Top News:
- Automakers Continue to Install Defective Takata Airbags on New Vehicles – Detroit Bureau: That brand new car just might have a defective airbag. At least four automakers admit they’re still installing recalled Takata airbags in new vehicles. Meanwhile, a Senate report reveals carmakers have replaced 2.1 mil defective Takata airbags with newer airbags of exactly the same design. Those cars will eventually have to be repaired again
- May US auto sales seen down on 2 fewer selling days than year ago – Reuters: Forty economists polled by Thomson Reuters expect on average a seasonally adjusted selling rate of 17.3 million vehicles for May, not greatly …
- Musk says it’s ‘obvious’ Model 3 owners will pay to use Superchargers – Automotive News: Tesla will likely charge owners of its forthcoming Model 3 sedan to use the company’s network of Supercharger stations, which is free to owners of current models, CEO Elon Musk said.
- Toyota restarting production lines after supplier plant blast – Automotive News: Toyota Motor Corp. said it would resume operations on Thursday at production lines in Japan that were suspended earlier this week after an…
- Nissan switches on UK plant solar farm – Just-auto: Nissan has switched on a new solar farm at its biggest manufacturing site in Europe. Made of up 19,000 photo-voltaic panels, the new 4.75MW facility is now fully operational at Nissan Sunderland Plant.
- Renault-Nissan to Hire 300 in Bid to Lure Silicon Valley Talent – Bloomberg: The Renault-Nissan alliance will begin hiring at least 300 tech experts this month, becoming the latest carmakers to try to lure workers away from…
- When New York City tried to ban cars – the extraordinary story of ‘Gridlock Sam’ – Guardian: Within this zone, private cars in Midtown would be banned, outright, … “In 1973 we got further than any other time – further than [Mayor] Bloomberg,”…
- Skoda hits Q1 deliveries record – Just-auto: VW-owned Skoda has hit record deliveries – for any quarter – in the first quarter. It will be welcome news for parent VW Group, which is under pressure due to the ‘dieselgate’ scandal and falling share for the Volkswagen brand in some markets
- Audi targets high profitability despite heavy investment – Reuters: … * Reviewing spending to safeguard margins -CFO. * Q1 operating profit 1.20 bln eur vs 1.42 bln year-ago. * Q1 operating margin 8.3 pct vs BMW’s …
- BMW updates 3 Series GT with new engines – Just-auto: BMW says it is preparing to launch the latest BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo in time for the start of sales in the summer and has added new engines.
- 2016 Renault Megane on sale from PS16,600 – Autocar: Renault targets premium rivals with 202bhp GT version of its all-new Mégane; UK order books now open
- One-off McLaren Special Operations car leaked – Autocar: A specially commissioned version of the 675LT is being built, but it isn’t expected to go into production
- Hyundai Motor to launch 200-mile electric vehicle in 2018 – Reuters: That is nearly double the 191 kilometre (119 miles) per charge that will be offered by an electric version of Hyundai’s IONIQ sedan, which is set to hit …
- Audi to keep profitability high despite plant, model costs – Reuters: BERLIN Audi expects to keep its operating profit margin within a target range of 8-10 percent this year despite growing spending on new factories and …
- Definitive Elemental RP1 sports car to make public bow at Goodwood – Autocar: Having improved “almost every nut and bolt”, the British firm is building the first full production version of its lightweight sports car, the RP1
- French New Car Sales Rose in May – WSJ: French manufacturers performed well in May, led by Renault SA RNO -0.52 % . The group’s new car sales were up 34% on the same period last year…
- BRIEF-Nissan Motor updates share repurchase status – Reuters: June 1 Nissan Motor Co Ltd : * Says it repurchased 38 million shares for 39,235,309,520 yen in total from May 1 to May 31. * Says this was part of the …