- Exclusive: Mideast Uber rival Careem in talks to raise new funds-sources – Reuters: Middle East ride-hailing app Careem is in early talks to raise as much as $500 million in new funds from investors, sources told Reuters.
- US March auto sales seen up 0.4 percent: JD Power and LMC – Reuters: U.S. new vehicle sales fell 2 percent in 2017 to 17.23 million units after hitting a record high in 2016. Sales are expected to drop further in 2018 as interest rates rise and more late-model used cars return to dealer lots to compete with new ones….
- U.S. March auto sales seen up 0.4 percent – J.D. Power and LMC – Reuters: U.S. auto sales in March likely rose 0.4 percent from the same month in 2017, breaking a three-month streak of falling sales due to an extra selling weekend versus the previous year, industry consultants J.D. Power and LMC Automotive said on Wednesday.
- A Terrible Tuesday for Tesla’s Stock, But Watch the Bonds – Bloomberg: Late on Tuesday, Moody’s downgraded those Tesla bonds to Caa1 (the company rating went down a notch to B3). Moody’s could hardly do otherwise, given the single-B rating had been predicated on Tesla producing 300,000 Model 3s this year at a 25 percent…
- Daimler, BMW agree to combine ride-sharing businesses – source – Reuters: German carmakers Daimler and BMW have agreed to combine their ride-sharing businesses Car2Go and DriveNow, a person familiar with the deal said.
- BRIEF-Renault, Rostec give details on Avtovaz subscription – Reuters: RENAULT AND ROSTEC, THE TWO PARTNERS OF ALLIANCE ROSTEC AUTO B.V. MAJORITY SHAREHOLDER OF AVTOVAZ, ANNOUNCE THEIR INDIRECT PARTICIPATION IN AVTOVAZ’S CLOSED SUBSCRIPTION CURRENTLY UNDER WAY AND WHICH WILL END IN APRIL 2018.
- Jaguar Land Rover teams up with Blackberry for infotainment – Yahoo: Once upon a time every other person had a phone made by the Canadian company – even prime minister Theresa may still had one until recently. However, that’s not the only reason Blackberry has been in the news recently – Jaguar Land Rover has announced…
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe and cabriolet land in New York – Autocar: The appearance of the reworked two-door C-class models follows the unveiling of… Revised two-door models set to make public debut at Big Apple event
- Peugeot CEO backs calls for European battery champion – Reuters: French carmaker PSA Group threw its support behind efforts to create a European manufacturer of electric car batteries, as Chief Executive Carlos Tavares warned lawmakers on Wednesday against letting Asian dominance go unchallenged.
- With Datsun brand, Nissan has another go at Pakistan market – Reuters: Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) on Wednesday said it would resume building and selling cars in Pakistan next year, becoming the latest global automaker to operate in a market tipped to expand in coming years as vehicle ownership increases among a growing…
- Hyundai group to streamline ownership structure in reform push – Reuters: Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd (012330.KS), a key affiliate, will spin off its module and after-service parts businesses and merge them with another group affiliate, Hyundai Glovis (086280.KS). Parent Hyundai Motor Group’s Chairman Chung Mong-koo and his son…
- 2019 BMW M3 to kick-start 26-car M division expansion – Autocar: BMW”s M division will take the fight to Mercedes-AMG and Audi Sport by staging a major expansion of its line-up – and this, the next M3, will spearhead the changes The sixth-generation of the hot 3 Series, due in 2019, will be spearhead growth for the…
- The Clock is Ticking Faster at Tesla – WSJ: Tesla TSLA -8.22% will soon need money again. The trouble is, raising it suddenly looks a lot more challenging. Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Tesla’s debt on Monday afternoon, citing persistently negative cash flow and continued production …
- China’s Geely calls for caution in self-driving tech after fatal collision – Reuters: The Chinese owner of Swedish car brand Volvo said on Wednesday that the autonomous driving industry should move forward prudently in the wake of a deadly accident in the United States this month that has rekindled a debate about safety.
