NUNEATON, England, Aug 9 (Reuters) – A handful of commercial electric vehicle (EV) startups are burning through cash fast, racing to bring vans or trucks to market before the funds run out or customers choose to buy from legacy automakers like Ford Motor Co or General Motors Co (GM.N).

Boosted by investor hunger to create the next Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), a clutch of commercial EV makers on both sides of the Atlantic have gone public via reverse mergers with special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), raising hundreds of millions of dollars as they sought to emulate Elon Musk’s success. These include Arrival Inc , Canoo Inc (GOEV.O), Lordstown Motors Corp (RIDE.O), Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc (ELMS) and REE Automotive Holding Inc (REE.O). Continue reading “Burning cash, commercial EV startups race to deliver vehicles”

BERLIN, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Continental (CONG.DE) expects higher auto production in the second half of the year as supply chains and semiconductor availability improve, the company said on Tuesday, after reporting a heavy second-quarter loss.

The auto parts supplier, which reported a profit in 2021 for the first time after two years of losses, was back in the red in the April-June quarter with a net loss of 251 million euros ($256 million) caused by lockdowns in China, supply chain issues in Europe, higher interest rates and impairment costs. Continue reading “Continental expects stronger demand after ‘hurricane’ headwinds in Q2”

SHANGHAI, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) sold 28,217 Chinese-made vehicles in July, nearly two-thirds less than a month earlier as a scheduled upgrade to its factory lines in Shanghai disrupted production.

The U.S. carmaker exported 19,756 Model 3s and Model Ys from China last month, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA)said. In June, it sold 78,906 vehicles and exported 968. Continue reading “Tesla’s July sales of Chinese-made vehicles slide due to factory line upgrades”

WASHINGTON, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives are launching a bipartisan effort to help revive legislative efforts to boost self-driving vehicles.

Representatives Robert Latta, a Republican, and Debbie Dingell, a Democrat, told Reuters in a joint interview they are unveiling the bipartisan Congressional Autonomous Vehicle Caucus to help educate fellow lawmakers on the importance of self-driving vehicles as they work to revive legislation. Continue reading “U.S. House lawmakers look to jump-start self-driving legislative push”

JAKARTA, Aug 8 (Reuters) – U.S. carmaker Tesla (TSLA.O) has signed contracts worth about $5 billion to buy materials for their batteries from nickel processing companies in Indonesia, a senior cabinet minister told CNBC Indonesia.

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has been trying to get Tesla to set up a production facility in the country, which has major nickel reserves. President Joko Widodo met with Tesla founder Elon Musk earlier this year to drum up investment. Continue reading “Indonesia says Tesla strikes $5 billion deal to buy nickel products”

Aug 8 (Reuters) – Kia Corp’s (000270.KS) Russian subsidiary launched a voluntary recall of more than 100,000 cars on Monday due to a possible airbag malfunction, a government regulator announced.

The recall affects Kia Rio models assembled between 2013 and 2018 at the Hyundai Motor Group factory in the Russian city of St Petersburg, Russia’s federal agency for technical regulation and metrology (Rosstandard) said. Continue reading “Kia to recall 105,000 Rio cars in Russia”

BEIJING, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Baidu’s electric vehicle (EV) firm Jidu Auto will be one-generation ahead of Tesla (TSLA.O) in terms of autonomous driving technologies, Baidu chief executive Robin Li said in a statement on Monday.

“Our understanding of smart vehicles is that being electric is the semi-final while being intelligent is the final,” Li added. Continue reading “Baidu CEO says EV arm’s autonomous driving tech will be ahead of Tesla”

SHANGHAI, Aug 8 (Reuters) – China should adopt autonomous vehicles in passenger transport with care, the country’s Ministry of Transportation said in drafted rules to regulate the self-driving industry.

The ministry will encourage the use of autonomous vehicles as taxis in easily controlled scenarios in low traffic situations, according to a draft seeking public advice published on Monday. Continue reading “China drafts rules on use of self-driving vehicles for public transport”

Aug 8 (Reuters) – Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.NS) signed an agreement on Sunday to buy Ford Motor’s manufacturing plant in the western state of Gujarat for 7.26 billion rupees ($91.5 million).

The agreement between the Indian automaker’s subsidiary Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd (TPEML) and Ford India Pvt Ltd (FIPL) covers land, assets and all eligible employees. Continue reading “Tata Motors to buy Ford India’s manufacturing plant for $91 million”

WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) – A group representing General Motors (GM.N), Toyota Motor (7203.T), Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and other major automakers said a $430 billion bill approved Sunday by the U.S. Senate will put achieving U.S. electric-vehicle adoption targets for 2030 in jeopardy.

