TOKYO, (Reuters) – Japan’s Honda Motor said on Thursday its third-quarter operating profit increased 5% from a year earlier, largely due to a strong performance of its motorcycle business and a weak yen, but missed analysts’ estimates.
Honda also said in a joint statement with smaller rival Nissan that the companies had agreed to end merger talks but would continue to cooperate in electric vehicles. Continue reading “Japan’s Honda posts 5% rise in Q3 profit”
Summary
YOKOHAMA, Japan, (Reuters) – Nissan and Honda ended talks to merge and create a $60 billion carmaker on Thursday, pitching Nissan into deeper uncertainty and underlining the difficulties faced by many auto manufacturers as Chinese rivals disrupt the industry. Continue reading “Nissan and Honda ditch $60 billion merger talks and face new uncertainty”
Production: The total production of Passenger Vehicles, Three Wheelers, Two Wheelers, and Quadricycle in January 2025 was 25,46,643 units
Continue reading “India Automobile Performance – January 2025”
LONDON, (Reuters) – Two European startups said on Thursday they had hit milestones in recycling electric vehicle battery materials that will be needed to meet European regulations, reduce China’s dominance of the entire battery supply chain and lower CO2 emissions.
Starting in August 2030, European automakers’ EV batteries must include a minimum of 6% each of recycled lithium and nickel, and 16% of cobalt, rising five years later. This has spurred a race to challenge China’s lead in battery recycling. Continue reading “European EV battery material startups make recycling breakthroughs”
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley met with U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday after raising concerns this week that 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada would “blow a hole” in the U.S. auto industry.
Farley met with Senators Roger Marshall, Elissa Slotkin, Deb Fischer and many House of Representatives lawmakers after warning this week that tariffs President Donald Trump might impose could be devastating and benefit rival foreign automakers. Continue reading “Ford CEO holds meetings with lawmakers after raising concerns about tariffs”
BOSTON, (Reuters) – A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a challenge by a group representing automakers to a Massachusetts voter-approved measure that expanded access to vehicle data and allowed independent shops to repair increasingly sophisticated automotive technology.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston marked a defeat for the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association representing General Motors, Volkswagen, Stellantis , and other automakers that challenged the law. Continue reading “Massachusetts voter-approved vehicle data access measure survives court challenge”
Summary
NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India’s demand for back taxes running into a record $1.4 billion from Volkswagen, after 12 years of scrutiny, is reigniting concerns that lengthy investigations and litigation could sour the plans of foreign firms in the fastest-growing major economy. Continue reading “Volkswagen’s $1.4 billion India tax tussle rekindles foreign investor fears”
NEW TAIPEI, Taiwan, (Reuters) – The chairman of Taiwan’s Foxconn said on Wednesday that the company’s aim is cooperation with Nissan, not acquisition, as the Japanese automaker’s future hangs in the balance after stepping back from merger talks with Honda.
Struggling Nissan is again at a crossroads after sources said last week that negotiations with bigger rival Honda to create the world’s No. 4 automaker had been complicated by growing differences. Continue reading “Foxconn says its aim is cooperation with Nissan, not acquisition”
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday proposed a pair of bills to kill the country’s $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit and impose a new $1,000 tax on EVs to pay for road repairs.
Senator John Barrasso, joined by 14 senators including Senate Majority Leader John Thune introduced legislation to repeal the tax credit for new EVs and kill the $4,000 used EV credit, end the federal investment tax credit for EV charging stations and end credits for leased EVs. The credits would end 30 days after the bill was signed into law. Continue reading “Senators propose killing US EV tax credit, new $1,000 tax for road repairs”
Source : PTI | New Delhi: TVS Motor Company on Wednesday said it will invest INR 2,000 crore in Karnataka over the next five years with plans to set up a capability centre and expand production. As part of the agreement inked with the Karnataka government, the company said it will set up a global capability centre, expand its production and engineering capabilities in Mysuru, build a test track and set up a new company office infrastructure in the state.
TVS Motor Company Managing Director Sudarshan Venu outlined the company’s plan at the Global Investors Meet (GIM), Invest Karnataka 2025.
