Summary

• 9 out 10 new cars sold in January were pure electric
• BEVs account for about a quarter of total car fleet
• Norway’s income from oil, gas helped subsidise BEV adoption
• Norway aims to end sale of new petrol, diesel cars in 2025

OSLO, (Reuters) – The number of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) on Norway’s roads is on track to overtake petrol cars by the end of this year or in early 2025, in a first for any country, according to Reuters’ and analysts’ calculations. Continue reading “EVs could overtake petrol cars in Norway by end-2024”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Shares of China’s Xiaomi surged as much as 16% on Tuesday as the electronics maker’s sporty electric vehicle launched last week drew strong interest, though a brokerage forecast the firm would lose nearly $10,000 per car this year.

The stock touched its highest since January 2022 on the first day of trading since the Thursday launch of Xiaomi’s debut car, which draws styling cues from Porsche. It later pared gains to close 9% higher, adding $4 billion to its market value. Continue reading “Xiaomi’s EV launch propels market value by $4 billion, near GM and Ford”

(Reuters) – Rivian Automotive missed market estimates for quarterly production on Tuesday, impacted by the electric vehicle maker’s move to transition to new suppliers for fresh materials as it looks to reduce costs and improve efficiencies.

The Amazon.com-backed company produced 13,980 vehicles in the first quarter ended March 31, while eight analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected roughly 14,250 units. Continue reading “Rivian misses production estimates as EV maker shifts to new supply chain”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – BYD, China’s biggest electric vehicle (EV) maker, reported first quarter 2024 sales fell 43% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, handing back the title of world’s biggest EV seller to Tesla after winning it last year.

BYD sold 300,114 EVs in the first quarter of this year, it said in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange late on Monday, down from a record quarterly high of 526,409 units sold in the previous three-month period, when it surpassed Tesla. BYD’s first-quarter sales were up 13.4% from a year ago. Continue reading “BYD hands back top EV seller title to Tesla after Q1 sales decline”

Continue reading “Xiaomi’s EV buyers face month-long waits for deliveries in sign of robust demand”

Continue reading “Would-be Tesla buyers snub company as Musk’s reputation dips”

Continue reading “China Xiaomi’s EV launch propels its market value by $7.6 billion, above GM and Ford”

Source: PTI | Tata Motors on Monday reported a 2% rise in its total domestic wholesales at 90,822 units in March. In the year-ago period, the company posted total wholesales of 89,351 units.

Sales of passenger vehicles, including electric vehicles, in the domestic market, were at 50,297 units in March as compared to 44,225 units in the same period last year, up 14%, it added. Continue reading “Tata Motors total domestic sales rises 2% to 90,822 units in March”

Source: PTI| State-owned National Highways Authority of India’s ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ norm, which aims to discourage the use of single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to a particular vehicle, has come into force from from Monday, a senior official said.

NHAI had extended the ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ initiative compliance deadline to March-end, in view of the problems being faced by Paytm FASTag users. Continue reading “‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ norm comes into force”

Source: PTI| Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Monday reported its highest-ever monthly wholesales at 27,180 units in March. The company’s total dispatches to dealers increased 25% last month to 22,910 units as compared with 21,783 units in March 2023.

For the 2023-24 fiscal the company reported the highest-ever wholesales of 2,63,512 units, an increase of 48% as against 1,77,683 units in 2022-23. Continue reading “Toyota records highest-ever monthly sales at 27,180 units in March”

Source: PTI| Union Minister Nitin Gadkari aims to transform India into a green economy by eliminating over 36 crore petrol and diesel vehicles. With plans to reduce GST on hybrid vehicles and promote biofuels, he envisions using fuel import savings to benefit farmers and create jobs.

As part of his ambition to make India a green economy, Union minister Nitin Gadkari wants to slash GST on hybrid vehicles and has vowed to rid the country entirely of the over 36 crore petrol and diesel vehicles. Continue reading “No petrol, diesel vehicles in India: Gadkari vows to eliminate fuel cars”

Source: PTI| The EMPS 2024 scheme aims to boost electric vehicle adoption till July, supporting 3,72,215 EVs with incentives for various types of vehicles and advanced batteries, aligning with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

The new INR 500 crore scheme to promote electric mobility in India will come into force from Monday and continue till the end of July. Meanwhile, the second phase of FAME, or Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-II) programme, ends on March 31, 2024. Continue reading “New INR 500 crore scheme to promote electric mobility kicks in from April 1”

Source : PTI | Only 5 % of those looking to buy a four-wheeler in the country are likely to buy an electric car this year, according to a survey. The survey, based on the response of 40,000 people from across 319 districts, also found that more than half of the “existing or prospective car owners” are willing to buy an electric car if it is available in the INR 8-10 lakh price range.

