Jan 4 (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is in advanced talks to invest in Gatik, a California-based autonomous driving startup, as part of its cloud partnership with the company, two people familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

Microsoft plans to invest over $10 million in a financing round that values Gatik at more than $700 million, the sources added. As part of the deal, Gatik will use Microsoft’s cloud and edge computing platform Azure in developing autonomous delivery technology for trucks. Continue reading “Microsoft to invest in autonomous trucking startup Gatik -sources”

Jan 4 (Reuters) – More U.S. consumers want to buy an electric vehicle (EV) but are concerned about rising prices, while fewer aimed to purchase gasoline-powered vehicles, a survey by consulting firm Deloitte showed on Wednesday.

Nearly 7 in 10 prospective EV buyers in the United States expect to pay less than $50,000 for their next vehicle, according to the survey conducted between September and October 2022. Continue reading “More U.S. consumers want EVs but prices are a concern – Deloitte survey”

MEXICO CITY, Jan 3 (Reuters) – General Motors (GM.N) discussed plans to produce only electric vehicles at its Ramos Arizpe plant in northern Mexico, the country’s economy ministry said in a tweet on Tuesday, following a meeting with the U.S. carmaker.

(This story has been corrected to remove reference to 5,000 new jobs after the government officially clarified these were 4,500 jobs already created at separate plants over the course of the past four years) Continue reading “General Motors, Mexico economy ministry talk EV production – ministry”

Jan 3 (Reuters) – (This Jan. 3 story has been corrected to fix the period of the reduced production forecast from midyear to March 2022, in the fourth paragraph)

Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) barely missed its full-year production target of 25,000 vehicles in 2022, the company said in a filing late on Tuesday. Continue reading “Rivian stock less bruised than Tesla as both miss EV targets”

Jan 3 (Reuters) – Chipmaker Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) and electronics manufacturer Foxconn (2317.TW) announced a partnership on Tuesday to develop autonomous vehicle platforms.

Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn said it will manufacture electronic control units (ECUs) for cars based on Nvidia’s DRIVE Orin chip made specifically for computing in connected and autonomous vehicles. Continue reading “Foxconn to use Nvidia chips to build self-driving vehicle platforms”

SEOUL, Jan 3 (Reuters) – South Korea’s antitrust regulator said it would impose a 2.85 billion won ($2.2 million) fine on Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) for failing to tell its customers about the shorter driving range of its electric vehicles (EVs) in low temperatures.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said that Tesla had exaggerated the “driving ranges of its cars on a single charge, their fuel cost-effectiveness compared to gasoline vehicles as well as the performance of its Superchargers” on its official local website since August 2019 until recently. Continue reading “South Korea fines Tesla $2.2 mln for exaggerating driving range of EVs”

Source : PTI : New Delhi: Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles on Tuesday sought extension of subsidies for EVs under the FAME II scheme and also include light to heavy commercial vehicles in it to promote electric mobility. In its pre-Budget recommendations, the industry body also called for a uniform 5 per cent GST on spare parts for electric vehicles.

“The validity of FAME I is set to expire on March 31, 2024. We believe FAME’s validity needs to be extended since we have yet to meet the penetration the subsidy was supposed to catalyse,” Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) said in a statement. Continue reading “SMEV seeks extension of subsidies for electric vehicles under FAME-II in Budget”

Source : PTI : Auto-tech firm CarDekho Group on Monday said it has narrowed total losses to Rs 246 crore in 2021-22. The group had posted a total loss of Rs 341 crore in FY21, CarDekho said in a statement.

The revenue from operations in FY22 increased to Rs 1,598 crore from Rs 884 crore in FY21, it added. Continue reading “CarDekho Group narrows loss to Rs 246 crore in FY22”

SEOUL, Jan 3 (Reuters) – South Korea’s antitrust regulator said it would impose a 2.85 billion won ($2.2 million) fine on Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) for failing to tell its customers about the shorter driving range of its electric vehicles (EVs) in low temperatures.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said that Tesla had exaggerated the “driving ranges of its cars on a single charge, their fuel cost-effectiveness compared to gasoline vehicles as well as the performance of its Superchargers” on its official local website since August 2019 until recently. Continue reading “South Korea fines Tesla $2.2 mln for exaggerating driving range of EVs”

• Move makes Zhu effective deputy to Musk
• Investors have called for deeper executive team, Musk focus
• China-born Zhu holds New Zealand passport
• Zhu joined Tesla in 2014

Jan 3 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) China chief Tom Zhu has been promoted to take direct oversight of the electric carmaker’s U.S. assembly plants as well as sales operations in North America and Europe, according to an internal posting of reporting lines reviewed by Reuters. Continue reading “Exclusive: Tesla makes China boss highest-profile executive after Musk”

Jan 2 (Reuters) – Germany’s Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) has won an order worth more than a quarter billion euros in the electromobility segment, the industrial group said in a statement on Monday.

