(Reuters) – Stellantis (STLAM.MI), opens new tab said on Monday it will invest 103 million euros ($111.02 million) at its Szentgotthard facility in Hungary to increase production capacity of electric drive modules that will help the automaker grow its electric-vehicle portfolio.

The investment is Stellantis’ third in an EDM manufacturing facility after Tremery-Metz in France and Kokomo, Indiana in the United States. Continue reading “Stellantis to invest $111 mln in Hungary facility to produce electric drive modules”

PARIS, (Reuters) – The French government on Tuesday cut by 20% a subsidy higher-income car buyers can get for purchasing electric and hybrid vehicles in order to keep from overrunning its budget to boost the number of electric cars on the road.

A government regulation lowered the subsidy from 5,000 euros ($5,386) to 4,000 for the 50% highest-income car buyers, but left the subsidy for people on lower incomes at 7,000 euros. Continue reading “France cuts EV subsidy for higher-income buyers”

(Reuters) – California lawmakers and labor unions rallied on Monday to call for laws to not allow autonomous trucks without human drivers, amid rising safety concerns after accidents involving self-driving taxis from General Motors and Alphabet.

A robotaxi from Alphabet’s Waymo was torched by people celebrating Chinese New Year on Saturday, marking the most destructive attack so far on driverless vehicles in the U.S. This comes after a Waymo vehicle hit a cyclist at a city intersection last week and a major accident in October where a GM Cruise robotaxi hit and dragged a pedestrian 20 feet (6 meters). Continue reading “California lawmakers call for stricter regulation of autonomous vehicles”

SAN FRANCISCO, (Reuters) – A seasoned San Francisco cab driver might have avoided the intersection of Jackson Street and Grant Avenue, in the heart of the city’s Chinatown on the first day of Chinese New Year.

An autonomous Waymo robotaxi, by contrast, drove toward the cross streets on Saturday evening, when crowds were blocking all sides and revelers were lighting fireworks, according to two witnesses. Minutes later, some in the crowd attacked the car and set it on fire. Continue reading “Waymo arson in San Francisco sparks new debate on self-driving cars”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp said on Tuesday both the president and chairman of Daihatsu Motor will step down almost a year after the small-car unit said it had rigged collision safety-tests.

The departures are among the most drastic changes Daihatsu has made so far, as Toyota seeks to return the brand to its roots as one of Japan’s most iconic compact car makers. Continue reading “Toyota says president, chairman of scandal-hit Daihatsu unit to step down”

Source : PTI | Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said electric bus will be started by laying electric cable on the Delhi-Mumbai Express National Highway and the distance from Delhi to Jaipur will be covered in two hours and its fare will be 30 per cent less than a diesel bus. Addressing the inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony of 17 road projects with an investment of more than INR 2,500 crore in Udaipur to accelerate Mewar’s development, Gadkari said, “I believe that from Bandikui to Jaipur for INR 1,370 crore, we are constructing a 67-kilometer four-lane expressway.”

“This work will be completed by November 2024 and after that, I assure you that the journey from Delhi to Jaipur will be within two hours,” he added.

Continue reading “Distance from Delhi to Jaipur will be covered in two hours: Gadkari”

Source : PTI | Gensol Engineering on Monday said its consortium with Matrix Gas has won a project for manufacturing of hydrogen electrolyser under a PLI scheme. The project has been awarded under Sustainable Hydrogen Innovation & Green Hydrogen Technologies (SIGHT) PLI scheme’s Tranche-I, as part of National Green Hydrogen Mission.

“Gensol Engineering and Matrix Gas win PLI bid for hydrogen electrolyser manufacturing. The awarded project, with a manufacturing capacity of 63 MW per annum, is strategically positioned to contribute significantly to India’s ambitious goal of producing 5 million metric tonne of green hydrogen annually by 2030,” a statement by Gensol said.

Continue reading “Gensol-Matrix Gas consortium wins hydrogen electrolyser manufacturing project under PLI”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: Eicher Motors on Tuesday said its consolidated net profit increased 34% to INR 996 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2023 aided by robust sales across domestic and overseas markets. The company had reported a net profit of INR 741 crore in the same period of last fiscal.

The automaker also reported its highest-ever revenue from operations at INR 4,179 crore, up 12% as compared with INR 3,721 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY 2022-23, Eicher said in a statement.

