WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) – Chrysler-parent Stellantis NV (STLAM.MI) wants to cut approximately 3,500 hourly U.S. jobs and is offering voluntary exit packages, according to a United Auto Workers union letter made public Tuesday.
The automaker is looking to reduce its hourly workforce offering incentive packages that include $50,000 payments for workers hired before 2007, UAW Local 1264 said in a letter dated Monday posted on its Facebook page.
WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) – California-based battery manufacturer startup Sparkz Inc said Tuesday it had agreed to a partnership with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union as it finalizes plans to begin commercializing zero-cobalt, zero-nickel battery production.
The UAW has been working to organize new battery facilities as the auto industry shifts to electric vehicle production. Sparkz and the UAW said they had signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a national labor-management agreement and statement of neutrality.
Continue reading “Battery startup Sparkz strikes partnership with auto workers union”
BERLIN, April 25 (Reuters) – Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) on Tuesday launched its last new combustion engine model – the next generation of the E-Class, which will be built in Germany and China and go on sale in Europe in the third quarter of this year.
Follow-up models of the E-Class will be built on a new platform adapted for battery-powered cars, though this generation will already be available as a hybrid.
Continue reading “Mercedes-Benz launches E-Class, its last new combustion engine model”
by WAF Think Tank
World Auto Forum successfully organised the WAF I2N – Innovators & Investors Network and WAF Whale Tank in partnership with We Founder Circle, India’s No 1 Angel Investors Platform. The event was also powered by WAF First Angels – A curated community by World Auto Forum of angel investors comprising Top CXOs, Entrepreneurs and professionals.
Anuj Guglani, Founder & CEO, World Auto Forum said, ‘A thriving startups ecosystem is the barometer of innovation and growth for any nation. India has been a country of investors, startups and entrepreneurs even before these terms were coined. WAF is committed to contributing to these communities meaningfully.’
The WAF I2N first panel discussion included angel investors and startup founders as speakers. It was on an extremely pertinent topic: Important Things That Make a Startup Successful. It initially saw the investors and founders lock horns on valuations, viability and value creation. This spiced up the discussion, reminiscent of their quarterly review meetings back at their offices! Gradually the discussion led to the discovery of common ground for win-win! They realised they need each other for the ecosystem to be alive. Hence collaboration is inevitable!
SHANGHAI, April 24 (Reuters) – Tesla has begun producing in Shanghai a version of the Model Y to be sold in Canada this year, the first time it will ship cars to North America from China, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plan and a production memo seen by Reuters.
The move would connect Tesla’s (TSLA.O) biggest and most cost-efficient factory in the world to North America, its largest market. The Model Y is the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s best-selling model globally.
Continue reading “Exclusive: Tesla readies export of Model Y to Canada from China”
WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday approved a request by U.S. state agencies, some automakers, universities and others to use spectrum to deploy connected vehicle technology to prevent crashes, especially at intersections.
The 5.9 GHz spectrum block was reserved in 1999 for automakers to develop technology for vehicles to communicate with each other to avoid crashes but has so far gone largely unused.
Continue reading “U.S. OKs spectrum use for vehicle crash prevention technology”
LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) – Chile’s move to nationalise its lithium industry adds fresh supply chain uncertainty for global carmakers facing a shortage of electric vehicle (EV) battery materials and could provide fresh urgency to find new sources of the metal.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced plans last Thursday to create a new state-owned company to control its lithium industry. The country has the world’s largest reserves of the metal and accounts for 30% of global output.
Continue reading “Chile’s lithium move a further push for automakers to diversify supply chain”
PTI – A National Green Tribunal (NGT) order in 2014 bars vehicles older than 15 years to be parked in public places. According to the data, the maximum number of vehicles were deregistered from South Delhi Part 1. A total of 9,285 three-wheelers and 25,167 cabs were struck off till March 27.
Delhi’s transport department has deregistered more than 54 lakh overage vehicles, including autorickshaws, cabs and two-wheelers, till March 27, according to official data. Some of the deregistered vehicles include those registered as early as 1900 and 1901, the data showed.
Continue reading “Over 54 lakh overage vehicles deregistered in Delhi”
PTI – On his new role, Shigeki Iwama said the company’s efforts will be focused on harnessing the “unwavering potential” of the Indian market, while fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence.
Honda India Power Products (HIPP) Ltd on Monday announced the appointment of Shigeki Iwama as its President. Iwama, who was the President at Honda Motor Europe’s Central Europe branch (Austria) from 2020 to 2023, succeeds Takahiro Ueda to steer the company in its next phase of growth, the company said in a statement.
