Top News:
- FBI arrests Volkswagen executive on fraud charges: NYT – Reuters: The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Volkswagen AG executive on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, the reported on Monday.
- Mercedes-Benz to extend compact car line-up to eight models – Autocar: Mercedes A-Class prototype spotted in Germany Four-door saloon and additional SUV are set to join existing models, including the next-generation A-Class
- Cheers and fears at the Detroit auto show – Reuters: About TV; Transcript; Categories * Careers * Support * Privacy … The final screws are in, the cars polished, batteries charged, display stages …
- Mazda’s new engine boosts fuel efficiency by 30% – Nikkei: Japanese automaker Mazda Motor will introduce a new engine at the end of 2018 that offers 30% better fuel efficiency by using pressure,…
- GM bets consumers will “subscribe” to Cadillac – CBS News: General Motors’ (GM) Cadillac business is putting a new spin on the idea of car sharing that has been around in the U.S. for more than a decade.
- Detroit motor show: Donald Trump vs the Mexican car industry – Autocar: Trump takes aim at Mexico’s car industry in his latest crusade, but what price will the wider car industry pay for this latest round of Trumpisms?
- 2018 Mercedes GLA revealed at Detroit Auto Show – Freep: Mercedes-Benz’s GLA small SUV gets a quick update that includes a 1.2-inch lift suspension with an “off road” suspension package. LED headlights…
- Volkswagen says brand sales rise 2.8 percent in 2016 – Reuters: An employee works on an assembly line at the Volkswagen car factory in Palmela, Portugal, December 9, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante.
- 10,000 UK VW owners launch bid for PS3000 compensation – Autocar: Owners of cars affected by the emissions scandal begin class action lawsuit; VW says it will defend action “robustly”
- Mercedes-Benz to overtake BMW as largest premium carmaker – Reuters: REUTERS/Mark Blinch … Daimler is also preparing for a new era when the auto industry’s business model moves beyond manufacturing and selling …
- Samsung SDI unveils electric car battery with range of up to 600 kilometers – Yonhap: Samsung SDI Co., a battery maker of Samsung Group, has unveiled an electric car battery with a range of up to 600…
- Jaguar Land Rover sells record 583,313 cars in 2016 – Reuters: Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) sold a record 583,312 cars last year as the Indian-owned firm continues its rapid expansion with the aim of building 1 million vehicles a year at the turn of the decade.
- Google shows improved self-driving system in Chrysler Pacifica – Reuters: Google unveiled its latest self-driving system in a Chrysler Pacifica minivan during a Sunday preview ahead of the Detroit auto show, saying the technology is more reliable and affordable.
- Baidu’s Jerry Maguire Moment – Bloomberg: That means the system itself will do most of the car’s steering and … If BAIC cars are to act merely as an install-base for Baidu’s platform in the hopes of…
- Volvo expects to export half of its future US production – Yahoo: Swedish automaker Volvo said that it expects to export half of the cars produced at a future plant in the United States. The first plant in…
- Compelling EVs show what the industry can do – Automotive News: Then at the 2016 CES, Chevy’s Bolt EV, with its 238 miles of range, and … Fiat Chrysler and VW — once epitomes of the “electric skeptic” — unveiled electrified … As pure vehicles — judged in the marketplace — EVs are now viable,…
- Business Day|FBI Arrests Volkswagen Executive on Conspiracy Charges in Emissions Scandal – New York Times: A Volkswagen display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Sunday. The company has acknowledged that it fitted 11 million…
- Alphabet’s Self-Driving Cars Equipped With New Sensors – WSJ: Waymo, the self-driving-car unit of Google parent Alphabet, unveiled its own sensor package at the Detroit auto show on Sunday for the hybrid…
- Ford system lets phone handle the navigating – Automotive News: With declining interest in automaker-installed navigation systems, Ford Motor Co. has opted to let drivers use the technology most have been using all along: their own phones.
- Faraday will take your money now – Automotive News: Faraday Future ended a spotty car reveal last week asking for $5,000 deposits on a vehicle with no announced price or release date.
