WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) – A group of seven U.S. senators on Monday questioned Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) use of forced arbitration clauses in employee and consumer contracts, arguing that they prevent bringing discrimination claims and consumer safety complaints to court.

The letter, whose authors include Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, to CEO Elon Musk cited numerous incidents of alleged racial and sexual harassment as well as complaints about Tesla’s vehicles and its Full Self-Driving Beta software.

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SAN FRANCISCO, May 8 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) on Monday broke ground on a Texas lithium refinery that CEO Elon Musk said should produce enough of the battery metal to build about 1 million electric vehicles (EVs) by 2025, making it the largest North American processor of the material.

The facility will push Tesla outside its core focus of building automobiles and into the complex area of lithium refining and processing, a step Musk said was necessary if the auto giant was to meet its ambitious EV sales targets.

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May 8 (Reuters) – Electric vehicle (EV) maker Lucid Group Inc (LCID.O) reported lower-than-expected first-quarter revenue on Monday and trimmed its 2023 production forecast as a price war sparked by Tesla, rising interest rates and recession fears hurt sales.

Shares in the maker of the Air luxury sedan dropped about 9% in after hours trade.

Continue reading “Lucid posts quarterly revenue well below estimates as EV price war hits demand”

May 8 (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) has appointed Bentley production chief Peter Bosch to lead its software subsidiary Cariad, dismissing all but one of the unit’s current executive board members as the automaker tries to get the troubled division on track.

Bosch will take over from June 1, the German group said on Monday, with two further software experts to join Cariad’s board alongside him and human resources head Rainer Zugehoer, the only board member to remain in his post.

Continue reading “Bentley production chief to lead Volkswagen’s software overhaul”

HANOI, May 8 (Reuters) – Chinese automaker BYD Co. (002594.SZ) plans to expand into electric vehicles manufacturing and assembly in Vietnam, according to a Vietnamese government statement citing the company’s chair.

Reuters in January exclusively reported that the Xian-based EV maker had plans to open a plant in Vietnam to produce car parts, with the aim to export components to an assembly plant planned in neighbouring Thailand.

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BANGKOK, May 8 (Reuters) – Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) has stopped sales and deliveries of its Yaris Ativ in Thailand, senior officials said on Monday, after its affiliate Daihatsu rigged part of the door in side-collision safety tests.

The problem may have occurred due to pressure on Daihatsu to shorten the development time of the Ativ, Masahiko Maeda, Toyota’s CEO for the Asia region, said at a press conference in Bangkok. The vehicles customers were currently using were safe, he added.

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May 8 (Reuters) – Chip designer Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) said on Monday it would buy Israel’s Autotalks Ltd that makes chips used in technology aimed at preventing vehicle crashes, as the U.S. firm looks to deepen its automotive business.

With increasing electric vehicles and automatic features in cars, the number of chips used by automakers is surging, making the automotive market a key growth area for chipmakers.

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SHANGHAI, May 8 (Reuters) – China is ground zero for the price war in electric vehicles and the battleground is shifting to SUV-styled EVs, the largest segment of the market, dominated by Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and BYD (002594.SZ), .

The market, crowded with more than 90 models, is about to get even tighter with at least 20 new models of both Chinese and foreign brands launched in April, squeezing pricing and margins at home and driving exports, analysts and executives said.

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PTI – The industry body suggested gradually increasing the share of compressed biogas (CBG) in the overall gas mix to at least 10 per cent by 2025 and to 20 per cent in 2030.

PTI – The charging station of the Volkswagen brand Elli has a unique battery storage system that enables connection to a low-voltage grid. Thanks to this new technology, the charging stations can be installed easily and flexibly, and the grid expansion can be accelerated. Following a successful test operation, Shell and Volkswagen also plan to install the Flexpole charging station at other locations in Germany and Europe, the companies said.

PTI – OPEC made up for as much as 90 per cent of all crude oil India imported at one point of time but this has been sliding since Russian oil became available at discount in the aftermath of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

PTI – Volkswagen Group sales grew 85.48 per cent year-on-year at 1,01,270 units in the previous calendar year. The Group is present through Skoda Auto, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini brands under Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd (SAVWPIL). “India is an absolutely important market as part of our regional strategy of Skoda Auto, and India will become an export hub for Skoda,” Petr Solc, Brand Director at Skoda Auto India told PTI in an interaction.

BANGKOK, May 6 (Reuters) – China’s Hozon New Energy Automobile will make electric vehicles in Thailand for the Southeast Asian market, a Thai official said on Saturday, as it follows others in building facilities in the region’s major auto production hub.

