Jan 30 (Reuters) – Israeli electric vehicle (EV) startup City Transformer aims to launch production of its small urban CT-2 model in Western Europe by the end of 2024 and will soon launch a Series B funding round to raise $50 million, the company said on Monday.

Chief Executive Asaf Formoza told Reuters the company, which has so far raised $20 million, has selected a factory in Western Europe where it will have initial annual production of 15,000 vehicles, but cannot disclose its location yet.

Continue reading “With tiny EV, City Transformer takes aim at Europe’s urban markets”

FRANKFURT, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Ford (F.N) executives have indicated they are willing to hold talks with labour representatives over planned structural changes at the U.S. carmaker’s plants in Germany, the head of the worker’s council at Ford’s Cologne plant said on Saturday.

Ford said on Jan. 20 that its planned shift to electric vehicle (EV) production will require unspecified structural changes, giving rise to fears of job cuts at its German production sites.

Continue reading “German labour representative says Ford execs have offered talks on restructuring plan”

Jan 27 (Reuters) – Lucid Group’s (LCID.O) shares surged 43% on Friday, paring gains after doubling on market speculation that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) wanted to buy out the electric vehicle maker.

The speculation originated from an “uncooked” alert attributed to deals website Betaville, using its term for market gossip. Lucid was the sixth-most traded stock on U.S. exchanges and third top mover on the Nasdaq mid-afternoon.

Continue reading “EV maker Lucid surges on report Saudi PIF to buy remaining stake”

WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk met two top White House officials on Friday in Washington to discuss how the car maker and Democratic President Joe Biden could work together to advance electric vehicle production and speed electrification of U.S. vehicle networks.

Musk met John Podesta, a Democratic stalwart who serves as Biden’s senior adviser for clean energy innovation, and Mitch Landrieu, who oversees infrastructure spending, the White House said. The billionaire and Biden have often been at odds over political and labor issues.

Continue reading “Exclusive: Tesla’s Musk meets top Biden officials on EVs in Washington”

WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) said Friday it is recalling 462,000 vehicles worldwide because video output may fail, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying.

The U.S. automaker said the recall covers some 2020-2023 model year Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsair vehicles equipped with 360-degree cameras and includes 382,000 in the United States.

Continue reading “Ford recalls 462,000 vehicles for rear camera display failure”

DETROIT, Jan 27 (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N) are expected to report strong profits for 2022 next week, powered by premium-priced pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs).

Now, the Detroit rivals must convince investors that last year’s profit formula can keep working when costs for EV batteries are rising, high interest rates are cutting consumer purchasing power, and Tesla Inc TSLA.O is slashing prices.

Continue reading “GM, Ford must convince investors they can profit as prices fall”

LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) – An era of breathtaking palladium rallies is likely to be ending, analysts said, as rising supply and stagnant demand erode prices of the metal used to neutralise vehicle exhaust emissions.

Palladium , once the cheapest major precious metal, rocketed from less than $500 an ounce in 2016 to above $3,400 last March, leaving platinum and gold for dust.

Continue reading “Electric vehicles throw palladium’s mega-rally into reverse”

TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) chief Akio Toyoda is set to remain a dominant force inside the world’s largest automaker for years to come, and will continue to influence the agenda after stepping down in April, experts and people familiar with the firm said.

The 66-year-old Toyoda on Thursday announced he would step aside as leader of the company his grandfather founded from April 1 to take the role of chairman. He will hand over to Koji Sato, the 53-year-old head of Toyota’s luxury Lexus brand.

Continue reading “Akio Toyoda set to remain a force at Toyota, even as he steps aside”

MUMBAI, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Indian banks’ exposure to the Adani Group is within manageable limits, said brokerage houses CLSA and Jefferies, as the group fend off an attack from well-known short-seller Hindenburg Research.

The U.S. short-seller said it held short positions in the Indian conglomerate, accusing it of improper use of offshore tax havens and flagging concerns about high debt that eroded $11 billion in investor wealth on Wednesday.

Continue reading “India banks’ exposure to Adani Group is limited – CLSA, Jefferies”

BENGALURU, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Shares of Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.NS), India’s No.3 carmaker by volume, rose as much as 8.2% to a more-than-four-month high on Friday after the company reported its first quarterly profit in two years.

The stock posted its biggest intraday jump in over 8 months, before easing to trade up about 5.2% at 440 rupees as of 12:45 p.m. IST. It was among the top gainers on the benchmark Nifty 50 index (.NSEI), which was down 1.8% on the day.