- Apple apparently poaches Porsche racing tech guru – Automotive News: The latest auto industry stalwart to be recruited by Apple as it explores building its own car is Porsche racing technical director Alexander Hitzinger,…
- Jaguar Land Rover defends Defender – Automotive News: Though Jaguar Land Rover has had a tough time in China protecting its designs from knockoff manufacturers, the British automaker recently had…
- Chevy Traverse adds brawn, upscale trim, more mpg for 2018 – Automotive News: Chevrolet is giving its largest crossover, the Traverse, a more trucklike appearance and feel, while improving handling and fuel economy by dropping 362 pounds.
- Nissan feeds Rogue demand with smaller Sport – Automotive News: Nissan will offer a smaller version of the popular Rogue crossover — dubbed the Rogue Sport — in a bid to capture shoppers now considering compact sedans. The Sport is a Nissan Qashqai imported from Japan, and 12 inches shorter than the U.S.
- Is the industry zooming toward a battery shortage? – Automotive News: Automakers are under increasing pressure to electrify their powertrains to meet toughening global emissions regulations.
- How Ford’s hybrid push might play out – Automotive News: It’s rare when an automaker reveals product plans three years in advance. But that’s what Ford Motor Co. did last week when CEO Mark Fields explained how the company will spend some of the $4.
- Trump attacks on Mexico plants set ominous tone – Automotive News: President-elect Donald Trump’s barbs against GM and Toyota herald an era in which no company in today’s highly globalized auto industry is safe from at least the rhetorical arrows of the incoming president.
- Crowd-sourced maps to guide autonomous cars – Automotive News: Tech players and BMW team up to develop cloud-based maps to help driverless cars navigate the roads.
- Toyota plants stronger roots in Latin America – Automotive News: Despite the heavy clouds of economic recession and political upheaval hanging over South American auto markets, Toyota sees rays of hope.
- Is it finally EVs’ time? Predictions vary widely – Automotive News: EV predictions still vary widely. Financial analysts at Exane BNP Paribas bullishly forecast that EVs will have a 16 percent share of global vehicle sales by 2025 while IHS Markit believes that figure will be 3.4 percent.
- Guangzhou Auto Seeks to Be First Chinese Carmaker to Crack U.S. – Bloomberg: Neither have been able to meet that target, though BYD has begun to sell electric buses to fleet owners in the U.S. and Volvo Cars is exporting…
- Fiat Chrysler ups the ante as automakers respond to Trump – Reuters: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on Sunday said it will invest $1 billion to modernize two plants in the U.S. Midwest and create 2,000 jobs, upping the ante as automakers respond to threats from President-elect Donald Trump to slap new taxes on imported vehicles.
- VW Hopes to Resolve Emissions-Cheating Probe ‘as Soon as Possible’ – WSJ: Volkswagen AG hopes to resolve a U.S. criminal investigation of the German auto giant’s emissions cheating “as soon as possible,” one of the company’s top executives said.
- Auto Makers in Hot Seat as Political Pressure Rises – WSJ: Fiat Chrysler’s move to invest $1 billion in U.S. plants comes as auto makers are facing heat from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump to manufacture more vehicles in the U.S.
- Uber to Disclose Global Ridership Data – WSJ: Uber has tussled with regulators from Seattle to Paris to keep its ridership data private. Now, it plans to make some of that information freely available on the internet.
- GM’s New Upscale GMC Terrain Could Test Trump Mexico Policy – Bloomberg: General Motors Co. may test President-elect Donald Trump’s patience with its new GMC Terrain — shown for the first time tonight as the Detroit auto…
- Detroit auto show reveal: Volkswagen Tiguan – Freep: Volkswagen aims to reinvigorate interest in its Tiguan small SUV with a new model that grows 10.7 inches longer and offers a third row to seat up to…
- BRIEF-China’s Aotecar unit becomes suppplier of Peugeot Citreon’s Europe p… – Reuters: LONDON, Jan 7 British rapper Tinie Tempah made his catwalk debut at London Fashion Week Men’s on Saturday with a minimalistic, casualwear …
- The German godfathers behind Kia’s ‘game changer’ – Automotive News: It’s the Korean car with the German godfathers.