Hozon signed an agreement with Thailand’s Bangchan General Assembly this week to start production of its NETA V model, expected in 2024, Thai government spokesperson Tipanan Sirichana said in a statement.

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FRANKFURT, May 6 (Reuters) – Carmaker Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is set to dismiss all but one of the executive board members at its software division Cariad next week to try to resolve development problems, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Saturday.

The unit – set up under former VW group CEO Herbert Diess -has exceeded its budget and failed to meet goals, contributing to Diess’ departure and replacement by Oliver Blume last September.

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PTI – Among the 50 regional transport offices (RTOs) in Maharashtra, 14 had a failure rate of less than 1 per cent among driving test applicants, while only six had a failure rate of more than 5 per cent, the data said. What is more serious is that in some RTO offices, the failure rate was below 0.50 per cent and a few had it more than 7-8 per cent. Experts say it is difficult to understand how so many drivers were passing driving tests, considering the alarming number of accidents on state roads.

Continue reading “Poor diligence while granting driving licences is costing lives on Maha roads, say experts”

May 5 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Friday that it will open orders for its popular F-150 Lightning truck next week as part of their plan to scale to annual production of 150,000 units.

Ford is facing another production snag on the F-150 pickup trucks due to missing door handles, a source told Reuters on Wednesday.

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PTI – Some technological advances may create or worsen the feeling of imbalance and prevent vehicle occupants from anticipating the itinerary. As a result, they increase the risk of undergoing sickness symptoms more frequently.

May 5 (Reuters) – Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) shares tumbled 17% in premarket trading on Friday as the ride-hailing company’s strategy to claw back market share from rival Uber (UBER.N) with lower fares stoked concerns about a hit to its profit margins.

At least nine analysts slashed their price targets on a stock that has widely underperformed the market this year.

Continue reading “Lyft irks Wall Street with margin sacrifice in race with Uber”

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, May 5 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) delivered 75,842 China-made electric vehicles (EVs) in April, down 14.7% from March, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Friday.

The figure was however a huge jump from a year earlier, when the city of Shanghai – where Tesla has a factory – was in COVID-19 lockdown. In April last year, the company delivered only 1,512 China-made Model 3 and Model Y cars in the world’s largest auto market.

Continue reading “Tesla’s April sales of China-made EVs down 14.7% from March, China Passenger Car Association says”

May 5 (Reuters) – Shares of Carvana Co (CVNA.N) rose 33% before the bell on Friday after the online used-car retailer forecast a surprise core profit for the second quarter, offering some relief to investors amid solvency concerns around the company.

Carvana shares plunged 98% last year after the company struggled to offload used cars purchased at higher prices during the pandemic as demand fell on affordability concerns.

Continue reading “Used-car retailer Carvana’s shares soar on upbeat second-quarter forecast”

BEIJING, May 5 (Reuters) – China will speed up the construction of charging facilities for new energy vehicles such as electric cars, and improve policies for purchasing and using them, state media quoted the cabinet as saying on Friday.

Improved charging infrastructure for new energy vehicles will help unleash the potential of rural consumption and support growth of rural tourism, adding new impetus to rural revitalisation, the cabinet was quoted as saying after a regular meeting.

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ANSTY, England, May 5 (Reuters) – Geely (0175.HK) unit London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) on Friday unveiled a new, large electric-vehicle (EV) platform for vehicles ranging from people-movers to commercial vans that it said could also be used by other units of the Chinese carmaker.

LEVC said the platform, dubbed Space Oriented Architecture (SOA), had been jointly developed over the last two-and-a-half years in China, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany, would provide EVs with longer range, fast-charging capabilities and advanced driver-assistance features.

Continue reading “Geely’s London black cab unit unveils new large EV platform”

SHANGHAI, May 5 (Reuters) – China’s industry ministry issued on Friday a series of draft technical standards including cybersecurity requirements for vehicles, with the country moving to tighten data regulation as cars become more intelligent.

Among the proposed rules, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plans to ban smart vehicles in China from transferring data directly abroad, pushing them instead to use domestic cloud services.

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PTI – Rana Group launched electric two-wheelers and four different apps for smart farming, education, smart charging for charging stations and OHEO.

FRANKFURT, May 4 (Reuters) – German technology group Robert Bosch expects 6% to 9% revenue growth this year from 88.2 billion euros ($97.49 billion) in 2022 and an EBIT margin of 5%, up from 4.3% last year, it said on Thursday thanks to growth in both its cars and heating systems businesses.

The transformation of energy systems to protect the climate creates business potential, Bosch Chief Executive Stefan Hartung said, making clear that opportunities lay in both the electrification of cars and heating systems.

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BERLIN, May 4 (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) sees higher competition later this year as supply chain bottlenecks ease and China’s electric car market heats up, the carmaker said on Thursday, adding that it put margins over volume even as it fights to maintain market share.

The company was emboldened to stick to its annual outlook of a return on sales of 7.5% to 8.5% and higher deliveries by a strong first quarter, boosted by higher revenues in Europe and North America.

Continue reading “Volkswagen sees growing competition ahead as revenue jumps on Europe, US”

BERLIN, May 4 (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) will not cut electric vehicle (EV) prices in China and may raise some car prices at a global level, to help weather the higher input costs of EV production, it said on Thursday following first quarter results.

The carmaker reported a higher earnings margin for its cars segment, at 12.1% from 8.9% a year earlier, but kept its outlook unchanged in the face of ongoing high costs and rising competition.

Continue reading “BMW stays cautious on outlook, says some car prices may rise”

May 4 (Reuters) – Sales of battery electric vehicles in 2023 are expected to take a hit in the UK from inflationary pressures and lack of charging points, though the overall outlook for British new car registrations has improved, an industry body said on Thursday.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) downgraded its forecast for battery electric vehicles’ (BEVs) market share to 18.4% of sales for the year, from a previous estimate of 19.7%.

Continue reading “UK auto industry body cuts 2023 sales outlook for battery electric vehicles”

COPENHAGEN, May 4 (Reuters) – Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST) will lay off around 1,300 office-based employees in Sweden as it steps up cost cutting, the Sweden-based auto maker said on Thursday.

While an earlier efficiency drive had begun to show results, more was needed, CEO Jim Rowan said in a statement.

Continue reading “Volvo Cars to axe 1,300 jobs as it steps up cost cuts”

May 4 (Reuters) – Car sales in Russia leapt by 170.4% year-on-year in April, analytical agency Autostat said on Thursday, with the country’s bruised car market staging a partial recovery from the soaring prices and reduced deliveries of the same month last year.

Russia’s auto industry had been heavily reliant on investment, equipment and parts from overseas and was hit hard by the fallout from Western sanctions and the carmaker exodus in response to Moscow despatching troops to Ukraine in February 2022. Sales of new cars plunged by 59% last year.

Continue reading “Staging partial recovery, Russia’s April car sales leap 170.4% y/y – Autostat”

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) – Ford CEO Jim Farley said on Wednesday that price cuts in the electric vehicle market were “a worrying trend” after the U.S. automaker dropped prices for its Mustang Mach-E in response to a series of reductions by rival Tesla (TSLA.O).

Ford on Tuesday announced a price cut of up to 8% of its Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle, the second cut the automaker announced this year.

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WASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) – United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain said the Detroit-based union is not yet endorsing President Joe Biden for a second term, citing concerns about electric vehicle policies.

In a letter to members seen by Reuters on Wednesday, Fain noted several national unions were quick to endorse Biden but the UAW is not yet doing so.

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May 3 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) expects to take up restructuring charges between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in 2023, it said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday, as part of the U.S. automaker’s move to exit unprofitable locations and cut headcount.

The charges will be primarily attributable to “employee separations and supplier settlements,” the automaker said, adding additional restructuring actions may be taken “where a path to sustained profitability is not feasible when considering the capital allocation required for those businesses.”

Continue reading “Ford sees $1.5 billion to $2 billion restructuring charges in 2023”

STOCKHOLM, May 3 (Reuters) – Sweden-based Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST) said on Wednesday that sales increased by 10% year-on-year in April to 51,976 cars, boosted by strong gains in China.

Volvo Cars, which is majority-owned by China’s Geely Holding (0175.HK), said in a statement that sales in China were up 46%. In Europe, its biggest market, sales were up 5%, while in the U.S. they were down 4%.

Continue reading “Volvo Cars’ sales grow 10% in April on demand jump in China”

BERLIN, May 3 (Reuters) – Luxury carmaker Porsche (P911_p.DE) will raise prices by 4-8% in Europe and the U.S. in the second half to combat higher costs that weighed on returns in the first quarter, even as profits and revenue jumped by over 25%, it said on Wednesday.

The company was still seeing issues with the supply of semiconductors and parts for the electric Taycan’s high voltage heating system, but expects them to ease in the coming months, Chief Financial Officer Lutz Meschke said on a call following first quarter results.

Continue reading “Porsche to raise prices further as profits jump”