- GM Korea’s board delays decision on bankruptcy filing to Monday – sources – Reuters: The board of General Motors’ South Korean unit delayed its decision on filing for court-led rehabilitation proceedings to Monday, said two sources familiar with the situation.
- Nissan to launch 3 new EV models in Japan by FY 2022 – Nikkei: Nissan Motor Co. said Friday it will launch three new electric and five new hybrid vehicle models in Japan by fiscal 2022, accelerating efforts to boost its sales of environmentally friendly cars. The Japanese automaker is aiming to lift the share of…
- Jaguar axes range-topping XE S and XE S models – Autocar: The XE’s six-cylinder variant has been axed Car maker has ditched hot saloons due to poor sales and emission regulation changes
- America’s Love for Trucks Means Long-Term Auto Loans Are Here to Stay – Bloomberg: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s Ram truck brand had the longest average loan terms in the industry last year, at 73 months, according to consumer credit tracker Experian. The automaker’s Jeep and Fiat lines also placed among the top five, along with…
- GM Korea fails to reach wage deal, edging closer to bankruptcy filing – Reuters: General Motors’ South Korean unit and its labor union failed to reach a wage deal by Friday, breaching a deadline set by the U.S. automaker to seek bankruptcy protection for the loss-making unit.
- Audi E-Tron to charge faster than Tesla Supercharger network – Autocar: The e-tron was shown to the press at a Siemens heavy-duty electrical… Audi has revealed more technical details on its electric E-Tron SUV
- PSA demanding 3700 job cuts in Germany – Opel labour chief – Reuters: PSA Group (PEUP.PA) wants 3,700 job cuts at Opel in Germany by 2020 and a process of contract buyouts and early retirement has already resulted in a reduction of about 2,000 positions, Opel’s works council chief said on Friday. Around 2,000 have…
- Porsche’s head of powertrain development arrested, source says – Reuters: Earlier this year, prosecutors widened an investigation of Audi, which developed a 3.0 litre V6 diesel engine that was used in about 80,000 VW, Audi and Porsche models found to have been equipped with illicit software. (Reporting by Jan Schwartz…
- Car makers subject to new EU regulatory laws after Volkswagen scandal – Autocar: The European Commission is set to be granted new powers that will allow it to avoid or punish a repeat of Dieselgate
- Incoming UAW boss was aboard $1600 bus ride cited in scandal – Freep: In January 2015, he was among UAW officers at meetings held in the desert resort town where thousands in spending has been tied by federal prosecutors to corruption involving the Fiat Chrysler National Training Center, operated jointly by the auto…
- EU mergers and takeovers (April 20) – Reuters: MAY 8. – Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to acquire control of Denmark’s Saxo Bank (notified March 28/deadline May 8/simplified). – Investment advisor Black Diamond Capital Management to acquire car leather maker GST AutoLeather (notified…
- Indonesia’s Go-Jek planning Philippine expansion -regulator – Reuters: Indonesian ride-hailing and online payment company Go-Jek is looking to expand into the Philippines, Manila’s transport regulator said on Friday, just days after Uber Technologies Inc shut down its local business as part of its exit from Southeast Asia.
- PSA Group demanded 3700 job cuts in Germany: Opel works council chief – Reuters: PSA Group (PEUP.PA) has demanded 3,700 staff cuts by 2020 in Germany and a process of buyouts and early retirement has already resulted in a reduction of about 2,000 positions, Opel’s works council chief Wolfgang Schaefer-Klug said on Friday. Around…
- GM Korea, union fail to reach wage deal: GM Korea spokesman – Reuters: General Motors’ South Korean unit and its labor union failed to reach a wage deal, a spokesman of the unit said on Friday, after talks that sought to stave off a threat of bankruptcy for the loss-making unit.
- Daimler recalls 24763 Mercedes-Benz cars in Russia – Russian watchdog – Reuters: Russia’s standards agency said on Friday it had been informed about the voluntary recall by German carmaker Daimler (DAIGn.DE) of 24,763 … The agency said the recall of the cars from a range of models was due to a possible problem with the driver’s…
- Navigator, Escalade crushing competitors in growing luxury SUV segment – Freep: The large luxury SUV segment is growing more than six times faster than light vehicles. Prices are setting records as orders pour in.
- Mercedes leads China luxury car sales despite Audi surge – Automotive News: Mercedes-Benz retained its lead as China’s top-selling luxury brand in March and the first quarter despite a surge in sales by Audi, last year’s leader. Mercedes brand sales rose 17 percent to 58,471 last month. Audi’s sales surged 31 percent to 54,031…
- (2nd LD) GM Korea to hold board meeting court protection after talks breakdown with union – Yonhap: GM holds a 77 percent stake in GM Korea and SAIC Motor Corp. owns a six percent stake in the unit. As for the relocation of workers at the Gunsan plant due to be closed next month, the company and its union were unable to narrow their differences. GM…
- Forget the deathbed test – take your life lessons from Elon Musk – FT: I love Elon Musk a lot, probably half as much as he loves himself. In a leaked email to staff, the Tesla founder said they should walk out of meetings “as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value. It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make…
- Mercedes-Maybach concept SUV images leak ahead of Beijing reveal – Autocar: Images of the Vision Mercedes Maybach Ultimate Luxury have leaked ahead of the Beijing motor show The electric Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury concept is aimed at the high-end Chinese market
- German politics split over diesel refit burden – Reuters: German transport minister Andreas Scheuer is asking carmakers to tell him how they plan to complete by the end of the year … I am pushing for the promised 5.3 million cars to really be upgraded by the end of the year, Scheuer told Sueddeutsche…
- Vattenfall joins battle for EV charging market dominance – Reuters: Swedish utility Vattenfall launched plans on Friday to become northwestern Europe’s biggest operator of electric vehicle charging infrastructure within five years. The Nordic region’s biggest player said in a statement it targeted turnover for the…
- Merger Isn’t the Only Option for Renault and Nissan, Ghosn Says – WSJ: The chief executive of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance said at The Wall Street Journal”s D.Live tech conference that he is open to a merger of Renault and Nissan, but there may be other alternatives.
