Source : PTI | Senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari , popularly referred as the ‘Highway Man of India’, is known to be a go-getter in whatever work he undertakes. The 67-year-old leader from Nagpur in Maharashtra has been the longest serving Minister for Road Transport & Highways as he held the portfolio in the last two governments led by Narendra Modi.

Gadkari is credited with the construction of more than 90,000 km of national highways and 30,000 km of new roads in the country in the last 10 years. Continue reading “Nitin Gadkari- a go-getter and man behind India’s mega push to road infrastructure”

Source : PTI | Passenger vehicle exports from India rose by 2.68 lakh units in the last four financial years with Maruti Suzuki India accounting for nearly 70% of the incremental shipments during the period. As per the industry data, passenger vehicle exports in the 2020-21 fiscal stood at 4,04,397 units. It rose to 5,77,875 units in the 2021-22 fiscal year and to 6,62,703 units in 2022-23 financial year.

Last fiscal, exports stood at 6,72,105 units, an increase of 2,67,708 units since 2020-21. Continue reading “PV exports rise by 2.68 lakh units in last 4 years; Maruti accounts for 70% of incremental shipments”

(Reuters) – Chrysler is recalling more than 211,000 vehicles in the United States due to a software malfunction that could disable the electronic stability control system, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Saturday.

Due to the malfunction, the Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) control module may disable the electronic stability control system, the regulator said. Continue reading “Chrysler to recall more than 211,000 vehicles in US due to software malfunction, NHTSA says”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s administration Friday finalized tighter vehicle fuel economy rules through 2031 that are significantly less stringent than first proposed, a win for the Detroit Three automakers who lobbied heavily for revised rules.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it would hike Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements to about 50.4 miles per gallon by 2031 from 39.1 mpg currently. The new requirement is barely above the 49 mpg it previously required for 2026. Last year, NHTSA projected its tougher proposal would hike requirements to 58 mpg by 2032. Continue reading “US raises truck, SUV fuel economy rules, much less than first proposed”

BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – Car maker Stellantis has preventively extended a recall of vehicles with potentially faulty airbags to more Citroen and DS models, as well as the Opel brand, spokespeople for the carmaker told Reuters on Friday.

Citroen C4, DS4 and DS5 models as well as Opel models are now also subject to a “preventive recall measure”, which is less restrictive than the initial recall of Citroen C3 and DS3 models, which requires the immobilisation of the vehicles concerned, they said. Continue reading “Stellantis extends preventive recall to other models over airbag worries”

WASHINGTON,(Reuters) – Owners of about 463,000 Kia vehicles in the United States should park outside and away from structures until they get a recall repair for fire risks completed.

The Korean automaker said Friday it was recalling Telluride sport utility vehicles from the 2020 through 2024 model years over fire risks stemming from overheating front power seat motors. Continue reading “US says 463,000 Kia SUV owners should park outside pending recall fix”

Source : PTI | Researchers at IIT-Jodhpur have unveiled a novel adaptor that allows electric vehicles to be charged using solar power. In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his vision for a system where electric vehicles could be powered by energy from rooftop solar systems.

Nishant Kumar, an Assistant Professor at the Electrical Engineering Department at IIT Jodhpur, revealed that the adaptor is expected to cost under INR 1,000. Kumar emphasized, “This could be particularly effective if the solar panel initiative succeeds.” Continue reading “IIT-Jodhpur develops adaptor to charge EVs using solar panels”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Japan’s two biggest banks will start divesting their strategic shareholdings in Toyota Motor – worth a combined $8.5 billion – and will seek to sell into the automaker’s planned share buybacks, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing sources.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) have said they plan to sell down their cross-shareholdings over time. They declined to comment on the report. Continue reading “Japan banks to begin divesting their strategic Toyota shareholdings, Bloomberg reports”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Just seven electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations have begun operating with funding from a $5-billion U.S. government program created in 2021, marking “pathetic” progress, a Democratic senator said on Wednesday.

Automakers and others say drastically expanding EV-charging stations is crucial to the wide deployment of electric vehicles, which are part of the Biden Administration’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading “Democrat calls only 7 EV-charging stations deployed under US program ‘pathetic’”

(Reuters) – Chinese battery companies CATL and Gotion High Tech should be added immediately to an import ban list, a group of Republican lawmakers said, alleging their supply chains use forced labour, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The lawmakers called for CATL and Gotion, which have ties to Ford and Volkswagen respectively, to be added to what is known as the entity list under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, the report said on Thursday. Continue reading “US lawmakers call to add China’s CATL, Gotion to import ban list, WSJ reports”

BERLIN, (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s EV charging unit Elli has partnered with Norway’s Otovo to offer Huawei equipment that lets customers connect their cars with solar and storage systems at home in order to cut power bills.

