- Top Tesla analyst: Musk is going to have to raise $2.5 billion in capital, weighing on stock – CNBC: Tesla will soon need to raise billions more in capital, Morgan Stanley said on Thursday.
- Tesla cars are now ‘quite old’ and the exclusive brand is at risk, analyst says – CNBC: The U.S. firm reported a loss of $702 million on an adjusted basis for the first three months of the year.
- Tesla junk bond spreads widens to a record after big loss – Reuters: Investors are demanding a record risk premium for holding Tesla Inc’s $1.8 billion junk bond after the electric car maker posted a $700 million first-quarter loss and signaled it may be in the market for more capital soon.
- Profitability will not ‘magically return to the Tesla story,’ analyst says in downgrade – CNBC: Wedbush lowered its rating of Tesla shares to neutral from outperform on Thursday after the company reported a first-quarter loss that was far worse than Wall Street expected.
- ‘Don’t shoot yourself in the foot’: Inside Mexico’s campaign to save NAFTA – Reuters: In April 2017, a group of Mexican executives filed into the Texas governor’s mansion in Austin for a meeting they hoped would help save a trillion-dollar trade deal.
- Volvo launches ‘UK’s most comprehensive’ online car sales service – Autocar: XC40 first to join new scheme that will let web customers part-exchange their old car Volvo has launched what it claims is the “UK”s most comprehensive online new car buying service”. The initiative – live at www.volvocars.co.uk/order-online – allows…
- Dodge Challenger ousts Chevy Camaro as No. 2 sports car – Freep: Ford Mustang is holding its lead in the “highly emotional” sports car segment as Dodge Challenger sees a spike. Hellcat drives passion, money.
- Penske Automotive’s Q1 net income falls 8% – Automotive News: Net income for the nation’s second-largest dealership group fell 8 percent to $99.2 million. Penske Automotive said revenue fell 3.2 percent to $5.56 billion.
- Tesla is offering insurance to leverage its autopilot technology – CNBC: The deadline for Tesla’s Elon Musk’s contempt of court dispute to be resolved is today, but there’s a chance it could be extended yet again. CNBC’s …
- VW ID R prepares for Nurburgring lap record attempt – Autocar: Upgraded electric racer has undergone changes to prepare it for the Nordschleife, following its Pikes Peak victory last year Volkswagen has begun testing its ID R electric race car at the Nurburgring, ahead of an attempt to set a new lap record for…
- 2019 Audi Q8: A new kind of luxury SUV asks if size matters – Freep: Audi Q8 brings style and a smaller footprint to compete with biggers SUVs from BMW, Cadillac, Range Rover and Mercedes.
- Volvo’s quarterly profit dented by pricing pressure, tariffs – Automotive News: Volvo’s quarterly profit fell 19 percent on pricing pressure and higher tariffs arising from the trade war between the United States and China.
- Three questions about Tesla’s first quarter results – FT: On the face of it, it’s hard to deny that Tesla’s first-quarter earnings were anything but ugly. Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at a loss of $2.90, far below …
- Opel CEO to speak at ANE Congress – Automotive News: A little more than a year after their acquisition by PSA Group, Opel and sister brand Vauxhall are on the path to sustainable profits after a decade of …
- Ford, GM Set to Kick Off Tough U.S. Automaker Earnings Season – Bloomberg: The U.S. auto industry’s first-quarter earnings report season is setting up to be a drab show. Sales weakened in two of the first three months of 2019 on a …
- Skoda counts on sportier Kamiq SUV for China sales boost – Automotive News: Skoda plans to launch a sportier version of its Kamiq small SUV in China to offset a big drop in demand for sedans and hatchbacks in its top market.
- Ex-Nissan boss Ghosn granted $4.5 million bail, with curbs on contacting wife – Reuters: Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn was set to walk out of a Japanese jail for a second time since his arrest last year on financial misconduct charges, after posting $4.5 million bail
- Uber back on the road in Slovakia after court ban – Reuters: Uber resumed operations in Slovakia’s capital Bratislava on Thursday, a year after a court ban, the ride-hailing company said.
- Volkswagen to build electric vehicle plant with JAC in China – local government – Reuters: German automaker Volkswagen AG’s joint venture with China’s Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co (JAC) plans to invest 5.06 billion yuan (£582.69 million) in a …
- Small SUVs Loom Larger for Car Makers – WSJ: As the sedan’s popularity fades in the U.S., auto makers have rushed to introduce cheaper, more diminutive sport-utility vehicles to their lineups, in some cases …
- Corrected: Maruti Suzuki India quarterly profit falls nearly 5 percent – Reuters: IndiaCorrects revenue from operations in paragraph 5 to 214.59 billion rupees, from 21.46 billion)
- The BMW M850i Coupe Is the Unicorn You’ve Been Waiting For – Bloomberg: Faster and better-looking than the M cars, and $100000 cheaper than a Bentley Continental GT, BMW’s newest coupe checks all the boxes.
