Sept 2 (Reuters) – Hyundai Motors’ (005380.KS) Genesis said on Thursday it would phase out all gas-powered cars by the end of the decade and that its luxury vehicles debuting 2025 onwards will run on fuel cells and batteries.

Genesis, which was launched as Hyundai’s standalone luxury division in 2015 to compete with premium brands such as BMW, Mercedes and Lexus, joins other auto majors who are doubling down on investments in electric vehicles.

The company, which accounts for just above 3% of Hyundai’s overall vehicle sales, said it would develop eight electric vehicle models with global sales expected to reach 400,000 units per year.

Continue reading “Hyundai’s luxury brand Genesis to be all-electric by 2030”

SEOUL, Sept 3 (Reuters) – South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) plans to use an auto chip it has developed itself for one of its upcoming vehicles next year, the Seoul Economy Daily reported on Friday.

Hyundai Motor, which together with affiliate Kia Corp (000270.KS) is among the world’s top 10 biggest automakers by sales, plans to internally develop a silicon carbide technology based power chip, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed industry source.

A shortage of chips made by semiconductor companies, fuelled by pandemic interruptions and production issues at chip factories, have forced automakers halt production and reduce work shifts amid concerns that shortages could continue.

Continue reading “Hyundai Motor set to use internally developed chip for upcoming car -media report”

LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) on Wednesday announced plans to vastly expand its network of electric vehicle charging points in Britain, aiming to install 50,000 on-street posts by 2025 as part of its global rollout.

Shell will implement the plans through ubitricity, an on-street charging point company that it acquired in February which operates around 3,600 chargers in Britain.

The expansion is part of a government-backed push to rapidly grow Britain’s electric vehicle (EV) fleet in line with a target to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. Britain also plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

Continue reading “Shell to vastly expand EV charging network in Britain”

BOSTON, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Massachusetts’ attorney general on Wednesday gave backers of a proposed ballot measure, which would define drivers for app-based companies like Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) and Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) as independent contractors rather than employees, the green light to collect the signatures needed to put it before voters.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey certified that the measure met constitutional requirements, clearing the way for a coalition of app-based service providers backing the initiative to begin collecting the tens of thousands of signatures needed to get the proposal onto the November 2022 ballot.

Continue reading “Companies-backed Massachusetts gig worker ballot measure clears key hurdle”

Sept 1 (Reuters) – The Biden administration has an ambitious $7.5 billion plan to expand electric vehicle charging to underserved areas, but it must first overcome a host of obstacles that have discouraged private investment in more equitable charging networks.

The experience of California – the U.S. state with the largest number of EVs and the most advanced charging infrastructure – shows how challenging it will be to achieve the goals in the $1 trillion infrastructure spending proposal Biden wants Congress to pass.

California has poured more than $2 billion into a variety of EV incentive programs over the last years, which include policies to promote equity in distribution of chargers. The state has also generated more than $25 billion through its carbon credits trading program since 2012, a portion of which goes toward EV and charging projects.

Continue reading “Biden infrastructure plan takes on EV charging’s inequality problem”

BEIJING, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Chinese regulators summoned 11 ride-hailing firms including Didi Global Inc (DIDI.N), Geely’s (GEELY.UL) Caocao and Meituan’s (3690.HK) ride-hailing unit to a meeting, the transport ministry said on Thursday, to discuss points of concern in the sector.

At the meeting held on Wednesday, authorities highlighted the hiring of unqualified drivers and use of promotions that disrupt fair market order, the ministry said in a statement.

Regulators urged ride-hailing companies to comply with relevant rules and protect data security, the ministry said.

Regulators have frequently held talks with the ride-hailing industry, which offers tens of millions of rides a day in China, on topics of driver salaries, safety and other issues.

WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) will reduce production at most North American assembly plants this month because of the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage, hitting its profitable truck and sport utility vehicles, it said on Thursday.

The largest U.S. automaker will halt production next week at its Fort Wayne plant in Indiana and its Silao plant in Mexico, both of which build pickup trucks. In total, GM is cutting production at eight North American assembly plants in September.

