Feb 14 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Tuesday it had stopped production and shipments of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup after discovering a potential battery issue during pre-delivery checks.
“We are not aware of any incidences of this issue in the field,” Ford spokesperson Emma Bergg said in an email. She said the production stop was issued at the start of last week.
Continue reading “Ford halts production, shipments of F-150 Lightning over possible battery issue”
By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS, Feb 14 (Reuters) – The European Parliament on Tuesday formally approved a law to effectively ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the European Union from 2035, aiming to speed up the switch to electric vehicles and combat climate change.
Continue reading “EU lawmakers approve effective 2035 ban on new fossil fuel cars”
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) and Kia Corp (000270.KS) will offer software upgrades to 8.3 million U.S. vehicles to help curb increasing car thefts using a method popularized on TikTok and other social media channels, the Korean automakers said on Tuesday.
Continue reading “Hyundai, Kia offer software upgrade to 8.3 mln U.S. vehicles to prevent thefts”LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) – The United Kingdom recorded the highest number of working days lost to labour disputes in 2022 for more than 30 years, official data showed on Tuesday, as a cost-of-living crisis led employees to walk out in demand of higher pay.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said nearly 2.5 million working days were lost to industrial action last year, the highest since 1989 when 4.1 million days were lost.
Continue reading “UK suffers worst year for strike action since 1989”Feb 14 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) workers in New York state said on Tuesday they are launching a campaign to form a union, setting the stage for the latest labor challenge for Chief Executive Elon Musk.
In a letter to the electric carmaker’s management, the employees announced their plan to unionize with Workers United Upstate New York.
The union, if formed, would be a first for Tesla, which up until now has managed to avoid unionization at its U.S. facilities unlike other major automakers.
Continue reading “Tesla workers launch campaign to form union in New York”By Victoria Waldersee
BERLIN, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Ford (F.N) plans to cut one in nine jobs in product development and administration across Europe as part of a global drive to cut costs and be competitive in the electric vehicle market, the U.S. automaker said on Tuesday.
Continue reading “Ford to cut one in nine jobs in Europe in electric revamp”WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) said Tuesday it will offer a software upgrade to nearly 4 million U.S. vehicles in response to increasing thefts targeting vehicles without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices.
Continue reading “Hyundai to offer software upgrade to nearly 4 million U.S. vehicles to prevent thefts”TOKYO, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Shoichiro Toyoda, the son of Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) founder and father of current chief executive Akio Toyoda, died on Tuesday of heart failure, the company said. He was 97.
Continue reading “Shoichiro Toyoda, son of Toyota founder, dies aged 97”By Joseph White and David Shepardson
ROMULUS, Michigan/WASHINGTON Feb 13 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) on Monday announced plans to invest $3.5 billion to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan, betting that making the batteries in the United States will help it and Chinese partner CATL (300750.SZ) attract U.S. customers to embrace a lower-cost technology pioneered in China.
Continue reading “Ford to build battery plant in Michigan in drive with Chinese tech partner”DETROIT, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co Chair Bill Ford said Monday the automaker’s Chief Executive, Jim Farley, has a “full court press” on to fix operational problems that caused fourth quarter results to fall short of the company’s targets.
“We probably had so much focus on the future that perhaps we took our eye off the ball a little bit on the present,” Ford said, speaking with reporters on the sidelines of an event to announce plans to build a battery factory in Michigan.
Continue reading “Ford Chair: CEO Farley has “full court press” to fix problems”SHANGHAI, Feb 14 (Reuters) – BYD , the world’s largest maker of electrified vehicles, plans to invest $1.2 billion to build a new factory for its batteries in China, according to environmental appraisal filings.
FinDreams Technology, the Chinese company’s battery unit， is aiming to build a facility with the capacity to produce 40 gigawatt hours per year of its Blade Battery in the city of Zhengzhou in Henan province, according to environmental filings published on the Zhengzhou government website on Friday seeking public feedback on the project.
Continue reading “BYD to build $1.2 bln EV battery plant in central China – website”By Abhirup Roy
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc’s (AMZN.O) self-driving vehicle unit, Zoox, said on Monday it has successfully tested a robotaxi with employees as passengers on a public road in a move to bring it closer to commercial service for the general public.
The Feb. 11 test, conducted between two Zoox buildings a mile apart at its headquarters in Foster City, California, was part of the launch of a no-cost employee shuttle service that will also help the company refine its technology.
Continue reading “Amazon’s Zoox tests robotaxi on public road with employees as passengers”Feb 13 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) has agreed to recognize the United Auto Workers (UAW) at a new planned Michigan battery plant if a majority of workers sign cards, the automaker and union said.
