POOLE, England, July 21 (Reuters) – A little-publicized clause in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has companies scrambling to recycle electric vehicle batteries in North America, putting the region at the forefront of a global race to undermine China’s dominance of the field.

The IRA includes a clause that automatically qualifies EV battery materials recycled in the U.S. as American-made for subsidies, regardless of their origin. That is important because it qualifies automakers using U.S.-recycled battery materials for EV production incentives. Continue reading “Dead EV batteries turn to gold with U.S. incentives”

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Thursday his agency has national security concerns about Chinese autonomous vehicle companies in the American market after some lawmakers called for restrictions on their operations.

“Whether we are talking about hardware or software, in the same way there are concerns around telecom or TikTok, there are concerns around transportation technologies,” Buttigieg said in an interview with Reuters. Continue reading “Chinese autonomous vehicle tech raises concerns, US transportation chief says”

DETROIT, July 20 (Reuters) – Detroit’s automakers and the United Auto Workers will not be alone as they begin bargaining this week over wages and working conditions that will govern the shift to electric vehicles over the next several years.

Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk and the automaker’s increasingly profitable and efficient electric-vehicle factories will be shadow participants, just as Japanese automaker Toyota (7203.T) and its lean production system were for much of the past 30 years. Continue reading “Analysis: Elon Musk and Tesla loom over Detroit’s auto labor talks”

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) – Donald Trump on Thursday urged the United Auto Workers union to back his campaign, a day after the union’s president met with President Joe Biden after raising concerns about electric- vehicle policies.

Trump, the former Republican president seeking a return to office in 2024, said Democrat Biden was “waging war on the U.S. auto industry” through “crippling” electric vehicle mandates and urged the UAW to endorse him. Trump made the comments in a video posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. Continue reading “Trump, Biden campaigns spar over support of UAW workers, EV mandates”

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) – A Fiat Chrysler auto engineer charged with making misstatements to U.S. regulators about diesel engines’ emission control systems pleaded guilty to a felony, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

The Justice Department said the guilty plea by Emanuele Palma accompanies the earlier conviction of Fiat Chrysler, now part of Stellantis , for defrauding the EPA and customers. Continue reading “Stellantis unit official pleads guilty to felony in US diesel emissions probe”

Source : PTI | Mahindra & Mahindra on Thursday said a US court has allowed its subsidiary to keep producing and selling the post-2020 version of its off-road vehicle Roxor in the American market. The Eastern District Court of Michigan on July 19, 2023, issued its opinion and order on Fiat Chrysler Automobile’s (FCA’s) renewed motion to enjoin the Post-2020 Roxor and based on its analysis declined to apply the safe distance rule to this case as sought by FCA, Mahindra & Mahindra said in a regulatory filing.

Accordingly, FCA’s motion to enjoin the post-2020 ROXOR was denied, it added. Continue reading “US court allows M&M arm to keep producing, selling post-2020 version of Roxor”

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The Hector and ZS EV helped MG Motor India to increase sales by 21%: Details HTAuto

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Kia Rolls Out One Millionth Made-In-India Vehicle; Seltos Makes Up Over 50% Of Total Production car&bike Continue reading “WAF Auto News | The Auto World This Week (21st July 2023)”

Summary

• Musk says we’re in “turbulent times”; shares fall
• Shoppers seek cheaper appliances, says Electrolux
• ABB says China orders fell in Q2
• Results will deepen worries about China’s faltering economy

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) – ABB (ABBN.S) warned on Thursday of slowing Chinese demand, Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC forecast a drop in 2023 sales and Electrolux cautioned shoppers are seeking cheaper appliances, deepening worries about global corporate and economic health. Continue reading “Tesla, ABB, TSMC get Q2 earnings off to downbeat start”

STOCKHOLM, July 20 (Reuters) – Sweden-based automaker Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST) reported a 54% fall in second-quarter operating earnings on Thursday as the year-ago period’s profit was boosted by a one-off gain, and it forecast healthy demand for its vehicles despite pricing pressures.

