Archives for April 2018

• `Villain’ Uber Makes Progress in Bid to Appease London Regulator – Bloomberg: The transport authority’s list of concerns with Uber has more than halved to 11 from 25 after it committed to governance changes and apologized for setting up hostile software, a lawyer for the ride-hailing app said at a hearing Monday. The trial to…
• Burning Cash, Living Free and a Pot Crisis – Bloomberg: (Washington Post); Tesla Doesn’t Burn Fuel, It Burns Cash: A complete guide to how Elon Musk has raised, and then spent, billions of dollars. (Bloomberg); Value Should Do Better. But When Is Anybody’s Guess (MoneyBeat); How to Live in San Francisco…
• Tesla Is Burning $6500 Every Minute. It’s Probably Going to Need to Raise a Lot More – Fortune: At the beginning of April, Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk joked about the company going bankrupt, but it appears that such a seemingly unlikely outcome is no laughing matter. There is now a “genuine risk” that the electric car company won’t have …
• Roush offers ‘incredibly intimidating’ off-road Ford F-250 Super Duty – Freep: Roush Engineering launches off-road performance version of Ford F-250 pickup.
• Didi Chuxing, Volkswagen to Unveil Ride-Hailing Joint Venture – WSJ: The deal, which could be announced next Monday, is the first step in what could become a broader alliance between the world’s biggest auto maker by sales and the global leader in ride-hailing, as China races to get ahead in new mobility services such…

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• Vauxhall Corsa diesel axed due to low demand – Autocar: The latest car to drop its oil-burning variant is one of Britain”s top-sellers The Vauxhall Corsa will no longer be offered with a diesel engine because the variant represented just 2.5% of the model”s sales. Corsas powered by the 1.3 CDTi engine were…
• Kanye Can’t Save Tesla – Bloomberg: Good morning! This is Fly Charts, the daily charts-only newsletter from Gadfly; sign up here. From Chipotle’s long road back to Indonesian mine malfeasance, here are four charts that tell you what you need to know in business today. Free Falling …
• Japan’s Honda, Mazda issue profit warnings as yen rise clouds outlook – Reuters: Honda on Friday forecast a surprise 16 percent drop in operating profit to 700 billion yen ($6.40 billion) for the year to March 2019, versus a consensus estimate for a rise, while Mazda Motor Corp projected a wider-than-expected drop of 28 percent to…
• Tesla’s Foe in Fight Over Electric Vehicle Rebate: Utilities – Bloomberg: Early adopters of the electric car often band together in what can seem, in the age of Donald Trump and resurgent sport utility vehicles, like a lonely defense of an unloved technology. But today in California, the state doing the most to cultivate…

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• BRIEF-Fiat Chrysler CEO says next investment cycle will take time to happen – Reuters: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne: * COMMENTING ON LOWER DEBT IN Q1, SAYS CURRENT INVESTMENT CYCLE COMING TO AN END, NEXT PHASE WILL TAKE TIME TO MATERIALISE
• Fiat Chrysler cuts debt by more than expected – Reuters: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) reduced its debts by more than expected in the first quarter, putting the carmaker well on course to become cash positive later this year.
• Jeep powers Fiat Chrysler quarterly profit jump of 60% to $1.2 billion – Freep: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles shipped more Jeeps in this year’s first quarter and turned around losses in South America.
• General Motors reports pretax profit of $2.6B in first quarter – Freep: General Motors reports pre-tax profits of $2.6B in first quarter
• S.Korea antitrust chief says activist Elliott’s Hyundai demand “inappropriate” – Reuters: South Korea’s antitrust chief on Thursday said U.S. activist fund Elliott Management’s proposal for Hyundai Motor Group to adopt a holding company structure was “inappropriate” and, if implemented, would be in violation of antitrust law.

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• Global Auto Makers Lean On China Partners to Meet Electric-Vehicle Targets – WSJ: BEIJING-Some of the world’s biggest auto makers say they will rely on their Chinese partners to help them meet Beijing’s mandates for electric vehicles, using the joint venture arrangements that China has now agreed to phase out. Beijing recently…
• No One Is Sure How Good, or Bad, AI Will Get – Bloomberg: Even as the use of artificial intelligence has grown over the past decade, outsized predictions about it destroying humanity or creating utopia haven’t come to pass, at least not yet. Bloomberg QuickTake explains what AI does for us now and why people…
• Ford names China leadership amid slumping sales and ‘bumpy ride’ – Freep: The new structure replaces the Changan Ford sales company as part of the Changan Ford joint venture. Henry Li, 50, was named vice president, marketing and sales for Ford Greater China. Li, who will be responsible for leading Ford’s transition to the…
• Polestar 1 hybrid coupe to be priced from €155,000 in Europe – Autocar: The first Polestar 1 prototype has completed a shakedown test in the Arctic Circle Company boss says electrified machine is true ‘driver’s car’
• The Ram 1500 Is the Pickup For Drivers Who Think They Want an SUV – Bloomberg: Fiat-Chrysler stretched its full-size pickup by four inches during its first overhaul in nine years. What it did with that extra space says a lot about how the company plans to compete in the $90 billion U.S. truck market. The 2019 Ram 1500 features an…

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• Volkswagen to invest $18bn in China by 2022 – Nikkei:
• 2018 Volkswagen Lavida to capitalise on China’s continuing love for saloons – Autocar: New version of the country”s best-selling three-box model sits on MQB underpinnings
• Didi Chuxing launches plan to turn car owners to car users – FT: Didi Chuxing, China’s international challenger to Uber, has announced it is designing autonomous and new-energy cars with an alliance of 31 partners with the aim of turning global car owners into car users. Partners in the Didi Auto Alliance include…
• Mercedes-Benz A-Class Saloon unveiled as Audi A3 Saloon competitor – Autocar: The new Mercedes-Benz model is aimed squarely at the Audi A3 saloon Saloon version of latest A-Class will arrive on roads in Britain later this year

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• China’s Didi Chuxing launches ride service in Mexico – Reuters: Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing on Monday launched its service in Toluca, Mexico, the company said, setting up a likely costly battle with rival Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] in a key market.
• When in China, do as Didi does – Automotive News: Even cab drivers here use the Didi Chuxing ride hailing app — China’s counterpart to Uber or Lyft in the U.S. — to snag fares, and the hotel concierge did as … And even when the hotel entered a ride on my behalf, my destination was repeatedly…
• Exclusive: China’s Lishen plans first European sales office for electric vehicle batteries – Reuters: Exclusive: China’s Lishen plans first European sales office for electric vehicle batteries – source ReutersFull coverage
• GM Korea agrees with union on salary freeze and cut to benefits – Nikkei:

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