Sorry, been otherwise engaged in the morning. Therefore, a rare Dailykanban collector’s item: The auto news evening edition.
- Aston Martin SUV to be powered exclusively by petrol – Autocar:
- Audi reveals new e-tron Vision Gran Turismo – Autocar: The four-wheel drive 805bhp electric-powered supercar will be… Virtual race car turned into fully functioning coupe as marketing spearhead for e-tron electric car brand and Formula E involvement
- China’s Xi promises to lower tariffs this year, open economy further – Reuters: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday promised to open the country’s economy further and lower import tariffs on products … This year, we will considerably reduce auto import tariffs, and at the same time reduce import tariffs on some other…
- Exclusive: US watchdog seeks record fine against Wells Fargo for abuses – sources – Reuters: The top U.S. watchdog for consumer finance is seeking a record fine against Wells Fargo & Co that could exceed several … had been preparing to sanction the bank for receiving commissions on auto insurance policies it helped force on drivers, Reuters…
- Exclusive: U.S. consumer watchdog seeks record fine against Wells Fargo for abuses – sources – Reuters: The U.S. consumer watchdog is seeking a record fine against Wells Fargo & Co for auto insurance and mortgage lending abuses that could exceed several hundred million dollars, according to three sources with knowledge of the plans.
- Japan’s Nikkei soars after Xi’s speech bolsters risk appetite – Reuters: Japan’s Nikkei share average surged in late morning trade on Tuesday, as automakers rose after Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to lower import tariffs on products including cars this year.
- Human drivers have worse track record – Automotive News: Keith Crain opposes testing driverless technology on public roads seemingly because of one accident resulting in the unfortunate death of one pedestrian (“Why automakers should use proving grounds to test unproven technology,” autonews.com, March 20)….
- Can GPS tracking stop customers from stealing rental cars? In California, a new debate over … – Washington Post: The use of GPS to track down stolen vehicles is at the center of a debate between car rental companies and privacy advocates in California. Unlike automakers that can begin tracking their customer’s movements as soon as they drive off the lot,…
- California’s air regulator says state could back some emissions rule changes – Yahoo: California’s top clean air regulator told Reuters on Monday the state is willing to give automakers more flexibility to comply with vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions rules even as her agency prepares to fight the Trump administration over car and truck…
- Primearth EV Energy to Boost Battery Production in China – Japanautomotivedaily: Primearth EV Energy Co. Ltd. announced on April 4 that it will increase the production capacity of Corun PEVE Automotive []
- TomTom Bets It’s Found a Way to Deal With Slow Death of Sat Nav – Bloomberg: The company plans to invest “hundreds of millions of euros per year” in its automotive businesses, which include the development of HD maps, according to Willem Strijbosch, the company’s Head of Autonomous Driving. Goddijn’s commitment to the firm’s…
- BMW 8 Series to be revealed on eve of 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours – Autocar: BMW will reveal its production 8 Series the day before Le Mans 24 Hours BMW’s new flagship has been shown in camouflage and in an undisguised murky preview image; it’s due to go on UK sale in November
- BMW M2 Competition leaks online with 405bhp M3 engine – Autocar: BMW’s M2 Competition has been leaked online Track-focused coupe is lighter and more powerful; 0-62mph takes 4.2sec
- BMW and Mini launch pay-as-you-go subscription service – Autocar: The 5 Series will be one of the largest cars on offer Models ranging from Mini 3dr to BMW 5 Series are on offer
- BMW M2 Competition edition leaked – Autocar:
- Hybrid Kinetic Group H500: new electric rival to BMW 3 Series GT – Autocar: Pininfarina penned this new hybrid model, which is set to sit below the H600 and use micro-turbine technology
- Four Things on Every Power Nerd Needs to Watch – Bloomberg: European giants such as Total SA, BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are increasing their bets on green technology, such as electric car-charging stations. Still, it’s pretty clear that every EV on the road has a driver who’s bypassing the gas station,…
- CRU/CESCO-Electric cars no game changer for copper demand in short term – Reuters: Copper bulls predicting a rapidly changing demand landscape due to the electric vehicle (EV) revolution and supply shortages are likely to be disappointed, as the amount of extra metal needed is expected to be small, at least over the next few years….