Volvo Cars, majority-owned by China’s Geely Holding (GEELY.UL), said earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell to 5.0 billion Swedish crowns ($488.62 million) from 10.8 billion crowns a year ago. Continue reading “Volvo Cars flags solid demand, pricing pressures ahead”

July 20 (Reuters) – China’s Farizon, a maker of electric and hybrid trucks which is owned by automaker Geely (0175.HK), has raised $600 million in a Series-A funding round, the company said in a statement.

The Hangzhou-based company, which produces and markets hybrid and pure electric commercial vehicles, said it plans to use the funds for further technology and product development, as well as expansion outside of China. Continue reading “Geely truck unit, Farizon, raises $600 million in funding round”

July 20 (Reuters) – The relaunch of a classic Soviet-era car, the Moskvich, by a state-owned company in November was celebrated by Moscow’s mayor as showing the resilience of Russia’s auto industry to Western sanctions.

“This is a historic event,” Sergei Sobyanin said as the Moskvich was unveiled at a factory the Moscow government took from French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) last year for just one rouble ($0.01). “Many people thought it was the end of the Russian car industry.” Continue reading “Made in Russia? Chinese cars drive a revival of Russia’s auto factories”

WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) – United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain met on Wednesday with President Joe Biden at the White House as the union briefed staff on contract talks with the Detroit Three automakers.

Fain, who was on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers to discuss the labor talks and the union’s push for higher wages and benefits, has not yet endorsed Biden for re-election and has criticized some administration electric vehicle policies. Most other major unions have already endorsed Biden. Continue reading “UAW president meets with Biden as union opens automaker contract talks”

July 20 (Reuters) – The Western automakers that dominated Russia’s car market left following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving a slumping production and sales in their wake, with domestic producers and Chinese firms picking up the pieces.

Here is an overview of the fate of foreign carmakers’ assets in Russia: Continue reading “Factbox: What has become of Western carmakers’ assets in Russia?”

Source : PTI | To promote electric vehicles in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday launched a subsidy portal which will allow customers who bought e-vehicles after October 14, 2022, to claim financial support, officials said here. For availing of the subsidy people have to apply on upevsubsidy.in portal. Once the application is submitted, the subsidy amount will be transferred to the customer’s bank account after successful completion of a four-level verification process, they said.

This initiative is part of the Uttar Pradesh Electric Vehicle Manufacturing and Mobility Policy, 2022, which includes a purchase subsidy incentive scheme. Continue reading “UP govt launches portal for processing EV subsidy claims”

Source : PTI | The country’s largest two-wheeler maker, Hero MotoCorp, has set a target to achieve 30 per cent of its sales on digital platforms by 2030. The company, which sold 54 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters in the last fiscal year, is also looking to have 30 per cent women workforce in the organisation by 2030.

“We have set an ambitious goal of achieving 30 percent sales through digital channels by the year 2030,” Hero MotoCorp Executive Chairman Pawan Munjal said in the company’s annual report for 2022-23. Continue reading “Hero MotoCorp eyes 30% sales via digital channels by 2030”

Source : PTI | Pre-owned vehicle sale, purchase and financing platform CARS24 on Wednesday said vehicles worth over INR 1,800 crore were sold to its platform in the April-June quarter of this year. The quarter also witnessed a surge in demand for pre-owned cars with as many as 30 vehicles getting sold at every hour during the period, the platform said.