- New Volkswagen Microbus concept revealed at Detroit motor show – Autocar: Volkswagen reinvents the 1950s classic Microbus as a four-wheel-drive, all-electric MPV that can carry eight people
- VW’s 2018 Tiguan gets 11 more inches on wheelbase, third row option – Automotive News: Volkswagen plans to offer a new extended-wheelbase Tiguan for the 2018 model year, adding almost 11 inches in length from the current model and offering available third-row seating to the formerly compact crossover.
- The Best Kept Secret Of The Electric Car Boom – Yahoo: The same nightmare that haunts electric vehicle producers with massive … in the face of the EV explosion onto the mainstream, you might be surprised to … laws that demand that every single car in the country be electric by 2025.
- 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLA facelift launched in Detroit – Autocar: Updated crossover gets a new 220 petrol engine and lightly tweaked styling
- Mercedes shows GLA facelift at Detroit auto show – Detroitnews: The newly redesigned Mercedes-Benz GLA is starting the 2018 model year with targeted visual accentuation in the interior and exterior design and…
- Mercedes-Benz reveals a more aggressive GLA-Class crossover – Freep: The GLA-Class crossover Mercedes-Benz first launched in 2013 is getting a makeover four years after it was first introduced that makes it more…
- 2018 GMC Terrain – Detroitnews: General Motors shows of the all new during a media … Chairman of the General Motors and Dan Ammann, president of GM pose…
- Lithium Prices Set To Jump As Tesla Doubles Global Battery Production – Yahoo: Tesla fired up the gigafactory in the first week of 2017, which could mark a turning point for the energy storage industry. The gigafactory in Nevada will…
- Alphabet Says its Autonomous Cars Needed Less Human Help in 2016 – Bloomberg: Vehicles tested in California by Waymo, the autonomous car company owned Google parent Alphabet Inc., had a much lower rate of…
- GMC Terrain slims down, adds turbo power for 2018 – Automotive News: The GMC Terrain, for its first redesign since arriving eight years ago, is dropping more than 400 pounds and getting a trio of smaller, turbocharged engines, including a diesel.
- Fewer car owners and more driverless vehicles in future, survey reveals – Guardian: … More than 90% of car industry executives plan to invest in the technology … suggest that producing driverless, electric vehicles to sell to tech firms, such as…
- 2017 Ford F-150 pick-up revealed with diesel option at Detroit motor show – Autocar: The world’s best-selling model gets more technology and a new turbocharged V6 diesel engine
- 2017 Porsche 911 GTS: The Sweetest Sweet Spot Yet? – Yahoo: Some of our favorite Porsches over the past few years have been GTS models, and we’re happy to see the variant reappear on schedule for the…
- Fiat Chrysler touts $1bn investment amid pressure from Trump – FT: Fiat Chrysler said on Sunday that it would invest an extra $1bn in the US and create 2,000 new US jobs at a time when global carmakers are under…
- 2017 Kia Stinger GT takes on Audi S4 – Autocar: Hot version of Kia’s sports saloon packs 360bhp and can go from 0-62mph in 5.1sec
- Kia Stinger: New sedan revealed at Detroit auto show 2017 – Freep: “Unlike any Kia that has come before it, the Stinger really is a dream car for us, … Kia and Hyundai, which are owned by the same parent company but…
- Kia sees Stinger as turning point for the brand – Automotive News: Kia is flying even farther from its roots with the new Stinger, a midsize four-door hatchback that’s aimed at adding more thrill to the brand’s car offerings and challenging European luxury automakers for performance and refinement.
- VW’s I.D. Buzz concept claims 270-mile electric range – Detroitnews: Volkswagen revealed the I.D. Buzz Concept at the Detroit auto show on … The Volkswagen I.D. Buzz Concept is an all-electric vehicle with a driving…
- Next Volkswagen ID concept will be an SUV – Autocar: VW’s first ID concept was a hatchback (pictured), while the ID Buzz resurrected the Microbus once again Following from the ID hatchback and ID Buzz MPV, the third electric Volkswagen concept will be an SUV, as the brand expands its EV presence
- Porsche 911 GTS line-up gets more models and new engine – Autocar: On sale in March, the five new 911 models replace the 3.8-litre flat-six with a turbocharged 3.0-litre six-pot
- VW juices famed Microbus for the autonomous era – Automotive News: VW’s latest conceptual take on its historic Microbus uses a powerful battery pack and two electric motors to transform the once anemically powered hippie-mobile into an all-wheel-drive, high-capacity autonomous minivan.