- PSA vehicle sales slump after Iran pull out and China slowdown – FT: … Peugeot owner only declined by 1 per cent to €18bn. Revenues in its automotive business, which excludes its stake in components maker Faurecia, …
- PSA quarterly revenue declines as sales collapse in Iran and China – Reuters: French carmaker PSA Group said first-quarter revenue fell 1.1 percent, as sales continued to decline in China and were also impacted by the Peugeot maker’s withdrawal from Iran.
- UBS posts consensus-beating $1.14 billion first-quarter net profit – Reuters: UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, on Thursday posted a $1.14 billion net profit for the first quarter of 2019 as a pickup in market conditions dampened a hit to trading revenues and client activity.
- SoftBank Unit Invests $125 Million in Alphabet’s Loon Balloons – Bloomberg: An affiliate of Masayoshi Son’s telecom company SoftBank Corp. is investing $125 million in Loon, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet Inc. The …
- Volvo Cars warns on margins as profits fall 21% – FT: Trade tariffs and weaker global auto market to take toll despite expected sales rise.
- IIHS: Automakers need to upgrade rear-seat safety – Automotive News: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is using data from front crashes that result in injuries to back-seat passengers to develop a new front crash test that evaluates crash protection for both front- and rear-seat passengers.
- Pricing pressure, tariffs dent Volvo’s quarterly profit – Reuters: Swedish carmaker Volvo’s quarterly profit fell by 19.3 percent, the company said on Thursday, blaming pricing pressure and higher tariffs arising from the trade war between the United States and China.
- Backstory: Covering the Carlos Ghosn saga: Japanese “burasagari” and a bit of luck – Reuters: From a 14-hour wait outside Tokyo’s main jail on Christmas Day to a momentous photograph filed from the top of a step-ladder, covering the Carlos Ghosn story has mostly been about mastering the art of Japanese stakeout journalism.
- BMW’s M5 is really tight and athletic – almost too much so – Detroitnews: The M5 is M-azingly fast. But everyday driving requires a lot of concentration.
- Panasonic may upgrade Japan plant to make advanced Tesla batteri – Reuters: Panasonic Corp may upgrade one of its battery plants in Japan to produce advanced-format battery cells for Tesla Inc if needed by the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
- Court approves $4.5 million bail for Ghosn – Automotive News: A Japanese court approved $4.5 million bail for embattled former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, clearing the way for his release from jail for a second time.
- Musk Signals China Tesla Plant Will Miss Output Target This Year – Bloomberg: “But if 1 percent is missing you still can’t make a car. … Ltd. about supplying cells for the Model 3 cars it will assemble in Shanghai, people familiar with …
- Tech company Vulog underpins expansion of shared-mobility fleets – Automotive News: A pilot project is being launched in Cancun, Mexico, that involves the creation of a 50-car fleet of Nissan Versas and Sentras that operate as part of a short-term rental network.
- Ghosn Wins Bail for Second Time, Following New Indictment – Bloomberg: A Japanese court unexpectedly agreed to release former global auto executive Carlos Ghosn on bail after indicting him for breach of trust, alleging …
- SoftBank invests $125 million in Alphabet venture to put cellphone antennas in the sky – Reuters: A SoftBank Corp business seeking to find a way to fly cellphone antennas high in the atmosphere to provide internet in underserved areas said on Wednesday it was investing $125 million in an Alphabet Inc spinoff working on the same problem.
- Opinion: Lowering insurance costs in Michigan – Detroitnews: Michigan residents are paying $8.79 billion dollars more in auto insurance each year than the rest of America. The current no-fault debate lacks hard …
- Opinion: Flying cars should have a limited role in sustainable mobility – Detroitnews: The Pop.up next concept flying car, a hybrid vehicle that blends a self-driving car and passenger drone by Audi, italdesign and Airbus is seen during …
- Tesla says Shanghai plant will boost efficiency after huge loss – Nikkei:
- Tesla’s Cash Shows the Need for Speed – Washington Post: It took Tesla Inc. longer than usual to release its first-quarter results Wednesday evening. One can see why. As the sales numbers foreshadowed …
- I’m Concerned About Some of Tesla’s Projections, Says Rebeccadrives.com’s Lindland – Bloomberg: Rebecca Lindland, founder of Rebeccadrives.com, discusses Tesla earnings and her outlook for the company. She speaks on “Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia.