Source : PTI | New Delhi: There has been a significant increase in demand for women apprentices in the manufacturing sector, as factories are increasingly adopting gender-agnostic recruitment practices, a sharp departure from traditional hiring norms and underscore the industry’s commitment to fostering inclusive work environments.

According to staffing company TeamLease, in the past 8-10 months, there has been a remarkable five-fold surge in demand for young women who have completed class 10/12 to be appointed as apprentices, reflecting a shifting landscape in India’s workforce dynamics. Continue reading “Representation of women apprentices in manufacturing sector to touch 40% by year-end: TeamLease”

(Reuters) – Shares of Tesla gained on Tuesday ahead of the electric car maker’s first-quarter results, with analysts expecting its lowest gross profit margin in more than six years due to price cuts and slowing demand.

The stock rose 2.9% to $146.19 ahead of the report, due after the closing bell.

Tesla also launched an all-wheel drive performance variant of the Model 3 on Tuesday, priced at $52,990. Unlike other variants of the compact sedan, the new version qualifies for federal tax credits, according to the EV maker’s website. Continue reading “Tesla shares rise ahead of quarterly results”

PARIS, (Reuters) – Renault expects its sales growth to accelerate this year as it launches a number of new models, the French automaker said on Tuesday, as it confirmed its profit margin and cash flow forecasts for 2024 and pushes ahead with cost cuts.

Renault posted a 1.8% rise in first-quarter revenue on Tuesday, with high interest rates lifting sales at its financing arm and car sales volumes by 2.6% versus a year earlier. Continue reading “Renault says new models to lift 2024 sales, confirms profit outlook”

FRANKFURT, (Reuters) – Tesla is targeting around 400 job cuts at its German gigafactory near Berlin, or about 3% of the plant’s total workforce, it said on Tuesday, adding it was hoping to achieve this without forced layoffs.

That is less severe than group-wide efforts to slash over 10% of Tesla’s more than 140,000 global employees, a response to an intensifying price war for electric vehicles that is pressuring automakers to reduce costs. Continue reading “Tesla targeting about 400 voluntary job cuts in Germany”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – China’s Xiaomi has secured locked-in orders for more than 70,000 of its SU7 electric cars as of Saturday and the company intends to keep its automotive business “100% focused” on the Chinese market for the next three years, founder Lei Jun said on Tuesday.

The smartphone maker is targeting more than 100,000 deliveries for the SU7 in 2024, he said in comments at an investor conference posted on his official WeChat account. Continue reading “Xiaomi’s SU7 orders reach 70,000, EV business to stay focused on China”

DETROIT, (Reuters) – General Motors on Tuesday posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street targets and raised its annual forecast, citing stable pricing and demand for its gas-engine vehicles, sending shares up 5%.

The Michigan automaker upped its adjusted pre-tax profit projection for the year to $12.5 billion to $14.5 billion, from its previous range of $12 billion to $14 billion. Continue reading “General Motors beats quarterly results targets, raises forecast”

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee, (Reuters) – Workers at Volkswagen’s Tennessee plant have voted to join the United Auto Workers, in a seismic victory for the union as it drives beyond its Detroit base into the U.S. South and West.

A majority of eligible workers cast ballots in favor of the union, with the final tally on Friday at 2,628 to 985, or 73% for joining the UAW. Continue reading “UAW wins big in historic union vote at Volkswagen Tennessee factory”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Xiaomi’s CEO said the company will offer more details about its production capacity and delivery plan for the SU7 vehicle at the Beijing Auto Show, according to a Weibo post on Monday.

Lei Jun also said Xiaomi has started deliveries for the standard and MAX versions of the SU7 ahead of schedule. Continue reading “Xiaomi CEO says will introduce production capacity, delivery plan for SU7 at auto show”

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – China’s state planner expects an intensified price war among automakers of electric cars and plug-in hybrids this year because of overhanging supply, among other issues, the government body said in a statement on Monday.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) expected more than 110 new energy vehicle models among a total of 150 new cars launched this year, intensifying competition. Continue reading “China’s state planner warns intensified EV price war on oversupply”

Summary

• So far, few models can deliver V2G
• Technology still experimental, also faces regulatory hurdles
• Could help to balance power grid, but needs to be managed

LONDON, (Reuters) – Automakers from General Motors to Volvo Cars, alongside utilities and charging app operators are calculating their financial cut as EVs that allow their owners to sell power back to grids become a more realistic prospect. Continue reading “Automakers hope for a cut as two-way EV charging becomes real”

(Reuters) – Tesla is expected to report its lowest gross profit margin in more than six years on Tuesday after a chaotic week that included major layoffs, vehicle price cuts and urgent calls by investors for clarity on product strategy.