The industry wide chip shortage is causing massive auto production cuts around the globe.

Continue reading “GM to cut North American production, citing chip shortage”

BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) said on Tuesday it wanted to support the restructuring of Huachen Group, parent of the German premium automaker’s Chinese joint venture partner Brilliance China Automotive (1114.HK).

BMW said in a statement to Reuters that it also wanted to use Huachen’s existing car manufacturing capacity. Huachen is based in China’s northeastern city of Shenyang in Liaoning province.

“To BMW, Liaoning province and the city of Shenyang have become the crucial innovation and production base in China, and the cornerstone of our future success in China,” BMW said, it did not offer details of how it plans to participate in Huachen’s restructuring.

Continue reading “BMW backs the restructuring of China JV partner’s parent Huachen”

BENGALURU, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Swedish steelmaker SSAB (SSABa.ST) said on Wednesday it had partnered with Daimler’s (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz to introduce fossil fuel-free steel into vehicle production, with prototype parts for body shells planned for next year.

SSAB plans to supply the market with fossil-free steel at a commercial scale in 2026, using the HYBRIT system to replace coking coal, traditionally needed for iron ore-based steelmaking, with electricity and hydrogen.

The Mercedes-Benz logo is seen on a car in front of the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Andreas Gebert

Continue reading “Mercedes-Benz teams up with SSAB to explore fossil fuel-free steel for cars”

SHANGHAI, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp (1810.HK) said on Wednesday it has completed the official business registration of its electric vehicle unit, marking the latest milestone in its push into the automotive sector.

The new unit, to be called Xiaomi EV Inc, opened with registered capital of 10 billion yuan ($1.55 billion) and Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun as its legal representative, Xiaomi said in a statement.

Some 300 staff have so far been employed to join the EV unit and it continues to recruit talent, it said.

Continue reading “China’s Xiaomi completes business registration of electric vehicle unit”

SHANGHAI, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc (DIDI.N) has set up a union for its staff while e-commerce powerhouse JD.com (9618.HK) has also established one – landmark moves in the country’s tech sector where organised labour is extremely rare.

Regulators in China have come down hard on its biggest technology firms this year, criticising them for policies that exploit workers and infringe on consumer rights in addition to unleashing a slew of anti-trust probes and fines.

The government is also encouraging companies to implement initiatives to share wealth as part of a recent “common prosperity” drive laid out by President Xi Jinping to ease inequality in the world’s second-largest economy.

Continue reading “Didi and JD.com workers get unions in watershed moment for China’s tech sector”

MADRID, Aug 31 (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA), like several of its rivals, will extend partial stoppages at its three assembly plants in Spain to the end of the year because of the global shortage of microchips, a spokeswoman for Renault Spain said on Tuesday.

The company plans to halt production at its plant in Palencia, where it assembles its Kadjar and Megane models, for as many as 61 days and its factory in Valladolid, where it makes Capture SUV crossovers, for up to 40 days, she said.

The engine plant in Valladolid could cease producing for as many as 17 days over the period.

Continue reading “Renault to extend Spanish output curbs owing to chip shortage”

Aug 31 (Reuters) – India’s biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki (MRTI.NS) warned on Tuesday its vehicle production in September will tumble by 60% due to a chip shortage, joining a slew of global automakers facing a pandemic-led paucity of critical components.

Maruti had flagged a partial production impact in August, but the output cut in its plants in the states of Haryana and Gujarat for September shows the problem is intensifying for Japanese automaker Suzuki Ltd’s (6785.T) flagship arm.

Total production volume in September across the two plants could be around 40% of normal output, Maruti said in a regulatory filing. The company produced 170,719 cars in July and 165,576 in June.

Continue reading “Maruti production to halve in Sept as chip shortage hits India’s top car maker”

Aug 30 (Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) on Monday proposed a plan for a flexible benefits fund for app-based ride-hail and food delivery drivers in Canada under which all gig industry players would share data on workers’ hours and earnings.

Under the preliminary proposal outlined in a company blog post, the fund would provide gig workers with cash benefits to put toward a retirement or life insurance plan, or to pay for educational or dental and health benefits not covered by Canada’s universal healthcare system.