- Vanadium Batteries Need Elon Musk Moment to Kick-Start Market – Bloomberg: Vanadium needs Elon Musk or another big player in the global battery market to get behind the metal in order to share center stage with other energy-storage components such as lithium and cobalt. “When we get that moment, we’re off to the races,”…
- Elon Musk Likes it Here. Will Other Tech Innovators Follow? – New York Times: In Adelaide’s case, Elon Musk has already helped: He introduced a new rocket at a space conference here last September, following up in November by building the world’s biggest battery, which has already driven down local electricity prices. But this…
- Elon Musk’s next Hyperloop test – will aim for half the speed of sound, could easily turn pod into … – CNBC: Elon Musk speaks onstage at Elon Musk Answers Your Questions! during SXSW at ACL Live on March 11, 2018 in Austin, Texas. Billionaire tech titan Elon Musk has teased a dramatic upcoming test of his Hyperloop transportation pod. The Hyperloop…
- Elon Musk shows off manufacturing hardware for SpaceX’s Mars rocket – CNBC: Musk shared a photo of the “main body tool” to weave the carbon fiber that will comprise the upper stage of the rocket.
- Costs, not the environment, will drive switch to electric cars – FT: The switch to electric vehicles is often viewed as a result of government efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. But electric vehicles will soon become the cheapest option for many buyers of cars and commercial vehicles, regardless of environmental targets….
- California ‘Actively’ Considers Challenge to EPA on Vehicle Emissions – WSJ: “We have to decide whether to challenge that finding and when and how,” Ms. Nichols said. She pointed to auto makers suing to overturn the Obama administration’s decision on the standards, a lawsuit that effectively became moot when President Donald…
- GM shares jump on upgrade by widely followed analyst at Morgan Stanley – CNBC: General Motors will thrive from rising infrastructure spending, according to Morgan Stanley. The firm raised its rating for the automaker’s shares to overweight from equal-weight, citing the profitability of its pick-up truck franchise. “We see room…
- US-China Auto Tariffs ‘Stupid’ and Not Balanced, Trump Says – Bloomberg: So far, Geely Automobiles Holding Ltd.-owned Volvo Cars started importing S60 sedans from China in 2015 and General Motors Co. has followed suit with the Buick Envision SUV and Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid. Trade tensions between the two countries have…
- GM Korea says it may drop Spark, replace with crossover – Reuters: General Motors Co’s South Korean unit said on Monday it may discontinue its Spark mini car and replace it with a crossover, on falling demand in key U.S. market.