“Unfortunately, the EV tax credit requirements will make most vehicles immediately ineligible for the incentive,” said the Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s chief executive, John Bozzella, adding the bill “will also jeopardize our collective target of 40-50% electric vehicle sales by 2030.” Continue reading “Automakers say U.S. Senate bill will jeopardize 2030 EV targets”

Aug 7 (Reuters) – United Parcel Service Inc said on Monday it would buy Italy-based healthcare-logistics firm Bomi Group for an undisclosed amount to bolster its capability in delivering medicines that require cold storage.

Healthcare logistics is among the areas the delivery firm has been focusing after it expanded temperature-controlled supply-chain logistics to support the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines globally. Continue reading “UPS to buy Italy’s Bomi Group to boost healthcare logistics capability”

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK Aug 5 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), the electric car company run by billionaire Elon Musk, has been accused by a California state transportation regulator of falsely advertising its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features as providing autonomous vehicle control.

In complaints filed with the state Office of Administrative Hearings, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) said Tesla misled prospective customers with advertising that overstated how well its advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) worked. Continue reading “California regulator claims Tesla falsely advertised Autopilot, Full Self-Driving”

WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Most electric-vehicle models would be ineligible for a $7,500 tax credit for U.S. buyers under a Democratic proposal in the U.S. Senate, a group of major automakers said on Friday.

Automakers have been privately expressing concern about the proposal’s increasing requirements for vehicles’ batteries and critical-mineral contents to be sourced from the United States. Continue reading “U.S. automakers say 70% of EV models would not qualify for tax credit under Senate bill”

WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) – A group of 10 U.S. House Democrats on Friday asked President Joe Biden’s administration to build electric vehicle charging stations together with broadband internet infrastructure under the $1 trillion infrastructure law approved in November 2021.

As part of that measure, Congress set aside $42.45 billion in grants to expand broadband, including building fiber or other networks. It also included $5 billion for EV charging. Continue reading “U.S. lawmakers urge joint use of funds for broadband, EV charge stations”

HANOI, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Vietnam’s VinFast is looking to hire 8,000 more employees for its electric-vehicle plant in Vietnam as it ramps up production to deliver its first battery-powered SUVs to the United States by the end of this year, the company said.

VinFast, a unit of Vietnam’s biggest conglomerate Vingroup (VIC.HM), currently employs 6,000 people in total. Continue reading “VinFast hiring 8,000 additional employees to boost production”

FINHAUT, Switzerland, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Switzerland is adding a much needed cog in the wheel to its energy supply with an underground hydropower plant that says it has capacity to store enough electricity to charge 400,000 car batteries simultaneously.

Developers of the 2.2 billion Swiss franc ($2.30 billion) Nant de Drance plant in the canton of Valais, which came online in July, say the facility operates like a giant battery. Continue reading “Switzerland’s new energy asset: hydro plant with capacity to charge 400,000 car batteries”

NEW DELHI, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (MAHM.NS) said on Friday demand for its cars is outstripping production capacity as people rush to buy the automaker’s popular sport-utility vehicles (SUVs), boosting profits.

The automaker reported a sharp jump in first-quarter net profit as sales of its passenger vehicles soared to 149,803, up 74% from a year ago, while it has open bookings for more than 273,000 vehicles. Continue reading “India’s Mahindra & Mahindra says demand for cars outstripping capacity”

Aug 5 (Reuters) – British electric vehicle start-up Arrival SA is delaying trials of its bus and car projects to cut costs and focus on the production of its debut van, the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The company has paused its car project which might be revived once it has begun producing revenues based on the results of the its restructuring review scheduled to be completed in September, according to the report published on Friday, citing one of the sources. https://on.ft.com/3QkC2wX Continue reading “British EV firm Arrival to delay bus and car project trials to cut costs, Financial Times reports”

TOKYO, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Japan’s Suzuki Motor (7269.T) said on Friday it did not see demand for vehicles slowing at home or in its key market of India amid growing concerns about a global economic downturn.

The view from Masahiko Nagao, Suzuki’s senior managing executive officer, echoes the bullish outlook of other Japanese automakers, even though inflation and higher interest rates are fuelling uncertainty about the world economy. Continue reading “Suzuki Motor says demand strong despite economic concerns”

Aug 5 (Reuters) – Australia’s European Lithium Ltd (EUR.AX) said on Friday it has signed an agreement with German automobile maker BMW AG to supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide, as companies look to shift towards greener sources of energy.

