S. new vehicle sales, including retail and non-retail transactions, are estimated to reach 1,309,900 units in September, a 13.8% jump from a year earlier, a joint report by J.D. Power and GlobalData showed on Thursday. Continue reading “US new vehicle sales to rise for sixth month; UAW strike clouds October outlook, report says”

Sept 27 (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday it mattered little whether striking union autoworkers secured a favorable deal in talks with America’s biggest carmakers because the shift to electric vehicles would soon make them obsolete.

Speaking in terms that contrast with the confidence shown by carmarkers spending aggressively to electrify their fleets, Trump predicted the U.S. auto industry would succumb to massive losses in just a few years. Continue reading “Trump says UAW talks don’t matter because EV shift will kill jobs”

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 28 (Reuters) – The lawyer representing victims of a fatal crash of a Tesla Model 3 car in his opening statement in court on Thursday blamed the company’s Autopilot driver assistant system, saying that “a car company should never sell consumers experimental vehicles.”

An attorney for Tesla (TSLA.O), in the first U.S. trial over allegations that its Autopilot feature led to a death, however, said the crash was the result of “a classic human error.” Continue reading “In Tesla trial over Autopilot fatality, lawyer cites ‘experimental vehicles’”

STOCKHOLM/TORONTO, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Swedish lithium-ion battery producer Northvolt said on Thursday it would open a $5.2 billion gigafactory in Quebec, the largest ever investment in the Canadian province and the latest in electric vehicle battery manufacturing capacity in the country.

The first phase of the construction of the Northvolt Six factory just outside Montreal will begin this year and it is expected to be operational in 2026. Continue reading “Sweden’s Northvolt to build $5.2 billion battery factory in Canada”

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) – A $1 billion metals deal by blank-cheque fund ACG Acquisition Co has been terminated following delays when the different sides, which included a leading global miner and top automakers as anchor investors, tried to revise it, ACG said on Thursday.

ACG (ACGa.L), a London-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), planned to buy a nickel mine and a copper mine from Appian Capital, betting on rising demand for metals needed for the global green energy transition. Continue reading “$1 bln metals SPAC deal backed by Glencore, automakers collapses”

Sept 28 (Reuters) – A U.S. civil rights agency sued Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) on Thursday, claiming the electric carmaker has tolerated severe harassment of Black employees at its flagship Fremont, California, assembly plant, in charges similar to cases brought by the state and by Tesla employees.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said in the lawsuit filed in federal court in California that from 2015 to the present, Black workers at the Tesla plant have routinely been subjected to racist slurs and graffiti, including swastikas and nooses. Continue reading “Tesla sued by US agency over alleged harassment of Black factory workers”

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SIAM’s Society for Automotive Fitness & Environment hosts the 24th Edition of SAFE Annual Convention 2023 WAF Continue reading “WAF Auto News | The Auto World This Week (29th September 2023)”

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Opening statements are set to begin on Thursday in the first U.S. trial over allegations that Tesla’s (TSLA.O) Autopilot driver assistant feature led to a death, and its results could help shape similar cases across the country.

The trial, in a California state court, stems from a civil lawsuit alleging the Autopilot system caused owner Micah Lee’s Model 3 to suddenly veer off a highway east of Los Angeles at 65 miles per hour (105 kph), strike a palm tree and burst into flames, all in the span of seconds. Continue reading “Tesla trial over Autopilot fatality kicks off in California”

TOKYO, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor (7203.T) said global production climbed 4% from the same period a year earlier to 798,771 vehicles to mark a record for the month of August.

Domestic production for the world’s biggest automaker rose 22% from a year earlier, offsetting a 2% drop in overseas output and highlighting its recovery from last year’s semiconductor and supply chain troubles. Continue reading “Toyota’s August global output rises on stronger domestic production”

Source : PTI | The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Wednesday quashed the order passed by Sebi imposing a fine of INR 65 lakh on Apollo Tyres for violating norms pertaining to buyback of shares back in 2003. Dismissing the regulator’s directive, the appellate tribunal has directed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to refund the penalty amount deposited by Apollo Tyres within four weeks, according to the SAT order.