Hatchback models dominated the total sales with 62% share during the June quarter of 2023 while the sedans made a stylish comeback. Also, non-metro cities challenged the dominance of metros in car purchases, as Pune and Ahmedabad experienced a surge in pre-owned car sales, it said. Continue reading “Cars worth INR 1,800 crore sold to platform in Apr-Jun: CARS24”

Summary

• Plant to meet half of UK’s battery production need by 2030
• Factory is testament to strength of UK car industry – PM
• Gigafactory to create 4,000 jobs in the country

LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) – India’s Tata Group will build an electric vehicle battery plant in Britain to supply its Jaguar Land Rover factories, delivering a major boost for a UK car industry in need of domestic battery production to help secure its future. Continue reading “India’s Tata chooses UK for $5 bln Jaguar Land Rover gigafactory”

July 19 (Reuters) – Nissan (7201.T) on Wednesday became the first Japanese automaker to agree to adopt Tesla’s (TSLA.O) electric-vehicle charging technology in the U.S. and Canada, joining global peers in expanding their fast-charger network to boost EV adoption.

Starting in 2025, Nissan will equip its EVs with the Tesla-developed North American Charging Standard (NACS) port, as it targets 40% of U.S. vehicle sales to be fully electric by 2030, the company said. Continue reading “Japan’s Nissan to adopt Tesla EV-charging design from 2025 in U.S., Canada”

BERLIN, July 19 (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) said it remained intent on commissioning an independent audit of its Xinjiang plant in China and was convinced that doing so would provide valuable insight, after some investors and activists criticised the mechanism as ineffective.

The United Nations and rights groups estimate that more than a million people, mainly Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, have been detained in recent years in a series of camps in Xinjiang and used for low-paid and coercive labour. Continue reading “Volkswagen convinced Xinjiang audit will provide insight on human rights situation”

July 19 (Reuters) – Carvana’s (CVNA.N) shares soared as much as 36% in morning trading on Wednesday after the troubled used-car retailer struck a deal with most of its term bondholders to cut its outstanding debt by more than $1 billion.

The agreement, with a group including private-equity firm Apollo, eases some of Carvana’s liquidity issues as it struggles to cope with a slump in demand for used cars. Continue reading “Carvana shares surge on plans to cut debt load”

Summary

• Tesla seeks approval to extend German EV, battery plant
• Plans battery cell testing, recycling
• Water recycling facility to be extended
• If approved, changes to take effect in H1 2024

BERLIN, July 19 (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) is planning sweeping changes to its factory near Berlin, including extensions to its battery cell production, indicating ramp-up plans remain underway despite a recent shift in focus to scaling up in the United States. Continue reading “Tesla to expand Europe’s biggest car plant, cell production”

Source : PTI | All new tourist vehicles, as well as cabs and motorbikes provided on rent in Goa will have to be electric vehicles from January 2024, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday. The Goa government proposes major reforms to promote EVs in the coastal state, Sawant said addressing a side-event organised by the NITI Aayog during the ongoing fourth Energy Transitions Working Group meeting under India’s G20 Presidency in Panaji

India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant was also present at the side event. Continue reading “All new tourist vehicles in Goa to be EVs from Jan 2024: CM Sawant”

Source : PTI | Jaipur-based electric commercial vehicle (eCV) financing firm Ascend Capital is planning to raise INR 500 crore over the next 18 months as it looks to finance over 1 million electric commercial vehicles by 2030, the company said on Wednesday.

Cofounded in 2019 by Lokesh Chandra Mittal and Gaurav Maheshwari, the company has so far invested about INR 80 crore in its own business and has financed over 8,000 commercial EVs. Continue reading “Electric CV financing firm Ascend Capital plans to raise INR 500 crore in next 18 months”

Source : PTI | India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Wednesday said the country should target 100% electrification of two and three-wheelers by 2030. He also said India should target that 65% of its state public transport should be electric by 2030.

Kant said India requires a clear policy framework to achieve its electric mobility goals. Continue reading “India should target 100% electrification of two and three-wheelers by 2030: Amitabh Kant”

Source : PTI | The private bus that recently met with an accident on Maharashtra’s Samruddhi Expressway in which 25 passengers were charred to death was given the fitness certificate nearly 9 months after it was tested for roadworthiness, official records show. Activists and former regional transport office (RTO) staffers have termed the inordinate delay between the two processes an “administrative lapse”, saying it leaves scope for malpractices. Maharashtra has nearly 67,000 registered contract carriage buses, as per officials.