Continue reading “India’s Tata Motors surges 8% on first quarterly profit in 2 years”

SAN FRANCISCO/SEOUL, Jan 27 (Reuters) – LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) said on Friday it is in “active discussions” with Tesla (TSLA.O) and electric vehicle startups to supply batteries from the supplier’s proposed Arizona factory in the United States, without elaborating further.

LG Energy Solution, which currently supplies batteries to Tesla in China, said it is reviewing investments in building the new battery factory in Arizona. The comments were made during a conference call.

Continue reading “LG says it’s in talks with Tesla to supply batteries from Arizona factory”

TOKYO, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Toyota’s chief executive will step down as head of the company his grandfather founded, the automaker said on Thursday, handing over to the leader of its Lexus luxury brand as the Japanese giant struggles to meet the shift to electric vehicles.

The 53-year-old chief branding officer and president of Toyota Motor Corp’s (7203.T) Lexus brand, Koji Sato, will take over from April 1 when Akio Toyoda becomes chairman, it said.

Continue reading “Lexus chief to take over Toyota as founder’s grandson steps down”

PARIS, Jan 26 (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault PA> is offering workers to increase its 2023 budget for salaries by 7.5% in 2023 to help cope with the rising cost of living, three sources familiar with the company’s proposal said on Thursday.

Continue reading “Renault offers workers 7.5% salary budget raise in 2023 -sources”

TOKYO, Jan 26 (Reuters) – When the head of Toyota (7203.T) announced on Thursday he would step down as CEO, Akio Toyoda opted for the news outlet he sees as the fairest source of information on the automaker’s environmental record: his own.

For the last three years, the 66-year-old has built up the “Toyota Times”, hiring Japanese journalists and ramping up coverage of the company to counter what he sees as persistent misinformation and unfair criticism.

Continue reading “Toyota boss bows out on news outlet he trusts – his own”

SILVERTON, South Africa, Jan 26 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday lauded the Ford Motor Co’s 100-year history of assembling vehicles in South Africa and underscored Washington’s resolve to expand trade ties with countries that it “can count on,” including South Africa.

Yellen spoke after touring Ford’s plant in Silverton, a suburb of Pretoria, where she got behind the wheel of bright yellow new Ranger pickup truck and spoke with workers and company officials. This is the third leg of her three-country trip across the African continent that is aimed at expanding U.S. economic ties and countering China’s influence on the continent.

Continue reading “Yellen lauds Ford’s 100-year history in South Africa, flags more investments”

Jan 26 (Reuters) – Akio Toyoda, president and chief executive of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) for nearly 14 years, will resign from the top job in April to become chairman, handing over the reins to the company’s top branding officer.

Here’s a chronology of key events and milestones in Toyota’s history under Toyoda, the 66-year-old grandson of the company’s founder.

Continue reading “Milestones in Toyota’s history under Akio Toyoda”

NEW DELHI, Jan 19 (Reuters) – A union in India has sued General Motors’ local unit and its global CEO for failing to pay court-ordered compensation to sacked factory workers, deepening the U.S. automaker’s struggles to exit the country years after it shuttered local operations.

GM (GM.N) stopped selling cars in India in 2017 after years of low sales but its complete exit from the market has been marred by complications including legal tussles with workers and failure to find a buyer for a plant in the western state of Maharashtra after talks with China’s Great Wall Motor (601633.SS)collapsed last year. Continue reading “Sacked GM workers in India sue company, CEO Barra for unpaid compensation”

Source : PTI : Tata Motors’ target of achieving net zero automotive debt by FY24 is on track for the domestic business but it is stretched for the British arm Jaguar Land Rover, company group CFO PB Balaji said on Wednesday. The company, which had a net automotive debt of Rs 57,000 crore in the third quarter ended December 2022 began the ongoing fiscal with about Rs 48,700 crore of net automotive debt.

“We remain committed to that. We do see a stretch with respect to JLR given that it has lost about six to eight months because of the semiconductor issue,” Balaji said while addressing a quarterly earnings conference call. Continue reading “Tata Motors’ target of achieving net zero automotive debt by FY24 on track: Group CFO”

PARIS/TOKYO, Jan 26 (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) and its Japanese partner Nissan (7201.T) are closing in on an overhaul of their automaking partnership, in what could mark a sweeping reset of their two-decade alliance.