The present appeal was filed against the Sebi’s order passed in November, 2018 that levied a penalty of INR 65 lakh on Apollo Tyres for violation of buyback rules. Continue reading “SAT dismisses Sebi penalty on Apollo Tyres in share buyback case”

Source : PTI | Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that electric vehicle services will be introduced at key tourist destinations across Uttar Pradesh. Addressing a function on the occasion of World Tourism Day organised at Yogiraj Baba Gambhirnath Auditorium here, the chief minister said efforts are being made to deploy e-buses and e-rickshaws, and install solar lighting at some tourist destinations.

Adityanath inaugurated an exhibition on tourist places of UP, released an ‘A to Z’ booklet on them, distributed kits to members of the Youth Tourism Club and honoured leading tourism entrepreneurs of the state, a statement said. Continue reading “EV services to be introduced at key tourist destinations in UP: CM Adityanath”

Source : PTI | Škoda AutoVolkswagen India posted a 48.6% rise in its standalone net profit at INR 309.5 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2023 riding on strong revenue growth, according to financial data accessed by business intelligence platform Tofler. The company had posted a net profit of INR 208.34 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2022.

Revenue from operations was at INR 17,041.72 crore in FY23, highest in the last five financial years, according to the data. Continue reading “Škoda Auto Volkswagen India net up 49% in FY23 at INR 309.5 cr”

Source: PTI | The Centre is in touch with US-based electric vehicle maker Tesla to consider setting up a manufacturing facility in India and Gujarat will approach the company at an appropriate time to ensure the state has a significant role in the future plans, a senior state government official said. Gujarat’s Additional Chief Secretary (Industries and Mines Department) S J Haider said that the state is in touch with all likely investors.

The world’s largest electric car producer Tesla Inc’s chief Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June in New York. Continue reading “We will be establishing contact with Tesla at appropriate time: Gujarat official”

Source : PTI |The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday said the first ever MotoGP event held in Greater Noida saw a footfall of more than one lakh people from India and around the world whilst registering business of over INR 930 crore. The high-pulsating event was held from September 22 to 24. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath along with several central and state ministers, and celebrities, including film stars and cricketers, witnessed the main race on Sunday.

“The high-end preparations including hospitality, security arrangements, connectivity at MotoGP Bharat resulted in gathering of more than one lakh people from India and around the world at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida for the much-anticipated event hosted by India for the first time,” the Uttar Pradesh government said. Continue reading “MotoGP event saw 1 lakh visitors, business worth INR 933 cr: UP govt”

DETROIT, Sept 27 (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers union could strike additional Detroit Three automotive facilities on Friday if there is no serious progress in labor negotiations, a source familiar with the talks said.

The union did not elaborate ahead of a planned video address by UAW President Shawn Fain at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) on Friday. Bargaining continues at Ford (F.N), General Motors (GM.N) and Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI). Continue reading “UAW could expand strikes at Detroit Three on Friday”

WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) – The International Brotherhood of Teamsters union on Wednesday asked U.S. auto safety regulators to deny a petition by General Motors (GM.N) to exempt its autonomous vehicle unit Cruise Origin from vehicle safety standards.

In July, acting National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) chief Ann Carlson said it would decide “in the coming weeks” on the Cruise petition seeking permission to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving vehicles annually without human controls like steering wheels Continue reading “Union urges US regulators to deny GM’s self-driving Cruise a safety exemption”

BELLEVILLE, Michigan, Sept 26 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Tuesday joined a picket line with striking autoworkers in Michigan, supporting their call for a 40% pay raise and saying they deserve a “lot more” than they are getting.

Biden’s appearance, the first visit by a U.S. president to striking workers in modern history, comes a day before Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for president, will speak to auto workers in Michigan. The rare back-to-back events highlight the importance of union support in the 2024 presidential election, even though unions represent a tiny fraction of U.S. workers. Continue reading “Biden says UAW should fight for 40% pay raise in Michigan strike visit”

WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) – The chairs of three U.S. House of Representatives committees demanded Ford Motor (F.N) turn over documents tied to its partnership with Chinese battery company CATL (300750.SZ) and threatened to call CEO Jim Farley to testify before Congress.