Besides demanding “strict action” against those behind this delay in this particular case, they have also stressed the need for taking “concrete steps” to improve the system. A fitness certificate is mandatory for all commercial vehicles. Continue reading “Samruddhi Expressway accident: RTO gave bus fitness certificate 9 months after testing it for roadworthiness”

Summary

• Renault, Nissan finalise restructured alliance – sources
• Nissan to take smaller stake in Ampere
• Discussions focused on future IP

TOKYO, July 19 (Reuters) – Nissan (7201.T) and Renault (RENA.PA) will make an announcement in the coming days on their restructured alliance and have finalised the deal, three people familiar with the matter said, capping 10 months of sometimes tense negotiations. Continue reading “Nissan, Renault ready to announce new alliance deal in days – sources”

Summary

• Plant to meet half of UK’s battery production need by 2030
• Factory is testament to strength of UK car industry – PM Sunak
• Gigafactory to create 4,000 jobs in the country

LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) – India’s Tata Group will build an electric vehicle battery plant in Britain to supply its Jaguar Land Rover factories, delivering a major boost for a car industry in need of domestic battery production to help secure its future. Continue reading “India’s Tata chooses UK for $5 billion Jaguar Land Rover gigafactory”

GRUENHEIDE, Germany, July 18 (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) on Tuesday sought to assuage Brandenburg state residents’ concerns by holding a question-and-answer session on the EV maker’s planned expansion that would make its local plant the biggest car factory in the country.

Tesla, which currently produces around 5,000 cars a week, hopes to double the plant’s production capacity to 1 million vehicles a year and add 50 gigawatt hours of battery production capacity, though it has not provided a timeline. Continue reading “Tesla faces citizen grilling on impact of German plant expansion”

July 19 (Reuters) – French car maker Renault (RENA.PA) on Wednesday said its worldwide sales rose 13% in the first six months of the year, with a 24% increase in Europe.

Renault, which raised in June its 2023 outlook thanks to cost cuts and the success of new models such as Austral SUV and a Dacia Jogger hybrid, sold 1,133,667 vehicles between January and June, compared to 1,000,199 units in the same period of 2022, in a context impacted by the semiconductor crisis and the shutdown of the group’s activities in Russia. Continue reading “French car maker Renault first-half sales jump 13%”

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) – U.S. auto safety regulators are opening a special crash investigation into a fatal accident in California involving a 2018 Tesla Model 3 suspected of relying on advanced driver assistance systems, the government agency said on Tuesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is probing the July 5 crash in South Lake Tahoe killed the 17-year-old driver of a 2013 Subaru Impreza after a head-on collision with the Tesla Model 3 and fatally injured a three-month-old passenger in the Tesla who died several days later, the California Highway Patrol said. Continue reading “US opens special probe into fatal Tesla crash”

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) – Stellantis (STLAM.MI) said on Tuesday that it has signed contracts worth 10 billion euros ($11.2 billion) through 2030 with semiconductor makers to guarantee the flow of vital chips for electric vehicles and high-performance computing functions.

The global auto industry is only now recovering from a pandemic-fueled shortage of semiconductor chips that forced major automakers to shut down production on certain models and scramble to find new sources of chips. Continue reading “Stellantis inks $11bln in contracts for vital semiconductors by 2030”

Source : PTI | Electric vehicle (EV) sales have been growing at a rapid pace. Their share of the global car market has risen from around 4% in 2020 to 14% in 2022. However, this means internal combustion engine (ICE) cars still dominate global vehicle sales.

The fear of running out of battery power while on the road (known as “range anxiety”) is one reason why people are hesitant to adopt EVs. But research raises another interesting question: could the appeal of car sounds be a factor influencing drivers to choose environmentally harmful cars? Continue reading “Electric vehicles can’t compete with the emotional roar of an engine – but does that matter?”