Car sales in India crossed 4 million units last year while 72,321 electric four-wheelers were registered, according to the survey conducted by online consumer pulse aggregator platform, LocalCircles. Continue reading “Just 5% may purchase electric cars this year, most want EVs under INR 10 lakh: Survey”

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – China’s SAIC Motor aims to cut thousands of jobs this year at its joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen and at an electric-car unit, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters..

The state-owned automaker hopes to cut 30% of employees at SAIC-GM, 10% at SAIC Volkswagen and more than half at its Rising Auto EV subsidiary, the people said. Continue reading “Exclusive: China’s SAIC aims to slash jobs at GM, VW ventures and EV unit, sources say”

Source : PTI | India can achieve a growth rate of 10% in the next decade and become the second-largest economy by 2032 and the largest by 2050, given the energies and transformation driving the nation to overcome its challenges, said RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra. He was delivering a keynote address on The Indian Economy: Opportunities and Challenges at Nomura’s 40th Central Bankers Seminar in Kyoto, Japan on March 25.

India’s growth trend is on the cusp of a post-pandemic upshift, with early signs of it rising above 7% recorded during the 2000s before COVID-19 struck, he said. Continue reading “India can achieve 10% growth rate in next decade: RBI deputy guv”

Source : PTI | Autotech and financial solution provider CarDekho Group is eyeing over 40% consolidated headline growth in FY25 and is on the prowl for value-accretive acquisitions, chief executive and co-founder and Shark Tank India judge Amit Jain has said. Jain who leads CarDekho and is a familiar face on the business reality series Shark Tank India told PTI in an interview that the automobile marketplace (CarDekho) has been profitable for years now and hoped that profitability at a group level would come by in FY25, after which an IPO would follow. Continue reading “CarDekho Group eyeing 40% consolidated growth in FY25: Founder Amit Jain”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: Auto components maker ZF Rane Automotive India Pvt Ltd, on Friday, announced the acquisition of steering wheels manufacturer TRW Sun Steering Wheels Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Gurugram-headquartered TRW Sun Steering Wheels (TSSW) is a JV between the Sun Group and ZF Group globally.

It manufactures various types of steering wheels for the Indian market and supplies to a diverse set of passenger vehicle customers from its manufacturing plants in Gurugram and Pune, ZF Rane Automotive India said in a statement. Continue reading “ZF Rane Automotive India acquires TRW Sun Steering Wheels”

Source : PTI | German auto parts maker Schaeffler on Friday said its board has approved the re-appointment of Harsha Kadam as the Managing Director (MD) and CEO of its India arm for a period of three years, effective from October 1, 2024. Kadam, who joined Schaeffler India in 2018, was appointed as the MD and CEO of the company in October 2019 for a period of five years. The re-appointment is subject to the company’s shareholders’ nod.

Continue reading “Schaeffler India re-appoints Harsha Kadam as MD, CEO”

Source : PTI | Luxury car sales in India could cross the milestone of 50,000 units for the first time in a year in 2024 amid growing demand for such models, according to Audi India head Balbir Singh Dhillon. The overall domestic luxury car segment grew by 28% annually last year to record sales volume of around 48,500 units.

Luxury car volumes in India currently account for less than 2% of the overall passenger vehicle sales annually and the sector has been more or less at the same level for the past decade. Continue reading “Luxury car sales could breach 50,000 units mark for first time ever in 2024: Audi India head”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – The Luxeed S7 electric sedan, developed by Chinese tech giant Huawei and Chery Auto, has started mass delivery after a shortage of semiconductors and production issues delayed production and delivery, a Huawei executive said on Saturday.

“A large number of Luxeed S7 vehicles have already rolled off the production line and are now being transported for delivery to customers,” Richard Yu, managing director and chairman of Huawei’s smart car solutions, posted on the Weibo social media platform. Continue reading “Huawei says Chery’s Luxeed S7 premium EV starts mass delivery”

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. government said on Friday it was finalizing tighter tailpipe emissions standards for heavy duty vehicles like semi-trucks and buses, but the new rules would not be as strict as initially proposed in 2023.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the new rules setting standards for the 2027 through 2032 model years will avoid 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions through 2055 and provide $13 billion in annualized net benefits to society. In contrast, the EPA had said its tougher proposed rules last year would have prevented 1.8 billion tons, of emissions. Continue reading “US finalizes new tailpipe emissions limits for heavy duty vehicles”

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – A group representing major automakers on Friday urged the White House to oppose any effort by steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs to buy rival U.S. Steel, warning that a deal could result in anti-competitive pricing for vehicles.

“A consolidation of the two companies would also place 65 to 90% of steel used in vehicles under the control of a single company,” Alliance for Automotive Innovation CEO John Bozzella said in a letter, which was first reported by Reuters. Continue reading “Automakers urge White House to oppose US Steel sale to Cleveland-Cliffs”

(Reuters) – The U.S. Office of Defect Investigations (ODI) has opened a preliminary evaluation of a failure of the K1 snap ring in Chrysler-parent Stellantis’ year 2022 RAM 3500, 4500, and 5500 trucks, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Friday.

The ODI has received 82 complaints alleging loss of motive power due to an internal transmission failure of the K1 snap ring, the NHTSA said. Continue reading “US probes Stellantis 2022 RAM truck models over K1 snap ring transmission failures”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – He was called China’s answer to Steve Jobs for taking Xiaomi from scrappy startup to an electronics giant known for its smartphones.

With the launch of a much-hyped and against-the-odds electric car, Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s co-founder and CEO, is taking on Elon Musk with a strategy that takes a page from Tesla’s playbook. Continue reading “With China EV launch, Xiaomi’s ‘Thor’ takes on Elon Musk”

March 28 (Reuters) – A federal judge in California on Thursday appeared poised to reject Tesla’s (TSLA.O),bid to toss out a U.S. agency’s lawsuit accusing the electric carmaker of tolerating rampant harassment of Black workers at its Fremont, California assembly plant.

U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco during a hearing repeatedly disagreed with claims by Tesla’s lawyers that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) failed to include any facts in its lawsuit backing up its claim of pervasive unlawful race bias. Continue reading “Tesla appears unlikely to nix US suit alleging bias against Black workers”

Summary

• Visit to France expected on April 7
• Visit to Italy expected on April 12
• BYD, SAIC and Geely representatives to accompany Wang
• China overtook Japan last year as largest car exporter

PARIS/SHANGHAI, March 28 (Reuters) – China’s commerce minister will travel to Europe in April for discussions about the European Commission’s investigation into whether China’s electric vehicle industry has benefited from unfair subsidies, four people briefed on the plan told Reuters. Continue reading “Exclusive: China commerce minister to head to Europe to make EV case”

NEW YORK/SEOUL, March 27 (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor Group (005380.KS), said on Wednesday it will invest 68 trillion won ($51 billion) over three years in South Korea to ramp up electric vehicle production and new mobility business and separately hire 80,000 new employees, doubling down at a time when other established automakers are slowing efforts.

More than half of the investment, or 35.5 trillion won, will be allocated for new research and development infrastructure and assembly lines for EVs, the automaker said in a statement. Continue reading “Hyundai Motor doubles down on EVs as it ramps up investment in Korea”

BEIJING, March 28 (Reuters) – Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi launched a sporty electric car on Thursday with styling cues drawn from Porsche and priced below Tesla’s (TSLA.O) Model 3, highlighting the stiff competition from new entrants in an already crowded EV market in China.

During the two hour-long event, Xiaomi CEO and founder Lei Jun told a packed room whose attendees included the bosses of Chinese EV makers Nio and Xpeng that the standard SU7 EV model will be priced at 215,900 yuan ($29,872.02), while the Pro and Max versions will cost 245,900 yuan and 299,900 yuan respectively. Continue reading “Xiaomi takes aim at Tesla in Chinese auto market with $29,870 electric car”

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INDIA

MG Motor India to increase production soon carwale

Volkswagen India reinvigorates product line-up with the showcase of new GT Plus Sport and GT Line variants on Taigun, unveils ID.4 in India WAF

Auto players line up array of new EV models in coming years on govt push to green mobility WAF Continue reading “WAF Auto News | The Auto World This Week (29th March 2024)”

Varanasi, 28^th March 2024:  The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the apex automobile industry body, organised the 18^th SIAM Styling and Design Conclave alongside the 16^th Automotive Design Challenge (ADC) on 22^nd March 2024 at Hotel Ramada Plaza by Wyndham, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

The theme of the conclave was “Designing for Aspiring India”, focusing on the future of vehicle styling and design in India. The event brought together several experienced automobile designers from India and abroad to share their ideas and inputs, for shaping the future of aesthetic design of vehicles. Continue reading “SIAM Hosts 18th Styling & Design Conclave alongside 16th Automotive Design Challenge (ADC)”

HANOI, (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicles maker BYD has slowed down its plans to build an EV factory in Vietnam, a manager of the industrial park where the plant would be built told a shareholders meeting on Thursday.