The partnership marks the latest move by Volkswagen along the energy sector’s value chain, already covering wallboxes, power tariffs as well as access to more than 700,000 public charging spots across Europe. Continue reading “Volkswagen charging unit teams up with Norway’s Otovo to broaden EV services”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Owners of about 463,000 Kia vehicles in the United States should park outside and away from structures until they get a recall repair for fire risks completed.

The Korean automaker said Friday it was recalling Telluride sport utility vehicles from the 2020 through 2024 model years over fire risks stemming from overheating front power seat motors. Continue reading “US says 463,000 Kia SUV owners should park outside pending recall fix”

(Reuters) – Lyft is targeting a 15% annual increase in gross bookings through 2027, the ride-hailing firm said at its inaugural investor day event, adding that its nascent advertising business is expected to grow eight-fold during the same period.

The company’s shares rose nearly 10% to $17.03 on Thursday. Continue reading “Lyft forecasts 15% annual growth in gross bookings through 2027, shares jump”

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INDIA

Volkswagen India makes 6 airbags standard across its 5-Star GNCAP rated model line up WAF

MG Motor India Saves 30,000 kg Of VOCs With Water-Based Paints WAF

Uno Minda ties up with Chinese firm for production of EV components WAF Continue reading “WAF Auto News | The Auto World This Week (07th June 2024)”

Six-times MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez will join the Ducati factory team on a two-year deal from 2025, the Italian manufacturer said on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old Spaniard, who was also has world championships from 125cc and Moto2, is racing this season for the

Marquez, who remains the sport’s biggest name despite injuries and operations, will replace Italian Enea Bastianini alongside the team’s reigning double world champion Francesco Bagnaia. Continue reading “MotoGP: Marc Marquez to join Ducati factory on a two-year deal”

New Delhi, June 6, 2024: The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) hosted a landmark international conference titled “Integrating Mission LiFE in the Automobile Industry: Transitioning Towards Viksit Bharat” in New Delhi, aligning with the World Environment Day 2024 celebrations. The event was graced by the Chief Guest Mr. Tarun Kapoor, Advisor to the Honorable Prime Minister of India, and featured a line-up of eminent speakers from government and industry leaders from both India and around the world. Their insights were instrumental in discussions on sustainable mobility. Continue reading “SIAM Champions Sustainable Mobility at “Viksit Bharat” Conference, Aligning with World Environment Day 2024″

Summary

• Safest product offerings by Volkswagen India with 6 airbags now offered as standard fitment across its model line-up in India
• Over 1 lakh Indian families made the safer choice, by choosing the 5-star GNCAP safety rated products – Taigun or Virtus as their preferred mobility solution
• Volkswagen Taigun contributed to over 61% of sales to achieve the 100,000+ milestone for the 5-Star GNCAP safety rated India 2.0 cars
• Volkswagen Virtus established itself as the preferred premium mid-size sedan among customers with its strong package and performance
• Performance at the heart of customer choice: nearly 40% of customers have opted to own the highly coveted GT variants of Taigun and Virtus
• Increased accessibility through expanded network with 208 sales and pre-owned car outlets and 142 service outlets across 155 cities in India

Continue reading “Volkswagen India makes 6 airbags standard across its 5-Star GNCAP rated model line up”

MG Motor India has announced that during the past five years the company has saved over 30,000 kilograms of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) by using water-based paints in the repainting of 1.72 lakh vehicles across its service centers in India.

Water-based paints emit only 10 grams of VOCs per litre, compared to 400 grams from solvent-based paints, reducing harmful emissions by 390 grams per vehicle. MG India has used water-based paints since beginning operations in 2019, demonstrating its commitment to environmental responsibility. Continue reading “MG Motor India Saves 30,000 kg Of VOCs With Water-Based Paints”

BERLIN, (Reuters) – Mercedes Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius expects a decision on EU’s import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles soon, he said at an industry conference on Thursday.