- Nissan-Renault Alliance Needs a Sustainable Future, Ghosn Says – Bloomberg: Renault owns 43 percent of Nissan and has voting rights, while the Japanese company — which contributes more revenue and profit — has a 15 percent stake in its French counterpart without voting rights. Ghosn said that the alliance will continue to…
- S Korea offers GM $470m to stay in country as bankruptcy looms – FT: The US automaker owns 77 per cent of the Korean operations and GM’s main Chinese partner, SAIC Motor, has the remainder. GM’s operations in South Korea were once a key production centre for its compact vehicles but sales have slumped in recent years…
- At Nissan-Renault, the hunt for an ‘irreversible,’ sustainable future – Automotive News: The alliance between Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. needs to come up with a sustainable plan for a future when Carlos Ghosn is no longer around as chairman to guide the partnership, the top executive said. The main concern is how to assure all…
- Mitsubishi Corp. to abolish its special adviser system – Nikkei:
- Opel labor leaders fear Eisenach plant workforce could halve – Automotive News: German labor leaders fear Opel’s Eisenach factory could lose half its 1,800 workforce unless a deal is struck with owner PSA Group over working conditions, amid escalating tensions between German union IG Metall and Opel’s management. Opel’s German…
- Nissan LEAF sales surpass 100,000 in Japan – Nissan-global: Nissan has sold more than 100,000 Nissan LEAFs in Japan since the model first went on sale.First-generation Nissan LEAFNew Nissan LEAF Nissan launched the first generation of the Nissan LEAF, the world’s first mass-produced electric car, in 2010….
- Auto parts group Faurecia posts higher Q1 sales – Reuters: French auto parts maker Faurecia posted higher first-quarter sales on Friday, and sees robust, double-digit growth in their second quarter that enables the group to have a positive outlook for 2018. Faurecia, of which auto group PSA owns 46 percent,…
- German minister calls for diesel software upgrades by year-end: Sueddeutsche – Reuters: German transport minister Andreas Scheuer is asking carmakers to tell him how they plan to complete by the end of the year … Germany has committed to software upgrades for some 5.3 million diesel cars by the end of the year to reduce emissions by up…
- Land Rover Defender pick-up to rival Mercedes X-Class – Autocar: Defender pick-up is expected to be single-cab only Following the Defender’s reveal later this year, a family of models is expected, including a pick-up variant
- FAW Group to invest in Chinese-funded EV startup Byton – Byton CEO – Reuters: Byton is interested in gaining access to FAW’s supply chains for automotive components such as EV batteries, Breitfeld said. FAW was not immediately available to respond to Reuters’ call for comment. In February, U.S. autonomous driving startup Aurora…
- Taxi firms face claims over drivers’ rights in wake of Uber case – Guardian: … from former drivers who say they are “workers” and not independent contractors as the car firms insist. The cases are backed by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) union, which has won a string of successful cases on worker…
- GM Korea and union to talk again on Friday, seek to stave off bankruptcy – Reuters: If they fail to reach a deal, GM Korea plans to hold a board meeting at around 8 p.m. to discuss a plan to file for bankruptcy protection for the operation, a source familiar with the matter said, also declining to be identified. GM Korea is committed…
- A Trump Win on China Tariffs Could Aid Auto Plants in US -Just Not American Ones – WSJ: “You could easily see Xi Jinping saying, ‘OK, well, I’ll lower the tariff on autos.’ And it would be a great win,” Mr. Zoellick said. But he said it would most likely only help German car makers that export to China from their plants in the U.S.. That…
- Elkann wants to bring back energy of roaring 50s – FT: Lapo Elkann, scion of the Fiat industrial dynasty and flamboyant man-about-town with a personal life as eye-catching as the electric blue suits he wears, is looking to fashion his coming-of-age in the European luxury industry. “My objective for each…
- Small cars” decline a return to the norm – Detroitnews: Market is actually returning to historical norms after an unusual period when automakers expanded small-car offerings
- Howes: Cadillac swap reveals American luxury conundrum – Detroitnews: Billions invested in top-to-bottom reinvention of GM brand have failed to break foreign hegemony of U.S. luxury market.
- Judge approves $290M, 3.0L Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche settlement – Automotive News: An Ontario Superior Court judge has approved a settlement worth up to $290.5 million with about 20,000 owners of 3.0-litre VW, Audi and Porsche diesel vehicles in Canada affected by Volkswagen AG’s diesel emissions-cheating scandal. Volkswagen and…
- Chairman Mao’s Sedan May Get Revival, With Aid From a EV Startup – Bloomberg: Byton was founded by a team of veteran executives including Carsten Breitfeld, the former project manager for BMW’s i8 plug-in sports car, and Daniel Kirchert, the former head of Infiniti in China. Read this for more about Byton’s $45,000 SUV unveiled..