Continue reading “Honda India Power Products appoints Shigeki Iwama as President”
PTI – The Minister said that Lithium deposits will not only give fillip and boost to the industrial sector in India but will give further push to the country to become ‘Vishwa Guru’ under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The discovery of biggest Lithium deposits in the foothills of Mata Vaishnodevi in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district is going to be a historic milestone in AtmaNirbhar Bharat, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said on Sunday.
SANTIAGO, April 24 (Reuters) – Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s plan to nationalize his country’s immense lithium industry is putting the spotlight on an emerging crop of filtration technologies aimed at revolutionizing how the metal is produced for the electric vehicle industry.
In a national prime time address, Boric said last Thursday a new state-owned company would work to slash the environmental impacts of lithium production by shifting away from evaporation ponds, traditionally used to remove the metal from brine, in favor of direct lithium extraction (DLE).
Continue reading “Chile’s lithium nationalization shines light on emerging tech”
TOKYO, April 24 (Reuters) – Japanese electric motor maker Nidec Corp (6594.T) on Monday posted its first quarterly operating loss in a decade, hit by hefty restructuring costs and difficulty in procuring semiconductors and other components.
The loss of 24.3 billion yen ($181.01 million) for the January-March quarter compared to an average estimate for a 11.75 billion yen loss in a Refinitiv survey of analysts.
Continue reading “Japan’s Nidec posts first quarterly loss in 10 years”
PTI – Chaba said the automaker has invested between Rs 600-700 crore on the development of Comet which would be rolled out from its Halol-based plant in Gujarat with a localisation content of around 53-54 per cent. Expecting a robust response, MG Motor is looking to gradually ramp up the production capacity of Comet to around 3,000 units a month, he added.
Bullish on electric mobility MG Motor India expects 30 per cent of its sales to accrue from the electric vehicle segment this year as it gears up to introduce its second offering in the vertical next month, according to the company’s President and Managing Director Rajeev Chaba. The company, which currently sells ZS EV in the country, has unveiled a two- door electric vehicle ‘Comet’ which it plans to introduce in phase wise manner across the country starting next month.
PTI – Volkswagen is focusing on premium products in India, says Volkswagen Passenger Cars India Brand Director, Ashish Gupta, as 45% of all passenger vehicles sold in the country so far this year are priced above INR 10 lakh. The carmaker has moved into an average price band of INR 16 lakh, which offers feature-loaded products in response to evolving customer demands. “Customers are in a zone of no compromise,” Gupta stated. Gupta also confirmed that Volkswagen has moved away from the sub-four metre Polo segment entirely.
With nearly 45 per cent of passenger vehicles sold in India coming from models priced above INR 10 lakh so far this year, German carmaker Volkswagen is focussing on premium products in the country following its global strategy, according to a senior company official. The company, which till about three to four years back was operating in a price bracket of INR 6.5 lakh to INR 7 lakh, has now moved up to an average price band of INR 16 lakh offering feature-loaded products in order to meet the evolving customer demands.
Continue reading “Volkswagen focussing on premium products in India following global strategy”
PTI – Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) is an instrument on the pattern of mutual funds, designed to pool money from investors and invest in assets that will provide cash flows over a period of time. Elaborating further, the official told PTI that while INR 15,000 crore is planned to be raised in 2023-24 via project-based financing of high-speed corridors by securitising the future toll revenues without any guidance from the authority, INR 10,000 is planned to be raised via InvIT.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) plans to raise INR 35,000 crore through various modes of asset monetisation in this financial year, against INR 32,855-crore target in the last fiscal, a senior government official said on Sunday. Currently, MoRTH monetises its assets under three different modes viz toll-operate-transfer (TOT) model, Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) and project-based financing, in order to provide all categories of investors an opportunity to invest in assets pertaining to highways and associated infrastructure.
PTI – Cluster buses are monitored and managed by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS). They were introduced in Delhi with the aim of replacing the killer Blue Line buses that were phased out in 2012. The cluster buses that have gone off the roads used to play in south, southwest, west and outer Delhi.
Over 300 cluster buses have been taken off Delhi roads following the expiry of their contract with the transport department, officials said on Friday. They said the orange buses were inducted into the fleet around 2011 and had become overage. Their contract had expired one-and-a-half years ago but it kept getting renewed, the officials added.
Continue reading “Over 300 cluster buses taken off Delhi roads”
SAN FRANCISCO, April 21 (Reuters) – Tesla’s market share in its key California market tumbled in the first quarter of the year despite aggressive price cuts as rivals stepped up, data showed on Friday.