The partnership, which has grown to include junior member Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T) , was founded in 1999 and long dominated by former Renault and Nissan top executive Carlos Ghosn. Continue reading “From boom to bottom and now big change: Renault and Nissan look to reshape alliance”

BANGKOK, Jan 26 (Reuters) – The Thai unit of Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T< expects its car sales in the Southeast Asian country to rise 7.3% to 310,000 vehicles this year, the company said on Thursday.

Toyota, which commands about a third of the Thai vehicle market, recorded local sales in 2022 of 288,809 units, up 20.5%, Toyota Motor Thailand said in a statement. Continue reading “Toyota’s Thai unit sees its local car sales up 7.3% this year”

WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Two senior Biden administration officials got behind the wheel of new electric vehicles (EV) Wednesday at the Washington, D.C. auto show to urge Americans to consider buying a zero-emission model.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi took spins in a Ford F-150 Lightning and a Chevrolet Bolt as they touted revamped $7,500 EV tax credits and new $4,000 second-hand EV credits. Continue reading “Biden administration officials tout EVs at DC auto show”

• BYD, Magna, VDL Nedcar possible investors in Saarlouis – reports
• Ford hopes to pick investor for site within Q1 – works council
• Negotiations ongoing over planned job cuts in Europe – union
• Works council threatens disruption if jobs not secured

BERLIN, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Ford (F.N) will decide by mid-February how many jobs to cut in Europe, a German union said on Tuesday, as reports surfaced that BYD (002594.SZ) and car contract manufacturer Magna (MG.TO) were interested in buying one of the U.S. carmaker’s German sites. Continue reading “Ford to make call on Europe job cuts by mid-Feb as buyers circle German site”

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has banned the use of non-transport vehicles for aggregation and ride-pooling (car-pooling), citing the safety and security of passengers. As per a government resolution (GR) issued on January 19, non-transport vehicles including two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers are banned (for the ride pooling and aggregation) “in order to ensure road safety of the general public and passengers at large”.

Currently, a few aggregators provide app-based bike, auto and car taxi services in major cities of Maharashtra. Some of them provide mobile application-based aggregator service using vehicles, especially two-wheelers, registered under the non-transport category. Continue reading “Maharashtra government bans car-pooling in non-transport vehicles”

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Automaker Stellantis’ (STLA.MI) U.S. unit said on Tuesday it was recalling 76,000 plug-in hybrid electric minivans because of a short circuit issue that could cause engines to stall unexpectedly.

The recall covers 67,000 2017 to 2023 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans in the United States and about 9,000 in other countries. The automaker said an internal transmission wiring connector may short circuit, resulting in an unexpected engine shutdown. Continue reading “Stellantis recalls 76,000 plug-in hybrid minivans over engine issue”

Source : PTI: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will set up 1 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity in Rajasthan as the nation’s second-largest state oil refiner pivots its path to achieving a net zero emission target by 2040.

In a statement, BPCL said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Rajasthan for setting up the renewable energy power plant. It, however, neither gave a timeframe nor investment that will be made in the project. Continue reading “BPCL to set up 1 GW renewable energy plant in Rajasthan”

Source : PTI : Gandhinagar: Gujarat aims to become the world centre for green hydrogen by creating an estimated 8 TPA production capacity in another 10-12 years, state Industries Minister Balwantsinh Rajput has said. Addressing a plenary session on “Gujarat’s G20 Connect” as part of the Business 20 India Inception Meeting on Monday, Rajput said as a driving force, Gujarat will make a significant contribution to India’s economic development.

“By 2026-27, Gujarat aims to be a $500 billion economy and by 2030-32, a $1 trillion economy,” he said. Continue reading “Gujarat aims to become world centre for green hydrogen in next 12 years”

Source : PTI : Hero Electric on Monday said it has entered into a long-term partnership with Maxwell Energy Systems for the supply of advanced battery management systems. Under the partnership, IVaxwell will supply more than 10 lakh units of its battery management systems (BIS) over the next three years to Hero Electric, the company said in a statement.

Hero Electric CEO Sohinder Gill said the BMS solution from Maxwell will help the company provide safe and performance-oriented EVs to its customers. Continue reading “Hero Electric enters into long-term partnership with Maxwell for battery management systems”

Soruce : PTI : New Delhi: Tata Motors on Monday said it has partnered with ICICI Bank to offer financing solutions to its authorised passenger electric vehicle dealers. Under the partnership, ICICI Bank will provide inventory funding to the authorised passenger EV dealers in addition to the bank’s funding to dealers for diesel and petrol models, Tata Motors said in a statement.

