- Ford, UAW to kick off contentious contract talks – Reuters: The United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co will officially launch talks on a four-year contract on Monday that are expected to be contentious, with rising healthcare costs, job security and the use of temporary workers expected to be major sticking points.
- Asleep at the wheel: Japanese rental cars used for anything but driving – Guardian: Car rental companies in Japan have figured out why some customers are returning their vehicles with barely a mile on the clock. Rather than travel …
- Car-Plant Closings and Corruption Color Detroit Three-UAW Talks – Bloomberg: On one side of the bargaining table will be union brass angry about plant closures and embarrassed by scandal. On the other will be auto executives sweating …
- Strike or no strike, UAW-Detroit Three contract talks could be brutal affair – Freep: Contract talks between General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles start Monday and Tuesday with ceremonial handshakes. Then the battles begin.
- Mexican Beetlemania outlives demise of the Love Bug – FT: VW’s beloved ‘vocho’ putters on despite coming to the end of the production line.
- China’s Didi Chuxing to allow app users to access rivals’ services – Reuters: China’s biggest ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing will allow users of its smartphone app to access services provided by apps of three domestic auto firms and others, in a push to generate more orders.
- EV battery maker CATL H1 profit surges on booming NEV market – Xinhuanet: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL), China’s largest automotive lithium-ion battery maker, forecast a …
- Yandex, Uber JV to buy Vezet group call centres in Russia – Reuters: Russian internet company Yandex NV said on Monday its ride-sharing and food delivery joint venture with Uber Technologies Inc had agreed to buy intellectual property and call centres of Vezet group in Russia.
- Carmaker PSA’s sales decline on emerging-market slump – Reuters: French carmaker PSA Group said its vehicle sales fell 12.8% in the first half as weakening emerging markets weighed heavily on overseas operations.
- Smart technologies shine at int’l auto expo – Xinhuanet: … Auto Expo is seeing a variety of auto brands displaying technologies such as autopilot, remote controlling and augmented reality display. The expo …
- FCA: Bigland undercutting his own case – Automotive News: In court records filed Monday, July 8, FCA asked U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain to reject Bigland’s request to retool his lawsuit to add a claim for …
- Ford in green groups’ cross-hairs as mpg debate heats up – Detroitnews: Critics of President Trump”s effort to roll back stringent gas-mileage rules frequently single out Ford for allegedly opposing higher fuel economy.
- Lexus confirms LC convertible – Automotive News: The Japanese premium brand’s sexiest car is about to go topless. Lexus says it’s coming “in the near future,” but judging by the prototype, it looks set to arrive very, very soon.
- Car inventories run short after shifts in output – Automotive News: While the number of light trucks rose slightly last month, the number of unsold cars fell to its lowest point since November 2011.
- VW gives startup infusion of cash, talent, potential to grab global AV leadership – Automotive News: Investment from the world’s largest automaker in an expanding partnership with Ford provides the potential for autonomous vehicle startup Argo to scale at a global level.
- Perot could do anything – except change old GM – Automotive News: Ross Perot was a heroic figure around the world and GM’s 1984 purchase of Electronic Data Systems was part of his legacy, although not his most successful …
- China greenhouse gas emissions soar 50% during 2005-2014: government data – Reuters: China’s climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions hit 12.3 billion tonnes in 2014, up 53.5% in just a decade, the …
- Got a Tesla? Elon Musk hints it could soon drive itself – Detroitnews: Tesla CEO Elon Musk has suggested that the electric-car maker soon will take a step that could lead to the company’s cars being capable of driving …
- Bentley”s car of the future is so luxurious, it”s self-chauffeured – Detroitnews: EXP 100 GT concept fuses self-driving technology with wood from naturally fallen trees and seats made from wine-making leftovers
- How much would it take to get you to buy an electric car? – Detroitnews: California could increase EV rebates up to $7,500
- Tesla stalker or meticulous researcher? A judge will decide – Detroitnews: A doctoral student at the University of Michigan who is a Tesla critic says the automaker is lying to smear him and shut him up.