Top News:
- Ford to recall about 1.3 mln vehicles in N.America – Reuters: Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday it would recall about 1.3 million vehicles in North America to add a water shield to side door latches.
- Mann With Plan Leads Recovery Hopes at Mitsubishi Motors – WSJ: Mitsubishi Motors is plowing billions of dollars into its global operations, as it looks to spark growth after years of lackluster performance and a fuel-economy scandal.
- SpaceX, Spacecom to launch new satellites after explosion last year – Reuters: Israel’s Space Communications has signed a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch two communication satellites into orbit, after a prior attempt ended in disaster.
- A New Report Casts Doubt on Tesla’s Reason for Firing Hundreds of Workers – Fortune: Last week it emerged that Tesla had sacked hundreds of workers this month. The company said these were not layoffs, but normal firings following…
- U.S. insurer Assurant to buy Warranty Group for $1.9 bln – Reuters: U.S. insurer Assurant Inc said on Wednesday it would buy Warranty Group for $1.9 billion, as it looks to offer vehicle protection services and expand in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Nissan used uncertified inspectors even after misconduct found – Reuters: Nissan Motor Co Ltd said on Wednesday it conducted uncertified vehicle checks as recently as last week even after revealing the widespread misconduct at its domestic factories.
- LEVC TX London black cab now testing on the capital’s roads – Autocar: Up to 90% of buyers expected to opt for £177 per week finance deal; range-extender black cab is capable of zero-emissions driving
- Shell to open electric vehicle charging points at UK petrol stations – Guardian: Shell is opening a first wave of electric vehicle charging points at its UK … The move marks the Shell’s first step into the UK electric car sector and…
- Toyota reveals hydrogen-powered Mercedes S-Class rival – Autocar:
- Does Electric Vehicle Progress Signal Peak Oil Demand And Lower Oil Prices? – Forbes: Similarly, New Energy Finance has said, “We found that electric vehicles could displace oil demand of 2 million barrels a day as early as…
- Lawmaker: Trump Said Fallen Soldier Knew What He Signed Up for – Bloomberg: Frederica Wilson said she was in the car with Myeshia Johnson on Tuesday on the way to Miami International Airport to meet the body of Johnson’s…
- Volvo’s Polestar could become a credible BMW, Tesla rival – Automotive News: To put this figure in perspective, BMW has already sold 100,000 electrified models this year. Tesla sold 75,000 electric cars last year and, with the…
- Mitsubishi Motors aims for 50% growth in ASEAN auto sales – Nikkei: Mitsubishi Motors CEO Osamu Masuko speaks at a news conference outlining the automaker’s midterm business plan in Tokyo on Oct. 18. (Photo by…
- New Jaguar XK: design boss wants 2+2 GT to return – Autocar: New four-seat sports GT would be based on the F-Type platform Ian Callum wants Jaguar to develop a new model to sit alongside next-generation F-Type, and confirms design work has begun
- Forget the G Train: Rent a Mercedes in NYC for 47 Cents a Minute – Bloomberg: Car2Go, the Daimler AG-owned car-sharing unit, is adding Mercedes CLA sedans and GLA crossovers to its New York fleet later this year. The move…
- Toyota Targets 620-Mile Driving Range With Fuel-Cell Concept Car – Bloomberg: Toyota Motor Corp. is set to unveil a fuel-cell concept car that aims to offer 50 percent more driving range than its current hydrogen-powered sedan in…
- Thai Sept car exports at 2-year high as Mid-East demand recovers – Reuters: Thailand’s car exports hit their highest in two years in September as demand from the Middle East rebounded, boosting …
- China’s electric car output to hit one million next year: BAIC chairman – Reuters: China’s electric vehicle (EV) production could touch 1 million units next year and 3 million units by 2020, said Xu Heyi, chairman of carmaker BAIC Group, on Wednesday, likely exceeding a government set target.
- Nissan’s improper safety inspections continued after revelation – Nikkei: Unauthorized workers continued to inspect Nissan Motor vehicles even after the improper checks were revealed in mid-September,…
- Mitsubishi Motors checking how Kobe Steel parts affected by false data – Reuters: Mitsubishi Motors Corp is investigating how components from suppliers containing Kobe Steel Ltd parts have been affected by the steelmaker’s falsified data on product quality, the chief executive of the carmaker said on Wednesday.
- Alfa Romeo, Maserati production cut after China sales blow – Automotive News: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has cut production at Italian factories building Alfa Romeo and Maserati cars after new Chinese import rules hit…
- Toyota Targets 620-Mile Range With Concept Fuel-Cell Vehicle – Bloomberg: Although hydrogen vehicles can be refueled in about three minutes and have a substantially longer range than electric cars, they suffer from a lack of…
- New Mitsubishi plan targets 40% jump in sales – Automotive News: TOKYO – Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has unveiled a three-year plan to boost global sales and revenue by more than 30 percent as it rebounds from a fuel…
- Mitsubishi Motors aims to move on from scandal with 30 percent sales-boost goal – Reuters: Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) plans to boost sales volume and revenue by 30 percent in three years and spend more on …
- Mitsubishi Motors eyes 30 percent rise in vehicle sales in three years – Reuters: Mitsubishi Motors Corp on Wednesday said it planned to boost revenue and annual car sales by 30 percent in the next three years and crank up R&D investment as the Japanese automaker expands its presence in Asia, the U.S. and China while it draws a line under last year’s mileage cheating scandal.