Continue reading “TVS Motor to invest INR 2,000 cr in Karnataka over next 5 years”
BOSTON, (Reuters) – A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a challenge by a group representing automakers to a Massachusetts voter-approved measure that expanded access to vehicle data and allowed independent shops to repair increasingly sophisticated automotive technology.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston marked a defeat for the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association representing General Motors, Volkswagen Stellantis , and other automakers that challenged the law. Continue reading “Massachusetts voter-approved vehicle data access measure survives court challenge”
BEIJING, (Reuters) – China’s car sales fell 12% in January from a year earlier, the first decline since September and the biggest drop in almost a year, as automakers braced for intense competition in the world’s largest auto market.
Passenger vehicle sales tend to post big swings in the first two months, due to shifting timings for the Lunar New Year, which began in January this year versus February last year. Continue reading “China’s car sales post biggest drop in almost a year in January”
Summary
DETROIT/MONTREAL/HOUSTON, (Reuters) – Executives across industries reliant on steel and aluminum imports were scrambling to offset the cost of Donald Trump’s move to slap 25% tariffs on those key metals after previous tariff threats from the White House that were later scrapped. Continue reading “Executives plot strategy to deal with ‘cost and chaos’ of Trump tariffs”
(Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp is recalling 106,061 U.S. vehicles over a brake fluid leak that can reduce braking ability and increase the risk of a crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday.
The recall affects certain 2024-2025 Tacoma four-wheel drive vehicles. Continue reading “Toyota to recall over 100,000 US vehicles over brake fluid leak, NHTSA says”
NEW TAIPEI, Taiwan, (Reuters) – The chairman of Taiwan’s Foxconn said on Wednesday that the company’s aim is cooperation with Nissan not acquisition, as the Japanese automaker’s future hangs in the balance after stepping back from merger talks with Honda.
Struggling Nissan is again at a crossroads after sources said last week that negotiations with bigger rival Honda to create the world’s No. 4 automaker had been complicated by growing differences. Continue reading “Foxconn says its aim is cooperation with Nissan, not acquisition”
Summary
TOKYO, (Reuters) – Nissan was deep in trouble late last year when rival Honda offered a lifeline: a $60 billion tie-up that would help both Japanese automakers compete against the Chinese brands upending the car industry. Continue reading “How Nissan and Honda’s $60 billion merger talks collapsed”
BEIJING, (Reuters) – Tesla’s battery megafactory in Shanghai, for manufacturing its megapack batteries, has launched production on Tuesday, Chinese official news agency Xinhua said. Continue reading “Tesla’s Shanghai megapack battery plant launches production, Xinhua says”
Summary
SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – Shares in Chinese automakers Xpeng and Geely Auto tumbled on Tuesday on worries they will struggle to compete against BYD’s move to offer smart driving features across almost all of its line-up for free. Continue reading “Xpeng, Geely shares fall after BYD offers free smart driving tech”
BEIJING, (Reuters) – Leapmotor, the Chinese partner of Stellantis on Tuesday launched a new electric vehicle with smart driving technology priced under 150,000 yuan ($20,535), a day after BYD slashed the entry price for such smart EVs.
Leapmotor said it would launch pre-sale of its B10 on March 10, its first electric vehicle model that will be equipped with lidar and urban traffic smart driving capability. Continue reading “China’s Leapmotor launches $20,000 smart EV, after BYD cuts entry price”
Source : PTI | State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation on Monday said it has signed a pact with global oil major BP to explore collaboration in exploration and production, trading and other energy vectors, in India and internationally. The MoU comes within a month of ONGC selecting BP as a technical service provider for raising output from its flagship Mumbai High oil and gas field.
ONGC and BP have agreed to explore opportunities for collaboration and partnership across the energy industry in India and internationally, focused on oil and gas exploration and production, as well as trading and extending to other energy vectors,” the firm said in a statement. Continue reading “ONGC signs pact with BP for oil exploration, trading”
Source : PTI | Around 150 eco-friendly CNG taxis painted in the classic yellow colour with blue border will soon ply the roads of Kolkata, a transport official said on Friday. An MoU in this regard was signed between the state government and the operator of the service on Thursday, the last day of the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit, he said.
The move is aimed at preventing yellow taxis from going off the city roads and providing all modern amenities keeping in mind the expectations and demands of the city commuters in an economical manner, the official said. Continue reading “CNG yellow taxis to ply Kolkata’s roads soon”
Summary
(Reuters) – Stephen Bullock’s phone rang early Monday morning last week at his small factory in North Carolina with an urgent message from his distributor up in Toronto who was rattled by what looked like an unfolding U.S.-Canada trade war. Continue reading “Looming tariffs turned into a mad dash north for one US manufacturer”
SAN FRANCISCO, (Reuters) – Rivian is opening up sales of its delivery vans to fleets of all sizes in the United States, the electric vehicle maker said on Monday, more than a year after ending its exclusive deal with shareholder Amazon.
Rivian, known for its flagship R1S SUVs and R1T pickup trucks, has seen demand beyond Amazon for its commercial vans and has been testing them with large fleets. Continue reading “EV maker Rivian opens up commercial van sales to all fleet sizes”
SINGAPORE, (Reuters) – Japan’s Nissan Motor is open to working with new partners including even technology firms after merger talks with cross-town rival Honda Motor foundered, people familiar with the automaker’s thinking have said.
The pair were on course to create the world’s fourth-biggest automaker with annual production of nearly 7 million vehicles, just behind compatriot Toyota Motor, Germany’s Volkswagen and South Korea duo Hyundai Motor and Kia, according to 2024 sales data. Continue reading “How Nissan lost its status as Honda equal”
Summary
(Reuters) – Elon Musk told investors in late January that Tesla would roll out “autonomous ride-hailing for money” by June in Austin, Texas — a state where the company faces almost no regulation, raising questions about how much safety and legal risk Tesla is willing to take on as it deploys unproven driverless technology on public streets. Continue reading “Tesla robotaxis by June? Musk turns to Texas for hands-off regulation”
Summary
HONG KONG, (Reuters) – Shares of Dongfeng Motor soared as much as 85.8% in Hong Kong on Monday after the Chinese automaker said its parent was planning a restructuring, stoking speculation that some of the state-owned players could be merged as competition grows. Continue reading “Dongfeng Motor shares surge as restructuring plans prompt merger speculation”
Source : PTI | New Delhi: Bajaj Auto is gearing up to enter the domestic e-rickshaw segment by the end of this fiscal to tap a ‘sizable opportunity’ in a fast-growing but highly unorganised market, according to a top company official. The company expects to get regulatory clearances towards the end of the ongoing quarter for its e-rickshaw that will enable it to enter the segment which is about 45,000 units a month, Bajaj Auto Executive Director Rakesh Sharma told analysts.
“By the end of this financial year, we also intend to launch a modern ‘e-rick’, which will set an absolutely new standard in the segment and bring a very high level of satisfaction to both owners and passengers. Continue reading “Bajaj Auto to ride into e-rickshaw segment by end of ongoing fiscal”
Source : PTI | New Delhi: The pollution crisis in Delhi calls for a large-scale shift in agricultural waste management and compressed biogas (CBG) offers a sustainable solution by tackling both stubble burning and vehicular emission, according to a report. While vehicles contribute 20% to Delhi’s pollution in summers and stubble burning 16%, these numbers rise to 30% and 23% in winters respectively, as per the report by Nomura Research Institute Consulting & Solutions India.
“Worse, during peak stubble-burning season, biomass- burning emissions frequently exceed 30%,” it said, adding that although the city’s toxic air comes from multiple sources’ — vehicle emissions, construction dust, biomass burning, including paddy straw stubble burning, and industrial emissions.
Source : PTI | New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India aims to bolster charging infrastructure in the country before it drives in e VITARA with plans to establish the model as a primary vehicle in a household, according to a senior company executive. The auto major also plans to boost after-sales support, bring in a leasing model and more finance options to encourage customers to buy the model.