The benefits fund would be enabled by Canada’s provincial governments, Uber said in the blog post without providing further details, but managed by ride-hail and delivery companies.

Continue reading “Uber proposes industry-wide gig worker benefits model in Canada”

NEW DELHI/HONG KONG, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Indian ride-sharing giant Ola plans to raise up to $1 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) and is finalising banks to advise on the fund-raise, three sources told Reuters, becoming the latest startup to join the capital markets boom.

Ola, backed by Japan’s Softbank Group (9984.T), has roped in Citigroup (C.N), two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. It has also brought Kotak Mahindra (KTKM.NS) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) on board, said two other people familiar with the plans.

The company, which competes with Uber Technologies (UBER.N), is also in talks with Bank of America (BAC.N) and JP Morgan (JPM.N), one of the people said.

Continue reading “Softbank-backed ride-sharing company Ola readies for up to $1 bln India IPO -sources”

BENGALURU, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Shares of Indian auto parts suppliers rose as much as 14% on Monday following a report electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) was in talks with at least three companies to source critical parts for its planned entry into the country.

Tesla, which is looking to set up a factory in India if it is successful with imported vehicles, is holding early talks with some companies for the supply of components such as instrument panels, windshields, differential gears, brakes and power seats, the Economic Times reported on Sunday.

Bharat Forge Ltd (BFRG.NS), Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd (SONB.NS) and Sandhar Technologies Ltd (SNTL.NS) are understood to be among the Indian companies already supplying components to Tesla, according to the report. Shares of the three Indian firms rose as much as 6.2% to 13.7% on Monday.

Continue reading “Indian auto parts makers’ shares gain on report of talks with Tesla”

Aug 30 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor (7203.T) said on Monday it would resume operations of its self-driving e-Palette pods at the Tokyo Paralympic Games village with greater operator control and more safety staff to ensure they did not hit any more people.

The e-Palettes were halted after one of the vehicles collided with and injured a visually impaired Japanese athlete at a junction last week, prompting a YouTube video apology from Toyota Chief Executive Akio Toyoda.

“The vehicle’s sensor detected the pedestrian crossing and activated the automatic brake, and the operator also activated the emergency brake. The vehicle and pedestrians, however, came into contact before it came to a complete halt,” Toyota said in a statement on Monday.

Continue reading “Toyota to restart self-driving Olympic village vehicles with more safety staff”

OTTAWA/MEXICO CITY, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Canada has joined Mexico in seeking formal consultation with the United States over the interpretation of content rules for automobiles set out in the North American trade pact, Mexico and Canada said on Friday.

Mexico on Aug. 20 requested the formal consultation over the interpretation and application of tougher content rules for cars under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), after voicing disagreement in May over the issue in a virtual meeting when it cited differences with the United States’ methods.

Continue reading “Canada joins Mexico in seeking consultation with U.S. over USMCA content rules”

Aug 26 (Reuters) – U.S. auto retail sales are expected to fall in August, as the global semiconductor shortage coupled with the fast spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus squeezed inventory at dealerships, consultants J.D. Power and LMC Automotive said.

Retail sales of new vehicles are expected to fall 14.3% to 987,100 in August from a year earlier, they said in a report released on Thursday.

The chip shortage continues to weigh on manufacturing activity, with automakers cutting production despite strong demand for personal transportation during the COVID-19 crisis.

Continue reading “U.S. August auto sales to fall as supply constraints continue – J.D. Power, LMC Automotive”

BEIJING, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Zeekr, the premium electric vehicle brand by Geely, said on Friday it raised $500 million in its first external funding from investors including Intel (INTC.O), battery maker CATL (300750.SZ) and online entertainment firm Bilibili (9626.HK).

Zeekr said investors would jointly hold a 5.6% stake in the company, valuing it at around $9 billion.

The company makes the Zeekr 001 model in the eastern city of Ningbo and is expected to start delivering them later this year. It aims to sell 650,000 vehicles a year by 2025.

