Top News:
- Car maker SAIC proposes to buy some assets of General Motors’ India plant – Reuters: SAIC HK, a subsidiary of China’s SAIC Motor Corp, has proposed to acquire certain assets of a car manufacturing plant in India owned by General Motors’ local unit, a filing with the country’s competition watchdog showed on Friday.
- As Trump targets Toyota over Mexico, Nissan faces bigger risk – Reuters: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened Toyota Motor Corp over its Mexican-built cars, but the biggest risk from a punitive tariff would be for its compatriot Nissan Motor Co , the largest automaker operating in the country.
- Autonomous cars could cut traffic in Britain by 40%, says report – Autocar: New British research shows autonomous and connected cars can follow more closely and therefore make more efficient use of road space
- Driver assistance functions get boost from better mapping – Autocar: Here’s new Electronic Horizon product allows cars to ‘see’ further down the road than on-vehicle cameras, making the drive smoother and safer
- Marchionne Enters Final Push to Free Fiat Chrysler From Debt – Bloomberg: Sergio Marchionne enters the final stretch of his career at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV with a daunting mission: prove wrong the doubters who…
- China sales vroom in 2016 for global automakers; dull 2017 looms – Reuters: A security agent guards Honda Avancier SUV after it was presented during Auto China 2016 auto show in Beijing April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Kim …
- South Korean Volkswagen executive gets jail term in emissions scandal fall… – Reuters: In August, South Korea’s environment ministry suspended the sales of 80 models of Volkswagen, Audi and Bentley vehicles, and fined the group’s …
- BRIEF-Dongfeng Automobile’s vehicle sales up 11.2 pct in Dec, down 4.9 pct… – Reuters: ISTANBUL, Jan 6 Turkish automotive sales were expected to shrink slightly more than 10 percent to around 875,000 vehicles this year as lira …
- BRIEF-Renault now holds over 50 pct of Alliance Rostec Auto BV – Reuters: Compliant with current accounting standards, groupe Renault will consolidate Avtovaz balance sheet on 31 december 2016, and its profit-and-loss …
- BRIEF-Ford says Dec China vehicle sales up 21 percent y/y – Reuters: * Dec China vehicle sales total 149,856 units, +21 percent y/y versus +17 percent y/y in November
- Japan defends Toyota after Trump broadside over Mexican plant – Reuters: The Japanese government defended Toyota Motor Corp on Friday as an “important corporate citizen” of the United States, after President-elect Donald Trump singled out the automaker and threatened to slap punitive tariffs on its Mexico-built cars.
- Lithium: the next speculative bubble? – FT: Electric cars use 4,800 times the lithium of a smartphone and, with vehicles such as the Tesla Model 3 and the Chevrolet Bolt set for mass production,…
- Nissan lays out plans for electrified, fatality-free future – Automotive News: Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has big plans for an electrified and automated future. At a Thursday keynote address at CES, Ghosn listed an array of efforts the company is making to move toward zero emissions and zero fatalities.
- Infiniti to unveil QX50 crossover with ‘co-pilot’ – Guardian: Infiniti will introduce a QX50 crossover concept with self-driving technologies at the Detroit Auto Show next week, along with what it says is the world’s…
- Nissan CEO: Automakers will adapt to Trump presidency – Detroitnews: Ghosn, also head of French automaker Renault and chairman of Mitsubishi Motors, said the automaker “will adapt to any situation as long as it’s one…
- Renault-Nissan CEO Says Company Will Adapt if Nafta Changes Under Donald Trump – WSJ: LAS VEGAS-Carlos Ghosn, head of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, said he would be watching closely for any policy changes after Donald Trump is…
- Lincoln triples China sales – Automotive News: Ford’s Lincoln luxury brand set a sales record in China in 2016, increasing threefold from a year ago. Lincoln sold 32,558 vehicles in the world’s largest auto market last year, compared to 11,630 sold in 2015.
- Toyota is important corporate citizen in U.S. – Japan – Reuters: Japan said on Friday that Toyota Motor Corp is an important corporate citizen in the United States, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticised the automaker’s plans to build a new factory in Mexico.