Under the “card check” process, a majority of plant hourly workers could simply sign cards supporting the union, and once certified an election would not be necessary.
In December, workers at a General Motors-LG Energy Solution (GM.N), (373220.KS) Ultium Cells battery cell factory in northeast Ohio overwhelmingly voted to join the UAW. Ultium had rejected the UAW’s bid to use card check at the plant.
Reporting by David Shepardson and Ben Klayman; Editing by Chris Reese
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
ReNew is one of the largest independent power producers (IPPs) globally, producing renewable energy through solar and wind-based projects
ReNew will explore investment opportunities in the green hydrogen space as the clean energy firm is expanding its business portfolio, its chairman Sumant Sinha said on Monday.
Sinha made the remarks on the sidelines of an event organised in the national capital for re-branding his company ReNew Power as ReNew.
Continue reading “ReNew To Explore Investment Opportunities In Hydrogen Segment: Sumant Sinha”SHANGHAI, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Slashed prices have given Tesla’s O> China sales a pop, but analysts – and even fans – warn the U.S. automaker needs to up its long-term game to avoid choking on the dust of fast-moving rivals in the world’s biggest electric vehicle market.
Most immediately, Tesla’s January price cuts drove deliveries of its China-made vehicles up 18% from December. Tesla’s thick profit margins have put it in a position to take a price war to competitors in China and beyond, analysts say.
TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) will use its Lexus luxury brand to lead a pivot towards next-generation battery electric vehicles, Koji Sato, its incoming chief executive, said on Monday.
Sato, who takes over as the next head of the world’s largest automaker from April 1, made the comment at a news conference in Tokyo, his first since being introduced as the successor to outgoing chief Akio Toyoda last month.
The automaker has faced criticism that it has been late to embrace battery electric vehicles, in favour of hybrids and hydrogen technology. It has long said that different markets need different technologies for the drive to zero emissions.
Continue reading “Lexus to lead Toyota’s push for next-generation EVs, incoming CEO says”
TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) and Renault SA (RENA.PA) said on Monday they would invest $600 million to make six new models in India.
The Japanese and French automakers will work on the projects from their base in Chennai, turning it into an export hub, they said in a statement.
The six models, with each automaker making three, will be built on joint platforms and will also be exported, they said. The new models will consist of two electric vehicles, the first EVs to be rolled out by the automakers in India, and four sports utility vehicles (SUVs).
Continue reading “Nissan, Renault to invest $600 million to make new models in India”
SHANGHAI, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Zeekr, the electric car brand of China’s Geely Automobile Holdings (0175.HK), is raising $750 million from five new and existing investors in a funding round that values the brand at $13 billion.
Zeekr, which sells two purely electric car models, said in a statement on Monday that proceeds from the funding round will be used to support technology research and the global expansion of the Zeekr brand.
Continue reading “Geely’s EV brand Zeekr raises $750 million in fresh funding round”
Electric two-wheeler maker Kabira Mobility on Saturday said it along with partner Al-Abdulla Group of Qatar will invest Rs 300 crore to set up a new manufacturing plant at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh.
BERLIN, Feb 12 (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) met its 2022 target for significantly higher pretax earnings than in the previous year, Focus Money magazine reported on Sunday, citing the German carmaker’s chief financial officer.
“We had no reason to correct the forecasts … Otherwise we wouldn’t be sitting here so relaxed,” CFO Nicolas Peter was quoted as saying by Focus Money magazine.
The carmaker, which is due to publish its full-year results in mid-March, was not immediately available to confirm the report.
Continue reading “BMW meets 2022 pretax earnings target -Focus magazine citing CFO”
Feb 10 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) is set to announce as soon as Monday it plans to build a $3.5 billion lithium iron phosphate battery plant in Michigan, sources told Reuters.
Ford is expected to own and operate the plant with Chinese battery company China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) (300750.SZ) as a technology partner to help develop the batteries, sources said. Ford declined to confirm the plans.
Continue reading “Ford to announce $3.5 bln battery plant in Michigan, sources say”
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 10 (Reuters) – The Biden administration next week is expected to detail requirements for its $7.5 billion subsidy for electric charging stations, a bid to jumpstart the country’s adoption of electric vehicles (EV).
Here are the terms and acronyms you need to know to understand the booming EV charger market.
EV chargers are classified in three categories: Level 1, Level 2 and DC fast chargers.
