By David Shepardson

By Nichola Groom and Cath Turner

Reuters

Source : PTI | New Delhi: The government on Thursday said there are no tolled national highways in the country that have completely recovered the capital cost. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said there is no provision for closing of user fee plaza after completion of concession period/recovery of capital cost as per the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008.

“There are no tolled national highways (Public/ Private funded) in the country of which capital cost has been completely recovered,” he said. Continue reading “No tolled highway with full capital cost recovery: Nitin Gadkari”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: India is likely to see 1 crore Electric Vehicle (EV) sales a year and the segment is expected to generate about 5 crore jobs by 2030, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday. Addressing the 19th EV EXPO 2023, Gadkari, “As per the Vahan database, 34.54 lakh EVs are already registered in India.”

The Union Road Transport and Highways minister asserted that India has the potential to become number 1 EV maker in the world and the government is committed to making India a self-reliant country in clean energy production and mass application.

Continue reading “India expected to see 1 cr EV sales annually by 2030, create 5 cr jobs: Gadkari”

OSLO, (Reuters) – Sweden’s Transport Agency said on Friday it is investigating suspension failures in Tesla (TSLA.O) cars in a probe similar to that carried out by neighbouring Norway’s traffic safety regulator.

“We can … confirm that investigative work is also underway with us,” the Swedish agency said in an emailed statement to Reuters. Continue reading “Swedish regulator investigates Tesla suspension failures”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD (002594.SZ) is to build a new energy vehicle production base in Hungary, it said on Friday.

The new facility to be built in Szeged, southern Hungary is expected to create thousands of local jobs, BYD said in a statement on its official WeChat account. Continue reading “China’s BYD to build new energy vehicle production base in Hungary”

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) has acquired land in Shanghai for a megapack battery manufacturing plant with production expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2024, Chinese state media reported on Friday.

Tesla paid 222.42 million yuan ($31.13 million) for use rights to a 19.7-hectare (48.7 acres) plot, a separate government statement said on Thursday. The site is near an existing Tesla plant producing Model 3 and Model Y cars. Continue reading “Tesla acquires Shanghai land for megapack battery plant”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – (This Dec. 21 story has been corrected to clarify that the ban was on the export of technology to make rare earth magnets and that the ban on technology to extract and separate critical materials was already in place, in paragraphs 1 and 6. It also removes context and the comment on rare earth processing operations, in paragraphs 3 and paragraphs 18-20)

China, the world’s top processor of rare earths, banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets on Thursday, adding it to a ban already in place on technology to extract and separate the critical materials. Continue reading “China bans export of rare earths processing tech over national security”

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – Chinese automaker Geely (0175.HK) warned on Friday its EV sales are likely to be impacted by a delay in deliveries due to the “situation” in the Red Sea, where Yemeni militants are attacking vessels, forcing shippers to take longer, more expensive routes.

Geely, China’s second largest automaker by sales, told Reuters that most of the shipping firms it uses to export its electric vehicles to Europe have plans to go around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Suez Canal, the shortest route from Asia to Europe, due to the hostilities. Continue reading “China’s Geely warns Red Sea attacks to delay Europe-bound EV shipments”

(Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin placed Russia’s biggest car dealership under temporary state management on Friday, in a step the Kremlin said was driven by commercial logic but which its founder said made the country look uninvestable.

Rolf, which is owned by a Cyprus-based firm and was founded by Russian businessman Sergei Petrov, was one of the first car dealerships to emerge after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Continue reading “Putin seizes control of Russia’s biggest car dealership”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: Various government-owned entities including NTPC and GAIL are taking a number of steps to aid the ambitious National Green Hydrogen Mission by setting up projects, Parliament was informed on Thursday. In January, the Centre approved the mission with an outlay of INR 19,744 crore.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing the mission which aims to make India the global hub for production, usage and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives, Union Minister R K Singh told the Lok Sabha in response to a question.

Continue reading “What NTPC, GAIL and other govt entities doing under Green Hydrogen Mission”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Honda Motor’s (7267.T) American unit is recalling about 4.5 million vehicles worldwide over risks of fuel pump failure, the Japanese automaker said.