- Japan economy minister declines comment on Trump’s Toyota tweet – Reuters: Japanese Economy Minister Nobuteru Ishihara said on Friday he had no comment on tweets by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump about Toyota Motor Corp before Trump takes office.
- Tesla Hits a Goal, Starts Mass Producing Batteries at Its Gigafactory – Yahoo: New year, new Musk? As the calendar flipped to 2017, Elon Musk delivered on two big promises he had made for Tesla. After rolling out the Autopilot update the company promised for its vehicles in 2016 just hours before midnight on New Year’s Eve, the…
- Microsoft Drives New Car Software Push With Renault-Nissan Deal – Bloomberg: The companies said Thursday that Renault-Nissan will be the first customer for Microsoft’s Connected Vehicle Platform, which provides carmakers with…
- Nissan self-driving system teams AI with human advisers – Detroitnews: Las Vegas – Nissan Motor Co. believes it can help bring self-driving vehicles to the masses using a new system developed from NASA technology.
- Auto Makers Showcase Cars Equipped With Virtual Assistants – WSJ: Now auto makers are rushing to make the car talk back. The car-making alliance between Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. on Thursday revealed…
- 2017 Bentley Continental Supersports is fastest accelerating Bentley yet – Autocar:
- 2017 Volkswagen Passat – Yahoo: Overview: After years of playing on the fringes of the mid-size-sedan segment, Volkswagen took aim at the heart of the market with the…
- Toyota joins the list of Trump Twitter targets – Reuters: … >> President elect Donald Trump running out of US auto makers to threaten on Twitter, so he’s now turning his attention to foreign auto makers like …
- Tesla’s (TSLA) Gigafactory Starts Battery Cell Production – Yahoo: Tesla Motors, Inc. TSLA has initiated lithium-ion battery cells production at its Gigafactory in Nevada in collaboration with Panasonic Corp. PCRFY.
- Trump’s Indirect Protectionism Moves On To Toyota After GM And Ford – Forbes: He’s already taken aim at Ford and General Motors. … Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY!
- Calif. dealerships unaware about 45 vehicles were stolen from overflow lot; 15 arrested – Automotive News: The overflow lot for Infiniti of South Bay and Nissan of South Bay in Torrance, Calif., seen in this image taken from KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, was target…
- Trump Hits Toyota on Mexico as Car Criticism Spreads to Japanese – Bloomberg: Days removed from Ford Motor Co. canceling a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico, Trump seized on a 20-month-old announcement by Toyota of a factory…
- Toyota President Strikes Friendly Tone on Trump – WSJ: The deal has allowed car makers and suppliers to move production to … The company said the new Mexican plant will produce around 200,000…
- Political doubt dampens recovery hopes of Brazil auto sector – Reuters: … sales of new vehicles would only creep up 4 percent to 2.13 million units.
- ChargePoint’s New Stations Promise Fast Charge In Minutes For Your Electric Car – Forbes: The biggest hurdle preventing the widespread adoption of electric vehicles is … “By the time your latte hits the end of the counter, your car’s probably … with more than 200 miles range, according to New Energy Finance.
- Volvo Cars sales hit record in 2016 despite December dip – Reuters: … Jan 5 Brazil’s auto sector has revised downwards its expectations for a rebound in vehicle …
- Audi and Nvidia to introduce AI car by 2020 – Autocar: Audi is partnering with American technology company Nvidia in its bid to lead the autonomous revolution
- Toyota, Honda say no immediate plans to curb Mexico production – Reuters: * Toyota, Honda await Trump policy before considering Mexico plans
- Ford expands Alexa use, heating up auto personal assistant battle – Reuters: Ford Motor Co is expanding the use of Amazon.com Inc’s Alexa personal assistant in its vehicles to allow drivers to talk to their cars – demanding anything from a nearby cheeseburger to a weather forecast – marking a leap by the Detroit automaker to incorporate a technology initially targeted for home use.