Top News:
- Retail Sales in U.S. Decline in August by More Than Forecast – Bloomberg: The median projection of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.1 percent decline. Excluding cars, sales unexpectedly fell 0.1 percent.
- The autonomous car that smiles at pedestrians – Autocar: Swedish firm Semcon has developed a smiling concept car to help reassure pedestrians that it’s safe to cross the road
- Ford investment push will cause profit dip in 2017 – Just-auto: Ford CFO Bob Shanks has told a Ford investor audience that the company anticipates a further dip to profits in 2017 as the company ramps up its investment in ’emerging opportunities’, especially electrification.
- BMW contracts some new 5 series assembly to Magna Steyr – Just-auto: Magna International said it would manufacture the new 5 Series sedan for the BMW Group at its contract vehicle assembly facility in Graz, Austria.
- U.S. 2025 auto fuel-economy target gets support from suppliers – Automotive News: The U.S. should maintain President Obama’s 2025 automotive fuel-economy target because the goal spurs innovation and job growth, an executive for vehicle-parts maker Eaton said, echoing the findings of a survey of parts suppliers.
- Toyota engineer aims to recharge sales for Prius plug-in – Reuters: TOKYO The chief engineer of Toyota Motor Corp’s Prius gasoline hybrid cars said he would like to see the automaker sell 1 million units of the new …
- Caterham Seven 620R officially recreated by Lego – Autocar: The Danish toy maker will release a miniature Caterham on 1 October, priced at £69
- Toyota Engineer Sets Ambitious Goal for the New Prius Plug-In – Fortune: The chief engineer of Toyota Motor Corp’s Prius gasoline hybrid cars said he would like to see the automaker sell 1 million units of the new plug-in…
- New micro-turbine tech could cure EV range anxiety – Autocar: Ariel and Morgan have already signed up to this Delta Motorsport tech; claimed to be 50% lighter than a piston engine
- Mitsubishi Continued to Improperly Measure Fuel Economy, Says Japan – WSJ: Mitsubishi Motors continued to improperly test the fuel-economy of its vehicles in the month after it admitted to manipulating data to inflate mileage results, Japan’s transport ministry said Thursday.
- Autopilot supplier criticises Tesla for pushing the envelope on safety – Autocar: Mobileye, which worked on Autopilot function, has cut ties with Tesla and criticised the American car maker in the wake of fatal crashes
- BMW Connected integrates with Alexa in the UK and Germany – Just-auto: The BMW Connected personal digital mobility assistant will be available via an Alexa skill on all Alexa-enabled devices when the service is available in the UK and Germany.
- Sell last gasoline car by 2035 to meet climate goals, study says – Reuters: Sell last gasoline car by 2035 to meet climate goals, study says … “We calculate that the last gasoline/diesel car will have to be sold by roughly 2035,” …
- Uber sets up self-driving cars trial in Pittsburgh – Just-auto: Uber has started a self-driving ride-hail trial in the US city of Pittsburgh where it has a research centre.
- Trump slams Ford’s ‘horrible’ Mexico move – CNBC: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has slammed Ford’s announcement that it is to move all small-car production to Mexico, saying it is…
- If Apple or Uber Really Build A Car, Here’s Where They Might Start – Bloomberg: A completely new vehicle can cost several billion dollars, so leaning on the expertise of an industry veteran is a way of minimizing those costs. Apple…
- Tesla Is Suing a Man Who Allegedly Pretended to Be Elon Musk – Fortune: Tesla Motors is going after an oil industry executive after he allegedly tried to pose as the automaker’s outspoken co-founder and CEO Elon Musk.
- Ford: autonomous tech won’t kill the driver’s car – Autocar: Regardless of the fact that autonomous vehicles are becoming ever popular in the car industry, Ford will continue to build enthusiast’s cars
- Consumer Watchdog calls for enforceable autonomous standards after Tesla Autopilot crash – Just-auto: The new revelation of a second fatal Tesla crash while the vehicle was likely on autopilot shows the company cannot be trusted to deal with deadly failures in its vehicles and underscores the need for enforceable federal safety standards covering autonomous vehicle technology, the US group Consumer Watchdog said.
- Fiat Chrysler explores China JV with BAIC, report says – Automotive News: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and BAIC Group are exploring a joint venture, which would be the Italian carmaker’s second partnership in China…
- Indonesia to look into Ford’s sales after report on tax avoidance – Reuters: Indonesia’s tax office said it will look into whether Ford Motor Co had avoided paying appropriate taxes, after a local newspaper reported that the U.S. car maker modified imported Everest model vehicles sold in the country to pay a lower tax rate.
- China’s GAC expands capacity, targets 1m units by 2020 – Just-auto: China’s GAC Motor said it plans to expand annual vehicle production capacity to 1m units by 2020, from the current 400,000 units, as it targets a stronger role in its domestic and regional vehicle markets.
- Peugeot inks 3D printing deal aimed at cutting car costs – Reuters: The maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS cars said it had agreed with Los Angeles-based Divergent 3D to develop metal …
- Ford to move all small-car production to Mexico from US – CNBC: Ford Motor Co Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said on Wednesday that all of the company’s small-car production would be leaving U.S. plants and…
- European car sales rise nearly 10 percent in August – Automotive News: New-car sales rose 9.5 percent in Europe last month with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Renault, Daimler, Toyota and Kia beating the market average…
- 2017 Dacia Sandero facelift set for Paris debut – Autocar: France’s autumn car show will welcome an aesthetically tweaked Sandero, Sandero Stepway and Logan MCV
- Rise of the underdogs? Low-cost car brands most popular in Europe – CNBC: European car sales rose 10 percent in August, according to the latest regional industry data, with low-cost brands beating off their more highbrow…