Rheinmetall said it would be providing the new 900-volt generation of electrically powered vehicles with a new type of contactor to a premium German automaker. Continue reading “Rheinmetall wins quarter-billion euro order for e-vehicle parts”

Mumbai, 2 January 2023: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M Ltd.), one of India’s leading automotive companies, today announced that its overall auto sales for the month of December 2022 stood at 56,677 vehicles.

In the Utility Vehicles segment, Mahindra sold 28,333 vehicles in December 2022. The Passenger Vehicles segment (which includes UVs, Cars and Vans) sold 28,445 vehicles in December 2022. Continue reading “Mahindra Auto sells 28,333 SUVs with a 62% growth and 56,677 vehicles across portfolio with a 45% growth in December 2022”

Tata Motors on Sunday reported a 10 per cent increase in total domestic sales at 72,997 units in December 2022. The company had sold 66,307 units in the same month previous year, Tata Motors said in a statement.

Passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market stood at 40,043 units last month as against 35,299 units in December 2021, a growth of 13.4 per cent. Continue reading “Tata Motors reports 10 pc increase in total domestic sales”

Sajan Jindal-led conglomerate JSW Group is considering a foray into the manufacturing of electric vehicles, according to a top official of the group. “The group had examined EV manufacturing plans earlier also but now it is becoming attractive,” JSW Group Chief Financing Officer Seshagiri Rao told PTI.

The manufacturing of EVs is being discussed actively at the group level, he said while divulging JSW Group’s plan to expand its presence into more sectors. Continue reading “JSW Group mulls foray into EVs, to manufacture 4-wheelers”

Source : PTI : Hyundai Motor India Ltd on Sunday reported an 18.2 per cent increase in total sales at 57,852 units in December 2022. The company had sold 48,933 units in the same month in 2021, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) said in a statement.

Domestic sales grew by 20.2 per cent last month at 38,831 units as compared to 32,312 units in the year-ago month. Continue reading “Hyundai Motor India sales rise 18.2 pc to 57,852 units in Dec”

SHANGHAI, Jan 1 (Reuters) – Leading Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD Co has adjusted its product prices starting from Jan. 1, citing the impact of reduced subsidies for new energy vehicles since November last year.

Official guidance prices will rise by between 2,000 yuan ($290) and 6,000 yuan for its various models, the company said on its official Weibo account. Continue reading “China’s BYD raises car prices after subsidy cuts”

Dec 31 (Reuters) – Sweden-based Volvo Car AB said on Saturday it had taken 100% ownership of its autonomous driving (AD) software development subsidiary Zenseact.

Volvo Cars acquired 13.5% of shares in Zenseact from ECARX, which made the AD software company a fully owned subsidiary of the Swedish automaker. Zenseact will continue to remain and operate as a standalone company, Volvo Cars said. Continue reading “Zenseact becomes fully owned subsidiary of Volvo Cars”

Jan 1 (Reuters) – A data breach at Toyota Motor’s (7203.T) Indian business might have exposed some customers’ personal information, it said on Sunday.

Toyota India said it has notified the relevant Indian authorities of the data breach at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, a joint venture with Indian conglomerate Kirloskar Group (KIRL.NS). Continue reading “Toyota’s Indian unit warns of a possible customer data breach”

New Delhi: Hero MotoCorp on Friday said it has commenced customer deliveries of its first electric scooter VIDA V1. The first electric vehicle of the brand was delivered in Bengaluru. Deliveries in Jaipur and Delhi will follow, the company said ina statement.

“Our vision with VIDA is to establish future oriented mobility trends that will benefit the customers as well as the planet. With the commencement of customer deliveries, we are beginning to realise our vision,” Hero MotoCorp Chairman and CEO Pawan Munjal said. Continue reading “Hero MotoCorp commences deliveries of VIDA V1 electric scooter”

Source : PTI : New Delhi: Tata Motors on Friday said the acquisition of Ford India’s manufacturing plant at Sanand through its subsidiary will be completed on January 10, 2023. In August this year, the company had announced that its arm Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd (TPEML) would acquire Ford India Pvt Ltd’s (FIPL) Sanand plant in Gujarat for Rs 725.7 crore.

The acquisition included the entire land and buildings; vehicle manufacturing plant along with machinery and equipment and transfer of all eligible employees of FIPL’s vehicle manufacturing operations at Sanand. Continue reading “Tata Motors to complete acquisition of Ford India’s manufacturing plant in January”

Source : PTI : A total of 16,397 persons were killed in road accidents in 2021 due to not wearing seat belt, of which 8,438 were drivers and remaining 7,959 were passengers, according to a report by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). The report titled ‘Road accidents in India — 2021’, further said during 2021, a total of 46,593 persons were killed in road accidents due to not wearing helmet, of which 32,877 were drivers and 13,716 were passengers.

A total of 4,12,432 road accidents occurred in 2021 which claimed 1,53,972 lives while 3,84,448 people were injured Continue reading “Not wearing seat belt claimed 16,397 lives in road accidents in 2021, says Ministry data”

MEXICO CITY, Dec 30 (Reuters) – Worker representatives at German automaker Audi’s Mexico plant have extended a strike deadline to Jan. 11 from Jan. 1 as they aim to reach an agreement with the firm over pay raises, a union document seen by Reuters on Friday showed.

The Independent Union of Audi Mexico Workers (SITAUDI) and Audi had previously negotiated two options to raise wages for the plant’s 4,000 unionized employees in the central state of Puebla. Continue reading “Audi workers in Mexico extend strike deadline to Jan. 11”

BRUSSELS, Dec 29 (Reuters) – The European Commission gave a guarded welcome on Thursday to guidance by the United States meaning that EU companies could partially benefit from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, but said further improvements were required. Continue reading “EU gives guarded welcome to U.S. guidance on EV tax credits”

Dec 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday that electric vehicles leased by consumers can qualify starting Jan. 1 for up to $7,500 in commercial clean vehicle tax credits, a decision that makes those assembled outside North America eligible.

South Korea, Europe and some automakers this month sought approval to use the commercial electric vehicle tax credit to boost consumer EV access. Automakers said the credit could be used to reduce leasing prices. Continue reading “U.S. Treasury says consumer leases can qualify for EV tax credits”

Dec 29 (Reuters) – The United States will introduce incentives on Jan. 1 for delivery firms and other companies to switch to electric trucks as part of a broad push to get polluting, workhorse vehicles off roads and out of neighborhoods.

The first-of-its-kind incentives, established under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), will offer tax credits of $7,500 or $40,000 depending on the size of the electric vehicle (EV). Delivery companies like FedEx (FDX.N) and Amazon.com (AMZN.O) would qualify at the $7,500 level for many of their electric trucks. Continue reading “Biden tax credits aim to jolt electric delivery truck demand”

SHANGHAI, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Honda (7267.T) will recall just over 200,000 hybrid vehicles due to issues with brake pedal sensors in some models, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement on Thursday.

A total of 105,608 hybrid vehicles produced between Oct. 8, 2018 and Sept. 7, 2020 by the Japanese carmaker’s venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co. (600006.SS) would be recalled, along with another 95,081 units from Honda’s manufacturing partnership with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (601238.SS) made between August 27, 2018 and August 6, 2020. Continue reading “Honda to recall 200,000 hybrid vehicles made in China -regulator”

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Jordan Li, a restaurant owner in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, hopes desperately that next month’s Lunar New Year holidays will help him make up for business lost this year because of COVID-related travel and other restrictions.

Although infections have risen sharply since the central government lifted most of its pandemic-control curbs this month, Li thinks people will still travel to Chengdu. He envisions a different problem: a lack of workers to handle the demand. Continue reading “Analysis: China’s services sector eyes recovery after reopening, but challenges loom”

Source : PTI :India is aiming to double the size of its automobile industry to Rs 15 lakh crore by the end of 2024, making it one of the world’s top countries in this sector, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. Gadkari also said that his ministry will carry out project works worth Rs 5 lakh crore next year, of which Rs 2 lakh crore will come from the government and the rest will be raised from the capital market.

“Currently our automobile industry is Rs 7.5 lakh crore and we want to take it to Rs 15 lakh crore by the end of 2024, making it one of the largest automakers in the world, creating huge job opportunities,” Gadkari said at a virtual session of Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Continue reading “India aims to double auto industry size to Rs 15 lakh crore by 2024 end: Nitin Gadkari”

Source : PTI : New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has introduced authorization certificates for the dealers of registered vehicles to identify the authenticity of a dealer, a move that will promote ease of doing business and transparency. MoRTH in a notification issued on December 22, has
amended chapter Il of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 to build a comprehensive regulatory ecosystem for the pre-owned car market

According to the notification, the procedure for intimation of delivery of vehicle between the registered owner and the dealer has been detailed, and the powers and responsibilities of a dealer in possession of registered vehicles have also been clarified Continue reading “Road transport ministry introduces authorisation certificates for car dealer to check malpractices”

Dec 28 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk told employees that they should not be “bothered by stock market craziness” after the company’s shares fell nearly 70% this year on jitters over softening demand for electric vehicles and Musk’s distraction with running Twitter.