Tesla’s chief, Elon Musk, likely will face pointed questions from investors on the post-results conference call about the fate of the so-called Model 2, a low-cost vehicle he had promised in January would be available in 2025. Continue reading “Tesla expected to post lower profit margin amid doubts on growth, product strategy”

SAN FRANCISCO, (Reuters) – Tesla on Saturday slashed the price of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver assistant software to $8,000 from $12,000 in the United States, as CEO Elon Musk reaffirms his commitment to self-driving technology.

Musk is betting the technology will become a major source of revenue for the world’s most valuable automaker. But he has for years failed to achieve the goal of self-driving capability, with the technology under growing regulatory and legal scrutiny. Continue reading “Tesla cuts price of Full Self-Driving software by a third to $8,000”

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD said on Monday its electric pickup truck will be called BYD Shark and will feature a plug-in hybrid system called Dual Mode Off-Road (DMO), which it developed for improving off-road driving experiences.

BYD made the statement on its Weibo account but did not disclose the price for the truck. The announcement comes days ahead of the Beijing Autoshow, due to start on Thursday. Continue reading “China’s BYD names electric pickup truck BYD Shark”

Source : PTI | Two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp on Sunday said it has opened an assembly facility in Nepal in partnership with its distributor CG Motors. The facility will have a capacity of 75,000 units per annum and will bring new investments and create job opportunities in the region, Hero MotoCorp said in a statement.

Four products, Xpulse 200 4V, Super Splendor, Splendor+ motorcycles and Xoom 110 scooter, which have been launched in the country, will be assembled locally at the new assembly facility located in CG Industrial Park in Nawalparasi, it added. Continue reading “Hero MotoCorp inaugurates assembly unit in Nepal”

Source : PTI | Cost and speed has now become the top priority of the firms engaged in logistics business for the last-mile delivery of goods and growth of the sector, a report has said. According to the Last-Mile Trends Report 2024, earlier the top priority was cost and satisfaction.

“In last-mile delivery now top priority is cost and speed. The needle has shifted from cost and satisfaction to cost and speed,” it said. Continue reading “Cost, speed top priority for logistics sector: Last-Mile Trends Report 2024”

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Key Tesla customer PepsiCo made initial payments for 100 Tesla Semis in 2017, intending to use the electric-truck fleet to haul its Cheetos, Lays potato chips and Pepsi soda pop to retailers.

But according to the food-and-drinks maker and one of its executives with knowledge of the deal, PepsiCo was using only 36 of Teslas promised 100 electric trucks as of this month. Continue reading “Tesla Semi trucks in short supply for PepsiCo as its rivals use competing EV big rigs”

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee, (Reuters) – Workers at Volkswagen’s Tennessee plant have voted to join the United Auto Workers, in a seismic victory for the union as it drives beyond its Detroit base into the U.S. South and West.

A majority of eligible workers cast ballots in favor of the union, with the final tally on Friday at 2,628 to 985, or 73% for joining the UAW. Continue reading “UAW wins big in historic union vote at Volkswagen Tennessee factory”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: Bajaj Auto on Thursday reported a 35% increase in standalone profit after tax at INR 1,936 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2024, riding on the back of robust sales. The Pune-based company posted a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 1,433 crore in the January-March quarter of 2022-23 fiscal.

Revenue from operations rose by 29% to INR 11,485 crore for the fourth quarter as against INR 8,905 crore in the year-ago period. Continue reading “Bajaj Auto Q4 standalone PAT rises 35% to INR 1,936cr on strong sales”

(Reuters) – Republican attorneys general from 25 states on Thursday sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to block rules intended to reduce planet-warming emissions from cars and light trucks and encourage electric vehicle manufacturing, arguing the agency exceeded its legal authority.

The lawsuit challenging the regulations for passenger vehicles, finalized on March 20 by President Joe Biden’s administration, was filed by attorneys general from states led by Kentucky and West Virginia in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Continue reading “States sue to block US rules curbing tailpipe emissions in cars, light trucks”

(Reuters) – South Korea’s Hyundai said on Friday that it had paused advertising on X, formerly known as Twitter, and is speaking to the Elon Musk-owned social media platform directly about brand safety issues.

It was not immediately clear why the auto giant had paused the advertisements on the site, and Reuters has sought a comment. Meanwhile, X did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment. Continue reading “Hyundai pauses ads on X over brand safety issues”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Nissan Motor slashed its annual operating profit estimate by 14.5% on Friday, citing lower-than-expected vehicle sales and other factors.

Japan’s third-largest automaker by volume now estimates an operating profit of 530 billion yen ($3.43 billion) instead of 620 billion yen for the year that ended in March. Net profit is now estimated at 370 billion yen instead of 390 billion yen. Continue reading “Nissan cuts annual operating profit estimate by 14.5% on lower sales”

BARCELONA, (Reuters) – Chinese carmaker Chery said on Friday a newly-acquired Barcelona plant will be one of its main exporting facilities worldwide, aiming to produce 150,000 vehicles a year by 2029 in a joint venture with Spanish firm EV Motors.

Production will begin at the end of the summer at a plant that Japanese carmaker Nissan shut down in 2021. Chery (CHERY.UL) will start production of its Omoda 5 electric vehicle (EV), and hire 150 former Nissan workers, said EV Motors’ chief executive Pedro Calef at the plant’s presentation. Continue reading “Chinese carmaker Chery says Spanish plant to be among main export facilities worldwide”

(Reuters) – Tesla is recalling 3,878 Cybertrucks to fix an accelerator pedal pad that could come loose and get lodged in the interior trim, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Friday.

A trapped accelerator pedal could cause the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally, increasing the risk of a crash, the auto safety regulator said in a notice. Continue reading “Tesla to recall 3,878 Cybertrucks over faulty accelerator pedal, NHTSA says”

DETROIT, (Reuters) – U.S. automakers General Motors (GM.N) and Ford face a challenge in common when they report first-quarter results next week: Explaining to investors where profit growth will come from in the months ahead as EV growth slows.

The slowdown in global electric-vehicle demand, intensifying competition from Chinese automakers and high U.S. borrowing costs have forced the U.S. automakers to delay investments and ratchet down costs over the past 12 months. With China’s economy slowing and U.S. inflation running hot, a macroeconomic growth boost looks a long way off. Continue reading “GM and Ford count on gas-powered trucks as EV growth slows”

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Volkswagen India Launches ‘Volkswagen Experiences’ To Elevate Customer Engagement WAF Continue reading “WAF Auto News | The Auto World This Week (19th April 2024)”

Source : Mobility Outlook | Volkswagen India has announced a new customer community initiative, ‘Volkswagen Experiences’ or ‘VWe’, designed to foster a closer relationship between the brand and its enthusiasts through unique, community-driven experiences. The ‘VWe’ initiative aims to transform the traditional vehicle ownership model into a more interactive and lifestyle-oriented experience. It offers Volkswagen customers and fans opportunities to engage deeply with the brand through tailored experiences that highlight the distinctiveness of Volkswagen’s products and the lifestyle they embody. Continue reading “Volkswagen India Launches ‘Volkswagen Experiences’ To Elevate Customer Engagement”

Source : PTI | MG Motor India on Thursday said it has partnered with the Epsilon Group for EV charging solutions and battery recycling. As part of the collaboration, the automaker has signed an MoU with two Epsilon Group subsidiaries – Power EV, for charging solutions and LICO, for battery recycling and second-life expertise.

As per the agreement, Power EV will provide Custom Charging technology to develop AC and DC charging solutions for charging solutions for MG’s EVs. Continue reading “MG Motor’s new partnership promises extended battery life for EVs. Here’s How”

MG Motor India is driving towards tier III and IV cities of the country with plans to establish 100 new touchpoints by the end of the ongoing fiscal year as part of its strategy to fuel the next phase of growth, a senior company official said on Wednesday.

With JSW Group coming in as an investor and becoming a joint venture partner with China’s SAIC, last month the company announced plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore and had set a target of selling one million units of passenger electric vehicles in India by 2030 when the total market is expected to be 10 million units annually. Continue reading “MG Motor India plans to expand network in tier III, IV to drive next phase of growth”

Source : PTI | Nissan Motor India on Thursday said it is voluntarily recalling Magnite units produced between November 2020 and December 2023 for a retrofit of front door handle sensors. The company did not share the number of affected units.