- GM Korea to pay salary to assembly line workers this month – Yonhap: GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., said Monday it will pay monthly salaries to its employees this month despite a liquidity crisis. In a letter sent to employees, GM Korea President and Chief Executive Kaher Kazem said the…
- GM should offer better sales information, not less – Automotive News: Here’s the logic behind General Motors’ decision to stop reporting monthly sales figures and instead sprinkle out the data on a quarterly basis: 30 days “is not enough time to separate real sales trends from short-term fluctuations,” GM says, and…
- Don’t like the news? Hide it – Automotive News: It is sad to watch General Motors contracting before our very eyes. … Still, I’m sure we will continue to receive press releases whenever GM has some success to show on the sales side. … GM should continue to report monthly sales numbers along with…
- GM Set to Unveil EV Concept in China Despite US Trade Issues – Detroit Bureau: The United States and China might appear headed for a full-blown trade war that could rattle the global economy, but General Motors, one of the American companies that could get hurt in the crossfire is moving ahead with its aggressive plans for the…
- GM Gearing Up for More Gains – Barrons: Shares of General Motors (GM) have slipped some 7% since the start of the year, hurt most recently by worries about U.S.-China post-tariff trade. … Jonas believes that GM’s pickup business will be a main beneficiary of what the firm expects to be a…
- Honda to Bring New Brazilian Plant Online in 2019 – Japanautomotivedaily: Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7267) announced on April 4 that Brazilian subsidiary Honda Automoveis do Brasil Ltda. (HAB) will in []
- How the small Civic became such a big seller in Canada – Automotive News: After two decades, it might seem as though the Honda Civic’s sales crown has never been worn by another brand. Not quite. Before it, the thoroughly mediocre Chevrolet Cavalier had a good run as No. 1 Before that, the tepid Ford Tempo. So, how has this…
- Hyundai affiliates hold overseas IR sessions on merger plan – Yonhap: Hyundai Mobis Co. and Hyundai Glovis Co., two affiliates of Hyundai Motor Group, will hold overseas investor relations meetings this week to explain their planned merger to stakeholders, the conglomerate said Monday. The two companies already completed…
- Hyundai sells over 1700 i30Ns in Europe since Sept. – Yonhap: Hyundai Motor Co. said Monday sales of its high-performance i30N hot hatch in Europe handily exceeded earlier expectations. The South Korean carmaker that launched the i30N model in Europe last September said it sold a total of 1,741 through February….
- Honda Insight – Automotive News: The Insight, set to arrive this summer, has an estimated fuel economy rating of 55 mpg in city driving. That puts the sedan well ahead of all diesel competitors and just behind the 2018 Toyota Prius Eco, at 58 mpg city, and the Hyundai Ioniq, which has…
- Nine new Jaguars to expect in the coming years – Autocar: The I-Pace, E-Pace and F-Pace remain central to Jaguar’s growth plans With electrification on the horizon for Jaguar’s model range, we run down what the future holds for the brand
- 2019 Jaguar F-Pace SVR – Automotive News: The latest product from Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations unit is the 2019 F-Pace SVR. The midsize crossover is powered by a 5.0-liter, 550-hp supercharged V-8 engine that sends power to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic…
- No Jeep crossover due despite surge in demand for segment – Autocar: The Jeep Renegade is to remain the brand’s ‘softest’ model Jeep boss said that brand must stay true to its design heritage and stick with proper off-roaders
- Lewis Hamilton says rapport with Mercedes must improve before China – Guardian: “We are going to work on it and improve it. All the engineers, everyone involved. We have to work out some sort strategy because I don’t want them to keep talking to me when I don’t need them to.” The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, was also aware…
- Nissan to show three electric vehicles at Auto China 2018 – Nissan-global: Nissan will show three electric vehicles at Auto China 2018, as part of a lineup that offers an exciting glimpse of the future and shows the company”s strength and depth in the highly competitive and growing Chinese market.A new electric model will…
- Japan’s Automakers Should Get in the Fast Lane – Bloomberg: Auto sales in the U.S. increased just 6 percent in March from a year earlier, and Japanese manufacturers struggled to keep pace, with Toyota, Nissan and Honda clocking average growth of 2 percent. Light trucks, rather than sedans, where the Japanese…