Vietnam’s government said in May that BYD had decided to build a factory to manufacture and assemble electric cars in the northern Vietnamese province of Phu Tho, where the company already has a plant that produces tablets for Apple. Continue reading “China’s BYD slows down plans for EV factory in Vietnam, industrial park says”

BERLIN, (Reuters) – A German court ruled on Thursday partly in favour of consumers in a class action suit against Mercedes Benz over diesel emissions defeat devices.

Some of the German luxury carmaker’s diesel models with the Euro 6 grade engines built between 2012-2016 had cheat devices, the Stuttgart court said. It found no violations in the older Euro 5 models, however.. Continue reading “Mercedes partly loses class action case over diesel defeat devices”

(Reuters) – Subaru is recalling 118,000 SUVs and sedans in the United States to address a faulty sensor that can prevent air bags from deploying in a crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Wedne0sday.

The recall covers various 2020 through 2022 model year Outback and Legacy. Continue reading “Subaru recalls 118,000 US vehicles over faulty air bag sensors”

BEIJING, (Reuters) – China’s Xiaomi will launch its highly anticipated electric vehicle (EV) on Thursday when it will reveal its pricing and start taking orders, marking the electronics company’s entry into the world of automobiles.

The world’s third largest smartphone vendor has only said so far that its car will be priced below 500,000 yuan ($69,170.64). Models it unveiled in over 70 stores across China on Monday have drawn comparisons to Porsche’s Taycan and Panamera sports car models. Continue reading “Xiaomi set for plunge into EVs at a tricky time for China autos”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Toyota Motor’s global sales dropped 7% in February from a year earlier, hurt by a heavy decline in China due to Lunar Year holidays and a slump in Japan after a safety test scandal at its small car unit.

Sales in China – the world’s biggest auto market – tumbled 36%. This year the week-long Lunar New Year holiday took place in February while last year it occurred in January. Continue reading “Toyota’s global sales slide 7% in February, led by slumps in China and Japan”

NEW YORK/SEOUL, (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor Group said on Wednesday it will invest 68 trillion won ($51 billion) over three years in South Korea to ramp up electric vehicle production and new mobility business and separately hire 80,000 new employees, doubling down at a time when other established automakers are slowing efforts.

More than half of the investment, or 35.5 trillion won, will be allocated for new research and development infrastructure and assembly lines for EVs, the automaker said in a statement. Continue reading “Hyundai Motor doubles down on EVs as it ramps up investment in Korea”

Source : PTI | RRP Electronics , a company backed by former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, on Tuesday announced an investment of INR 5,000 crore for a semiconductor facility in Maharashtra. The investment will be done over the next five years, the company said in a statement.

Contributions from Tendulkar in the overall investment or details of other shareholders were not disclosed by the company. Continue reading “Tendulkar-backed company to invest INR 5,000 crore for semiconductor facility in Maha”

(Reuters) – Chinese electric-vehicle maker Nio lowered its forecast for first-quarter deliveries on Wednesday, as it grapples with slowing demand and a price war in China.

The company’s U.S.-listed shares fell around 4% in premarket trading. Continue reading “Chinese EV maker Nio cuts Q1 deliveries forecast amid tepid demand”

HANOI,  (Reuters) – Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast said on Wednesday that it had signed partnership agreements with 15 dealers in Thailand, its latest effort to expand in Southeast Asia and tap growing demand in the region.

It said the deals were made at this week’s Bangkok International Motor Show. Continue reading “EV maker VinFast signs partnership agreements with 15 dealers in Thailand”

SEOUL, (Reuters) – South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group said on Wednesday it will invest 68 trillion won ($51 billion) over three years to bolster its growth potential in electric vehicles and new mobility business and separately hire 80,000 new employees.

More than half of the investment, or 35.5 trillion won, will be allocated for new research and development infrastructure and assembly lines for electric vehicles, the group said in a statement. Continue reading “Hyundai Motor Group to invest 68 trln won over 3 years”