Continue reading “Geely’s EV brand Zeekr raises $500 mln in first external funding”

Aug 26 (Reuters) – Public support for stronger measures to require COVID vaccinations is strong, according to a new Reuters/IPSOS poll, but for Detroit automakers the debate over vaccination policy is far from over.

General Motors Co (GM.N) said on Thursday it has required its U.S. salaried employees to report whether they have received COVID-19 shots, the first such action by one of Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers.

GM said the information will help “determine when GM should relax or strengthen certain COVID-19 safety protocols as recommended by the CDC and OSHA, such as mask wearing, physical distancing and facility occupancy rates,” referring to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

Continue reading “Detroit highlights the tension over COVID vaccine mandates”

NEW DELHI, Aug 25 (Reuters) – India is open to discussing a change in tax rates on automobiles, the country’s revenue secretary said on Wednesday, indicating receptiveness over negotiation on a long-standing request from automakers for lower taxes.

India’s federal goods and services tax (GST) rate on automobiles, including cars, motorbikes and trucks, is as high as 28%, on top of which other taxes are imposed by states.

Company executives say this is making vehicles unaffordable for many buyers, especially as high raw material prices and upgrades to meet tougher safety and emission rules have already boosted prices.

Continue reading “India revenue secretary says open to ‘tinkering’ tax rates on automobiles”

DETROIT, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) will delay bringing most workers back to offices until January, and is still considering whether to require employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, the company’s chief people officer told Reuters.

Ford is joining a growing number of large employers that are delaying plans to reopen offices as the Delta variant of the coronavirus sweeps through many countries where the automaker does business. Ford said most office workers in North America, Latin America and International Markets groups will not come back to offices before January. The company is reassessing return to work plans every three to four months.

Continue reading “Ford delays a return to offices, weighs vaccine mandate”

LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) – British car output fell to its lowest July level since 1956 as a global shortage of semi-conductor chips and staff having to self-isolate due to COVID-19 hit the sector, a trade industry body said on Thursday.

Volumes dropped by an annual 37.6% to 53,438 vehicles last month, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which also blamed the timing of summer factory shutdowns.

As cases rose last month, hundreds of thousands of people were being “pinged” by the National Health Service’s contact-tracing app and instructed to self-isolate, although it has since been tweaked to reduce the numbers contacted.

Continue reading “UK car output falls to lowest July level since 1950s”

TAIPEI, Aug 24 (Reuters) – Taiwan is doing all it can to address the global shortage of semiconductors, Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said on Tuesday after talks with the newly-appointed de facto U.S. ambassador in Taipei, a problem that has idled some auto production lines.

Democratic U.S. senators from Michigan and Ohio last week asked the Taiwanese government to help address the shortage, given that the island is a major semiconductor producer and seen as central to efforts to resolve the problem.

Wang said the top U.S. diplomat in Taiwan, Sandra Oudkirk, had raised the issue of chip shortages during a meeting on Monday.

Continue reading “Taiwan seeks again to reassure U.S. over tackling chip shortage”

Aug 24 (Reuters) – Akira Yoshino, a co-winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on lithium-ion batteries, can take credit for the upheaval in both the automotive and technology industries.

Lithium-ion batteries have provided the first serious competition in a century to fossil fuels and combustion engines for transportation. Now an honorary fellow at Asahi Kasei, the Japanese chemical firm where he has worked for nearly 50 years, Yoshino sees more disruption ahead as transportation and digital technology become one industry, sharing lithium battery technology.

Yoshino spoke with Reuters about about the next generation of electric vehicle batteries, the potential for shared autonomous electric vehicles that can charge themselves, the prospects for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and the possibility that Apple could lead the convergence of the automotive and information technology industries in future mobility.

Here is an edited transcript:

Continue reading “Battery pioneer Akira Yoshino on Tesla, Apple and the electric future”

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 24 (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Waymo has started taking a few San Franciscans on rides in its self-driving sport utility vehicles and hopes to open the robotaxis to anyone in the city in less than the three years it took to launch in its only other market.

Waymo’s announcement on Tuesday of its status and plans in San Francisco, a small peninsula of hills, trolleys, bicycles and narrow streets, shows the length that remains before driverless transport becomes commonplace.

