WASHINGTON, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Ford Motor (F.N) said on Friday it will recall 169,000 U.S. vehicles to replace rearview cameras and update software and is taking a $270 million charge to address the callback.
It was the latest in a series of recalls for rear camera-related recalls by the No. 2 U.S. automaker in recent years. Continue reading “Ford to replace rear cameras in new recall, take $270 million charge”
Source : PTI | A public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the free bus travel for women in Karnataka under the ‘Shakti’ scheme was allowed to be withdrawn by the High Court of Karnataka on Thursday. The HC found that the PIL filed by three law students was vague and not backed by any study.
Ashwin Shankar Bhat, Neha Venkatesh, and Yashika Saravanan claimed in the PIL that the scheme has resulted in “chaos, commotions and unruly behavior of the crowd in bus stands and affecting children and senior citizens and also causing severe loss to the economy.” Continue reading “PIL against scheme of free bus travel for women in Karnataka withdrawn”
Source : PTI | Ahead of the G20 summit, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will flag off 400 electric buses on September 5, Raj Niwas officials said on Thursday. Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot will also attend the flagging off ceremony, they said.
Delhi will host the G20 summit from September 9 to 10.
As on date, 400 electric buses are already in operation under the Centre-supported Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) II Scheme. Continue reading “Delhi LG, CM to flag off 400 e-buses on Sept 5”
Source : PTI | To encourage clean and green energy production sources in Uttar Pradesh in view of global warming and climate change, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday directed officials to prepare an effective draft for the UP Green Hydrogen Policy-2023. Adityanath gave these directions at a meeting with the officials of UP NEDA (UP New and Renewable Energy Development Agency) here at his official residence.
The chief minister instructed the officials to prepare an effective draft by consulting the stakeholders working in this area so that investors and users can get maximum benefit from the policy, an official statement issued here said.
Continue reading “Yogi Adityanath asks officials to start work on state green hydrogen policy”
Source : PTI | New Delhi: The ‘PM-eBus Sewa’ scheme , under which 10,000 electric buses will be provided to 169 cities under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, will be rolled out in the next five-six months, the Union housing and urban affairs ministry said on Thursday. At a press conference here, Union Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the central government is going to procure air-conditioned buses for this soon.
Secretary, Housing and Urban Affairs, Manoj Joshi said the scheme will be rolled out in 169 cities and states are required to submit their proposals by September 30. Continue reading “‘PM-eBus Sewa’ scheme to be rolled out in 5-6 months: Urban affairs ministry”
NAIROBI, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Ride-hailing firm Uber (UBER.N) on Thursday launched an electric motorbike service in Kenya, its first in Africa, as the company seeks to make its global platform emissions free by 2040.
The rollout in Kenya will be followed by a “potential announcement” this year for the rest of its markets in the region, said Kagiso Khaole, Uber’s general manager for sub-Saharan Africa. Continue reading “Uber rolls out electric bike fleet in Kenya, its first in Africa”
WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) – The Biden administration is offering $12 billion in grants and loans for auto makers and suppliers to retrofit their plants to produce electric and other advanced vehicles, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Thursday.
“While we transition to EVs, we want to ensure that workers can transition in place, that there is no worker, no community left behind,” Granholm, a former governor of car-manufacturing state Michigan, told reporters in a call. Continue reading “US offers $12 billion to auto makers, suppliers for advanced vehicles”
Aug 31 (Reuters) – Ford Motor (F.N) has made a contract offer to the United Auto Workers (UAW), the company said on Thursday.
The contract offer would provide hourly employees with 15% guaranteed combined wage increases and lump-sums, and improved benefits over the life of the contract, the company said in a statement. Continue reading “Ford makes UAW a contract offer”
Aug 31 (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers union said on Thursday it filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against General Motors (GM.N) and Chrysler-parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI), saying they have refused to bargain in good faith.
Both GM and Stellantis denied the unfair labor charges.