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) controlled 59.6% of the battery electric market in California from January to March, down from 72.7% for all of 2022 and the lowest since 2017, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the California Energy Commission.
Continue reading “Tesla’s California market share tumbles despite aggressive price cuts”
LOS ANGELES, April 21 (Reuters) – Jurors in what appears to be the first trial related to a crash involving Tesla’s Autopilot feature told Reuters after the verdict on Friday that the electric-vehicle maker clearly warned that the partially automated driving software was not a self-piloted system, and that driver distraction was to blame.
A California state court jury on Friday handed Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) a sweeping win, finding that the automaker’s Autopilot feature did not fail to perform safely and awarding plaintiff Justine Hsu zero damages.
Continue reading “Exclusive: Tesla’s Autopilot never claimed to be self-pilot, juror says”
BERLIN, April 21 (Reuters) – Canada and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) on Friday together committed more than C$20 billion ($14.8 billion) for a battery gigafactory in St. Thomas, Ontario, the biggest single investment ever in the country’s electric-vehicle supply chain.
Europe’s largest carmaker is investing up to C$7 billion to build the plant, Volkswagen said in a statement.
Continue reading “Canada, Volkswagen to invest more than C$20 billion in EV battery gigafactory”
DETROIT, April 21 (Reuters) – United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain said on Friday there is “no excuse” for Detroit’s automakers to set up electric vehicle operations and ventures that are not unionized.
Fain also told the Detroit Automotive Press Association that Stellantis NV’s decision to idle an assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, is “a flat-out violation” of the union’s contract with the UAW and is unacceptable.
Continue reading “UAW President: ‘No excuse’ for Detroit’s non-union EV operations”
PTI – The passenger EVs will be leased to Blusmart Mobility Pvt Ltd (BMPL) to expand its fleet of ride-hailing cabs. The first tranche of the loan has been disbursed and the first lot of EV cabs has hit the Delhi roads, it added.
State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has sanctioned a loan of INR 633 crore to Gensol Engineering Ltd for the purchase of 5,000 passenger electric vehicles and 1,000 cargo EVs. A Gensol Engineering Ltd (GEL) statement said PFC has sanctioned a loan of INR 633 crores for the purchase of 5,000 passenger electric vehicles and 1,000 cargo.
Continue reading “Gensol Engineering gets INR 633 cr loan from Power Finance Corp”
PTI – As part of this initiative, Energy Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy has inaugurated a charging station near Durga temple in the city and launched the Renewable Energy Resources Centre (RERC), established by NREDCAP and AP State Council of Science & Technology (APCOST).
Aimed at ushering in a revolution of electric vehicles, the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) is facilitating the setting up of 250 charging stations this year, and another 100 next year. As part of this initiative, Energy Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy has inaugurated a charging station near Durga temple in the city and launched the Renewable Energy Resources Centre (RERC), established by NREDCAP and AP State Council of Science & Technology (APCOST).
Continue reading “Andhra setting up 250 charging stations to promote EVs”
BERLIN, April 21 (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) significantly increased deliveries in the first quarter despite weaker business in China, its most important single market, the German carmaker said on Friday.
The group delivered 2.04 million vehicles to customers worldwide, up 7.5% compared with the same quarter last year, while in China, sales fell 14.5% to 644,500 vehicles.
Continue reading “Volkswagen increases Q1 sales despite weaker China business”
HONG KONG, April 21 (Reuters) – China’s BYD Co Ltd (002594.SZ), , the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) maker, plans to build a $290 million lithium cathode factory in Chile’s northern Antofagasta region, said Chilean economic development agency CORFO.
The South American country’s government has named BYD Chile a qualified lithium producer, CORFO said, giving it access to preferential prices for lithium carbonate quotas.
Continue reading “China EV maker BYD to build $290 mln battery component plant in Chile”
LOS ANGELES, April 21 (Reuters) – A California state court jury began deliberating on Thursday in what appears to be the first trial related to a crash involving Tesla’s Autopilot partially automated driving software.
The verdict could offer an important sign of the risk facing Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) as it tests and rolls out its Autopilot and more advanced “Full Self-Driving (FSD)” system, which Chief Executive Elon Musk has touted as crucial to his company’s future, but which has drawn regulatory and legal scrutiny.
Continue reading “US jury set to decide test case in Tesla Autopilot crash”
MEXICO CITY, April 20 (Reuters) – MG Motor is launching a plug-in hybrid SUV in Mexico, the carmaker said on Thursday, as the market for hybrid and electric vehicles in the Latin American country heats up despite a lack of infrastructure and high costs for locals.