“A decision is imminent,” the German luxury carmaker’s chief executive told the CAR Symposium 2024. Continue reading “Mercedes chief expects EU decision on Chinese EVs tariffs soon”

(Reuters) – When the Biden administration announced new U.S. auto-emissions regulations in March, it made concessions to industry allowing for a much slower electric-vehicle transition than it had proposed a year earlier.

Instead of aiming to convert two-thirds of new vehicles to EVs by 2032, it lowered that target and said automakers could comply by producing more gas-electric hybrids. Continue reading “Plug-in polluters? How Biden’s emissions rules go soft on hybrid trucks, SUVs”

Source : PTI | Auto components maker Uno Minda on Wednesday said it has tied up with China’s Suzhou lnovance Automotive Co for production of electric vehicle components. The company has entered into a technical licence agreement with Suzhou for manufacture and sale of select high voltage category electric vehicle products for both passenger and commercial vehicles, Uno Minda said in a statement.

The products, which would be produced, include charging control unit, inverter, motors and electric drive systems, it added. Continue reading “Uno Minda ties up with Chinese firm for production of EV components”

Source : PTI | Sun Mobility on Wednesday announced a strategic collaboration and a joint venture with IndianOil for setting up and deploying a battery swapping infrastructure network by 2030. The joint venture expects to scale up to 10,000 battery swapping stations across 40+ cities in the next three years and will enable seamless adoption of electric mobility across two, three as well as small four-wheelers with ‘Battery as a Service’ (BaaS) mobility solution, the company said in a statement.

The JV brings together IndianOil’s network of over 37,000 fuel stations across the country, with Sun Mobility’s battery swapping technology making it as accessible as conventional fuel stations, it said.  Continue reading “Sun Mobility joins hands with IndianOil for setting up battery swapping infrastructure”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Tuesday quadrupling import duties on Chinese electric vehicles to over 100% in August as planned is crucial to the health of the U.S. auto sector.

“We need to have this industry here. And if we didn’t do that, we would just be ceding the entire territory to China like we saw happen with solar panels,” Granholm said in an interview Tuesday with Reuters reporters and editors. Continue reading “Granholm calls higher US tariffs on Chinese vehicle crucial for automakers”

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – Electric vehicle maker Nio has won approval to build a third factory in China that would boost its total approved production capacity to 1 million cars, almost at par with Tesla’s massive Shanghai plant, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

Tesla can push out 1.1 million vehicles per year from its Shanghai plant, its biggest manufacturing hub globally. Continue reading “Exclusive: EV maker Nio gets regulatory nod for third factory in China”

(Reuters) – Toyota Alabama said on Wednesday it was investing $282 million in Huntsville, Alabama to add new production lines, which will generate around 350 new jobs.

This brings the total investment in Toyota Alabama to more than $1.7 billion, the automaker said. Continue reading “Toyota to expand production in Alabama with $282 mln investment”

Prominent investor Ron Baron has come out in support of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package, which is up for a shareholder vote next week, according to an open letter from the Baron Capital founder on Tuesday.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Musk’s enormous pay, approved in 2018 but voided by a Delaware judge earlier this year, remains contentious. Continue reading “Tesla investor Ron Baron backs Musk’s $56 bln pay plan”

WASHINGTON,(Reuters) – Just seven electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations have begun operating with funding from a $5-billion U.S. government program created in 2021, marking “pathetic” progress, a Democratic senator said on Wednesday.

Automakers and others say drastically expanding EV-charging stations is crucial to the wide deployment of electric vehicles, which are part of the Biden Administration’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading “Democrat calls only 7 EV-charging stations deployed under US program ‘pathetic’”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Tuesday quadrupling import duties on Chinese electric vehicles to over 100% in August as planned is crucial to the health of the U.S. auto sector.

“We need to have this industry here. And if we didn’t do that, we would just be ceding the entire territory to China like we saw happen with solar panels,” Granholm said in an interview Tuesday with Reuters reporters and editors. Continue reading “Granholm calls higher US tariffs on Chinese vehicle crucial for automakers”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin said on Tuesday he was urging U.S. companies to sue the Treasury Department over the local content rules it set for companies to receive clean energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Manchin told U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee that U.S. manufacturers were being damaged by the content rules, which he said Treasury had halved from the original language in the law. Continue reading “US Senator Manchin encouraging industry to sue Treasury over EV tax credits”

Earlier on Tuesday, Tesla reportedly told Nvidia to prioritize shipments of AI processors to his companies X and xAI over the electric-vehicle maker.

