ULSAN, South Korea, June 11 (Reuters) – A huge Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) factory complex added weekend production on Saturday, despite a nationwide strike by truckers that has hit ports and other South Korean industrial giants, including steelmaker POSCO (005490.KS).

On day five of the strike, some 100 unionised truckers, about a tenth of Friday’s show of force, assembled at the main gate of the Hyundai factory in the southern city of Ulsan, protesting soaring fuel prices and demanding higher freight rates to cover costs. Continue reading “Hyundai Motor plants in extra weekend run, South Korea truckers’ strike continues”

ULSAN, South Korea, June 10 (Reuters) – Defiant South Korean truckers embarked on broader and more aggressive strike action on Friday, threatening to severely curtail deliveries of raw materials for semiconductors and petrochemical products.

Entering its fourth day, the strike protesting soaring fuel costs halved production at Hyundai Motor Co’s (005380.KS) biggest factory complex on Thursday and has disrupted shipments for a range of companies including steelmaking giant POSCO (005490.KS). Continue reading “Striking South Korean truckers target chips, put brakes on port activity”

BRUSSELS, June 8 (Reuters) – European Parliament lawmakers on Wednesday voted to support an effective EU ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, rejecting attempts to weaken the proposal to speed Europe’s shift to electric vehicles.

The vote upholds a key pillar of the European Union’s plans to cut net planet-warming emissions 55% by 2030, from 1990 levels – a target that requires faster emissions reductions from industry, energy and transport. Continue reading “EU lawmakers back ban on new fossil-fuel cars from 2035”

June 9 (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is offering pay-offs to its employees at a car assembly plant in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, if they agree to quit voluntarily, the carmaker said on Thursday.

The offer of financial compensation and medical insurance until the end of 2022 was available to the around 200 people working at the Nizhny Novgorod plant, a Volkswagen spokesperson said, confirming an earlier report by Kommersant paper. Continue reading “Volkswagen offers pay-offs for employees who quit major Russia plant”

WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) is on Thursday proposing minimum standards and requirements for electric vehicle (EV) charging projects funded under a $5 billion government program.

“Everyone should be able to count on fast charging, fair pricing and easy-to-use payment,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. Continue reading “U.S. to propose standards for government funded EV charging projects”

BARCELONA, June 8 (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) Spanish brand CUPRA will launch three electric models by 2025, including what would be its first fully electric vehicle to be made in Spain, CUPRA said on Tuesday.

Volkswagen delivered 452,000 all-electric vehicles last year and is aiming for half of its global output to be all-electric by 2030. The German carmaker has earmarked 159 billion euros ($170 billion) over the next five years for investment in electrification, far more than rivals. Continue reading “VW’s CUPRA to launch three electric models by 2025”

HONG KONG, June 8 (Reuters) – China’s Didi is in talks with state-backed Sinomach Automobile (600335.SS) to buy a third of its electric-vehicle unit, two sources said, signalling the ride-hailer’s regulatory troubles are in the rear view mirror as it focuses on growth.

The deal, if completed, would accelerate Didi Global Inc’s strategic expansion in the world’s largest EV market and help cushion the impact of the pandemic on its core ride-hailing business. Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE Didi pursues EV stake as it aims to emerge from regulatory shadows-sources”

BEIJING, June 9 (Reuters) – China’s exports grew at a double-digit pace in May, shattering expectations in an encouraging sign for the world’s second biggest economy, as factories restarted and logistics snags eased after authorities relaxed some COVID curbs in Shanghai.

Imports also expanded for the first time in three months, providing welcome relief to Chinese policy makers as they try to chart an economic path out of the supply-side shock that has rocked global trade and financial markets in recent months. Continue reading “China’s exports surge on easing COVID curbs, trade outlook still fragile”

WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. auto safety agency and Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT.O) sparred for months over whether the Ohio-based company should recall tires used on motor homes that have not been produced in nearly two decades.

Under pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Goodyear on Tuesday said it would recall 173,000 G159 tires size 275/70R22.5. tires used on recreational vehicles because of the potential of catastrophic tread separations. Continue reading “Goodyear, U.S. auto safety agency sparred over tire issue”

June 7 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Tuesday gave a Black former elevator operator at Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) two weeks to decide whether to accept $15 million in damages over racial abuse at the electric car company, far below the $137 million a jury had awarded.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco said Owen Diaz identified no controlling question of law to justify an immediate appeal of the reduced award, which includes $1.5 million of compensatory damages and $13.5 million of punitive damages. Continue reading “Judge gives former Tesla worker a deadline to accept $15 mln payout over racism”

SHANGHAI, June 8 (Reuters) – China’s BYD is preparing to supply Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) with batteries “very soon”, a senior company executive told a state media anchor in a video released early on Wednesday.

“We are now good friends with Elon Musk because we are preparing to supply batteries to Tesla very soon,” said Lian Yubo, BYD’s executive vice president in an interview with Kui Yingchun, an anchor with China’s state-owned broadcaster CGTN. Continue reading “BYD executive says it will supply batteries to Tesla ‘very soon’”

JAKARTA, June 8 (Reuters) – South Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES) on Wednesday broke ground on nickel processing plants in Indonesia, part of the company’s $9.8 billion investment in the country to produce electric vehicle batteries.

