- Ford names former Snap, Amazon exec Tim Stone as financial chief – CNBC: Current CFO Bob Shanks is retiring at the end of the year, as had been widely expected.
- Opel union accepts PSA plan to transfer employees to French engineering company – Automotive News: The works council at Opel’s engineering center in Ruesselsheim, Germany, has approved a plan to transfer 2,000 employees at the site to the French …
- Fiat is struggling in the US. Is the Italian brand ready to pull the plug on America, again? – CNBC: After pulling out of the American market in the early 1990s due to poor sales, Fiat staged a comeback in 2011. Despite grand expectations, a number of analysts are questioning the flagship brand’s long-term viability in the U.S.
- China’s Geely Auto promises more models to support sales in uncertain domestic market – Reuters: China’s Geely Automobile Holdings said on Thursday that it will invest more in new energy vehicles and higher-end models after forecasting flat sales in 2019 due to uncertainty about domestic demand.
- Ex-Swedish ambassador to China denies breaching national security – FT: Chinese business has a number of ties with Sweden after Zhejiang Geely successfully revived Volvo Cars earlier this decade. But there have been …
- GM’s laid off workers tell Ford employees: Start looking for new job – Freep: General Motors eliminated 4000 salaried jobs in North America. As Ford starts its own job cuts, two laid-off GM workers reflect on their experience.
- Volvo to put cameras and sensors in its cars to tackle drunk driving – CNBC: The company wants to use technology to monitor the behavior of drivers in its cars.
- Volkswagen, Northvolt to join forces for battery research – Reuters: Volkswagen and Swedish battery maker Northvolt and other companies as well as science labs are joining forces in battery cell research, the German carmaker said in a statement on Thursday.
- Ionity plans 400 electric car charging stations in Europe by end-2020 – Reuters: Ionity, the European electric vehicle charging joint venture of Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler and Ford, is on track to install 400 loading stations in Europe by end-2020 and has plans for more.
- Painkiller addiction, heroin use targeted by UAW, automakers in contract talks – Freep: Autoworkers are being trained to respond to overdoses in factories, including with the OD-reversing drug Narcan.
- Wanted: 3732 Women to Govern Corporate America – Bloomberg: The first time Erin Lantz discussed future board candidates with her fellow directors at car-buying service TrueCar Inc., she saw these network effects …
- Skoda seeks to arrest profit decline with new models, China revamp – Automotive News: Maier said Skoda has put in a plan in place with its joint venture partner SAIC aims to improve profitability in China. Skoda plans to launch more …
- Volkswagen Boss’s Nazi Comments Are Hard to Excuse – Bloomberg: Herbert Diess has many of the qualities needed to manage the electric car transition, but does he have the skills to communicate with worried workers?
- This Land Rover has an onboard lab for fighting disease – Yahoo: Land Rover makes one-off Discovery to help with Malaria research.
- Volvo CEO predicts huge increase in plug-in hybrid sales – Automotive News: Volvo expects a huge increase in sales of its plug-in hybrid vehicles by year-end after underestimating demand for its growing family of electrified …
- From California to Oslo: foreign subsidies fuel Norway’s e-car boom, for now – Reuters: On the outskirts of Oslo, a row of Fiat 500es imported from California stand parked in the snow outside the Buddy Electric dealership, part of a global flow of pre-owned electric cars to Norway powered by green subsidies elsewhere in the world.
- Geely Auto’s full-year profit jumps 18% – Automotive News: China’s Geely Automobile posted an 18 percent jump in annual profit, driven by higher sales of its sedans and SUVs, but forecast flat sales growth in 2019 due …
- EU Has Everything at Stake as Leaders Discuss US, China – Bloomberg: … meaning that any disruption in commerce, such as by Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on car imports, could have major consequences for the bloc.
- Uber Rival to Expand Into Europe’s Food-Delivery Business – Bloomberg: Uber Technologies Inc. rival Bolt, formerly known as Taxify, is preparing to expand into the food-delivery market and utilize its existing network of …
- Vietnamese ride-hailing app FastGo to launch in Singapore in April – Yahoo: FastGo, a Vietnamese ride-hailing application will launch in Singapore next month as it looks to expand in South-east Asia. Drivers can register with …
- China’s Geely says 2018 net profit climbs 18 pct on higher revenue – Reuters: China’s Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd said on Thursday higher sales drove its 2018 net profit up 18 percent, even as growing political uncertainty affected overall domestic demand.
- BRIEF-Geely Automobile Holdings Posts FY Profit Attributable RMB 12.55 Billion – Yahoo: Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd : * FY REVENUE RMB 106.60 BILLION VERSUS RMB 92.76 BILLION. * FY PROFIT …
- Thai Feb exports unexpectedly rise 5.91 pct y/y – Reuters: Thailand’s customs-cleared exports … Exports of cars and car parts fell 7.9 percent in February from a year earlier, …
- Three pickups earn ‘good’ passenger-side crash-test ratings – Detroitnews: the 2019 Ford F-150, Dodge Ram and Nissan Titan – earned ‘good’ ratings in a demanding crash test
- F-150, Ram, Titan top IIHS passenger-side crash tests; GM pickups, Tundra among the worst – Automotive News: The Ford F-150 is the only pickup to earn top ratings in passenger-side crash testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
- Japanese PM Abe may meet Trump in April – officials, media – Reuters: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may meet … would not impose auto tariffs as long as bilateral trade talks are going on.
- The next generation, mid-engine, highly-anticipated Corvette is GM’s worst-kept secret. – Detroitnews: The next generation, mid-engine, highly-anticipated Corvette is GM’s worst-kept secret.
- Fate of Fiat Chrysler’s Detroit plant in city’s hands – Detroitnews: Detroit has another month to put together deal for Mack factory.
- All-New Porsche 911 Uses Microphone Sensor to Prevent Hydroplaning – Yahoo: The new Porsche 911 can be the answer to this problem. According to RoadandTrack.com, its 992-generation 2020 911 has a new feature that would …
- U.S. fund Elliott battles the odds in latest showdown with Hyundai – Reuters: The showdown between U.S. activist hedge fund Elliott Management and Hyundai Motor Group is set to come to a head on Friday when shareholders gather to vote on the fund’s demands for a hefty special dividend and a board shake-up.
- Delhi drives push for electric vehicles in India – FT: bn in government subsidies will support electric scooters, three-wheelers and buses.
- Amnesty faults electric vehicle batteries as carbon intensive – Reuters: Amnesty International attacked the electric vehicle (EV) industry on Thursday for selling itself as environmentally friendly while producing many of its batteries using polluting fossil fuels and unethically sourced minerals.