This proactive and mandatory preventive action impacts the base XE and mid XL variants only, with no impact to the safety of customers, the automaker said in a statement on its website. Continue reading “Nissan recalls Magnite units to fix front door handle sensors”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – (This April 17 story has been officially corrected after Toyota clarified it incorrectly stated customer orders for the Prius model had been suspended, in the the headline and paragraph 1)

Toyota Motor has recalled more than 135,000 Prius hybrid cars in Japan due to a problem with rear door handles. Continue reading “Toyota recalls Prius cars due to door handle fault”

(Reuters) – New car sales in the European Union fell by 5.2% year-on-year in March, marking the first decline this year and the biggest since July 2022, Europe’s auto industry body said on Thursday, citing the impact of early Easter holidays and a market downturn.

Top European carmakers Volkswagen and Stellantis have said the market will be tough in 2024, as a result of weak global demand for electric vehicles (EVs), increasing Chinese competition, sustained cost pressures and geopolitical tensions. Continue reading “Early Easter causes EU new car sales to drop 5.2% in March, says ACEA”

Summary

• Investors clamor for clarity on whether Tesla will build affordable Model 2
• Tesla stock fell on Reuters report of Model 2 cancellation, rose after Musk replied on X, fell again on job-cut news
• Some investors applaud idea of skipping affordable car, focusing on robotaxis

(Reuters) – Elon Musk has kept investors hanging since he issued cryptic social posts following an exclusive April 5 Reuters report that Tesla had scrapped its plans for a $25,000 “Model 2” electric vehicle. Continue reading “Wall Street wants answers from Elon Musk on Tesla’s Model 2 car”

DETROIT, (Reuters) – A Volkswagen plant nestled against dense forests and Interstate 75 on the southern border of Tennessee has become a battleground over worker representation that could sway the future of the American auto industry.

The United Auto Workers is attempting for the third time to organize the 4,300 eligible workers in Chattanooga, where VW assembles the ID.4 electric SUV. The vote at VW’s only nonunion plant globally is scheduled to begin on Wednesday and conclude late on Friday. Continue reading “UAW Volkswagen Tennessee plant vote: Union seeks landmark win”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Toyota Motor (7203.T), opens new tab has recalled more than 135,000 Prius hybrid cars in Japan due to a problem with rear door handles.

The cars being recalled were manufactured between November 2022 and April 2024, according to a transport ministry filing. No accidents have been reported due to the fault. Continue reading “(OFFICIAL) Toyota recalls Prius cars due to door handle fault”

(Reuters) – Tesla on Wednesday asked shareholders to reaffirm their approval of CEO Elon Musk’s record-breaking $56 billion compensation that was set in 2018, but was rejected by a Delaware judge in January.

The re-vote comes ahead of next week’s quarterly earnings for Tesla, which is grappling with weak demand as well as a reputational hit to Musk from his political leanings and approval of an antisemitic conspiracy theory last year. Continue reading “Tesla again seeks shareholder approval for Musk’s 2018 pay voided by judge”

BIRMINGHAM, Mich., (Reuters) – The U.S. auto industry needs regulatory certainty from politicians in Washington and the back and forth as the White House changes hands doesn’t help, but the adoption rate of electric vehicles will continue to grow, Ford Motor’s executive chairman Bill Ford said on Wednesday.

The growth rate on EV sales has slowed, but globally they are being adopted quickly and Ford will follow even as it hedges it bets with its gasoline-powered and hybrid electric vehicles, he said at a Detroit Free Press event outside Detroit. Continue reading “US auto sector ‘whipsawed’ by politicians, Ford chairman says”

Source : PTI | India’s petrol consumption soared 7% in the first half of April but diesel sales were down 9.5% ahead of the onset of a harsh summer season that is set to crank up fuel demand, preliminary data of state-owned firms showed on Tuesday. Petrol sales of three state-owned firms, which control 90% of the fuel market, rose to 1.22 million tonnes during April 1 to 15 when compared to 1.14 million tonnes of consumption in the same period last year.

Diesel demand dropped 9.5% to 3.14 million tonnes.

Continue reading “Petrol sales up 7%, diesel declines 9.5% in April”