- Fiat Chrysler announces creation of 2000 US jobs – Yahoo: Fiat Chrysler on Sunday announced it was creating 2,000 jobs in the United States, coming as President-elect Donald Trump has…
- Google’s Waymo to develop self-driving cars with established car makers – Autocar: Waymo Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid self-driving prototype But technology firm reserves right to use its self-developed software and hardware on its own automotive products too
- Waymo/Google put next-gen autonomous tech on minivans – Detroitnews: Google’s self-driving car project – now known as Waymo – has developed a new autonomous driving system that it will begin testing on custom-built…
- Google develops own suite of autonomous car sensors – Detroitnews: The self-driving car project that Google started seven years ago has grown into a company called Waymo. In 2015, Mahan became the first member of…
- Alphabet’s Waymo Cuts Cost of Key Self-Driving Sensor by 90% – Bloomberg: Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car unit, Waymo, has slashed the cost of a key technology required to bring self-driving cars to the masses and rolled it out…
- FCA commits $1 billion to two plant retoolings – Automotive News: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will spend a combined $1 billion retooling its decades-old Warren Truck Assembly plant to build Jeep Wagoneers and Grand Wagoneers as well as its Toledo Supplier Park to one day build Wrangler-based Jeep pickups.
- U.S. sales plateau has arrived, analysts say – Automotive News: The U.S. sales plateau is here. That’s the consensus of several auto analysts who spoke at automotive conferences Sunday ahead of press previews for the Detroit auto show. U.S.
- Waymo cutting lidar costs by 90%, building up hardware suite – Automotive News: Waymo, the standalone company formerly known as the Google self-driving car project, said Sunday it is has dramatically lowered the cost of lidar by 90 percent, and is building a suite of hardware that can be integrated as a unit into an existing…
- What’s next for Mitsubishi in the US, now that Nissan is in control? – Automotive News: When Mitsubishi Motors North America COO Don Swearingen took questions from the press at a media event Thursday evening ahead of the Detroit…
- Carmakers Stumped by Trump at Detroit Auto Show – Bloomberg: The panoply of passenger cars and electric vehicles glittering at this year’s … While Camry, the top selling car in the U.S. for 15 years, just fell below…
- Bentley hikes hp on Continental with SS variant – Automotive News: Bentley’s latest addition to its revered Supersports nameplate is the automaker’s fastest production vehicle yet. The 2017 Bentley Continental Supersports builds off of the 2009 Supersports model and adds even more power.
- Google’s Waymo plans to expand self-driving Chrysler van fleet, report says – Automotive News: Google and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are doubling down on their self-driving partnership, adding about 100 more Pacifica Hybrid minivans to an autonomous fleet first announced in May, people familiar with the decision told .
- GM economist: Global auto sales to rise in 2017, stay strong in US – Freep: … increase in Europe and China and will remain strong in North America, General Motors Chief Economist Mustafa Mohatarem said today in Detroit.
- The ties that still bind Ford and Land Rover — engines – Automotive News: One lingering tie between Ford and Land Rover is powertrain. When Ford sold Land Rover and Jaguar to Tata Motors in 2008, the new company,…
- Detroit’s Auto Show Kicks Off Amid Tension With Trump – WSJ: DETROIT-General Motors Co. Chief Executive … The 55-year-old CEO is no stranger to political conflict, having steered GM through a safety-recall.
- Paris boosts cycling infrastructure, names 2017 ‘year of the bike’ – Reuters: REUTERS/Charles Platiau … Less cars means less pollution. … The city will also ban private cars from the historical Place du Carrousel du Louvre, …
- GAC Motor to host global release of three most anticipated vehicles including blockbuster SUV … – Yahoo: As GAC Motor’s first electric vehicle, the GE3 is developed on the new energy platform by GAC Engineering as part of the company’s new energy…
- A web of self-driving tech alliances build up – Reuters: About TV; Transcript; Categories * Careers * Support * Privacy …. ‘ auto correspondent, Paul Liner, was at the tech show in CES in Las …