The recall includes 2.54 million vehicles in the United States and comes after the automaker previously recalled 628,000 U.S. vehicles in 2021 and 136,000 in 2020 for the same issue.

Honda issued recalls earlier this month over the same issue in China and Japan. Continue reading “Honda recalling about 4.5 million vehicles worldwide over fuel pump issue”

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SEOUL, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) said on Thursday it plans to stop operations at two parts forging plants in South Korea next year as the automaker accelerates a shift away from petrol-powered cars.

The plants in Ulsan, South Korea, which have been in operation since 1991 making engine parts, are expected to be closed in January and October, respectively.

Hyundai Motor, the world’s No.3 automaker by sales with its affiliate Kia Corp (000270.KS), is gradually reducing the proportion of internal combustion engines in its finished cars in favour of electrified vehicles. Continue reading “Hyundai Motor to shut South Korean parts plants in pivot toward EVs”

Source : PTI | The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the city government to state within four weeks the status of formulation and implementation of a policy for release of seized end-of-life vehicles to their owners. Justice Jasmeet Singh observed that the court was “flooded” every day with petitions by aggrieved people in the absence of a policy, and that although the government was trying to control pollution “at the same time the citizens cannot be harassed”.

“This is troublesome. Don’t harass the citizens. Every day I have five petitions (on such seizure and non-release of vehicles),” the judge said. Continue reading “HC asks Delhi govt to state status of policy for end-of-life vehicles”

Source : PTI | The auto component industry is looking to invest around USD 6.5 to 7 billion over the next five years on capacity expansion and technology upgradation, with the demand expected to remain robust over the period.

The industry, which recorded a 12.6 % year-on-year revenue growth in the first half (April-September) of the current fiscal at INR 2.98 lakh crore, expects double digit sales growth to continue in the rest of the current fiscal and in the upcoming financial year as well. Continue reading “Auto component industry looks to invest USD 7 bn over next 5 years to expand capacity, upgrade tech”

ROME, (Reuters) – Italy’s government is working to encourage other major carmakers besides Fiat-owner Stellantis (STLAM.MI) to manufacture in the country and boost production, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on Wednesday.

Speaking in Parliament, Urso reiterated that Rome aims to strike a deal with Stellantis to increase annual domestic production of cars and vans to 1 million vehicles by 2028. Continue reading “Italy govt wants to bring in more carmakers to boost domestic output”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. new vehicles set a record high for fuel economy in 2022, with the biggest yearly improvement in nine years to an average of 26 miles per gallon (mpg) as electric vehicle sales jumped but the Detroit Three automakers continued to lag rivals.

Vehicles were up 0.6 mpg over 2021 after being unchanged versus 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency said, noting electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles improved the average fuel economy by 1.2 mpg in 2022. Fuel economy is forecast to increase to 26.9 mpg in 2023, the EPA said. Continue reading “US vehicles set fuel economy record in 2022 as EV sales climb”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Toyota Motor (7203.T) said on Wednesday it will recall 1.12 million vehicles worldwide because a short circuit in a sensor could cause air bags not to deploy as designed.

The recall covers 2020 through 2022 model year vehicles including various Avalon, Camry, Corolla, RAV4, Lexus ES250, ES300H, ES350, RX350 Highlander and Sienna Hybrid vehicles and could result in the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensors not working. It includes 1 million vehicles in the United States. Continue reading “Toyota recalling 1.12 million vehicles over potential air bag issue”

(Reuters) – American car dealers are set to wrap the year with generous incentives and discounts during winter sales, aiming to clear older vehicle stocks and prepare for the new year capitalizing on sustained demand from consumers.

Over four consecutive years of year-end sales, automakers have offered minimal discounts to prospective customers as they looked to cash in on new vehicle demand, helping dealers clear inventory. Continue reading “US new vehicle dealers jump-start holiday sales with better incentives”

COPENHAGEN,  (Reuters) – Danish dockworkers and lorry drivers have stopped unloading and transporting Tesla (TSLA.O) cars destined for Sweden as Danish labour union 3F on Wednesday joined Swedish mechanics in their strike action against Tesla.