The hybrid eHS model is set to hit Mexico’s streets on Friday, alongside two combustion-engine models, the company said.
Continue reading “MG Motor launches plug-in hybrid option in Mexico as EV race heats up”
VW India targets 30 percent growth with variants, dealer expansion AUTOCAR
MG Comet EV launch on April 26, 2023 AUTOCAR
Honda shows three electric SUVs in Shanghai AUTOCAR
Audi India Records A 126 Per Cent Increase In Sales For Q1 2023 CARANDBIKE
SHANGHAI, April 20 (Reuters) – Automakers keen to make a splash at the Shanghai auto show showed off vehicles boasting features from crystal balls to in-car karaoke systems and 3D dashboards, as competition to attract drivers heats up in the world’s largest auto market.
At the first such showcase in China since the country’s COVID-19 curbs ended, Zeekr, a premium electric vehicle (EV) brand owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (GEELY.UL), highlighted how its newly released X model SUV has seats that can massage passengers.
Continue reading “At Shanghai show, auto rivals lure drivers with in-car karaoke, crystal balls”
SEOUL, April 20 (Reuters) – The South Korean government and its top battery companies plan to jointly invest 20 trillion won ($15.1 billion) through 2030 to develop advanced battery technologies, including solid-state batteries, the industry ministry said on Thursday.
“The joint investment will allow South Korea to start commercial production of solid state batteries ahead of others,” the ministry said in a statement.
Continue reading “South Korea announces $15 bln investment in advanced battery technologies”
PTI – Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary, MoRTH, said INR 10,000 crore is planned to be raised through Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) mode in FY 2023-24. She further added that MoRTH has taken up targets to award 12,000 km and construct 12,500 km of highways in the country for 2023-24.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has put plans in place to maintain the pace of highway development and construct 12,500 km of highways in the current financial year, a senior official said.
Continue reading “MoRTH to construct 12,500 km of highways in FY24: Official”
April 19 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) boss Elon Musk on Wednesday doubled down on the price war he started at the end of last year, saying the electric vehicle (EV) maker would prioritize sales growth ahead of profit in a weak economy.
The company posted its lowest quarterly gross margin in two years, missing market estimates, as it slashed prices aggressively in markets including the United States and China to spur demand and fend off rising competition.
Continue reading “Musk says Tesla will put sales growth ahead of profit”
SHANGHAI/BERLIN, April 19 (Reuters) – German automakers have turned up in full force at Shanghai’s Auto Show as they fight to stay on top of consumer trends in the country that will define whether they maintain their market dominance in the electric age both at home and abroad.
Their heavy presence – with the entire board of Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and more than 100 VW employees attending, in contrast to Japanese or French automakers – shows they are taking the challenge seriously, said Yale Zhang of Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight.
Continue reading “Analysis: German automakers fight to defend their turf from Chinese rivals”
PARIS, April 19 (Reuters) – French car lobby Plateforme de la filière automobile (PFA) on Wednesday proposed that a state bonus for consumers buying electric cars be reserved for vehicles “made in Europe”.
The proposal comes as Europe looks at ways to counter Chinese protectionism and U.S. subsidies offered by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
Continue reading “French car lobby makes plea for bonus for ‘made in Europe’ electric cars”
SHANGHAI, April 19 (Reuters) – Elon Musk has said the only thing holding back electric vehicle (EV) sales is their price.
Companies like BYD (002594.SZ) are solving that problem in China – and getting ready to solve it for the world.
China’s largest EV maker unveiled this week the Seagull at the Shanghai auto show, shocking analysts and rivals with the car’s specs: a battery range of more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) and a starting price of just over $11,000 – about a quarter of the price of most EVs now on the market in Europe.
Continue reading “As EV costs tumble in China, an export wave builds”
April 18 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has cut prices for some of its Model Y and Model 3 vehicles in the U.S., the sixth time the company has made such a move this year as it looks to spur demand even at the cost of its industry-leading profit margins.
The cuts came ahead of the electric-vehicle maker’s first-quarter earnings due on Wednesday and sent the stock down nearly 3% in early trading. Shares have risen just a little under 50% this year, after posting their biggest annual drop in 2022.
Continue reading “Tesla cuts US prices for sixth time this year ahead of Q1 results”
April 19 (Reuters) – Passenger car registrations in the European Union rose 28.8% in March to more than one million units, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) reported on Wednesday.
Battery-electric cars made up 13.9% of new registrations in the EU, up 2.5% from the same month last year.
Continue reading “EU passenger car sales up 28.8% to over 1 million units in March, ACEA says”