Ford Motor (F.N) said it offered a 9% wage increase through 2027, much less than the 46% wage hike being sought by the union. Continue reading “UAW files unfair labor practice charges against GM, Stellantis”
NEW DELHI, Aug 31 (Reuters) – India’s steel-to-energy JSW Group is in early talks with Chinese automaker Leapmotor (9863.HK) to license technology to build electric vehicles in India, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Under the technology licensing agreement, JSW would use Leapmotor’s platform – the structural underpinnings of a car on which it is built – to manufacture EVs in India under its own brand name, the sources said, in the company’s second attempt to enter the growing business. Continue reading “Exclusive: India’s JSW in talks with Chinese carmaker Leapmotor for EV tech, sources say”
Aug 31 (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor Group (005380.KS) and LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) will boost their joint investment in a Georgia battery manufacturing plant by $2 billion and add 400 additional jobs, the companies and the state said Thursday.
The facility, a joint venture between the two companies, now includes a total investment of $4.3 billion and eventually will be able to produce about 300,000 electric vehicle batteries annually, the companies said. Continue reading “Hyundai, LG to spend $2 billion more on Georgia battery plant”
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India’s Auto Industry Expected To Rise To Third Rank Globally By 2030 car&bike Continue reading “WAF Auto News | The Auto World This Week (1st September 2023)”
Source : PTI | New Delhi: Industry body India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) on Tuesday said it has started recognising women leaders who are driving India’s energy transition that includes renewables, electric vehicles and green hydrogen as it would help bridge the gender gap in the coming years. The move assumes significance in view of the effort of different organisations to bridge the gender gap in leadership roles in different sectors, especially clean energy or energy transition.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022, only one in five leadership roles in the energy sector are held by women, IESA said in a statement. Continue reading “India Energy Storage Alliance begins recognising women leaders driving energy transition”
Source : PTI | The Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department on Wednesday invited bids for fitment of High-Security Registration Plates (HSRP) on all vehicles registered in the state before April 2019, officials said. To curb theft and bring uniformity in vehicle identity marks, the Centre made HSRP mandatory for every new vehicle registered in the county from April 1, 2019, putting the onus on manufacturers for installation of these number plates on new vehicles before handing them over to customers.
Sandesh Chavan, deputy regional transport officer who is holding additional charge of joint transport commissioner (computers), said bids have been invited for “manufacturing, supply and fitment” of HSRP on vehicles registered in Maharashtra before April 2019 on a “build-own-operate” basis. Continue reading “MH govt invites bids for fitment of HSRPs on vehicles registered before 2019”
Source : PTI | Uber on Tuesday said drivers have earned over INR 50,000 crore through its platform since 2013, as the ride-hailing app completed a 10-year milestone in India. Uber drivers have driven 3,300 crore kilometres here during this period “equivalent to travelling from Earth to the Moon about 86,000 times”, according to a company release.
Uber India and South Asia President, Prabhjeet Singh said with a vibrant demography and expanding digital economy, “the future is exciting” and added that the company is looking forward to doing its bit to accelerate progress towards India’s envisioned techade. Continue reading “Uber completes 10 yrs in India; says drivers earned over INR 50,000 cr via platform since 2013”
Aug 30 (Reuters) – Federal prosecutors are looking into Tesla (TSLA.O) performance claims after Reuters reported the electric carmaker exaggerated the potential driving distance of its vehicles, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Reuters reported in July that Tesla cars often fail to achieve their advertised range estimates and projections reported by the cars’ own equipment, citing experts who tested or studied them. The company wrote algorithms about a decade ago to create “rosy” in-dash driving range estimates, Reuters reported a source as saying, and set up a “Diversion Team” to cancel range-related service appointments. Continue reading “Tesla faces federal probe over vehicle range after Reuters report, Wall Street Journal says”
Aug 30 (Reuters) – A tight U.S. labor market, expiration of cyclical contracts and high living costs have triggered tough negotiations for pay hikes and other benefits by workers and strikes and protests across industries.
Some 295,500 workers have been involved in stoppages through July this year, as per preliminary U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, putting 2023 on track to become the busiest year for strikes since 2019.
Continue reading “Factbox: From UPS to Detroit Three automakers, US labor unions flex muscle”
LONDON, Aug 30 (Reuters) – European new car registrations jumped 15.2% in July, the 12th consecutive month of growth as the auto industry recovers from pandemic-related supply chain issues, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed on Wednesday.
Electric vehicle sales jumped 60.6%, continuing a rise buoyed by subsidies in a number of European Union countries. Full EVs accounted for 13.6% of all new car sales, up from under 10% in July 2022.
Plug-in hybrids, which have both a combustion engine and a large battery, accounted for 7.9% of sales, while one in four vehicles sold in the EU was a full hybrid.
Continue reading “European car sales rise 15% in July, EVs up nearly 61%”
TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) – A malfunction that shut down all of Toyota Motor Corp’s (7203.T) plants in Japan on Tuesday happened during an update of the automaker’s parts ordering system, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The world’s top-selling automaker has not given any details of what went wrong to cause the closure and a company spokesperson on Wednesday was unable to say whether the glitch happened during a system update.
Toyota, which restarted operations at its Japanese assembly plants on Wednesday, has seen production recovering this year. The full-day outage at its domestic plants could be equivalent to $356 million in revenue, Reuters calculations based on output data and financial reporting showed.
Continue reading “Toyota plant shutdown happened during system update, sources say”
Summary
TOKYO, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor (7203.T) will restart operations at its assembly plants in Japan on Wednesday, after a production system malfunction brought domestic output to a halt at the world’s biggest-selling automaker. Continue reading “Toyota to restart Japan production on Wednesday after system failure”
Aug 29 (Reuters) – Elon Musk has championed Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) driver assistance Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” software as innovations that will both improve road safety and position the electric vehicle maker as a technology leader.
But the Tesla systems – and Musk’s claims about them – face their biggest challenge since the launch of Autopilot in 2015 as a series of lawsuits over fatal Tesla accidents head to court starting next month and a federal probe into Autopilot nears an end. Continue reading “Factbox: Tesla’s Autopilot faces unprecedented scrutiny”
SHANGHAI, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Chinese startup Inceptio expects the number of trucks in China using its driver-assist technology will quadruple by mid-2024 from around 600 currently, and also plans to begin sales overseas next year.
Inceptio says the tech enables a very long-distance trucking trip to be completed by one driver rather than two as is often required and can reduce hauling costs by 5% to 7%. Continue reading “Inceptio sees big jump in China sales of driver-assist truck tech, plans overseas foray”
Source : PTI | Ride-hailing app Snap E, which operates EV cabs, is planning to more than double its current fleet by the end of FY’24, and venture into smaller cities, a company official said on Tuesday. The company also plans to induct more women drivers in its workforce, said Mayank Bindal, the managing director of EC Wheels, which operates under the Snap-E brand.
“Besides expanding in the greater Kolkata region, which is our base, we plan to venture into smaller cities such as Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Varanasi, Raipur, Indore, Bhopal, Jaipur and Ahmedabad over the next few years because of the potential of the untapped market,” he told PTI in an interview. Continue reading “Snap-E Cabs looking to more than double its fleet in FY’24, expand to smaller cities”
Source : PTI | London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion to cover every borough of the UK capital came in force on Tuesday, which means drivers must pay a charge of GBP 12.50 per day to drive a non-compliant vehicle anywhere in the city now. Those driving in the zone in a high emissions non-compliant car must pay the daily surcharge online or by phone up to three days after they travelled. The penalty for not paying is set at GBP 180, which goes down to GBP 90 if it is paid within 14 days.
The expansion has proved controversial because of the steep costs involved for people, despite a scrappage compensation scheme for old vehicles. Continue reading “London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone expanded to cover entire city”
Source : PTI | Maruti Suzuki India expects to invest around INR 45,000 crore to double its production capacity to 40 lakh units annually in the next eight years, company Chairman RC Bhargava said on Tuesday. The company will also take up suggestions by shareholders for a stock split to its board for consideration, he said while speaking at the annual general meeting of the carmaker.