“Our dealer network forms a part of our core support pillars, and through their constant effort, we ride the electrification wave in India. Continue reading “Tata Motors, ICICI Bank tie up to offer financing solutions to its passenger EV dealers”

• Up to 2,800 development job cuts and 700 in admin, says union
• Germany to be most affected, union says
• Some product development work to go to U.S., says union

BERLIN, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) plans to cut up to 3,200 jobs across Europe and move some product development work to the United States, Germany’s IG Metall union said on Monday, vowing action that would disrupt the carmaker across the continent if the cuts go ahead. Continue reading “Ford to cut up to 3,200 European jobs, union says, vowing to fight”

STOCKHOLM, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Sweden-based Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST) is recalling around 106,900 cars worldwide over a suspected fault related to the brakes, a Volvo Cars spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The vehicles being recalled are of the 2023 year model of the C40, XC40, S60, V60, XC60, V90 and XC90 models, the spokesperson said. Continue reading “Volvo Cars recalls around 106,900 cars worldwide”

MADRID, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Spain’s auto industry is in dire need of an overhaul to catch up with European peers and speed up its electrification process as automakers struggle to recover from a pandemic-induced slump, the country’s biggest manufacturers’ lobby said on Tuesday.

As elsewhere in Europe, Spanish car production has been hampered in the past few years by semiconductor shortages, temporary factory closures and supply chain bottlenecks after the 2020 global outbreak of the COVID-19 disease. Continue reading “Auto lobby urges Spain to speed up vehicle electrification as sales lag”

BENGALURU, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MRTI.NS) beat quarterly profit estimates and reported improved margins on Tuesday as the country’s biggest carmaker benefitted from strong demand for its passenger cars, helped by festive sales.

Profit for Maruti, which has over 40% market share in the country’s passenger vehicles segment, more than doubled to 23.51 billion rupees ($288.5 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from 10.11 billion rupees a year ago. Continue reading “India’s top carmaker Maruti’s profit doubles on strong demand”

BENGALURU, Jan  (Reuters) – Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on Monday forecast free cash flow for the third quarter at more than 400 million pounds ($485 million), after reporting a 15% rise in wholesale volumes for the period on strong demand and improved chip supply.

The British automaker, in its earnings statement for the second quarter, had forecast a positive cash flow for the second half of fiscal year 2023 and “near breakeven” for the full year. Continue reading “Jaguar Land Rover forecasts third-quarter free cash flow above $485 million”

BRUSSELS, Jan 20 (Reuters) – The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg have urged the European Union to fix a date by which new trucks and buses sold in Europe must have zero carbon dioxide emissions.

The European Commission is set to propose tougher CO2 standards next month for heavy goods vehicles to comply with the bloc’s climate change goals. Continue reading “Four countries urge EU to set end date for new CO2-emitting trucks”

Source : PTI: Support provided by the government to promote electric and zero emission vehicles through schemes such as FAME II, need to be continued till penetration of such automobiles crosses a particular threshold with a good level of localisation, according to Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh. There is also a case to consider the extension of the FAME II scheme, which will come to an end next year and include bigger electric buses to avail of subsidy, he told PTI

“The government has done a terrific job to promote, or more than promote I would say, ignite electric vehicle or zero emission vehicle demand. Whether it is FAME phase 1, phase II, now PLI and state level incentives, a lot of policy measures, the government has really done a terrific job,” he said Continue reading “Govt schemes needed till penetration of electric vehicles crosses particular threshold”

PUNE: Swiss sports bike maker KTM, which has a manufacturing joint venture with Bajaj Auto, on Friday said it will begin selling the electric model of the resurrected iconic Chetak in the first quarter of 2024 in Europe. The 50.1:49.9 joint venture also rolled out the 1 millionth KTM bike from the Chakan plant near here.

KTM claims to be the world’s No 1 premium motorbike brand. Continue reading “KTM to sell electric version of Chetak in Europe from Q1 of 2024”

International Road Federation (IRF), a global body advocating for safer roads, on Thursday said that it has made a plea to the government to do away with the GST imposed on helmets. At present a GST of 18 per cent is levied on helmets.

“IRF…in a letter written to the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has demanded reduction of GST on life saving device helmets for safety of the two- wheeler riders from present 18 per cent to 0 per cent in the forthcoming Union Budget 2023-24,” the global road safety body said. Continue reading “International Road Federation seeks removal of GST on helmets”