- Volume brands losing ground in race to meet tougher CO2 rules – Automotive News: Among volume brands, only Fiat and Toyota showed improvement in 2017. Toyota has focused on hybrids and has said it will phase out sales of diesel-powered passenger cars by 2019. Its fleet average in 2017 was 101.2g/m, displacing Peugeot as No. 1 among…
- Porsche’s 911 GT3 Will Attract All the Attention You Can Handle – Bloomberg: And there are just enough nods to the needs of modern reality-USBs and a cup holder or two-to make the GT3 feel far more comfortable and fun to inhabit than cars that can cost twice as much. So, yes, we were happy. After all, we had commandeered a…
- Jaguar lines up J-Pace SUV to take fight to Porsche Cayenne – Autocar: F-Pace, E-Pace and I-Pace will soon be joined by J-Pace J-Pace to use Range Rover running gear and powertrains, due 202; electric-only new XJ on sale in 2019
- End of the Road for Chevy Spark? – Detroit Bureau: Spark is produced solely in South Korea, and GM’s operations there have been in a major slump, compounded not only by declining demand in the U.S. for the small models built there but also by last year’s sale of General Motors’ Opel/Vauxhall…
- Peugeot CEO outlines plan to defend brand against diesel decline – Automotive News: Peugeot had record global sales last year of more than 2 million units and nearly half of the volume came from Europe, where the PSA Group brand grew by 7 percent in an overall market that rose by 3.3 percent. The man leading the way is Jean-Philippe…
- JLR lures Renault’s Alpine boss to head its performance unit – Automotive News: Jaguar Land Rover has appointed Michael van der Sande, currently head of Renault’s performance brand Alpine, to lead its own performance and bespoke division, the British automaker said in a statement. Van der Sande, 52, will replace John Edwards as…
- Rolls-Royce sells parts maker L’Orange to Woodward for 700 mln euros – Reuters: Britain’s Rolls-Royce said it had agreed to sell its Germany-based diesel parts maker L’Orange to U.S.-based engineering company Woodward Inc for 700 million euros ($859 million), as part of a plan to simplify its business.
- Self-driving vehicle you could trust – Automotive News: One hundred years ago, my wife’s grandfather Arvel rode the world’s first autonomous vehicle. To meet girls at church and barn dances for courting purposes, Arvel hitched up his old reliable horse to a wagon and rode for miles throughout southern…
- Suzuki drops diesel from UK line-up as demand tumbles – Autocar: The Vitara was one of two Suzuki models that came with a diesel option Japanese car maker is latest to drop oil-burners from range amid a changing market
- Next Suzuki Jimny to be revealed later this year before sales kick-off in 2019 – Autocar: Next-gen SUV gets more rugged styling and upmarket interior; test car sighting follows leaked images
- Labour leaders at Thyssenkrupp demand more clarity in Tata JV talks – Reuters: Labour leaders at Thyssenkrupp are seeking more clarity from management over a planned European joint venture with India’s Tata Steel, warning of possible fallout at the German group’s sites.
- Tesla to recall 8,898 vehicles in China from June 28: China quality watchdog – Reuters: China’s quality watchdog said on Monday that Tesla Inc will recall a total of 8,898 Model S vehicles in the country from June 28.
- Tesla to recall 8,898 vehicles in China from June 28 -China quality watchdog – Reuters: China’s quality watchdog said on Monday that Tesla Inc will recall a total of 8,898 Model S vehicles in the country starting on June 28, as part of a broader, global recall announced last month.
- Experts: Education key to safe use of Autopilot – Automotive News: When a Tesla Model X owner in Mountain View, Calif., died after his vehicle struck a highway median while Autopilot was engaged, the automaker backed its system in a blog post, blaming the crash on driver error and problems with a road barrier. The…
- Tesla Gives Panasonic an Electric Shock – Bloomberg: Shares of the Japanese company plunged as much as 9 percent after a spate of Tesla bad-news stories over the past few weeks. First, the U.S. electric-car maker reported yet another fatal crash, then a shortfall in production targets for its mass-market…
- Why Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Joined the #DeleteFacebook Movement – Fortune: … in Silicon Valley-he’s now chief scientist at an enterprise data management startup called Primary Data-he is venerated for his former role at Apple and has become something of an everyman oracle in the scene. Earlier this year, he said he no…
- US transportation safety agency chairman and Tesla’s Elon Musk discuss fatal ‘autopilot’ Tesla crash – CNBC: NTSB’s chairman and Elon Musk had a discussion on the fatal crash involving a Tesla vehicle in Autopilot mode.