Source : PTI | Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is set to announce plans to build a flagship electric car battery plant in the UK, according to UK media reports on Tuesday. The BBC reported that people familiar with the matter said the new plant in Somerset, south west England, would be officially announced on Wednesday. Its sources claim that the government will be providing subsidies worth hundreds of millions of pounds for the new factory.

The Gigafactory follows talks with the government on the level of financial support the Tata Group would receive in return for the investment. It will be one of the most significant investments in UK automotive for decades. Continue reading “Tata JLR expected to unveil plans for electric car battery plant in UK”

BERLIN, July 18 (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) is due to hold a question-and-answer session on Tuesday for citizens in the German state of Brandenburg on the ramifications of a planned expansion of its EV and battery plant which would make the site the biggest car plant in the country.

The event could help the U.S. carmaker prevent delays to securing the go-ahead from local authorities for the expansion plans similar to those it faced in preparing to open the plant, when numerous citizen objections put it behind schedule. Continue reading “Tesla to hold citizen information session on expansion plans for German plant”

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Reuters) – Chinese car maker Geely will invest $10 billion to develop Malaysia’s main auto-making hub, state news agency Bernama quoted Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as saying on Tuesday,.

Anwar said the plan was conveyed to him in a letter from Geely, which also owns 49.9% of Malaysian car maker Proton, Bernama reported. Continue reading “Malaysia PM says China’s Geely to invest $10 bln in domestic auto hub -report”

AMSTERDAM, July 18 (Reuters) – Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof has been declared bankrupt and administrators are considering whether it can sell assets and restructure to save the business, the company said on Tuesday.

VanMoof, which raised 100 million euros ($112.56 million) to expand internationally as sales boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, filed for protection from creditors last week. Continue reading “Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof declared bankrupt”

TOKYO, July 18 (Reuters) – Former Nissan Motor (7201.T) chairman Carlos Ghosn said on Tuesday the Japanese automaker and Renault (RENA.PA) are trying to go for “very small and reduced” cooperation between them with a deal to overhaul their long-standing alliance.

“With the latest agreement, they’re trying to go for a mini alliance with a very reduced scope of cooperation,” Ghosn told reporters in Tokyo via video stream. Continue reading “Ghosn says Nissan, Renault are going for mini alliance with rebalancing deal”

Source : PTI | The civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking on Monday served a “blacklisting” notice to private firm Causis E-Mobility for its alleged failure to supply 700 electric double decker buses as per a contract awarded to it, a senior official said. BEST general manager Vjay Singhal told reporters the premier public transport undertaking had awarded tender for supply of 900 double-decker electric buses to two firms, of which Causis E-Mobility was to provide 700.

“Causis has neither supplied buses or the prototype as per the contract. Hence, a blacklisting notice has been served to the company today. Legal action is also being planned,” he said. Continue reading “BEST issues ‘blacklisting’ notice to Causis firm over non-supply of 700 double decker e-buses”

LANSING, Michigan, July 17 (Reuters) – General Motors is seeing strong demand for many of its U.S. vehicles, but can’t deliver them to dealers fast enough, one of the company’s top executives told Reuters on Monday.

“GM very strongly continues to have discipline in terms of incentives, which means that demand is still very high,” said Rory Harvey, the company’s North America president, at an event in Lansing, Michigan. “At this particular point in time, we could just about sell every product that we can build.” Continue reading “GM can’t build or deliver new vehicles fast enough, exec says”

WILMINGTON, Delaware, July 17 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) directors will return $735 million to the company to settle claims they grossly overpaid themselves in one of the largest shareholder settlements of its kind, according to a Monday filing in a Delaware court.

The settlement resolves a 2020 lawsuit by a retirement fund which holds Tesla stock and challenged stock options that were granted to Tesla directors starting in June 2017. Continue reading “Tesla directors pay $735 mln to settle lawsuit over excess compensation”