- Fiat Punto gets Euro NCAP’s first ever zero-star rating – Autocar: Crash-testing organisation has expressed disappointment at the supermini’s score and the three-star scores of several other cars
- Audi will dissolve task force set up amid VW Group’s diesel scandal – Automotive News: Audi will dissolve the task force it set up to investigate how many of its diesel cars have “defeat” devices designed to cheat official tests of NOx emissions, CEO Rupert Stadler said. Audi set up the task force after parent Volkswagen Group admitted…
- Renault to buy stake in magazine Challenges – paper – Reuters: French carmaker Renault has agreed to buy a large minority stake in business magazine Challenges, Le Figaro reported on Wednesday. The manufacturer will acquire 40 percent of parent group Sophia under the terms of a deal to be announced later in the…
- This Electric Truck Will Probably Beat Tesla’s to Market – Bloomberg: It’s the first vehicle from his startup, Thor Trucks, which hopes to grab a tiny slice of the 940,000-unit-a-year market for semis and go after short-haul trucks, delivery vans, and work vehicles. Like Tesla’s rig, the ET1 is meant to bring…
- VW’s Skoda Auto posts best monthly sales ever in November – Reuters: Czech carmaker Skoda Auto, a unit of Volkswagen, posted its best monthly result ever in November, with deliveries rising 17.5 percent year-on-year to 114,600 cars, it said on Wednesday. Skoda said it posted double-digit growth in its markets in Europe,…
- Space Startup Raises $90 Million to Bring Ads to Moon by 2020 – Bloomberg: Private companies are playing a bigger role in space development, from Elon Musk’s rocket launcher Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and asteroid miner Planetary Resources Inc., seeking to deliver humanity to the cosmos while securing a return for…
- Toyota, Panasonic Consider Joint Electric-Car Battery Business – Bloomberg: Separately, Toyota is also pouring resources into the development of a solid-state battery that it aims to have in electric vehicles by the early 2020s. Solid-state batteries promise to offer shorter charging times and longer driving ranges as well as…
- The new Mercedes-Benz G-Class: Exclusive interior: the G-Class, reinterpreted for today – Daimler: It is an off-road legend and the ultimate benchmark for so many fans of cross-country driving: the G-Class. Since 1979 more than 300,000 examples of it have allowed their owners to experience adventures that would have been unachievable with any other…
- Uber Is Making Friends With Asia’s Taxi Industry – Bloomberg: It’s the latest partnership for the world’s most valuable startup, which last week struck a deal to sell 51 percent of its Singapore car rental unit to taxi operator ComfortDelGro Corp. for S$295 million ($218 million) in cash. Uber resumed…
- Vietnam’s FPT sees niche market for its self-driving tech – Nikkei: FPT has teamed up with Daiwa Institute of Research for a joint project to gain a footing in the global race toward a self-driving future. The two companies signed a memorandum on the project earlier this month. The Vietnamese company is staking its…
- Toyota and Panasonic to Start Feasibility Study of Joint Automotive Prismatic Battery Business – Toyota: Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic) announce today an agreement to begin studying the feasibility of a joint automotive prismatic battery business.
- Jeep Reshapes Its Iconic Wrangler With Slippery Brick Styling – Bloomberg: “That’s not a small improvement for a vehicle of that style and shape,” Manley said in an interview. Subtle changes to the exterior, combined with lighter-weight materials and less fuel-thirsty powertrains, will “future-proof” Jeep’s direct descendant…
- GM works to fulfill bold tech promises – Detroitnews: General Motors Co. may be pulling toward the front in the self-driving car marathon, but the 109-year-old automaker still has a lot to prove. The Detroit automaker showed some Motor City mettle in Silicon Valley this year, establishing itself as an…
- Founder of China’s embattled LeEco placed on debt blacklist – Reuters: Jia expanded his business from its video-streaming roots 13 years ago to include telephones, televisions and cars, and had even looked to push into the United States. At its peak LeEco owed creditors 10 billion yuan. Jia was still talking about his…
- Panasonic rises on Toyota electric vehicle battery tie-up – FT: Shares in Panasonic, the world’s top producer of automotive batteries, rose on Wednesday ahead of a press conference where the company was expected to announce a tie-up with Toyota for batteries used in electric vehicles. The two companies had been…
- Toyota and Panasonic eye joint development of new EV batteries – Reuters: Japan’s Panasonic Corp and Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday they will consider jointly developing batteries for electric vehicles. The Toyota logo is shown at the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 30, 2017….
- Audi SQ2 due next year with 300bhp S3 engine – Autocar: Hot crossover is likely to use the S3 hot hatch”s turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine; flaunts quad exhausts and black exterior trim
- Founder of China’s embattled LeEco placed on debt blacklist: China Daily – Reuters: REUTERS/Jason Lee/Files. He was still talking about his dream to revolutionise the auto industry after he stepped down in May as CEO of the group’s main listed unit, Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp Beijing. People named on the default list…
- Booming Range Rover Velar interest led to early sales complacency, admits boss – Autocar: Initially, huge levels of interest in new Range Rover Velar didn’t lead to booming sales Introducing price flexibility has led to a surge in Velar sales in the UK, admits firm’s Global Sales Operations Director
- Jaguar Land Rover sales boss: Budget diesel taxation counter intuitive – Autocar: Jaguar’s 2.0-litre diesel XE will be one of many cars affected by the taxation change The additional taxation penalising new diesel cars does nothing to address the issue of lowering pollution or CO2 output, according to Andy Goss
- Hyundai Bolsters Electric Car Lineup to Narrow Gap With Rivals – Bloomberg: Hyundai Motor Group, which is lagging behind rivals in the introduction of newer electric-vehicle models, is stepping up plans for battery-powered cars … Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG, General Motors Co. and BMW AG have also announced plans to introduce…
- Electric vehicle battery prices to steady by 2020: Hyundai Motor – Reuters: In September, Reuters reported that Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) was moving to secure long-term supplies of cobalt for the group’s electric vehicle plans, but its talks with cobalt producers in November ended without a supply deal. Lee said that although…
- Mercedes-Benz G-Class interior revealed ahead of January launch – Autocar: New SUV marks biggest transformation in G-Class’s history; it’ll arrive at the Detroit motor show next month
- Ford, GM Report Divergent November Sales in China – Detroit Bureau: China may be the world’s largest automotive market, but it appears to be mimicking U.S. auto sales now as November sales came in flat and are up just 1.9% for the year-to-date. Much like the U.S. market, the Chinese market is coming off a record sales…
- Electric car viability debated amid Trump mpg review – Detroitnews: Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives debated Tuesday whether there is enough demand for electric cars to help automakers meet ambitious gas-mileage rules that require them to produce fleets that average more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025….
- Automakers question Calif. zero-emission mandate as feds reassess mpg rules – Automotive News: “Manufacturers are also offering consumers massive incentives — in some instances as high as tens of thousands of dollars — to get them to buy electric-drive vehicles. The reality is that consumers are not embracing these technologies at the desired…
- SpaceX Will Launch a Reusable Rocket to the International Space Station – Fortune: This week SpaceX, Elon Musk’s aerospace and transport company, expects to launch one of its reusable rockets to the International Space Station with 4,800 lbs. of NASA payload on board. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket will carry a Dragon capsule (also…
- Hey Alexa, is it true you’re a lefty feminist? – Guardian: Any reference to Elon Musk fills the room with the sound of roaring flame and howling fury? No, the commentators in question are primarily from the alt-right and are themselves howling in fury at the rampant leftwing bias in some of Alexa’s answers….
- US transit agencies cautious on electric buses despite bold forecasts – Reuters: Buffett paid $230 million for a 10 percent stake in BYD in 2008. Today the company has a market capitalization of $25 billion, thanks mainly to China’s aggressive move to electrify transportation. More than 15 percent of the 608,600 buses in China are…