The company’s all-electric Jaguar I-PACE SUVs initially are serving the more residential western and southern portions of the city, including Richmond and Bernal Heights. Operators are in driver’s seats with hands on their knees – but prepared to steer in an emergency.

Continue reading “Google self-driving spinoff Waymo begins testing with public in San Francisco”

BEIJING, Aug 24 (Reuters) – China’s Changan (000625.SZ) aims to sell 3 million vehicles a year in 2025, and 4.5 million annually in 2030, its chairman Zhu Huarong said on Tuesday.

Zhu said 35% of its sales in 2025 will be new energy vehicles (NEVs), including battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Sixty percent of its sales in 2030 will be NEVs.

Sales outside China will account for 30% of its business in 2030, Zhu added. Changan, which operates a joint venture with Ford Motor (F.N), sold 2 million vehicles last year.

Continue reading “Chinese automaker Changan aims to sell 3 million cars annually in 2025”

TOKYO/BEIJING, Aug 24 (Reuters) – Japanese automaker Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) said on Tuesday it and two Chinese partners have agreed to form a new venture in which it will have a 47.5% stake.

State-owned Chongqing Changan Automobile (000625.SZ) will also hold 47.5% of the new joint venture, Changan Mazda Automobile Co Ltd (CMA). FAW will own the remaining 5%.

“The three companies aim to utilise every strategic and managerial opportunity in the new joint investment company and strive to make its business and management system optimal to adapt to the needs of the expanding Chinese market,” Mazda said in a statement.

Continue reading “Mazda restructures China car joint venture with Changan, FAW”

TOKYO, Aug 24 (Reuters) – Asia’s robust economic recovery from last year’s coronavirus low is losing momentum as a surge in COVID-19 cases sees shops empty again and factories close, dimming prospects for corporate profit growth after a blockbuster half year.

The rapid spread of the highly infectious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus and low vaccination rates have caught much of the region off-guard, especially in emerging markets, even as economies in Europe and North America reopen.

Continue reading “Delta blow knocks wind out of Asia’s economic recovery”

FREMONT, Calif., Aug 23 (Reuters) – Self-driving startups like Cruise and Pony.ai have begun testing their driverless cars in some parts of California in the past year, with an additional feature: Human operators.

While there is no driver behind the wheel, the passenger seat is occupied by a safety operator who “has a red button that can stop the vehicle just in case anything happens,” Pony.ai CEO James Peng told Reuters.

The operator will be removed next year when Pony.ai, whose investors include Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), plans to deploy its driverless ride-hailing vehicles in certain areas of California. Still, a remote operator will monitor vehicles and provide guidance when the vehicles run into trouble, Peng said.

Continue reading “A secret weapon for self-driving car startups: Humans”

STOCKHOLM/BEIJING, Aug 23 (Reuters) – AB Volvo said on Monday it had struck a deal to buy a heavy duty truck subsidiary of Jiangling Motors Corp (JMC) (000550.SZ) for about 1.1 billion Swedish crowns ($125.7 million) to make trucks in the world’s biggest vehicle market.

The acquired business includes a manufacturing site in China’s northern city of Taiyuan. Volvo said it aimed to start production of its new heavy duty Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX trucks there at the end of next year.

The plant will have an annual production capacity of 15,000 trucks within a few years, with the potential to increase capacity further, Volvo said.

Continue reading “AB Volvo buys Chinese truck business for about $125.7 million”

Aug 23 (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) has expanded the recall of its Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles due to a risk of fire from the pouch-type lithium-ion battery cells made by South Korea’s LG. read more

The recall, the second major one involving batteries made by LG Chem’s (051910.KS) battery unit LG Energy Solution (LGES) underscores the challenges facing battery firms in making a stable product to power electric cars.

HOW DOES A LITHIUM-ION BATTERY WORK?

Cells come in different shapes and sizes, but most have three key elements: Electrodes, electrolyte and separator.

Electrodes store the lithium. The electrolyte carries the lithium ions between electrodes. The separator keeps the positive electrode from coming in contact with the negative electrode.

Continue reading “Explainer: Are lithium-ion batteries in EVs a fire hazard?”