- Mitsubishi Motors Maps Out Road to Recovery After Fuel-Economy Scandal – WSJ: TOKYO- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will plow billions of dollars into its business as it seeks to update factories, reinvigorate a stagnant product lineup…
- Mitsubishi Motors targets 1.3m global vehicle sales for FY 2019 – FT: Mitsubishi Motors has announced plans to splash more than ¥600bn ($5.3bn) over the next three years and launch 11 new models as it ramps up…
- Three Ex Tesla Workers Sue, Saying They Were Subject to Racial Slurs and Retaliation – Yahoo: A representative from Tesla said the men never raised concerns about racial discrimination while they were employed at the factory and pointed out…
- BRIEF-Foxconn and IDG seeking $1.5 bln for car tech fund – Reuters: * Foxconn and IDG seeking $1.5 billion for car tech fund – Source text – https://bloom.bg/2gP4XuR Further company coverage:
- Mitsubishi, Nissan see electric autos helping manage grid – Nikkei: Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. and automaker Nissan Motor aim to have electric vehicles help manage power supplies in Europe…
- Foxconn and IDG Seeking $1.5 Billion for Car Tech Fund – Bloomberg: The new fund would represent its most aggressive initiative to stake out a spot in the burgeoning market for car technology — especially in China, which foresees both electric and autonomous vehicles plying its roads within years. Their presentation …
- Mobileye says without safety standards self-driving cars risk being ‘a very expensive science … – CNBC: Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua says investment in autonomous vehicles “runs the risk of ending up as simply a very expensive science experiment”…
- Intel Proposes System to Make Self-Driving Cars Blameless – Bloomberg: Intel Corp. has developed a system it says ensures that self-driving vehicles can’t cause accidents where they are at fault, an effort to reassure a…
- Former Ford CEO Mark Fields lands gig with private equity firm – Freep: Former Ford CEO Mark Fields has a new job. Fields, who was forced out of his post at Ford in May, will be a senior adviser at TPG Capital, a global…
- You Can Now Charge Electric Cars at Shell in the UK – Bloomberg: Britain has more than 8,000 retail stations, and those are closing at a rate of about 100 per year and and may number 6,000 by 2035 as electric cars spread, according to analysis by the oil-industry researcher Wood Mackenzie. In a race to lead the …
- Trump NAFTA demands could have unintended effects – Detroitnews: Demands for U.S. domestic content for vehicles built in Canada and Mexico could drive up cost, drive away jobs
- GM’s Ammann says company moving ‘really quickly’ on autonomous cars – Reuters: General Motors President Dan Ammann addresses the media during a media event to introduce the Buick Avista concept vehicle before the start of the …
- Baidu Plans Fully Self-Driving Bus in China Next Year – WSJ: Baidu is betting it can be a major player in self-driving vehicles with its open-source autonomous-vehicle software called Apollo that it unveiled this…
- Shell Recharge electric car service launches first in UK forecourts – Autocar:
- Alphabet to Pack its Digital City With Autonomous ‘Taxibots’ – Bloomberg: Sidewalk’s official plans filed with the city and released on Tuesday include visions of all sorts of robotic transport: driverless bike-like vehicles, larger…
- General Motors to test self-driving cars in New York City – FT: General Motors plans to become the first company to test self-driving cars in New York City, … New York governor Andrew Cuomo said GM and Cruise Automation, the autonomous car developer bought by the Detroit icon last year,…
- Former Ford CEO Mark Fields named senior adviser at TPG Capital – Automotive News: Former Ford Motor CEO Mark Fields has been named a senior adviser at private equity firm TPG Capital, where he will be tasked with helping reinvent…
- China Is Poised to Take Over This Industry. America Can’t Let It Happen. – Fortune: The future of transportation will be electric vehicles (EV). As battery costs come down and countries turn away from internal combustion engine…
- Volvo debuts first ‘Made in China’ Polestar hybrid – Nikkei: … and diesel cars by 2040, while China and India have expressed similar plans. Volvo Car is owned by Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding.
- GM Plans to Make Systems for Autonomous Cars – WSJ: LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.- General Motors Co. GM -1.62% plans to make the bulk of the systems that go into an autonomous car, a shift from its…
- Chinese ‘white knight’ to hike stake in Grammer: source – Reuters: China’s Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts Co (603997.SS) wants to increase its stake in German automotive interiors maker Grammer AG …
- Volvo takes aim at Tesla with Polestar electric car – FT: It also plans to launch a cheaper subscription service through the Lynk & Co electric brand. The Chinese group also owns the London Electric Vehicle…