Australian lithium miners have been witnessing a flurry of activity in signing agreements with major automobile manufacturers to supply lithium, a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries, as the global auto industry begins to pivot its manufacturing base toward EVs. Continue reading “Australian miner European Lithium to supply battery-grade lithium to BMW”

WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden met Thursday with labor leaders and CEOs from General Motors, Carrier, Kaiser Permanente and other companies to press Congress to pass the drug, climate and tax bill recently introduced by Democrats.

“Pass it. Pass it, get it to my desk, pass it for the American people. Pass it for businesses and workers. Pass it for America,” Biden said of the $430-billion bill introduced July 27, which has yet to win any Republican support. Continue reading “Biden meets CEOs of GM, Carrier, urges Congress to pass drug, tax bill”

MILAN, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Strong pricing power and cost savings will help Pirelli (PIRC.MI) offset economic challenges, the Italian tyremaker said on Thursday as it beat second-quarter operating profit expectations and raised its full-year revenue forecast.

The sole supplier of Formula One tyres, said its adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 21% in the April-June period to 253 million euros ($258 million), topping a company-provided analyst consensus of 238 million euros. Continue reading “Pirelli raises sales target as pricing power offsets inflation”

TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp’s (7203.T) profit slumped a worse-than-expected 42% in its first quarter as the Japanese automaker was squeezed between supply constraints and rising costs.

Operating profit for the three months ended June 30 sank to 578.66 billion yen ($4.3 billion) from 997.4 billion yen in the same period a year ago, Toyota said on Thursday, capping a tough period. It has repeatedly cut monthly output goals due to the global chip shortage and COVID-19 curbs on plants in China. Continue reading “Hit by rising costs and supply snarls, Toyota profit tumbles 42%”

Aug 3 (Reuters) – A proposal by U.S. Senate Democrats to put income, price and domestic content conditions on electric vehicle tax breaks could initially sharply curtail the number of EVs that qualify, the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday.

The CBO estimate said the electric vehicle tax credits in a $430 billion climate and energy bill would cost taxpayers only $85 million in 2023, the equivalent of about 11,000 vehicles if all received $7,500 credits. Continue reading “U.S. Congress office sees few tax breaks for EVs under Democratic plan”

Aug 3 (Reuters) – The shortages of computer chips that forced global automakers to scrap production plans for millions of cars over the past two years are easing – at a new and permanent cost to the car companies.

What had been “war room operations” to manage chip shortages are becoming embedded features of vehicle development, say executives in both industries. That has shifted the risks and some of the costs to automakers. Continue reading “Chip makers have a message for car makers: Your turn to pay”

Aug 3 (Reuters) – Lucid Group (LCID.O) on Wednesday halved its production forecast for electric vehicles, blaming extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges, sending its shares down 10% after the bell.

The company now expects to produce between 6,000 and 7,000 luxury electric vehicles this year, down from 12,000 to 14,000 units it targeted in February. Continue reading “EV maker Lucid halves 2022 production forecast as supply chain snarls hit”

Aug 3 (Reuters) – Albemarle Corp (ALB.N), the world’s largest producer of lithium for electric vehicle batteries, raised its annual forecast on Wednesday and reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit after it renegotiated supply contracts for the metal at higher prices.

The results reflect the rising demand for lithium as the auto industry begins to pivot its manufacturing base toward EVs, a shift that has given significant pricing power to mining companies. Continue reading “Albemarle’s lithium sales surge after supply contracts renegotiated”

MOSCOW, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Russia’s biggest carmaker Avtovaz (AVAZI_p.MM), which suspended some production due to sanctions and lack of components, is offering workers at its Izhevsk plant a one-off payment of about $3,000 to take voluntary redundancy, it said on Wednesday.

Avtovaz resumed production of some of its popular Lada models at its main plant in Togliatti in June after partially halting output in the spring due to a shortage of electronic parts caused by sanctions. Continue reading “Russia’s Avtovaz offers Izhevsk staff $3,000 to quit voluntarily”

WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden next Tuesday will sign a bill to subsidize the U.S. semiconductor industry and boost efforts to make the United States more competitive with China, the White House said on Wednesday.