Republicans Jason Smith, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Mike Gallagher – who chair the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and China select committees – jointly wrote to Farley with a new deadline seeking documents about the CATL partnership and the automaker’s plan to build a $3.5 billion battery manufacturing plant in Michigan using Chinese technology. Continue reading “US lawmakers demand documents on Ford battery partnership with CATL”

BERLIN, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Germany ‘s state-owned KfW bank on Wednesday said it had halted a day-old subsidy programme for charging electric vehicles with solar power at home as the funds were exhausted immediately due to high demand.

With a budget of 300 million euros ($317 million) from the transport ministry for this year, the programme offered a subsidy of up to 10,200 euros for homeowners with electric cars for installing a photovoltaic system with power storage and a charging station. Continue reading “Germany halts e-car solar subsidy programme amid high demand”

WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Hyundai (005380.KS) and Kia (000270.KS) are recalling a combined 3.37 million vehicles in the United States due to the risk of engine fires, telling owners to park outside and away from structures until repairs are complete.

The automakers say brake fluid leaks can cause a short that could lead to a fire. Continue reading “Kia, Hyundai recall 3.37 million US vehicles over fire risks”

LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) – British electric vehicle supplier Bedeo said on Wednesday that it has launched a service to convert thousands of diesel vans to electric hybrids, starting in France to take advantage of government subsidies for retrofitting fossil-fuel models.

France provides a 9,000-euro ($9,509) subsidy for EV retrofitters, though each retrofitted model must pass government vehicle tests. Continue reading “UK EV supplier Bedeo launches electric van conversions in France”

Themed “SAFE Roads, SAFE India: Strategies for Ensuring Safer Transportation”

Guwahati, 26^th September 2023: To outline strategies for the next step towards creating a lasting impact on safe driving habits, road discipline, and the overall safety of vehicles and roads, the Society for Automotive Fitness & Environment (SAFE), an initiative by SIAM, organised its “24th Edition of SAFE Annual Convention 2023” today in Guwahati, Assam. Centred on the theme – “SAFE Roads, SAFE India: Strategies for Ensuring Safer Transportation”, the event witnessed the presence of many dignitaries discussing road safety and how it can be boosted in India. Continue reading “SIAM’s Society for Automotive Fitness & Environment hosts the 24th Edition of SAFE Annual Convention 2023”

The 20^th edition of Automechanika Dubai is sold out, with 1,921 exhibitors from 61 nations and more than 45,000 visitors expected

 Sustainability and efficiency are leading the agenda as part of the exhibition’s newly launched zone, Innovations4Mobility, which will be opened by Eng. Moza Alnuaimi, Director – Productivity & Demand, UAE Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure Continue reading “Record-breaking Automechanika Dubai 2023 Opens Next Week”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: Despite the central government ushering in reforms, the manufacturing sector is yet to see enhanced growth rates as officials in the states continue to function in a way they used to during the “licence and control days”, Maruti Suzuki India Chairman RC Bhargava said on Tuesday. Speaking at an event here, the veteran industry leader noted that the central government over the last nine years has been bringing in a series of reforms and improvements in the business environment. Continue reading “Officials in states continue to function like licence raj days, says Maruti Suzuki chairman”

Source : PTI | Tamil Nadu is inching towards realising its goal of becoming an electric vehicle (EV) hub in the country as the state accounted for sale of four lakh automobiles out of the total 10 lakh EVs sold pan India between January and September this year, the government said on Monday. Continue reading “TN accounts for sale of 4 lakh EVs in country between Jan-Sep ’23”

BERLIN, Sept 25 (Reuters) – German Transport Minister Volker Wissing has rejected possible punitive tariffs as a result of the European Commission’s investigation into Chinese electric vehicle (EV) subsidies.

“In principle, I don’t think much of erecting market barriers,” Wissing told the Monday edition of the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. Continue reading “German transport minister rejects punitive tariffs in EU’s China EV probe”