Continue reading “Factbox: CCS? CHAdeMO? EV charger terms you need to know”
By Mica Rosenberg, Kristina Cooke and Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Thirty-three members of Congress are urging the U.S. Labor Secretary to seek strong and swift penalties against those responsible for child labor in automotive plants after a Reuters investigation found kids as young as 12 working in Alabama factories that make parts for Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Corp.
In a letter addressed to Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, the group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee, pressed the department “to take immediate action to rid Hyundai’s supply chain of child labor.” Those responsible, the letter added, should be held accountable “to the fullest extent of the law.”
By Jarrett Renshaw and Hyunjoo Jin
Feb 10 (Reuters) – Tesla CEO Elon Musk has often talked about opening his Supercharging network to competitors, but has never actually done so in the United States, where the company dominates the electric vehicle market.
Now, the brash CEO may have 7.5 billion reasons to accelerate those plans.
The Department of Transportation next week is expected to finalize a requirement that will pressure Tesla to expand beyond its proprietary charging equipment in the U.S. and add the charger used by its competitors, administration officials tell Reuters.
Continue reading “Exclusive: To tap U.S. government billions, Tesla must unlock EV chargers”
Feb 10 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) has cut its stake in struggling EV maker Rivian Automotive Inc (RIVN.O) to 1.15%, a week after the Detroit automaker reported a fall in profit and predicted a tough year ahead.
Shares of Rivian, which declined to comment on the matter, were down 3.6% in early trade.
Ford, which wrote down the value of its Rivian investment by $7.4 billion in 2022, has been paring down its stake amid production struggles at the Irvine, California-based company. Ford held a 11.4% stake in Rivian at the end of 2021.
Continue reading “Ford cuts Rivian stake to about 1% amid production woes at EV maker”
By Kannaki Deka
Feb 10 (Reuters) – Canada’s Magna International Inc (MG.TO) on Friday reported an 80% fall in quarterly profit and warned of more pressure on its margins from volatile production schedules at automakers and elevated costs.
The auto parts maker’s U.S.-listed shares were down 13.7% and on track for their worst day in nearly three years.
Chip shortages, lost production and rising raw material costs have weighed on auto suppliers and auto executives say some of the pressures are expected to persist this year amid a looming recession.
Continue reading “Auto parts maker Magna warns of margin pressures on higher costs”
By Timothy Aeppel
Feb 10 (Reuters) – North American companies struggling to hire workers in the tightest labor market in decades brought on more robots last year than ever before, with many earmarked for new electric vehicle and battery factories under construction.
Demand for robots appears to have slackened near the end of the year, though, raising questions about how strong 2023 will be in the face of shifting household consumption patterns and the rising interest rates engineered by central bankers to bring high inflation under control.
Continue reading “North American companies notch another record year for robot orders”
By Giulio Piovaccari
TRAVAGLIATO, Italy, Feb 10 (Reuters) – By replacing around 60 welded components with a single module, gigantic aluminium die casting machines made by the likes of Tesla supplier IDRA Group are helping carmakers to simplify manufacturing and cut costs by up to 40% in some areas.
Tesla (TSLA.O) has pioneered the use of massive casting machines, also known as gigapresses, to make large single pieces of vehicle underbodies, streamline production and reduce the work of even robots.
Continue reading “Gigapresses – the giant die casts reshaping car manufacturing”
By Daniel Leussink
TOKYO, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Japan’s Honda Motor Co (7267.T) on Friday posted a better-than-expected 22% rise in third-quarter operating profit, as a weak yen helped offset rising raw material costs and lower vehicle production and sales amid shortages of computer chips.
Operating profit for the three months to Dec. 31 stood at 280.4 billion yen ($2.13 billion). That compared with an average estimate of 239.4 billion yen in a poll of 11 analysts by Refinitiv, and a 229.4 billion yen operating profit the same period a year earlier.
Continue reading “Honda reports 22% rise in Q3 operating profit, beating estimates”
By Nivedita Balu
Feb 9 (Reuters) – Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) on Thursday forecast current-quarter profit far below Wall Street targets as the ride-hailing service lowered prices, triggering a 30% drop in shares on concerns it was falling behind bigger rival Uber (UBER.N).
Lyft also forecast revenue below analyst expectations for the current quarter.
Investors are watching how the two companies rebound from the global pandemic and whether they can grow profits, which is often seen as a matter of pricing power.
Continue reading “Lyft says lower prices to hit profit, shares drop 30%”
By Joseph White
DETROIT, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc(TSLA.O) and established luxury automakers are frustrating consumers with advanced driving assistance technology and complex infotainment systems, according to a new study by the consultancy J.D. Power.
