- China’s Geely sees sales growth evaporating as car market struggles – Reuters: China’s most globally high-profile and successful carmaker, Geely, is forecasting flat sales this year, a sharp slowdown from 2018 as the country’s giant auto market struggles with slowing economic growth and more cautious consumers.
- Exclusive: Aston Martin triggers Brexit contingencies to prepare for no deal – Reuters: Aston Martin has hired a supply chain chief and approved Brexit plans to avoid delays by using ports other than Dover and flying in components as the carmaker prepares for a possible no deal in March, its boss told Reuters.
- Nissan expands Carlos Ghosn probe to other executives – FT: Nissan’s investigation into Carlos Ghosn has expanded into a global probe of key executives, embroiling at least two loyalists of the ousted chairman …
- Tesla’s Life After Hell: 7 Charts Show Musk on Firmer Footing – Bloomberg: One year ago, Tesla Inc. was struggling to turn out a few hundred Model 3 sedans in a week-and then things got worse. Elaborate plans for factory …
- McLaren confirms another record year in 2018 – Autocar: Models like the 720S have sold well globally Woking supercar manufacturer bucks UK trend to sell 43.9% more cars in 2018 McLaren has announced its eighth consecutive year of increasing sales since its formation in 2010, going against a general…
- Elon Musk Sees a Future in China for Tesla, and It’s Muddy – Yahoo: Standing in a vast field of muddy wasteland that wouldn’t look out of place in an apocalyptic movie scene, Elon Musk exuded his usual …
- Grab gets additional funding from Tokyo Century – Yahoo: … Corporation, taking total investments by the Japanese financial services company in the Southeast Asian ride-hailing company to US$175 million.
- New 2019 Lamborghini Huracán shown ahead of imminent debut – Autocar: Lamborghini’s updated supercar will adopt ‘Evo’ nameplate, with new styling shown in first images Lamborghini is set to reveal its updated Huracán very soon, but the first image revealing the full car has emerged beforehand. The exposing rear…
- Corrected: Tesla CEO Musk breaks ground at Shanghai Gigafactory to launch China push – Reuters: (Corrects to say China’s auto market likely contracted last year, not set to contract this year, in the eighth paragraph)
- Big budget Geely has ‘huge’ plans for Lotus – Yahoo: The iconic British sports car maker was bought by Geely back in 2017, and if the Chinese giant’s success with Volvo and its spin-off Polestar is …
- UK stages mass truck trip to Dover to ‘war game’ no-deal Brexit – Reuters: Britain began rehearsals on Monday for the upheaval of a no-deal Brexit by lining up 87 trucks at a little-used airport for a trip towards the United Kingdom’s most important trading gateway to continental Europe.
- Richer Americans Are Skipping SUVs for Station Wagons – Bloomberg: Richer Americans Are Skipping SUVs for Station Wagons BloombergTo wealthier and better educated buyers, crossovers are for Kardashians. These shoppers are looking for Masterpiece Theater.
- Ex-Nissan chairman Ghosn’s lawyers to give news conference Tuesday – FCCJ website – Reuters: Lawyers of ousted Nissan Motor Co Ltd chairman Carlos Ghosn are scheduled to give a news conference on Tuesday, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) said on its website on Monday, their first such public appearance.
- The big electric car launches to expect in 2019 – Yahoo: The big electric car launches to expect in 2019 Yahoo FinanceAutomakers are rushing out at least 20 new fully electric cars into the UK and European markets this year.
- Chinese tech investors flee Silicon Valley as Trump tightens scrutiny – Yahoo: Chinese investors have bought stakes in ride-hailing firms Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft, as well as companies with more sensitive technologies …
- New car sales fell at steepest rate since financial crisis – FT: Sales of alternative fuel vehicles, which includes electric cars and hybrids, were up by 21 per cent, from a much lower level. However the decline of …
- UK car registrations fall 7% in 2018 – Autocar: Near-30% decline in diesel demand hits 2018 sales; UK plug-in hybrid and electric growth behind EU average UK car registrations fell almost 7% year-on-year to 2.36m units in 2018, with a near 30% drop in diesel registrations accounting for the most…
- UK new car sales record biggest fall since financial crisis – Reuters: British new car sales in 2018 fell at their fastest rate since the global financial crisis a decade ago, hit by a slump in demand for diesel, stricter emissions rules and waning consumer confidence due to Brexit, according to an industry body.
- Opinion: Why we should buy new, cleaner-than-ever diesels – Autocar: The car industry has met targets to build cleaner diesels, but the government must act to get people into them This time last year I wrote about diesel still being the right choice of fuel for some drivers. A reader got hold of my phone number and,…
- UK electric car sales are way behind the rest of Europe – Yahoo: The SMMT is blaming the British government for the comparatively slow sales of 100% electric cars and plug-in hybrids, noting that recent limits on …
- Light trucks take a record 69% of U.S. market – Automotive News: U.S. sales for each of the five largest auto brands – Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, Honda and Nissan – declined in 2018. But the No. 6 brand, Jeep, grew enough to keep the entire industry in the black for the year.
- Rep. Dingell criticizes GM management – Automotive News: Rep. Debbie Dingell, a strong advocate for the auto industry in Congress, is sharply critical of GM’s November announcement to cut workers.
- Perkins and Chevrolet, bound by mutual admiration – Automotive News: Jim Perkins focused on doing what was right at Chevrolet – even when GM didn’t agree.
- Md. dealer’s default is $4.5 million, lawsuit says – Automotive News: As dealer Danny Sauro and his two Maryland stores fell further out of trust, Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. relayed a persistent message: Pay up. When it didn’t, Nissan’s captive sued the company for $4.5 million in floorplan default.
- Reuss consolidates power over product – Automotive News: Mark Reuss now has his father’s old job. His assignment is to make sure it won’t be his father’s General Motors.
- Suppliers are coming out of the shadows at CES – Automotive News: Automakers will turn heads with new technology at CES this week in Las Vegas. But parts suppliers are doing a lot of the heavy lifting on those technologies.
- Connected automated travel: As complicated as 1, 2, 3 – Automotive News: Self-driving cars will change life as we know it; no question there. But they’re only a start – just as personal computers were. Think back to when …
- Handcuffed and Roped Up, Carlos Ghosn Will Address Court in Person – Bloomberg: The architect behind Nissan’s alliance with France’s Renault SA, Ghosn was initially held without charge. His arrest has rocked the world’s largest auto …
- Elon Musk in China to Break Ground for First Tesla Factory Outside US – Bloomberg: Billionaire Elon Musk said in a tweet that he will break ground on Tesla Inc.’s factory in China Monday, the electric carmaker’s first plant outside of the …
- Musk tweets “looking forward to breaking ground” on Shanghai Gigafactory – Reuters: Elon Musk, Tesla Inc’s chief executive, said in a tweet
- Hyundai’s heir apparent prepares to take the wheel – FT: Hyundai Motor’s heir apparent Chung Eui-sun began the new year with a pledge to reverse the company’s sliding fortunes, as the South Korean …
- Bailed Out or Not, Ghosn’s Renault Role Becomes More Untenable – Bloomberg: Ghosn held pivotal roles in Japan and France as chairman of Nissan Motor Co. and chief of Renault, as well as head of the alliance that binds together …