- BYD: Buffeted by Beijing – WSJ: China, electric vehicles and Warren Buffett have made BYD an investors’ darling for years, but it is struggling to stay in the fast lane. Shares of the Buffett-backed Chinese car maker plunged 12% Wednesday after it said it’s expecting its net profit…
- RAV4 Remake Could Be Toyota’s Biggest Intro in Years – Detroit Bureau: You don’t mess with success, goes the old adage. But there’s an alternative way of looking at things: no risk is the biggest risk of all. Or, so goes the long-time mantra at Toyota. Which is right? We’ll likely learn in the months ahead as buyers get a…
- 2019 Toyota RAV4 unveiled with tough new look – Autocar: Toyota has revealed a new and much tougher-looking RAV4 that will face off the Ford Kuga and Nissan Qashqai next year. On show in New York, the Toyota New Global Architecture platform-based SUV has been launched with one hybrid option and one petrol…
- Toyota Launches Production Model “Sora” FC Bus – Toyota: Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announces that sales began on March 7 of the “Sora,” the first fuel cell bus (FC bus) to receive vehicle type certification in Japan.
- The Town on the Front Lines of Germany’s Battle to Preserve its Industrial Future – Bloomberg: While fallout from that scandal puts diesel at greater risk than other conventional-car technologies, Germany’s entire auto sector is threatened as the value in future models will largely come from systems that monitor and operate the vehicle-with the…
- 2018 Bangkok Motor Show: Suzuki Swift – Yahoo: Though the compact hatchback has only been on sale in Thailand for a month, Suzuki Motor (Thailand) is reporting that it has already received over 4,000 reservations for the vehicle. “The first lot of Swift cars has been delivered to customers in late…
- New Audi RS5 Sportback features 444bhp turbocharged V6 – Autocar: Audi Sport has bolstered its line-up with the launch of the 444bhp twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6-powered RS5 Sportback Audi Sport bolsters mid-range line-up with first hot Sportback version of RS5
- Lincoln amps up design with Aviator reboot – Detroitnews: Lincoln brings back the Aviator nameplate with an all-new three-row, rear-wheel drive premium SUV
- China’s BYD warns profit to plunge on electric car subsidy cuts, shares tumble – Reuters: China’s BYD Co Ltd , backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, warned subsidy cuts for new-energy vehicles could slash its quarterly profit by as much as 90 percent, driving its shares down almost 10 percent. The squeeze on BYD’s profits…
- Tesla defends Autopilot record after Feds launch investigation into fatal crash – CNBC: Tesla is defending its Autopilot technology as investigators probe a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model X SUV. The NTSB said it’s unclear if the Model X Autopilot system was engaged prior to the accident. In a blog post, the company said: “Our data…
- Sheldon Adelson Facilitated EPA Connection for Israeli Firm – WSJ: The EPA has signed a deal to test technology from an Israeli company whose executives were twice granted access to EPA chief Scott Pruitt at the request of Republican Party donor and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
- MLIT Moves Toward New Guidelines for Autonomous Driving – Japanautomotivedaily: The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has collated new policies aimed at the practical implementation of self-driving []
- Aisin AW, PSA Sign Manufacturing Licensing Agreement for Automatic Transmissions – Japanautomotivedaily: Aisin AW Co. Ltd. recently announced that it has signed a manufacturing licensing agreement for automatic transmissions (ATs) with French-based []
- Uber agrees to settle California discrimination lawsuit for $10 mln – Reuters: Uber Technologies Inc has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by two women engineers who accused the ride-services company of gender and race discrimination.
- Panasonic shares dive on U.S. probe into fatal Tesla crash – Reuters: Shares of Japan’s Panasonic Corp fell 6 percent early on Wednesday after the United States began a federal field investigation into last week’s fatal crash and vehicle fire of major battery customer Tesla Inc .
- U.S. agency proposes scrapping higher automaker penalties for ‘gas guzzlers’ – Reuters: The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said late on Tuesday it was proposing to cancel a planned hike in higher “gas-guzzler” penalties for automakers whose vehicles fail to meet minimum fuel-economy standards.