The gap in reliability scores between luxury brands and those for mass market brands such as Kia were the widest in the 34 years that J.D. Power has conducted its Vehicle Dependability Study, the company said. Continue reading “High-tech dashboards, driving assistants vex luxury vehicle owners -study”
By Jane Lanhee Lee, Joseph White and Stephen Nellis
OAKLAND, Calif/DETROIT, Feb 9 (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) and chipmaker GlobalFoundries Inc (GFS.O) on Thursday announced a long-term deal for the automaker to secure U.S.-made processors that will enable it to avoid the factory-halting chip shortages that kept millions of cars from being manufactured during the pandemic.
GlobalFoundries said the agreement for at least three years was the first of its kind and establishes a dedicated capacity exclusively for GM’s key chip suppliers at their upstate New York fabrication facility.
Continue reading “GM inks deal with GlobalFoundries to secure U.S.-made chips”
By Sam Tobin
LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) faces more than 300,000 claims at London’s High Court from the owners of diesel vehicles that were allegedly equipped with “defeat devices” to cheat emissions tests.
The German carmaker is said to have misled customers about certain diesel vehicles’ compliance with nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions standards.
Mercedes-Benz denies that any defeat devices, which can change vehicles’ emissions levels, were installed in its vehicles.
Continue reading “Mercedez-Benz faces over 300,000 UK claims over diesel emissions”
By Marie Mannes
STOCKHOLM, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Volvo Cars’ (VOLCARb.ST) top executive said on Thursday that the Swedish automaker has no intention of cutting its electric vehicle (EV) prices despite a similar move by market leader Tesla (TSLA.O) that has put pressure on others to follow suit.
Speaking after the Swedish carmaker posted a lower fourth-quarter profit, Chief Executive Jim Rowan said there was no need to cut prices because demand for Volvo’s cars remain high and the company has a solid order backlog for its full EVs.
Continue reading “Volvo Cars will not cut EV prices to follow Tesla’s lead – CEO”
PARIS, Feb 9 (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA), which is revamping its 24-year old alliance with Nissan (7201.T), said on Thursday the Japanese firm contributed 174 million euros ($187 million) to its own results in the fourth quarter.
The total contribution for 2022 stood at 526 million euros, the highest amount since 2018 and up from 352 million euros in 2021.
Continue reading “Nissan’s 2022 contribution to Renault results highest in four years”
PARIS, Feb 9 (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA), which is revamping its 24-year old alliance with Nissan (7201.T), said on Thursday the Japanese firm contributed 174 million euros ($187 million) to its own results in the fourth quarter.
The total contribution for 2022 stood at 526 million euros, the highest amount since 2018 and up from 352 million euros in 2021.
Continue reading “Berkshire Hathaway sells $138.9 mln of shares in China’s BYD”
TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) on Thursday posted a better-than-expected 155% jump in third-quarter operating profit, boosted by a weaker yen and cost management.
Operating profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 came to 133.1 billion yen ($1.01 billion), beating the average 104.79 billion yen profit estimated by nine analysts, according to Refinitiv data. That compared to a 52.2 billion yen profit in the same period a year earlier.
Continue reading “Nissan’s Q3 operating profit more than doubles, outstrips expectations”
By Hyunsu Yim
SEOUL, Feb 9 (Reuters) – South Korea’s anti-trust regulator said on Thursday it would impose a combined fine of 42.3 billion won ($33.48 million) on three German automakers for colluding to curb emissions-cleaning technology for their diesel cars.
Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE), Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and Audi were involved in collusion that reduced competition and restricted consumer choice, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said in a statement.
Stockholm, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST) said on Thursday that 2023 is likely to be another challenging year despite healthy demand for its vehicles as the Swedish carmaker reported a fall in quarterly profit.
Volvo Cars, which is majority-owned by Chinese automotive company Geely Holding (0175.HK), said its fourth-quarter operating profit dropped to 3.4 billion crowns ($322.2 million)from 3.7 billion crowns a year ago.
Continue reading “Volvo Cars braces for challenges in 2023 after quarterly profit falls”
By Daniel Leussink
TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) on Thursday posted a surprise 22% rise in third-quarter operating profit, as a weaker yen and higher sales volumes helped the Japanese automaker overcome a jolt from soaring raw-materials costs.
Operating profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 was 956.7 billion yen ($7.28 billion). That beat the average 764.54 billion yen profit estimated by 10 analysts, according to Refinitiv data. In the same period a year earlier, Toyota reported a 784.4 billion yen profit.
Continue reading “Toyota’s Q3 profit jumps 22% as weak yen helps”
