Archives for May 2018

• SoftBank Vision Fund to invest $2.25 billion in GM Cruise – Reuters: General Motors Co said on Thursday that Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp will invest $2.25 billion through its Vision Fund in GM Cruise Holdings LLC, the carmaker’s autonomous vehicle technology.
• Tesla Denies Autopilot Feature Engaged in Brussels Car Crash – Bloomberg: Tesla Inc. denied reports that one of its Model S vehicles drove off by itself and crashed into cars in Brussels this week, saying a driver was in control …
• General Motors shares soar as SoftBank invests $2.25 billion in automaker’s self-driving vehicles – CNBC: SoftBank Vision Fund plans to invest $2.25 billion in GM Cruise Holdings, boosting GM’s autonomous vehicle efforts.
• Toyota GT86 Club Series Blue Edition launched – Autocar: Exclusive electric blue paint marks special edition out from ordinary GT86s Toyota has revealed the GT86 Club Series Blue Edition as the latest in a line of special versions of its Mazda MX-5-rivalling sports car. The GT86 Club Series Blue Edition is…

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• 2020 Vauxhall Grandland X PHEV to lead fast-paced electric growth plans – Autocar: The Grandland X is already Vauxhall’s second-best-selling car on sale Plug-in model is part of heavy investment from PSA Group Vauxhall has confirmed that a plug-in hybrid version of the Grandland X will arrive in 2020, placing the electrified variant…
• PSA production move wins deal with German unions, angers French – Reuters: French carmaker PSA Group (PEUP.PA) said on Wednesday it will move production of the Opel Grandland X model from France to …
• Toyota’s Trump Pickle: Its Best Seller in the U.S. Isn’t ‘Made in America’ – WSJ: The Japanese auto maker said its exports to the U.S. rose 22% in April, highlighting the problem it faces if the Trump administration makes good on threats to impose higher tariffs on imports.

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• Mahindra profit beats estimates with 50% jump, powered by tractor business – Nikkei:
• 1180bhp Schaeffler 4ePerformance uses Formula E tech to out-accelerate 488 Pista – Autocar: Engineering firm produces four-motor version of super-saloon to showcase its tech German engineering firm Schaeffler has produced a 1180bhp electric concept that”s based on the Audi RS3 but uses four Fomula E motors. Described by Schaeffler as a…
• CEO of Daimler’s Smart compact car brand steps down – FT: Annette Winkler, a veteran of Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler for 23 years, will step down on September 30, the company said, adding that it will name …
• Ballistic blast-resistant Skoda Superb Estate launched – Autocar: Armoured version of Czech estate costs from £118,688 and was co-engineered in Britain Skoda is offering a ballistic blast and bullet-resistant version of the Superb Estate in a co-engineering project with a British-based team. Based on the 187bhp 2.0…

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• Unifor members ‘frustrated as hell’ and not taking globalization lying down – Automotive News: The union represents 23,500 members working at the various facilities of General Motors, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ford. It represents another …
• Volkswagen Opening Three New Factories in China to Handle SUV, Electric Boom – Bloomberg: The plants will focus on bringing more sport-utility and electric vehicles for local production, the fastest growing segments of China’s auto market.
• Aston Martin: how its range will change between now and 2022 – Autocar: so much so that, in just four years, its line-up will look completely different. To help you keep up with the changes, …
• Stuttgart prosecutor cooperates with foreign authorities in Daimler probe – Reuters: Germany’s Transport Ministry grilled Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche on Monday over how many Mercedes-Benz vans and cars need to be …

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• Exclusive: Tesla flies in new battery production line for Gigafactory – Reuters: Tesla Inc has flown six planes full of robots and equipment from Europe to California in an unusual, high-stakes effort to speed up battery production for its Model 3 electric sedan, people familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.
• Tesla hires new chief financial officer for China – Reuters: Tesla Inc on Friday announced a number of key executive hires including former GE and General Motors executive James Zhou as its China CFO and Neeraj Manrao, a former Apple executive, as director of energy manufacturing.
• Dealers Hampering Sales of Electric Vehicles, Study Shows – Detroit Bureau: According to a study by Nature Energy, salespeople are reticent to sell people who specifically ask about electric vehicles an EV. The publication sent …
• VW to reinstate lobbyist after suspension over diesel fume tests – Bild – Reuters: Volkswagen plans to reinstate its chief lobbyist, Thomas Steg, who was suspended while the company investigated his role in tests that exposed monkeys and humans to toxic diesel fumes, a German newspaper reported on Friday.

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• Uber Self-Driving Car That Struck, Killed Pedestrian Wasn’t Set to Stop in an Emergency – WSJ: The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on Uber Technologies Inc.”s deadly vehicle crash in Arizona, saying the company”s self-driving car wasn”t designed to automatically brake in case of an emergency.
• Tesla’s Musk bashes media, proposes credibility check – Reuters: Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk gained the support on Thursday of more than half a million people on Twitter for plans to create a …
• NTSB: Uber self-driving car failed to recognize pedestrian, brake – Reuters: An Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] self-driving vehicle that struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona in March failed to identify the pedestrian or brake, raising serious questions about the performance of the vehicle, the U.S. National…
• Feds: Uber autonomous SUV saw pedestrian, didn”t brake – Detroitnews: The autonomous Uber SUV that struck and killed a pedestrian didn”t stop because emergency braking was disabled

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• Tata Motors’ quarterly profit slumps on weak Jaguar Land Rover sales – Nikkei:
• Review: 2019 Volvo XC40 SUV sets the standard with style, safety, value and innovation – Freep: Volvo’s new XC40 compact luxury SUV sets the standard with safety, value and innovation
• Serena Williams, Muriel Bowser, NYSE’s First Female CEO: Broadsheet for May 23rd – Fortune: Mary Barra’s steering GM into the future, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser … Barra’s challenge is to reinvent General Motors as a leader in the rapidly …
• Tesla Model 3 registrations zip past rivals in California – Reuters: Tesla Inc’s Model 3 sedan recorded more registrations in California than its class rivals BMW 3-Series and Mercedes C-Class in the first quarter, according to a report by the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA). Model 3 registrations totaled…

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