The company will build a $3.5 billion smelter with the capacity to produce 150,000 tonnes of nickel sulfate per year, LGES officials told Indonesian President Joko Widodo at a ceremony in Batang industrial park in Central Java, which was broadcast live, Continue reading “S.Korea’s LG Energy Solution launches nickel processing plants in Indonesia”

WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) – Goodyear (GT.O) said on Tuesday it would recall 173,000 G159 tires used on recreational vehicles because of the potential of catastrophic tread separations and after U.S. auto safety regulators formally asked the manufacturer to replace them.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a preliminary investigation in 2017 to review allegations raised in a lawsuit that some tires had defects causing motor home crashes resulting in deaths and injuries. Continue reading “Goodyear to recall 173,000 tires after pressure from U.S. regulators”

June 7 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) on Tuesday accused a California civil rights agency of rushing to sue businesses without conducting proper investigations, an attempt to go on the offensive as the electric car maker faces claims of widespread race bias at an assembly plant.

Tesla in a 10-page complaint told California’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL) that the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has adopted “underground regulations” that flout requirements it must meet before suing employers. Continue reading “Tesla attacks California agency for filing race bias lawsuit”

WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) – Five automakers including Ford Motor Co (F.N), Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and Honda Motor Co (7267.T) on Tuesday backed efforts by President Joe Biden’s administration to restore California’s ability to set its own strict tailpipe and zero-emission vehicle standards.

Joined by BMW AG (BMWG.DE) and Volvo Cars, the automakers in a court filing backed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to restore the authority that was withdrawn under former President Donald Trump. Continue reading “Automakers back U.S. restoring California emissions authority”

MEXICO CITY/WASHINGTON June 7 (Reuters) – The United States has asked Mexico to probe alleged worker rights violations at an auto-parts plant owned by Italian-French carmaker Stellantis, the fourth such complaint under a revised trade deal, U.S. officials said on Monday.

The U.S. request for Mexico to examine possible abuses at Teksid Hierro de Mexico in the northern border state of Coahuila comes under the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Continue reading “U.S. asks Mexico to probe whether Stellantis parts plant abused labor rights”

June 6 (Reuters) – Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Monday announced significant updates to CarPlay at the Worldwide Developers Conference event, as the company looks to upgrade it from an infotainment system to a software solution that will allow drivers to control parts of their car and show more information such as speed and fuel level.

The iPhone maker said it is talking to several automakers to bring the new generation of the software to their cars, which will be announced from late 2023. Continue reading “Factbox: Apple’s next-gen CarPlay with widgets, greater integration”

June 6 (Reuters) – Solid Power , a developer of solid-state batteries for electric vehicles, aims to begin shipping pre-production battery cells by year-end for validation testing by partners BMW (BMWG.DE) and Ford Motor (F.N), the company said on Monday.

In an interview, Doug Campbell, Solid Power’s chief executive and co-founder, said the Colorado company has set up a pilot production line to provide validation samples to automakers while looking for a manufacturing partner to begin producing its cells as early as 2026. Continue reading “Solid Power aims to ship first solid-state battery cells by year-end to BMW, Ford”

BERLIN, June 5,  (Reuters) – Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) is recalling almost a million older cars from around the world due to possible problems with the brake booster, the company said on Saturday.

Models of the ML, GL (BR 164) and R-Class (BR 251) series produced between 2004 and 2015 are affected, it said. Some 70,000 of them are in Germany. Continue reading “Mercedes to recall about 1 million older models worldwide”

June 4 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Saturday that the electric vehicle maker’s total headcount will increase over the next 12 months, but the number of salaried staff should be little changed, backtracking from an email just two days ago saying that job cuts of 10% were needed.

“Total headcount will increase, but salaried should be fairly flat,” Musk tweeted in a reply to an unverified Twitter account that made a “prediction” that Tesla’s headcount would increase over the next 12 months. Continue reading “Elon Musk backtracks on job cuts, says Tesla salaried staff to be ‘fairly flat’”

June 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. business of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy on Friday and will pay about $300 million in a plea agreement to resolve a multi-year U.S. Justice Department diesel emissions fraud probe, court documents show.

FCA US LLC, now part of Stellantis (STLA.MI), will pay about $300 million in criminal penalties arising from its efforts to evade emissions requirements for more than 100,000 older Ram pickup trucks and Jeep sport-utility vehicles in its U.S. lineup. Continue reading “Stellantis unit pleads guilty, will pay $300M in U.S. diesel probe”

SAN FRANCISCO, June 3 (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and needs to cut about 10% of salaried staff at the electric carmaker, he said in emails seen by Reuters.