- NTSB chairman, Tesla CEO talk after fatal ‘Autopilot’ crash – Reuters: The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk had a constructive conversation on the …
- Tesla to recall 8898 vehicles in China: China quality watchdog – CNBC: Elon Musk, Chairman, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors, addresses a press conference to declare that the Tesla Motors releases v7.0 System in China on a limited basis for its Model S, which will enable self-driving features such as Autosteer…
- Why Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is joining the #DeleteFacebook movement – Washington Post: Days later, Elon Musk had the Tesla and SpaceX pages removed from Facebook. Numerous celebrities also have joined the #DeleteFacebook exodus, including Cher, Will Ferrell, Rosie O’Donnell and Jim Carrey. The movement began with the revelation that…
- Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says he is joining the #DeleteFacebook movement – Chicago Tribune: Days later, Elon Musk had the Tesla and SpaceX pages removed from Facebook. Numerous celebrities also have joined the #DeleteFacebook exodus, including Cher, Will Ferrell, Rosie O’Donnell and Jim Carrey. The movement began with the revelation that…
- Alibaba-Backed China Car Startup to Raise $2.7 Billion This Year – Bloomberg: Xiaopeng is among startups striving to become China’s Tesla Inc. and reshape the auto industry as the Asian country promotes new-energy vehicles in an effort to clean up the environment and cut its reliance on oil imports. Already the biggest EV…
- Tesla’s Musk, NTSB Chief Talk After Spat Over Fatal Crash Probe – Bloomberg: The NTSB is investigating the March 23 crash as well as a collision in January involving a Tesla Model S that was using Autopilot when it rear-ended a fire truck parked on a freeway near Los Angeles. The death of Model S driver Joshua Brown in May 2016 …
- To err is human, and robotic – the problem with self-driving cars – Chicago Tribune: The problem with so-called self-driving cars is that they are not really self-driving – not yet. Tesla vehicles equipped with Autopilot, a semiautonomous driving system, and cars being tested by Uber have many features that allow them to operate…
- Toyota’s Electric Push Spurs Yamaha’s Rush to Develop Hybrid Engines – Bloomberg: Yamaha needs to be able to provide those engines more quickly, at a lower cost, and to a higher level of quality than Toyota can do in-house if it’s going to remain as a supplier, Yoshihiro Hidaka, Yamaha’s new chief executive officer, said in an…
- Uber to Buy Jump, Maker of Electric Bicycles, After Bike-Sharing Test – New York Times: Uber started a pilot program in San Francisco to allow its customers to reserve “pedal-assist” electric bicycles within its ride-hailing app in January. Now, Uber says it plans to buy the company behind the bike-sharing service and bring that…
- Uber has acquired electric bike-sharing startup JUMP Bikes – Reuters: Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said on Monday it has acquired electric bike service JUMP Bikes, in a deal that further consolidates the crowded bike-sharing industry and allows Uber to offer U.S. passengers an alternative to cars.
- Uber’s Indonesia exit sets off driver hunt by Grab and Go-Jek – Nikkei:
- Uber’s exit in Indonesia sets off driver hunt by Grab and Go-Jek – Nikkei:
- Uber agrees to buy electric cycle-sharing startup JUMP Bikes – Reuters: Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said on Monday it has agreed to buy electric bicycle service JUMP Bikes, allowing Uber to offer U.S. passengers an alternative to cars and further consolidating the crowded bike-sharing industry.
- Uber Agrees to Buy Electric Bicycle Rental Company Jump Bikes – Bloomberg: The ride-hailing giant agreed to pay more than $100 million in cash and stock to buy the electric-bicycle provider, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the figure isn’t public. Technology news site TechCrunch…
- VW brand March, Q1 sales hit record on China, US demand – Reuters: Volkswagen’s core brand increased sales to a record 584,700 vehicles in March, expanding the first-quarter tally to 1.53 million cars, the … VW brand vehicle sales rose 4.9 percent last month compared with March 2017, powered by gains in all major…