Tesla is facing a backlash from unions and some pension funds in the Nordic region as the U.S. carmaker refuses to accept a demand from Swedish mechanics for collective bargaining rights covering wages and other conditions.

Continue reading “Danish labour union joins Swedish strike action against Tesla”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Toyota Motor’s (7203.T) Daihatsu unit will halt shipments of all of its vehicles, Japan’s biggest automaker said on Wednesday, after a safety scandal investigation found issues involving 64 models, including almost two dozen sold under Toyota’s brand.

An independent panel has been investigating Daihatsu after it said in April it had rigged side-collision safety tests carried out for 88,000 small cars, most of those sold as Toyotas. Continue reading “Toyota’s Daihatsu to halt all vehicle shipments, in widening safety scandal”

Shreyansh Jain was ecstatic in March when he picked up his first electric vehicle, a brand-new 2023 Tesla Model Y. He used a sizable chunk of family savings to buy it with cash.

“We were over the moon!” said Jain, an electronics engineer in Cambridge, England.

His exuberance came to a “grinding halt” one day later, with 115 miles on the odometer, Jain told Reuters. As he drove with his wife and three-year-old daughter, he suddenly lost steering control as he made a slow turn into their neighborhood. The vehicle’s front-right suspension had collapsed, and parts of the car loudly scraped the road as it came to a stop. Continue reading “Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective”

PTI

Updated On Dec 20, 2023 at 08:03 AM IST

White Iris Investment on Tuesday pared 4.5 % stake in tyre manufacturing company Apollo Tyres for INR 1,281 crore through open market transactions. White Iris Investment, a public shareholder in Apollo Tyres, offloaded more than 2.85 crore shares of the company in 22 tranches.

Edelweiss Mutual Fund (MF), UTI MF, ICICI Prudential MF, Nippon India MF, Invesco MF, Societe Generale, Goldman Sachs Investments (Mauritius) I Ltd, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore, and Plutus Wealth Management LLP, among others were the buyers of the shares.

Continue reading “White Iris Investment divests 4.5% stake in Apollo Tyres worth INR 1,281 cr”

Reuters

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Canada on Tuesday released final regulations mandating that all passenger cars, SUVs, crossovers and light trucks sold by 2035 must be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), part of the government’s overall plan to combat climate change.

ZEVs must make up at least 20% of all cars sold by 2026 and at least 60% by 2030. Industry officials say electric vehicles (EVs) represented 12.1% of new vehicle sales in the third quarter of 2023.

Continue reading “Canada says all cars and trucks must be zero emission by 2035, industry unhappy”

Source : PTI | The Ministry of Heavy Industries has given a subsidy amounting to INR 5,294 crore to electric vehicle manufacturers on the sale of 1.1 million electric vehicles under phase-II of ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India’, Minister of State for Heavy Industries Krishan Pal Gurjar said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Further, the minister said his ministry sanctioned 6,862 electric buses to various cities, its transport corporations, and other government entities for intracity operations. Out of 6862 e-buses, 3487 e-buses have been supplied to state transport corporations.

Continue reading “INR 5,294 cr subsidy provided to EV makers under phase-II of FAME scheme: Centre”

Source : PTI | The second Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express, which was flagged off on Monday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, is equipped with the anti-train collision system ‘Kavach’, the Northern Railway said. However, railway officials said installation of only loco component of Kavach is not effective to protect a train from collision unless the full system is in place on the entire route of the train.

“It (Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat) has superior designs, interiors and speed, providing passengers a comfortable and convenient travel experience. The trainset is also equipped with the most advanced safety features including the Kavach technology,” the Northern Railway said in a statement on Monday.

Continue reading “‘Kavach fitted in Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat has no safety benefit at present’”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said the country needs 1,000 vehicle scrapping centres and 400 automated fitness test centres. Launching ‘DigiELV’, Gadkari said the road ministry has so far approved 85 vehicle scrapping facilities across the country.