The legislation aims to alleviate a persistent shortage that has affected everything from cars, weapons, washing machines and video games. Thousands of cars and trucks remain parked in southeast Michigan awaiting chips as the shortage continues to impact automakers. Continue reading “Biden to sign bill to boost chipmakers, compete with China Aug. 9 -White House”

BERLIN, Aug 3 (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) lowered its output forecast and warned of a highly volatile second half on Wednesday, pinpointing supplies of energy in Europe and chips worldwide as the two crucial factors to the carmaker hitting full-year earnings targets.

New incoming orders were beginning to fall but order books remained filled for the next few months, chief executive Oliver Zipse said. Continue reading “BMW sees volatile 2022 with chips and energy squeeze in focus”

OSLO, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Swedish truck maker Volvo Group (VOLVb.ST) plans to establish a large-scale production plant for battery cells, gradually building it up towards 2030 to meet a growing demand for zero-emission transportation, the company said on Wednesday.

“There is a strong demand from our customers already today, and by 2030, it is our ambition that at least 35% of the products we sell are electric,” CEO Martin Lundstedt said in a statement. Continue reading “Truck maker Volvo Group plans to build battery plant”

OSLO, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Volvo Car Group’s (VOLCARb.ST) July sales were down 21.5% from a year earlier as supply chain problems continued to hamper production, but could rebound in the coming months, the Sweden-based automaker said on Wednesday.

A shortage of semiconductors and other components has squeezed auto industry output and sales in recent quarters, but Volvo said last month it was seeing a “marked improvement” in the stabilisation of its supply chain. Continue reading “Volvo Cars July sales drop 21.5%, sees improvement ahead”

Aug 2 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Tuesday granted a request by prosecutors to dismiss fraud counts against a former Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) security chief also charged with covering up a 2016 data hack affecting 57 million passengers and drivers.

U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco dismissed the three wire fraud charges against Joseph Sullivan. Continue reading “Fraud charges in hacking case against Uber ex-security chief are dismissed”

WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) – Automakers want Democratic Senator Joe Manchin to revisit his proposal to restructure the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit, raising fears it could be largely unworkable because of new sourcing requirements for battery components and critical minerals.

Manchin on Tuesday expressed little interest in revising his proposal. Continue reading “Automakers press U.S. Senator Manchin for changes to EV tax credit proposal”

Aug 2 (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) is prepaying Livent Corp (LTHM.N) $198 million for a guaranteed six-year supply of lithium, a deal that reflects the auto industry’s rising worry about a tightening market for the electric vehicle battery metal.

Prepaying cash for a guaranteed metal supply is unusual in the mining industry. The deal shows GM’s eagerness to ensure it has sufficient raw materials to meet its goal of producing 1 million EVs annually in North America by 2025. Continue reading “GM prepaying Livent $198 million for guaranteed lithium supply”

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) – The U.S. business of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty in June to criminal conspiracy and will pay nearly $300 million to resolve a multi-year U.S. Justice Department diesel-emissions fraud probe.

FCA US LLC, formerly Chrysler Group LLC, previously struck a plea agreement with the Justice Department and agreed to pay a $96.1 million fine and forfeit $203.6 million. FCA US, now a unit of Stellantis NV (STLA.MI), was also sentenced to a three-year term of organizational probation. Continue reading “Stellantis unit sentenced in U.S. diesel emissions probe, will pay $300 mln”

BRUSSELS, Aug 1 (Reuters) – Refuse collection trucks were included in a European truck cartel the European Commission fined in 2016, the top EU court ruled on Monday, opening the door to claims from buyers of these vehicles.

The case was referred to the EU court in relation to a claim in 2016 for damages by the German district of Northeim against Daimler (DTGGe.DE) over two refuse trucks it bought in 2006 and 2007. Continue reading “Daimler refuse trucks were in cartel, EU court rules in damages case”

Aug 2 (Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) reported positive quarterly cash flow for the first time ever on Tuesday and forecast third-quarter operating profit above estimates, as more people rely on its services for transport and ordering in food.

The company’s stock surged 15% to $28.2 and helped push shares of Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) by 11% and DoorDash (DASH.N) by 4%. Continue reading “Uber turns cash flow positive for the first time in bumper quarter”

NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) – Swedish engineering firm Trelleborg AB (TRELb.ST) has agreed to acquire Minnesota Rubber and Plastics from private equity firm KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) for about $1 billion in cash, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.

The deal, which was first reported by Reuters, is expected to expand Trelleborg’s polymer and plastics business in North America when it closes before the end of this year. Continue reading “Trelleborg to buy KKR’s Minnesota Rubber and Plastics in $1 bln deal”