A message sent to executives on Thursday laid out his concerns and told them to “pause all hiring worldwide.” The dire outlook came two days after the billionaire told staff to return to the workplace or leave and adds to a growing chorus of warnings from business leaders about the risks of recession. Continue reading “Exclusive: Elon Musk wants to cut 10% of Tesla jobs”

SAN FRANCISCO, June 3 (Reuters) – Elon Musk needs to cut one in ten jobs at Tesla. Some may already have their eye on the exit.

The Tesla (TSLA.O) chief executive’s intentions, conveyed in an internal email seen by Reuters, are rooted in what he described as his “super bad feeling” about the U.S. economy.  Continue reading “Analysis: Elon Musk opens door to a Tesla talent exodus”

June 2 (Reuters) – China’s electric vehicle start-ups reported stronger sales for May and forecast continued gains for June as supply chains and output begin to recover from the disruption of COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai and other cities.

Li Auto Inc (2015.HK) reported a May sales gain of 166% from a year earlier to 11,496 vehicles on Wednesday. Xpeng Inc (9868.HK) posted a gain of 78% with 10,125 deliveries. Nio Inc (9866.HK) delivered 7,024 EVs, up 5% from a year earlier. Continue reading “China EV startups say May sales up, post-lockdown output constrained”

BRUSSELS, June 2 (Reuters) – Owners of vehicles equipped with so-called defeat devices have a right to compensation from the vehicle manufacturer, an adviser to the top EU court said on Thursday in a case brought against Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE).

Defeat devices are mechanisms or software that can change vehicle emissions levels, leading to disputes over whether manufacturers use them to mask the true pollution levels of their vehicles. Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) admitted in 2015 to using software to cheat U.S. emissions tests on some diesel engines. Continue reading “Defeat device car owners can claim damages – EU court adviser”

SHANGHAI, June 2 (Reuters) – China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group conducted its first successful satellite launch on Wednesday, sending nine into low earth orbit as it builds out a satellite network to provide more accurate navigation for autonomous vehicles.

The self-designed and manufactured GeeSAT-1 satellites, were launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan. Geely said it expects another 63 to be in orbit by 2025 and eventually plans to have a constellation of 240. Continue reading “China’s Geely launches first nine low-orbit satellites for autonomous cars”

June 1 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk has asked employees to return to the office or leave the company, according to an email sent to employees and seen by Reuters.

“Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week,” Musk wrote in the email sent on Tuesday night. Continue reading “Elon Musk tells Tesla staff: return to office or leave”

June 1 (Reuters) – General Motors Co’s (GM.N) Buick brand, once one of America’s pioneer auto companies, said Wednesday that its future North American lineup will be all-electric by 2030.

That target will make Buick one of GM’s lead brands, along with Cadillac, in pursuing the corporate goal of phasing out internal combustion engines by 2035. Continue reading “Buick says it will ‘fully electrify’ North American lineup by 2030”

BERLIN, June 1 (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) is still hammering out how to make good on a promise to build the world’s first fossil-free plant in Hungary, from how much energy can be generated on-site to how much storage will be needed, the carmaker’s production chief said.

The plant under construction, which BMW has said will open in 2025 and source all its electricity from renewables, will still be connected to Hungary’s grid, Milan Nedeljkovic said at a media roundtable on Wednesday. Continue reading “BMW still hammering out details of promised fossil-fuel free plant”

June 1 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) needs to overhaul its century-old business model – from slashing advertising spending to reworking its dealer network – if it is to earn enough profit on electric vehicles to compete with Tesla (TSLA.O) and others, the automaker’s chief executive said on Wednesday.

The shift from internal combustion vehicles to EVs is “the most exciting land grab in our industry since the Model T” introduced by Henry Ford in 1908, CEO Jim Farley said at an Alliance Bernstein conference. Continue reading “Ford may slash ad spending, revamp dealers to boost EV profit, CEO says”

June 1 (Reuters) – Eight electric vehicle manufacturers have adopted a U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendation to improve emergency response guides and incorporate vehicle-specific information for fighting lithium-ion EV battery fires. Continue reading “Eight automakers adopt U.S. EV fire response recommendations”

June 1 (Reuters) – The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) said on Wednesday it is seeking to boost the number of electric delivery vehicles it plans to buy as it modernizes its network for a new delivery plan.

The USPS currently plans to buy at least 10% EVs including 10,019 of an initial $2.98 billion order of 50,000 from Oshkosh Defense (OSK.N). The Postal Service said it is exploring options for accelerating production of the initial 10,019 BEVs toward the front of the line and “anticipates taking advantage of the flexibility built into the contract with Oshkosh to increase the number of BEVs purchased in the initial delivery order.” Continue reading “USPS expects to boost purchase of electric delivery vehicles”

MILAN, June 1 (Reuters) – Italy’s Lamborghini wants to have two hybrid supersports cars in its range beyond 2030 powered by e-fuels, the head of the Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) brand was quoted as saying in a newspaper interview on Wednesday.

Lamborghini’s Chief Executive Stephan Winkelmann told Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera that synthetic fuels would allow the automaker to have very low carbon emissions. Continue reading “Lamborghini wants hybrid cars in its range beyond 2030 with e-fuels – CEO”