“We need 1,000 vehicle scrapping centres in the country and at least 400 automated fitness test centres,” he said. Continue reading “India needs 1,000 scrapping centres, 400 fitness test points: Nitin Gadkari”

(Reuters) – French car parts maker Forvia (FRVIA.PA) wants to cut its Research and development (R&D) costs by half by 2028 thanks mainly to generative artificial intelligence (AI) to keep up with electrification challenges and Asian competition in the automotive industry.

The world’s 7th largest car equipment supplier, born from the French group Faurecia’s takeover of Germany’s Hella (HLE.DE), currently employs 157,000 people worldwide, including more than 15,000 engineers in 76 R&D centres. Continue reading “Forvia aims to halve its R&D costs by 2028 thanks to AI-CEO”

(Reuters) – Electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has informed workers at its battery factory in Sparks, Nevada, that some of the set-rate hourly workers will see pay increases of around 10% starting early January, CNBC reported on Monday.

The EV maker will bump the pay for hourly workers from $20 to $22 an hour on the low end, and up to $34.50 an hour from $30.65 on the high end, according to the report, citing internal materials, adding that the raise can add anywhere from $2 to $8.30 an hour to their pay. Continue reading “Tesla to raise pay for hourly Nevada Gigafactory workers in Jan – CNBC”

BERLIN, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Buyers of Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) ID. all-electric vehicles will have their subsidy paid for by the automaker after the government ended a state scheme prematurely, the company said on Tuesday.

The offer will apply to private customers in Germany who ordered an eligible vehicle from the all-electric ID. range before Dec 15, it said.

Vehicles delivered and registered this year will receive the full subsidy of up to 6,750 euros ($7,386). Continue reading “Volkswagen to pay subsidies for ID. EV buyers in Germany”

SEOUL, Dec 19 (Reuters) – South Korea’s Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) plans to sell its plant in Russia for a nominal 7,000 roubles ($77.67), a company official said on Tuesday, making it the latest global automaker to sell Russian assets since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

Hyundai Motor, in a regulatory filing, said it would take a 287 billion won ($219.19 million) loss on selling the plant, in which operations have been suspended since March 2022. Continue reading “Hyundai Motor to take $219 mln hit on sale of Russian plant”

Source : PTI | Among a cluster of new homes on the northern outskirts of Melbourne, there is one house that stands apart. Not that you’d know it by looking from the outside. HyHome, unveiled this year by the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group, is Australia’s first hydrogen-powered home.

The demonstration house in Wollert is equipped with hydrogen-powered hot water systems, heating, cooktop and barbecue; some of the first 100 per cent hydrogen compatible appliances to be developed for the domestic market. Continue reading “Hydrogen makes itself at home”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee wants Congress to vote on reversing the Treasury Department’s electric vehicle tax credit guidance, saying it will increase U.S. reliance on China.

Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat, said the Treasury’s guidance will make it easier for Chinese companies to take advantage of the EV tax credit “while hurting American taxpayers and increasing America’s reliance on foreign nations for battery and vehicle component supply chains, including China.” Continue reading “Manchin seeks to reverse Treasury exemption allowing some Chinese minerals in EVs”

(Reuters) – French car parts maker Forvia (FRVIA.PA) wants to cut its Research and development (R&D) costs by half by 2028 thanks mainly to generative artificial intelligence (AI) to keep up with electrification challenges and Asian competition in the automotive industry.

The world’s 7th largest car equipment supplier, born from the French group Faurecia’s takeover of Germany’s Hella (HLE.DE), currently employs 157,000 people worldwide, including more than 15,000 engineers in 76 R&D centres. Continue reading “Forvia aims to halve its R&D costs by 2028 thanks to AI-CEO”

HANOI,(Reuters) – Vietnamese electric vehicles (EV) maker VinFast said on Monday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s Marubeni Corp (8002.T) to recycle used EV batteries.

VinFast will supply the used batteries and Marubeni will repurpose into what it said would be affordable Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) that were easy to manufacture, the Vietnamese firm said in a statement. Continue reading “Vietnam’s VinFast agrees deal with Marubeni to recycle used EV batteries”