As the global auto industry strives for carbon neutrality, he said Maruti Suzuki will also deal with a lot of technologies, including electric vehicles (EVs), hybrids, CNG, ethanol-blended and use of compressed biogas going forward as it is difficult to predict what will happen in the next eight to ten years in terms of new technologies. Continue reading “Maruti expects to invest INR 45,000 cr to double annual capacity to 40 lakh units in 8 yrs: Chairman RC Bhargava”
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 28 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is set to defend itself for the first time at trial against allegations that failure of its Autopilot driver assistant feature led to death, in what will likely be a major test of Chief Executive Elon Musk’s assertions about the technology.
Self-driving capability is central to Tesla’s financial future, according to Musk, whose own reputation as an engineering leader is being challenged with allegations by plaintiffs in one of two lawsuits that he personally leads the group behind technology that failed. Wins by Tesla could raise confidence and sales for the software, which costs up to $15,000 per vehicle. Continue reading “Focus: Tesla braces for its first trial involving Autopilot fatality”
BEIJING, Aug 28 (Reuters) – China’s BYD Co Ltd (002594.SZ), on Monday said first-half profit jumped 204.7% as the new energy vehicle maker broke its delivery record and retained its crown as China’s biggest-selling auto brand.
Net earnings for the six-months ending June 30 reached 10.95 billion yuan ($1.50 billion), up 204.7% from 3.6 billion yuan a year earlier, on a 72.7% rise in revenue to 260.12 billion yuan, BYD said in a stock market filing. Continue reading “China’s BYD H1 profit triples as deliveries break record”
Aug 28 (Reuters) – Shares of Vietnamese electric-vehicle maker Vinfast surged 21% on Monday, extending a rally from last week that more than quadrupled its market value to $160 billion.
The company made a blowout debut on Wall Street this month and has quickly grown in valuation to become the third-most valuable automaker – only behind Tesla (TSLA.O) and Toyota (7203.T). Continue reading “Vinfast rallies on after becoming world’s third-most valuable automaker”
PARIS, Aug 28 (Reuters) – French car maker Renault (RENA.PA) is looking to list its Ampere electric vehicle business on the stock market in the spring of 2024, CEO Luca de Meo said on Monday.
De Meo told BFM TV that Renault was targeting Nov 1 of this year for the unit to be separated from the rest of the company as a preparatory step in the run-up to the initial public offering. Continue reading “Renault looking at spring 2024 IPO for Ampere, CEO says”
Source : PTI | Nepal’s truck transporters on Monday demanded a ban on Indian cargo vehicles’ entry into the Himalayan nation, citing concerns about the growing adverse impact of unhealthy competition on domestic cargo businesses. Addressing a press conference, Federation of Truck Transport Entrepreneurs Nepal (FTTEN) general secretary Rajendra Bikram Baniya said that while Indian trucks enjoy free entry into Nepal, their vehicles face various challenges when operating in India.
He, however, did not elaborate on the challenges. Continue reading “Nepal truck transporters demand ban on entry of Indian cargo vehicles”
Source : PTI | India’s automotive industry is poised to rank number three in the world by 2030, with various schemes like the INR 25,938 crore PLI for Automobile and Auto Components supporting the sector’s growth, the government said on Monday. Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) is organising a conference on Tuesday to review the performance of the Production Linked Incentive -Auto Scheme. The meeting with stakeholders will be chaired by Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey.
The event shall have special focus on understanding the opportunities available through this scheme. Continue reading “India’s auto industry poised to rank number 3 in world by 2030: Govt”
HONG KONG, Aug 28 (Reuters) – Chinese electric car company Xpeng (9868.HK) said it will acquire ride-hailing giant Didi’s smart electric vehicle unit and the two companies will form a strategic partnership.
Xpeng’s shares surged around 16% in early Monday trade.
As part of the deal, which could be worth as much as $744 million, Xpeng will launch an A-class model next year under a new brand, currently called MONA, aiming to expand in the mass-market segment. Continue reading “China’s Xpeng to acquire Didi’s smart EV unit in deal worth up to $744 mln”
Aug 28 (Reuters) – Electric vehicle maker BYD Co Ltd (002594.SZ) said on Monday its unit struck a deal with U.S.-based manufacturing firm Jabil Inc’s (JBL.N) Singaporean division to buy its mobility business in China for 15.8 billion yuan ($2.17 billion).