The development also comes ahead of a crucial shareholder vote on his pay package at Tesla.

Tesla in April reiterated its capital expenditure forecast of more than $10 billion this year and said it had expected capex to be between $8 billion and $10 billion in each of the following years. Continue reading “Tesla likely to spend $3 bln-$4 bln on Nvidia hardware this year”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. auto safety regulators said on Monday they have opened an investigation into nearly 75,000 Nissan vehicles – the 2015 model year Rogue Select – over reports of unintended deployments of side airbags in some of them.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration probe was launched in response to reports of inadvertent deployments after the vehicle door is shut or slammed. The agency said such deployments could cause vehicle occupants to be injured or result in the loss of air bag protection. Continue reading “US investigates Nissan vehicles after air bag deployments”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Sales of Tesla’s China-made electric vehicles dropped 6.6% from a year earlier to 72,573 units in May, extending a year-on-year decline for a second month, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Tuesday.

The slide came after an 18% fall in April that reversed a 0.2% gain in March, as the U.S. automaker has slashed Model Y production by a double-digit percentage number at its Shanghai plant since March Continue reading “Tesla’s China-made EV sales extend decline in May amid output cut”

June 4 – Toyota will recall over 100,000 SUVs and pickup trucks in the U.S. over debris in the engine potentially causing it to stall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Tuesday.

The recall includes some Toyota Tundra pickup trucks and Lexus LX600 SUVs equipped with the Japanese automaker’s V35A six-cylinder engine. Continue reading “Toyota to recall over 100,000 U.S. vehicles over potential engine stall”

Summary

• Tesla mechanics in Sweden have been striking since Oct. 27
• Sweden’s AMF fund will also support proposal
• KLP will oppose relocation of Tesla to Texas
• KLP will oppose ratifying Elon Musk’s $56-bln pay package
• Annual meeting is set for June 13

OSLO, – Tesla investor KLP, Norway’s largest pension fund, will vote in favour of a shareholder proposal urging the U.S. electric vehicle maker to engage in wage and other labour negotiations as it continues to face industrial action in Sweden. Continue reading “Tesla investor, Norway’s KLP, to support collective bargaining motion at EV maker’s annual meeting”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – China has granted approval to a first group of nine automakers to carry out tests on vehicles with advanced autonomous driving technologies on public roads, as part of a plan to accelerate adoption of self-driving cars.

The tests of so-called level three autonomous driving technologies will be carried out by automakers including BYD and Nio, as well as major state-owned manufacturers such as Changan Automobile, GAC and SAIC, according to a statement published by the industry ministry on Tuesday. Continue reading “China gives first approvals for public trials of advanced autonomous driving”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Japanese transport ministry officials launched an on-site investigation at Toyota Motor’s headquarters on Tuesday after irregularities were found in its applications to certify certain vehicle models.

The widening fallout over certification tests stems from a safety test scandal at Toyota’s Daihatsu compact car unit and has also ensnared other Japanese automakers after the ministry ordered industry-wide checks of certification practices. Continue reading “Japanese authorities inspect Toyota HQ over certification irregularities”

LONDON, (Reuters) – Volvo Cars is launching the world’s first EV battery passport recording the origins of raw materials, components, recycled content and carbon footprint for its flagship EX90 SUV, which is about to start production, the Swedish automaker told Reuters.

The passport was developed by Volvo, which is owned by China’s Geely (GEELY.UL), in partnership with UK startup Circulor, which uses blockchain technology to map supply chains for companies, and took over five years to develop. Continue reading “Volvo to issue world’s first EV battery passport ahead of EU rules”

OSLO, (Reuters) – Maersk faces significant terminal congestion in Mediterranean and Asian ports, causing substantial delays in its vessel schedule, the Danish shipping group said in a statement on Monday.

As a result of the congestion, the company will skip two westbound sailings from China and South Korea that had been planned to depart in early July, it added. Continue reading “Maersk faces significant port congestion in Asia, Mediterranean”

FRANKFURT, (Reuters) – The German government said on Monday said deadly flooding in the nation’s south served as a warning to keep up the fight against climate change, hours after an official advisory council said the state had fallen behind its greenhouse gas targets.

Over the weekend, a firefighter died while trying to rescue trapped residents and several thousand people were forced to leave their homes due to heavy rains. The body of a missing woman was found in a flooded basement on Monday, German media reported. Continue reading “Germany counts flooding losses as heavy rains stoke climate debate”