- German government tries to sooth driver fears about diesel bans – Reuters: The German government played down the prospect of bans on heavily polluting diesel cars on Wednesday, a day after a court ruled … Cars drive past Germany’s Federal Administrative Court before it decides whether German law provides a legal basis for…
- Mitsubishi names Fred Diaz CEO of North America – Automotive News: Before joining Nissan in 2013, Diaz was CEO of Ram and CEO of Chrysler de Mexico and Latin America. Nissan recruited him as senior vice president for U.S. sales and marketing, reporting to Nissan North America Chairman Jose Munoz. Diaz was then…
- Citroen C4 MPVs drop Picasso name for Spacetourer – Autocar: Citroen has dropped the Picasso name from its line-up Firm says C4 Spacetourer and Grand C4 Spacetourer monikers are more closely aligned with its largest people carrier
- Toyota will build the new Auris at UK plant – Automotive News: Toyota said it will build the next generation of its Auris compact car at its English plant in a boost to Prime Minister Theresa May as Britain leaves the European Union. Toyota will produce the third-generation Auris at Burnaston, Derbyshire,…
- Toyota commits to UK car manufacturing – FT: The future of Japanese car manufacturing in Britain has been secured into the next decade after Toyota pledged to build the next generation of Auris vehicles at its Derbyshire plant. The company follows Honda and Nissan in allocating new models to UK…
- Hong Kong Just Made Buying a Tesla Cheaper – Bloomberg: Customers look at a Tesla Model S electric vehicle at a showroom in Hong Kong. Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg. Hong Kong just made buying an electric car cheaper, unveiling a tax benefit that’s set to boost demand for Teslas and other green…
- Skoda Vision X concept to showcase natural gas hybrid technology – Autocar: The Skoda Vision X will be shown at Geneva Skoda’s CNG hybrid electric powertrain, which has already been tested in a Karoq, showcases a way to effectively bring four-wheel drive to smaller vehicles
- ‘Booth Babes’ Banished as Carmakers Opt for Less Flesh in Geneva – Bloomberg: A spokeswoman for the show said exhibitors are free to choose how they want to present their vehicles. Some may not change tack. That’ll give scope for women to turn to secret signals used in past years, such as tucking hair behind their ears, to get…
- Amazon’s Alexa Takes Open-Source Route to Beat Google Into Cars – Bloomberg: The catch is that the cars must use Automotive Grade Linux, an open-source platform being developed by Toyota Motor Corp. and other auto manufacturers and suppliers to underpin all software running in the vehicle. The only cars currently on the system…
- China startup Nio hires eight banks for up to $2 billion US IPO: sources – Reuters: UBS, Citigroup and Goldman declined comment while the other banks did not immediately respond to Reuters emailed request for comment. Shanghai-based Nio, formerly known as NextEV, is among the first of a raft of Chinese electric vehicle firms to launch…
- Is Chinese state behind Geely’s Daimler swoop? – FT: Hours after becoming the largest shareholder in Daimler, Geely chairman Li Shufu sought to play down fears about the Chinese entrepreneur’s intentions. “No current car industry player will be able to win this battle against the invaders from outside…
- Labor Voices: Elections don’t matter to Volkswagen – Detroitnews: Free and fair elections are the hallmark of our democracy – except at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In December 2015, the skilled-trades employees at Volkswagen’s only North American plant voted overwhelmingly – by a margin of 71 percent – to…
- UAW retiree trust to sell chunk of GM shares – Automotive News: The UAW’s retiree health care trust plans to sell about a third of its shares in General Motors, a move that could jeopardize the trust’s seat on the automaker’s board of directors. The automaker late on Tuesday said the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits…
- BMW Australia pushing hard for ute – Autocar:
- GM Korea freezes wages of 500 workers ahead of plant shutdown – Yonhap: GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., froze the base wages for 500 executives and team leaders early this year in a drive to cut costs ahead of a local plant shutdown, the … GM owns a 77 percent stake in GM Korea and SAIC Motor…
- US trade officials meet auto executives in midst of NAFTA talks – Reuters: REUTERS/Henry Romero. Mexico’s economy minister had said the country could put forward its own automotive proposal at the round, but he is facing resistance from the industry to give any ground. Eduardo Solis, the head of Mexico’s automotive industry…