- China’s Geely launches new electric car brand ‘Geometry’ – Reuters: Geely, China’s highest profile car maker with investments in Volvo and Daimler, launched a premium all-electric car brand “Geometry” on Thursday as it pushes ahead with its plans to boost production of new energy vehicles.
- How Tesla and its doctor made sure injured employees didn’t get workers’ comp – Revealnews: A former clinic employee shares the intensity of Tesla’s pressure and her boss’s willingness to let bottom-line concerns influence clinical decisions.
- Latest Carlos Ghosn arrest ‘inhuman and illegal’, lawyers claim – Guardian: Ex-Nissan chairman’s defence team say it has interrupted his treatment for kidney disease.
- Vintage Porsche collection damaged in fatal N.C. gas explosion – Automotive News: One of the top collections of vintage Porsche cars in the world was severely damaged by a deadly gas-pipeline explosion in North Carolina, according to local news reports.
- Trump ally doubts auto-tariff report is ‘intellectually honest’ – Automotive News: A report that could lead to auto tariffs is likely not being released by the White House because it lacks rigor and could deal a political setback for President Trump, a top Republican senator said.
- Here’s what keeps Ford’s new No. 2 executive, Joe Hinrichs, up at night – CNBC: “Uncertainty” is one of the things that keeps Hinrichs up at night – and not just in the U.S. Ford recently announced a series of job and plant cuts abroad.
- China’s JAC says it has not held talks with Volkswagen – Automotive News: JAC Motors said it had not held talks with Volkswagen after Reuters reported that the German auto giant was interested in taking a stake in its Chinese electric vehicle JV partner.
- Worried about nickel supply, China battery maker BYD welcomes JV discussions – Reuters: Securing enough nickel is a major worry for electric vehicle firms, an executive from Chinese electric car and battery maker BYD Co Ltd said on Thursday, adding that the company would welcome joint ventures that help guarantee supply.
- A Canadian man accidentally stole a car and took it on a Slurpee run. 21 years later, he wants to apologize. – Washington Post: Everyone has that one memory that still weighs on their conscience, years or even decades later. For Kevin Freedman, a 38-year-old governance consultant and …
- New Mercedes-Benz GLS spotted before New York debut – Autocar: Mercedes’ flagship SUV will rival the BMW X7 and can be seen with minimal disguise prior to unveil Mercedes-Benz will unveil the latest version of its range topping SUV, the GLS, at next week’s New York motor show. According to US media reports the…
- Volkswagen’s Skoda Auto posts 2.9 percent drop in first-quarter deliveries – Reuters: Czech carmaker Skoda Auto, a unit of Volkswagen, posted a 2.9 percent drop in global deliveries in the first quarter, pulled down by a decline in the Chinese car …
- Panasonic says reviewing further investment in Tesla Gigafactory – Reuters: Panasonic Corp is studying further investments in battery production at its gigafactory joint venture with Tesla Inc, the company said, responding to a media report that the two companies had frozen previous investment plans.
- Buoyed by X70’s success, DRB-HICOM eyes emerging markets, says MD – Yahoo: At the same time, Geely’s backing has generated greater banking confidence in … “Now with Geely and their capability with Proton together, as well as …
- Mercedes introduces new front wing endplate for Chinese GP – Yahoo: Having started pre-season testing with an endplate that appeared to direct airflow inwards, Mercedes retooled its front wing design for the second …
- Tesla and Panasonic freeze spending on $4.5bn Gigafactory – Nikkei:
- Team Linked to Elon Musk Outlines a System to Monitor Brain Activity – Bloomberg: A team of scientists, some of whom have worked for Elon Musk, outlined a way to rapidly implant electrical wiring into the brains of rats. The process …
- Production Porsche 911 Speedster heading to New York show – Autocar: Porsche’s limited run last hurrah for the 991-gen 911 has been leaked online ahead of its motor show debut Porsche will say farewell to the 991-generation 911 with a limited-production Speedster variant, which will be unveiled at next week’s New York…
- Production Porsche 911 Speedster heading to New York – Autocar: Porsche’s limited run last hurrah for the 991-gen 911 has been leaked online ahead of its motor show debut Porsche will say farewell to the 991-generation 911 with a limited-production Speedster variant, which will be unveiled at next week’s New York…
- Gentlemen, Start Your Algorithms – New York Times: Faraz Khan’s all-electric Kia Soul is his workaday car, but on a drizzly …. self-driving car company, which eventually became Waymo, was on hand.
