- Tesla, Panasonic agree to team on U.S. gigafactory – Automotive News: Tesla Motors and Panasonic have agreed to cooperate on the construction and operation of the American carmaker’s so-called gigafactory, its envisioned large-scale battery manufacturing plant in the United States.
- Volkswagen 2nd quarter profit up but revenue slips – DetN: Germany’s Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest automaker, says its net income rose 14.1 percent in the second quarter although revenues slipped even as unit sales pushed higher.
- VW profit falls in Q2 amid emerging-market troubles – Automotive News:Volkswagen said operating profit declined 3.1 percent in the second quarter as U.S. sales fell and emerging-market volatility weighed on earnings.
- Panasonic to Help Build Tesla Battery Plant – WSJ: Panasonic will invest in equipment and machinery for a battery joint venture with electric car maker Tesla Motors, but didn’t say how much it will invest in the project.
- Panasonic confirms will invest in $5 billion Tesla battery plant – Reuters: Panasonic Corp confirmed on Thursday it would invest in U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc’s planned $5 billion lithium-ion battery plant in the United States, but said it had yet to decide on the size of its investment.
- Has the Auto Industry Peaked? – Via Google News: Growing evidence suggests that the automobile industry is about to pause/peak, just like the housing market did 12 to 18 months ago. Few observers …
- Tesla says £3bn gigafactory will revolutionise EV battery production – Autocar: Tesla confirms deal with Panasonic to collaborate on new gigafactory, as the company works towards its target of selling 500,000 cars per year by 2020. Tesla has released new details of its gigafactory manufacturing plant in the US, saying the site will represent a “fundamental change” the way batteries are produced for electric vehicles.
- Driverless cars will ruin the thrill of driving – Via Google News: I thought about that article this week when I heard the news that the driverless car will finally be unleashed on our roads from January.
- The vagaries of Range Rover’s ‘claimed’ Nurburgring lap time – Autocar: Range Rover is claiming to have set a new lap record for sports-utility vehicles at the Nürburgring with its Sport SVR. Which means what, exactly
- Ford CEO on Capitol Hill urging tough line on currency – DetN: Ford president and CEO Mark Fields on Wednesday urged Congress to take a tough line on currency manipulation and said the naming of a new chief of its luxury Lincoln brand shows the Dearborn automaker is committed to the brand.
- GM to Start Taking Crash Claims – WSJ: General Motors on Friday starts taking applications from victims of accidents involving defective ignition switches in its small cars, promising the first payouts from the about $400 million fund by November.
- GM, too, removes parts to weigh pickups, boost payload ratings – Automotive News: GM says it deletes heavy items such as the rear bumper from certain pickups when it weighs them in order to boost the vehicles’ maximum payload ratings.
- Lexus’ plans exclude China plant – Automotive News: Lexus has no plans to join the rush of carmakers manufacturing in China because it has to learn to crawl in that market before it runs, a top executive says.
- Chrysler recalls nearly 30,000 Fiat 500L cars for airbag glitch – Automotive News: Chrysler Group is recalling 29,500 Fiat 500L cars from the 2014-15 model years to replace knee airbags that may not deploy in the correct position if the driver is not wearing a seatbelt.
- Mitsubishi’s quarterly profit gains paced by Europe – Automotive News: Europe was Mitsubishi’s most profitable region in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, the company said today.
- Hyundai, Nissan Combine to Recall 1.1 Million Vehicles – thedetroitbureau.com: Add another million to the running tally of vehicles in a record-setting 2014 as Hyundai and Nissan announced actions totaling 1.1 million cars today: Hyundai recalling 889,000 vehicles and Nissan more than 226,000. The latest recalls put the record-setting recall number this year at 45 million vehicles. For more info, please go to TheDetroitBureau.com.
- Hyundai Recalls 880,000 Sonatas for Shifting Problem – NY Times:A cable on 2011-14 models could come unattached, making it impossible to shift into and out of park.
- GM resumes pickup output at Indiana plant – Automotive News:Production resumed today at one of GM’s three pickup plants after being idled because of an interruption in sheetmetal supplies, the company said.
- Fiat Profits Plunge 55% – thedetroitbureau.com: Fiat says its second-quarter profits plunged 55% as the maker’s U.S. partner Chrysler struggled to move old product with new incentives, while the Fiat side of the company dealt with a slowdown in South America. Fiat earned a net profit of 197 million Euros, or $264 million, for the quarter ending June 30.
- Peugeot turns first profit in three years – FT: Turnround plan of Europe’s second-largest carmaker gains credibility as it reports first-half operating income of €477m and higher sales to China
- World Vehicle Sales On Record Pace Through First Half – Wards: Vehicle sales in the Asia-Pacific region climbed 4.9% through June with 21 million vehicles sold, accounting for 48.4% of total global deliveries.
- Insurers worry driverless cars are ‘existential threat’ – FT: Vince Cable announces £10m competition for up to three British cities to bid to become test locations for driverless cars from January 2015
- Ford’s ‘Queen of Innovation’ helps shape F-150 – DetN: When Alana Strager isn’t working for Ford she spends her time riding Harleys, running triathlons and negotiating Tough Mudder obstacle courses. And she fixes problems.
- Peugeot: crash course – FT: First-half results from new CEO Tavares show he’s settled into the driving seat comfortably. The next test is to keep the momentum going
- Marchionne says he is open to new alliances but won’t sell Alfa Romeo – Automotive News: Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne reiterated that Alfa Romeo will not be sold but said he remains open to forming alliances with other carmakers if it helps cut costs.
- JAPAN: Toyota retains global top spot, despite VW surge – Just-auto: Despite slowing growth to focus on quality Toyota remained the global leader in the first half of this year with groupwide global sales up 3.8% to 5.097m vehicles, a new record.