The deal will expand BYD Electronic (International) Co’s (BE) customer base, product portfolio, and its business of smartphone components, and boost its growth as it looks to capture the potential growth in the sector. Continue reading “EV maker BYD buys Jabil’s China manufacturing business for $2.2 billion”
Aug 27 (Reuters) – Canadian union Unifor said on Sunday that its members had voted for strike mandates against the Detroit Three automakers that would authorize their bargaining committees to take job action, if needed, to achieve fair collective agreements.
Unifor, which represents 18,000 union members, had opened formal negotiations with Ford Motor Co(F.N) , General Motors Co (GM.N) and Stellantis (STLAM.MI) on August 10 in Toronto. Continue reading “Canadian union Unifor votes for strike mandate against Detroit Three automakers”
Aug 25 (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Friday said members voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike at the Detroit Three automakers if agreement is not reached before the current four-year contract expires on Sept. 14.
The authorization was approved by 97% of voting members at General Motors (GM.N), Ford Motor (F.N) and Stellantis (STLAM.MI), said UAW President Shawn Fain, who leads the union that represents about 150,000 workers. Continue reading “UAW votes overwhelmingly to authorize strike at Detroit Three automakers”
Aug (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers (UAW) union at Ultium Cells, a joint venture of General Motors (GM.N) and LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) in Lordstown, Ohio, on Sunday said members voted in favor by 895 to 22 votes to ratify an interim agreement that immediately raises wages by $3 to $4 an hour.
Earlier this week, General Motors and LG Energy Solution said they will hike the wages of workers at its Ohio plant by an average of 25% after some U.S. senators blasted the facility for paying workers as little as $16 an hour. Continue reading “UAW workers ratify Ultium Cells wage agreement in Ohio”
To truly realize the full potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we need to figure out a way to embrace AI so that we can innovate faster while at the same time protect privacy, said Mr N Chandrasekaran, Chair, B20 India and Executive Chairman, Tata Sons, India. Mr Chandrasekaran said that having the right digital infrastructure like cloud, data centre, digital devices for everyone, etc is fundamental to make a large impact. He was speaking during Plenary Session 2 on ‘AI for Business and Societies: Opportunities and Regulations’ at the B20 Summit India 2023 in New Delhi on 25 August. The summit was organized by CII, the Secretariat for the B20 India. Continue reading “Need to embrace AI, innovate faster and protect privacy: B20 India Chair India has made a big breakthrough in the privacy space: N Chandrasekaran”
Aug (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Friday said members voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike at the Detroit Three automakers if agreement is not reached before the current four-year contract expires on Sept. 14.
The authorization was approved by 97% of voting members at General Motors (GM.N), Ford Motor (F.N) and Stellantis (STLAM.MI), said UAW President Shawn Fain, who leads the union that represents about 150,000 workers. Continue reading “UAW votes overwhelmingly to authorize strike at Detroit Three automakers”
Aug (Reuters) – Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its Michigan affiliate have asked a U.S. judge to dismiss a lawsuit from Ford Motor (F.N) accusing them of a conspiracy that artificially inflated how much the automaker was paying for insurance premiums and other commercial health insurance services.
In a pair of filings, the Blue Cross defendants on Thursday argued Ford had not shown that the insurers blocked any competing company from selling insurance products. Continue reading “Ford Motor Co’s health insurance antitrust suit filed too late, Blue Cross argues”
Source : PTI | The EU on Saturday voiced concerns over “rapid” rise in refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil in India finding way to the European market, saying it defies the purpose of the economic sanctions against Moscow that are aimed at reducing its ability to finance the war on Ukraine. The European Union’s Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for TradeValdis Dombrovskis, said oil products processed from Russian crude oil are arriving at the European market in “large quantities” and the grouping is looking at ways to deal with it.
In an interaction with a small group of journalists, the EU Vice President, currently on a visit to India, accused Russia of using its energy supplies, and food as “tools” of “war and manipulation” to continue its attack on Ukraine. Continue reading “EU looking at petroleum products made from Russian crude oil in India finding way to its market”