Continue reading “Eicher Motors Q3 profit rises 34% at INR 996 crore”

Summary

• Renault, Geely expect to finalise JV deal at end-Feb – sources
• Saudi Aramco seen announcing a MOU to invest in JV – sources
• JV could revive interest in Renault’s combustion engine business
• Renault to report Q4 results on Feb. 15

PARIS, (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault and Chinese rival Geely expect to finalise a joint venture for their combustion and hybrid engines towards the end of February, two sources close to the matter told Reuters. Continue reading “Exclusive: Renault, Geely expect to finalise engines tie-up this month”

PARIS,(Reuters) – The French government said on Monday it was halting for the rest of this year a programme to subsidise low earners leasing an electric car, after demand far exceeded initial plans.

Under the programme, people on less than 15,400 euros ($16,600) of annual income have since the start of 2024 been able to lease an electric vehicle for 100-150 euros per month. Continue reading “France halts subsidised EV lease programme after strong demand”

Summary

• Germany needs ‘tipping point’ to hit EV target: Habeck
• Won’t reach 15 mln goal by 2030 if growth is linear
• Technology, acceptance can grow in non-linear way, minister says

BERLIN, (Reuters) – Germany won’t hit its target of having 15 million EVs on the road by 2030 if sales develop in a linear fashion, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday, adding the right conditions could still create a tipping point for demand. Continue reading “Germany’s Habeck: hitting EV sales target requires ‘tipping point’”

Feb 12 (Reuters) – Thousands of drivers for ride-sharing platforms Uber , Lyft and food delivery app DoorDash are expected to go on strike across the United States on Valentine’s Day for fair pay, drivers’ groups said on Monday.

The demonstrations are set to take place about a week after Lyft said it would guarantee weekly earnings for drivers, a first in the U.S. ride-hailing industry as it looks to lure more drivers to its platform. Continue reading “Uber, Lyft, DoorDash drivers to strike on Valentine’s Day for fair pay”

MILAN, (Reuters) – A recent war of words between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has exposed a tough new reality: Europe’s one-time homegrown national automakers have become global players ready to exploit the EU’s overcapacity of car factories to obtain better government deals.

Stellantis, created by the combination of France’s Peugeot maker Peugeot PSA, Italy’s Fiat and Detroit’s Chrysler, accounts for virtually all of Italy’s car production. Fiat output has been falling as European sales have stagnated and Stellantis has shifted production to other countries in its sprawling global network. Continue reading “Stellantis uses surplus plants in Europe as leverage in a fight with Rome”

(Reuters) – A crowd vandalized and set fire to a Waymo self-driving car using a firework in San Francisco on Saturday, the Alphabet-owned company and authorities said, marking the most destructive attack so far on driverless vehicles in the U.S.

On Saturday night, a crowd surrounded a white sport utility vehicle that was moving along a street in the city’s Chinatown district, a company spokesperson said. Continue reading “Crowd sets Waymo self-driving vehicle ablaze in San Francisco”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: There will be a complete ban on gathering, processions or rallies and entry of tractor trolleys carrying people in the national capital as the Delhi Police has imposed Section 144 for a month in the view of intended widespread tension and “social unrest” due to the farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo March’ on Tuesday. The order issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora prohibited any type of rally or procession and blocking of roads and passages.

The order shall come into force on February 12 and shall remain enforce up to March 12. Continue reading “Delhi Chalo March: Section 144 imposed in Delhi for a month”

BMW Protection Core: A very high level of protection against ballistic attacks and explosions Class-leading dynamic performance: Newly developed V8 petrol engine sets new standards in its class.

Unique combination of protection, comfort and performance, specifically tailored to personal security needs.

Gurugram. BMW Group India has introduced the new BMW 7 Series Protection. The car will be exclusively available with the petrol engine and as a completely built-up unit (CBU) from today onwards.

Continue reading “A new standard of Protection introduced in India. The new BMW 7 Series Protection”

Source : PTI | The situation in the Red Sea is creating supply chain issues for German luxury carmaker Audi, impacting car deliveries to customers in India in the first quarter but recovery is expected in the coming months, according to a senior company official. With electrification on its primary agenda, the company is also evaluating the possibility of assembling electric cars in India, Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon told PTI.

“We are also challenged from time to time by various factors. Very recently because of the Red Sea situation there is a supply chain constraint that we’re facing in the quarter one of 2024. It is challenging for us in the first quarter but we expect to recover in the coming months,” he said. Continue reading “Red Sea crisis impacting supply chain, expect recovery in coming months: Audi India Head”

Source : PTI | JK Tyre expects demand momentum to continue for the tyre industry in the medium to long term, with the automobile industry set to grow amid a positive economic environment, according to a top company official. In an interaction with PTI, JK Tyre & Industries MD Anshuman Singhania expressed hope that the tyre maker would also continue to witness momentum in its top line and profitability.

