Top News:
- EPA denies automakers’ request for more time on fuel economy review – Reuters: DETROIT The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday told an automaker lobbyist group that it would not extend the deadline for a review of strict fuel economy standards through the 2025 vehicle model year, indicating the agency would push …
- Tesla Raises U.K. Prices After Brexit Vote – Bloomberg: Tesla Motors will increase prices in the U.K. by 5% in 2017, a move attributed to the falling pound and described as “due to currency fluctuations,” a company spokeswoman said. Sterling’s fall of more than 15% since the Brexit vote has led to price …
- GM has 5K cars in Lyft rental program, to add Bolt EVs – Detroitnews: General Motors Co. has about 5,000 vehicles deployed in its rental Express Drive program for Lyft Inc. drivers and early next year plans to add a few hundred Chevrolet Bolt EVs in two California markets. GM launched the Express Drive program under its..
- Uber takes self-driving cars to Arizona after California demands permit – Reuters: SAN FRANCISCO Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday removed its self-driving test cars from California and put them on trucks bound for Arizona, shuttering the autonomous vehicle project in its home state after a week-long battle with regulators.
- Uber Ships Self-Driving Cars to Arizona After California Ban – Bloomberg: In the case of self-driving cars, Uber said its vehicles require oversight by a human driver and therefore shouldn’t qualify under California’s autonomous-driving rules. The state attorney general threatened legal action last week if the company …
- Uber Moves Self-Driving Car Test To Arizona After Regulatory Defeat In California – WSJ: Uber Technologies Inc. is moving a test of its self-driving cars to the friendlier environs of Arizona after suffering a regulatory defeat in California over its use of the vehicles in San Francisco. The startup on Thursday said it would begin a test …
- Uber packs up failed self-driving car trial in California, and moves to Arizona – Guardian: One week after launching its self-driving pilot program in its home town of San Francisco, Uber is packing up its failed trial and taking its fleet of autonomous vehicles to Phoenix, Arizona. “Our cars departed for Arizona this morning by truck,” an …
- Uber’s self-driving Volvo cars are loaded on an Otto truck, headed for Phoenix. Courtesy of Uber – Fortune: “Our cars departed for Arizona this morning by truck,” an Uber spokesperson said in a statement of the fleet of modified Volvo XC90 cars. “We’ll be expanding our self-driving pilot there in the next few weeks, and we’re excited to have the support of …
- Volkswagen reaches compensation deal with 80000 US owners – Reuters: WASHINGTON A federal judge said on Thursday that Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) has reached an agreement in principle to provide “substantial compensation” to the owners of about 80,000 3.0 liter polluting diesel vehicles, a key hurdle to resolve the …
- Volkswagen reaches deal with 80000 US 3.0-liter vehicle owners – Reuters: With the agreement, Volkswagen would spend as much as $17.5 billion in the United States to resolve claims from owners as well as federal and state regulators over polluting diesel vehicles in addition to compensation for the 3.0-liter owners …
- WardsAuto sees dip in December US auto sales vs year ago – Reuters: … and show a seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate of 17.7 million vehicles. WardsAuto, a publication and industry consultant, said sales for December will fall about 0.46 percent from a year earlier, at 1.625 million vehicles. (Reporting by …
- Uber pulls self-driving cars from California roads – Chicago Tribune: The cars need the same special permit as the 20 other companies testing self-driving technology in California, regulators argued. Uber maintains it does not need a permit because the cars are not sophisticated enough to continuously drive themselves,…
- BRIEF-Toyota announces executive changes in North America – Reuters: … Motor North America: * Toyota announces executive changes in North America. * Kent Rice is named Group Vice President, Corporate Quality at TMNA. * David Fernandes named President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, located in Huntsville, Ala.
- GM names FleishmanHillard as sole communications agency of record – Automotive News: General Motors said it selected marketing and public relations agency FleishmanHillard as GM’s sole communications agency of record, replacing several other agencies. FleishmanHillard was one of the few agencies previously handling GM, but will now…
- Donald Trump has a favorite carmaker, and that might be a problem – Washington Post: But the difference in how he has treated GM and, say, Ford Motor Company — both iconic Detroit automakers — highlights a challenge Trump will face as president: How to avoid the appearance of playing favorites with companies he has done business with.
- Audi to reveal Q8 concept SUV at Detroit auto show – Detroitnews: The front of the SUV is “imposing,” Audi says, and the SUV is wider than Audi’s currently produced Q models. Audi said many of the Q8 concept’s design elements look like the 1980s-era Audi Ur-quattro. “With the Audi Q8 concept, we have created a new…
- VW to launch ride hailing in Rwanda as part of Africa expansion – Reuters: FRANKFURT Volkswagen plans to start a ride-hailing service in Rwanda in a sign of how the German carmaker is developing pay-per-use transportation models in new markets where rival Uber has not yet gained traction. Emerging markets with poor …
- US auto sales to eke out new high in 2016 -JD Power and LMC – Reuters: … U.S. sales were 17.39 million vehicles, according to WardsAuto and 17.47 million, according to Autodata. The two consultancies differ on the number of large trucks they include in the “light vehicle” sales figures they report.