- Uber Filing Is Set to Cement 2019 as Year of the Unicorn IPO – Bloomberg: That amount is likely to be eclipsed several times over in the next month as high-profile tech startups including Uber Technologies Inc., Pinterest Inc.
- Trump Plan to Ship Natural Gas by Rail Stokes ‘Bomb Train’ Fears – Bloomberg: The risk comes if a tank car were ruptured and LNG were exposed to the air, … department also allows LNG to be shipped in DOT-113 tank cars.
- Carlos Ghosn’s wife questioned by prosecutors at Tokyo District Court – Kyodo – Reuters: The wife of ousted Nissan Motor Co Ltd boss Carlos Ghosn was questioned by prosecutors at Tokyo District Court on Thursday, Kyodo News reported, a week after her husband was arrested for a fourth time.
- Twilight of combustion engine comes for Germany – Automotive News: While electric-car makers put together their own battery packs, they do not assemble the cells. BMW says it’s keeping a grip on the technology by …
- Nickel shortage in view unless China-led projects in Indonesia succeed: analysts – Reuters: The global nickel market and its key growth sector, electric vehicle (EV) batteries, will face grave supply shortages unless key …
- Exclusive: Ghosn, suffering from kidney failure, was arrested illegally – defence document – Reuters: Carlos Ghosn’s “illegal” arrest has interrupted his care for chronic kidney failure, which the former Nissan Motor boss suffers from as a result of treatment for high cholesterol, his defence alleged in documents seen by Reuters on Thursday.
- UK Business Gets Dumped With Yet More Brexit Frustration – Bloomberg: Investment intentions are already at their lowest level in eight years , and automakers Jaguar Land Rover, Honda and BMW had scheduled production …
- Europeans race to add EV cell output to challenge Asian rivals – Automotive News: European companies are competing with dominant Asian rivals to establish their own cell manufacturing operations in the region as a shortage of batteries …
- Lyft’s stock slide casts long shadow on Uber’s IPO – Reuters: Uber Technologies Inc may face a cooler reception from investors than expected when it prices its initial public offering next month since smaller U.S. ride-hailing rival Lyft Inc’s aggressive stock launch and subsequent fall.
- Carlos Ghosn’s wife arrives at Tokyo District Court – Kyodo – Reuters: The wife of ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has arrived at Tokyo District Court, Kyodo News reported on Thursday, where she is expected to be questioned by prosecutors.
- Factbox: Four measures to watch for in Uber’s IPO filing – Reuters: Uber Technologies Inc’s initial public offering (IPO) filing on Thursday will draw inevitable comparisons to its smaller ride-hailing rival Lyft Inc, which completed its initial public listing last month.
- Analysis | When Cars Talk, What Language Should They Speak? – Washington Post: EU lawmakers shouldn’t try to pick one tongue – even if that comes at a cost to Germany’s car industry.
- New Volkswagen Tiguan R: Cupra Ateca rival hits the road – Autocar: VW”s hot SUV spied for the first time in years, suggesting a possible reveal in the coming months Volkswagen looks to be readying a range-topping R-branded performance version of the Tiguan SUV, with new spy images showing the car completely…
- When Cars Talk, What Language Should They Speak? – Bloomberg: EU lawmakers shouldn’t try to pick one tongue – even if that comes at a cost to Germany’s car industry.
- Uber and Pinterest try to lock down investors ahead of IPOs – FT: Some big US companies poised to go public including Uber and Pinterest are … The list includes Uber, Lyft’s ride-hailing rival, which is aiming to raise …
- VW to Explore Buying Stake in Chinese Partner JAC – Bloomberg: Reuters earlier reported VW’s talks with JAC Motor, as VW’s smallest partner in China is known. It has bigger collaborations there with SAIC Motor …
- Aston Martin’s middling supercar will make 1000hp – Autocar: Aston Martin currently has three top-end supercars in the works. They are the Valkyrie, the AM-RB 003 and the new Vanquish. We know the Valkyrie …
- Hyundai warns of ‘fear-mongering’ over electric cars in Australia election – Guardian: Scott Morrison says ‘Bill Shorten can’t explain what his policies mean to Australians’, but car manufacturers are all moving towards electric vehicles.
- BMW and Germany Face a Future of Electric Cars – Bloomberg: Germany may have been the hotbed of car innovation last century, but now it faces an all-electric future.