For the third quarter ended December 2023, the company reported a three-fold increase in its consolidated net profit to INR 227 crore. Continue reading “Growth momentum to continue amid positive economic scenario: JK Tyre”

Source : PTI | ACME Group on Friday said it has signed an agreement with gas exchange IGX to explore opportunities of collaborations for developing green hydrogen and ammonia projects in India. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, Founder and Chairman of ACME Group, and Rajesh Kumar Mediratta, Managing Director and CEO of IGX, at the ongoing India Energy Week in Goa, a statement said.

The agreement covers the partnership across the green hydrogen and ammonia value chain, starting from production to logistics and supply to the industrial customers for use in a range of applications and reduce the overall emissions contributing to the national decarbonization targets, the ACME Group said in the statement. Continue reading “ACME Group, IGX tie up to explore collaborations for green hydrogen, ammonia projects”

Summary

• Renault, Geely expect to finalise JV deal at end-Feb – sources
• Saudi Aramco seen announcing a MOU to invest in JV – sources
• JV could revive interest in Renault’s combustion engine business
• Renault to report Q4 results on Feb. 15

PARIS, (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault and Chinese rival Geely expect to finalise a joint venture for their combustion and hybrid engines towards the end of February, two sources close to the matter told Reuters. Continue reading “Exclusive: Renault, Geely expect to finalise engines tie-up this month – sources”

“WAF AutoNews” is World’s No.1 in World Auto News &  Auto Think Tank !!
Click Here to See for yourself.

WAF THINK TANK

Top Leaders get together to celebrate and reminisce the 15 Glorious Years of WAF WAF

Power Network with Top Industry Leaders at WAF WAF Continue reading “WAF Auto News | The Auto World This Week (10th February 2024)”

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s financial watchdog said on Friday several insurers have agreed to suspend sales of policies that cover the depreciation of cars after it said it was worried the deals did not offer value for money.

The suspension relates to so-called guaranteed asset protection (GAP) insurance meant to cover the difference between a car’s purchase price and its market value when a customer makes a claim after a theft, a crash or for some other reason. Continue reading “Insurers pause some car policy sales after UK watchdog intervenes again”

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor has appointed investment bankers JPMorgan and Citi to advise on its at least $3 billion India IPO, accelerating listing plans in the world’s third-largest auto market, sources with direct knowledge said.

The company plans to file regulatory papers in India by May to June for an approval, said two of the three sources, all of whom declined to be named as the talks are private. Continue reading “Hyundai picks JPMorgan, Citi to accelerate $3 bln India IPO – sources”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Toyota Motor’s Daihatsu unit said on Friday it planned to unveil a new management structure next week.

Soichiro Okudaira, president of Daihatsu, whose production has been hampered by issues related to safety testing irregularities, also told reporters that the company planned to spend more time and allocate more workers for development. Continue reading “Toyota unit Daihatsu to unveil new management structure next week”

PARIS, (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault and Chinese rival Geely expect to finalise a deal on their planned combustion and hybrid engines joint venture towards the end of February, two sources close to the matter told Reuters.

At the same time, Saudi Aramaco is set to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding to invest in the joint venture, one of the sources said, a move which would confirm Aramco’s letter of intent from March last year. Continue reading “Exclusive: Renault, Geely expect to finalise combustion engines joint venture deal at the end of February – sources”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Shares in Nissan Motor tumbled 12% on Friday, their biggest decline in more than two decades, after quarterly earnings undershot expectations by a large margin and it cut estimates for car sales due to stiff competition in China.

The emergence of fast-growing, Chinese brands such as BYD that have rolled out affordable electric cars tailor-made for younger Chinese drivers has led to a steady loss of market share for foreign rivals in the world’s biggest auto market. Continue reading “Nissan shares see biggest plunge in two decades as China worries deepen”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: The government has saved INR 24,000 crore due to blending of ethanol with petrol and majority of the benefit has been passed on to sugarcane farmers, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. He said at present the blending of ethanol stands at 12% and the government plans to take it to 20% as desired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Admitting that India’s oil import has increased in the last few years, Shekhawat, who was replying to questions on behalf of Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, said the country has benefited by ethanol blending. Continue reading “Ethanol blending benefits passed on to sugarcane farmers: Govt”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Japan’s Nissan Motor posted a lower-than-expected 6.4% rise in operating profit in the December quarter on Thursday, saying it will maintain its annual outlook as a more profitable product mix offset a lower full-year vehicle sales forecast.

Operating profit totalled 141.6 billion yen ($951.80 million) for the three months to Dec. 31, compared with the average estimate of 179.8 billion yen in a poll of nine analysts by LSEG. Continue reading “Nissan posts 6% rise in Q3 profit, missing estimates”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – China’s passenger vehicle sales shrank 14.1% in January from the prior month, the first such slide since August, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Thursday.

Sales totalled 2.05 million units, up 57.1% from a year earlier. Continue reading “China’s passenger vehicle sales fall 14.1% in Jan m/m”

Summary

• Palladium demand hugely driven by the auto sector
• Auto industry has been replacing palladium with cheaper platinum
• Market share of palladium-free electric vehicles is rising
• Miners’ ability to reduce palladium output is limited

(Reuters) – Spot palladium prices fell below those of sister metal platinum for the first time since April 2018 on Thursday, as growing demand concerns and bets on stable supply weighed on the metal. Continue reading “Palladium price drops below platinum for the first time since 2018”

MADRID, (Reuters) – Amazon and German car maker BMW have won a lawsuit in Spain against four sellers of counterfeit BMW merchandise, the U.S. online retailer said in a statement on its website on Thursday.

The two companies identified the group who were allegedly selling on Amazon’s websites counterfeit BMW products such as tyre valve caps, badges and key rings with the German company’s logo. Continue reading “Amazon, BMW win lawsuit in Spain against counterfeiters”

(Reuters) – As Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly ponders layoffs, recent financial reports from U.S. automakers show the leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer lags in the amount of revenue generated for each of its employees. Continue reading “Tesla trails Ford and GM in revenue generated per worker”

(Reuters) – Harley-Davidson on Thursday forecast full-year revenue for its motorcycle segment to be flat to down 9% from a year earlier, largely below analysts’ expectations, as a cutback in consumer spending pressured demand for its iconic vehicles in North America.

Price increases and surcharges on select models helped the motorcycle manufacturer sustain margins, but they were not enough to offset a decline in bike shipments. Continue reading “Harley-Davidson forecasts 2024 motorcycle revenue below estimates”

DETROIT, (Reuters) – Volkswagen is sticking with plans to launch 25 electric vehicle models in North America across its group brands by 2030, but is ready to adjust as the market shifts, Pablo Di Si, head of Volkswagen’s North American business, told Reuters on Thursday.

“When I look at the data from January, the (EV) segment continues to grow,” Di Si said in a video interview ahead of a speech on the sidelines of the Chicago Auto Show. Electric vehicles accounted for 8.5% of North American vehicle sales in January, up from just under 8% last year, he said. Continue reading “Volkswagen sticking with North American EV plans – executive”

MG Motor India, in partnership with BatX Energies, has unveiled off-grid solar-EV charging station, powered by repurposed MG EV batteries. The collaboration is a significant stride towards advancing sustainable mobility and contributing to a circular economy. The inauguration ceremony took place at IIT Delhi, with Prof Ajay Sood, the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, officiating the event.

The initiative involves the development of a second-life battery storage system by BatX Energies, supported by Delhi Research Implementation and Innovation (DRIIV), in collaboration with MG Motor India. This innovation aims to reduce reliance on traditional electricity sources and cut down carbon emissions associated with conventional EV charging methods. Continue reading “MG & BatX Energies Collaborate For Off-Grid Solar-EV Charging Station”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: State-owned Coal India Ltd aims to take the total number of e-vehicles at its mines to 681 by FY2025-26 from 178 at present, the government said on Wednesday.

Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said that Coal India Ltd is asserting on hiring electric vehicles at different mines and subsidiary headquarters.

Continue reading “Coal India to increase e-vehicles at mines to 681 by FY26”

(Reuters) – A driverless Waymo car collided with a cyclist in San Francisco on Tuesday causing minor injuries and the incident is being reviewed by the state’s auto regulator.

Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit, said by email on Tuesday it called the police to the scene and that it was also contacting relevant authorities about the incident. Continue reading “Waymo robotaxi accident with San Francisco cyclist draws regulatory review”

By Michael S. Derby

Feb 6 (Reuters) – Overall borrowing levels in the U.S. rose modestly during the final three months of last year as more types of borrowing ran into trouble, especially on the auto front, even as overall difficulties remained below levels seen before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Total household debt climbed by $212 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 to $17.5 trillion, the New York Federal Reserve said on Tuesday in its latest quarterly Household Debt and Credit Report.

Continue reading “New York Fed sees trouble in auto borrowing as overall debt level rises”