In an email sent to staff on Wednesday and reviewed by Reuters, Musk said he believes that long term, Tesla will be the most valuable company on earth. Continue reading “Musk tells Tesla workers not to be ‘bothered by stock market craziness’”

TOKYO, Dec 26 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) reported on Monday a 1.5% rise in November global vehicle output, reaching a new record of 833,104.

Domestic production slid 3.3% to 266,174 vehicles, while overseas output rose 3.8% to an all-time high of 566,930 for the month. Continue reading “Toyota’s Nov global vehicle production rises 1.5% to record 833,104”

SHANGHAI, Dec 24 (Reuters) – Tesla suspended production at its Shanghai plant on Saturday, according to an internal notice and two people with knowledge of the matter, bringing ahead a previous plan to pause most work at the plant in the last week of December.

The U.S. automaker cancelled the morning shift and told all workers at its most productive manufacturing hub they could start their break, said the people and the notice seen by Reuters. The company did not give a reason. Continue reading “Tesla suspends production at Shanghai plant”

Source PTI : New Delhi: The Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles on Thursday hit out at the government for holding back incentives under the FAME II scheme. In response to a reply made by Union Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that the ministry has received complaints regarding misappropriation of subsidies under the FAME India Phase II scheme by some electric vehicles manufacturers, the industry body said the allegation is “invalid in the context of the issue at hand.”

The government is probing 12 automakers, including Hero Electric and Okinawa Autotech, for alleged misappropriation of subsidies under the Rs 10,000 crore FAME II scheme. Continue reading “EV makers not misappropriating subsidies under FAME scheme, says SMEV”

MILAN, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Stellantis (STLA.MI) has entered exclusive talks with France’s Faurecia (EPED.PA) and Michelin (MICP.PA) to buy a “substantial” stake in their Symbio joint venture, a fuel cell system maker for hydrogen mobility, the three companies said on Friday.

Stellantis, the world third-largest carmaker, launched hydrogen-powered mid-size vans late last year and aims to expand its hydrogen offer to large vans in Europe in 2024 and in the U.S. in 2025, “while further exploring opportunities for heavy-duty trucks”. Continue reading “Stellantis in talks to buy ‘substantial’ stake in hydrogen mobility company Symbio”

MEXICO CITY, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Worker representatives at automaker Audi’s Mexico plant have set a Jan. 1 deadline to reach an agreement with the company over pay raises without launching a strike, the union said on Thursday.

The Independent Union of Audi Mexico Workers (SITAUDI) and Audi had previously negotiated two options to raise wages for the plant’s 4,000 unionized employees in the central state of Puebla. Continue reading “Audi union in Mexico sets Jan. 1 strike deadline as workers eye higher pay”

WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Finance Committee has asked eight major automakers, including General Motors (GM.N), Tesla (TSLA.O) and Ford Motor (F.N), to disclose whether any of their components are linked to alleged forced labor use in China, according to letters made public on Thursday.

In June, a U.S. law took effect banning the import of forced-labor goods from Xinjiang, in a pushback against Beijing’s treatment of China’s Uyghur Muslim minority, which Washington has labeled genocide. Continue reading “U.S. Senate committee asks carmakers about Chinese supply chain”

Dec 22 (Reuters) – Used-car retailer CarMax Inc (KMX.N) said on Thursday it was pausing some hiring, halting share buybacks and cutting expenses after reporting an 86% drop in third-quarter profit as the industry struggles to offload inventory amid waning demand.

The company’s shares fell as much as 12% to $52.10 and were at more than a two-and-a-half year low, dragging other auto retailers down with it. Continue reading “CarMax results hit by ‘used-vehicle recession’; buyback paused”

Competition organised as a part of Road Safety Initiative of SIAM- सुरक्षित सफर (SAFE JOURNEY)

New Delhi, 23 December 2022: With the vision of promoting safe mobility across the nation from a grass-root level, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) organised the 8th Inter-School Competition on ‘Road Safety’, scheduled between 22nd December, 2022 and 23rd December, 2022. Under the Road Safety Initiative of SIAM- सुरक्षित सफर (SAFE JOURNEY), this event was conducted in association with Delhi Traffic Police and Gyan Mandir Public School, Naraina Vihar, New Delhi. The two-day long competition witnessed students participating in a multitude of activities, aimed at sensitising them to issues pertaining to ‘Safe Mobility’. Continue reading “SIAM hosts 8th Edition of Inter-School Competition on ‘Road Safety’”