“One of the major concerns for the customer is the adequacy of the public infrastructure in terms of the chargers. So we are planning to have a fast charger at a frequency of 10 kilometers in the top 100 cities,” Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Senior Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales) Partho Banerjee told PTI in an interaction. Continue reading “Maruti Suzuki plans to boost charging infra to position e VITARA as primary car”
Summary
BERLIN, (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s SEAT, the Spanish subsidiary of Europe’s largest carmaker, will be forced to cut output and lay off around 1,500 workers if the EU does not lower its tariff on the brand’s China-made electric car by the end of March, its CEO told Reuters. Continue reading “Exclusive: VW’s SEAT boss warns Spanish jobs at risk if China-made EV tariff is not lowered”
(Reuters) – (This Feb. 6 story has been corrected to clarify that Nikola has done just one reverse stock split, not multiple, in paragraph 11 and in previous versions of the story)
Electric-truck maker Nikola is nearing filing for a bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company’s shares fell 20% to 60 cents in extended trading. Continue reading “Electric-truck maker Nikola nears bankruptcy filing, WSJ reports”
NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Shares of Uber Technologies jumped to a three-month high on Friday after billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman announced that he had taken a stake worth about $2.3 billion in the ride-sharing platform.
In a post on social media platform X, Ackman said he began acquiring a stake in Uber in early January and now owns 30.3 million shares in the company. Continue reading “Uber shares jump to three-month high after Bill Ackman builds $2 billion stake”
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A group representing automakers and electric vehicle charging companies on Friday urged the U.S. Transportation Department to quickly restart a $5 billion government EV infrastructure program.
On Thursday, the Trump administration said it was suspending the electric vehicle charging program and rescinding approval of state EV charging plans pending a new review. Continue reading “Automakers urge USDOT to quickly restart federal EV charging program”
Source : PTI | Motherson Sumi Wiring India Ltd on Thursday reported a 16.6% decline in net profit at INR 139.98 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2024, impacted by higher expenses. The company had posted a net profit of INR 167.86 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, Motherson Sumi Wiring India Ltd (MSWIL) said in a regulatory filing.
Total from operations in the third quarter stood at INR 2,300.28 crore against INR 2,114.53 crore in the year-ago period, it added. Continue reading “Motherson Sumi Wiring India Q3 net profit down 16.6% at INR 139.98 cr”
Source : PTI | IT services company HCL Technologies (HCLTech) on Thursday announced a collaboration with ChargePoint, a provider of networked charging solutions for electric vehicles, to drive innovation in EV charging software. According to a release, HCLTech has set up an advanced research and development centre for ChargePoint in Bengaluru.
The centre, inaugurated on Thursday by leadership from both companies, will serve as a central hub for ChargePoint’s software development efforts in India. Continue reading “HCLTech partners with ChargePoint to drive EV charging tech”
Source : PTI | Ola Electric Mobility Ltd on Friday reported a widening of consolidated net loss at INR 564 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2024 impacted by lower revenue due to enhanced competition and one-off cost to address service issues. The company had posted a net loss of INR 376 crore in the third quarter last fiscal, Ola Electric Mobility Ltd said in a regulatory filing.
Revenue from operations in the third quarter stood at INR 1,045 crore as compared to INR 1,296 crore in the year-ago period, it added. Continue reading “Ola Electric Q3 net loss widens to INR 564 cr”
WAF THINK TANK
Car Dealer of the Week – MG Delhi South Safdarjung CarPhD
Union Budget 2025 -26 Demystified by India’s Leading CA WAF Continue reading “WAF Auto News | The Auto World This Week (7th February 2025)”
Source : PTI | Honda Cars India on Thursday said it has achieved E20 petrol compliance certification for all the models it sells in the country. The company has achieved compliance for the Elevate, City e:HEV, City, and Amaze models.
The achievement highlights Honda’s commitment to sustainable mobility and supporting India’s transition to greener and cleaner transportation, the automaker said in a statement. Continue reading “Honda Cars achieves E20 petrol compliance for entire model range”
TOKYO, (Reuters) – Japan’s Toyota Motor raised its full-year operating profit forecast by 9% on Wednesday, in a sign of confidence in its ability to ride out the impact of any potential U.S. tariffs.
The world’s top-selling automaker raised its profit forecast for the current year through March 2025 to 4.7 trillion yen ($30.7 billion) versus 4.3 trillion yen expected previously. Continue reading “Toyota raises profit view 9%, cites overall business strengthening”
(Reuters) – Ford said on Wednesday the president of its gasoline vehicles business, Andrew Frick, would take on the additional role of leading its money-losing electric vehicle business.
The company also said that Frick would continue to oversee Ford’s commercial vehicles unit until a new leader is named. Continue reading “Ford’s gas vehicles head to take on expanded role of leading EV unit”
