Archives for April 2020

• Peugeot maker PSA says demand to fall sharply, keeps margin goal – Reuters: Peugeot maker PSA says demand to fall sharply, keeps margin goal Reuters India
• PSA warns European car industry faces 25% sales slump this year – FT: PSA warns European car industry faces 25% sales slump this year
• Nissan to shut down global headquarters, other Japan facilities through mid-May due to virus – Reuters: Nissan to shut down global headquarters, other Japan facilities through mid-May due to virus
• Flying taxis from Uber, Hyundai, and Toyota face a critical moment – Fortune: Flying taxis from Uber, Hyundai, and Toyota face a critical moment Fortune
• Jaguar Land Rover furloughs half its employees, reports annual sales fall – Autocar: Fiscal year figures confirm impact of coronavirus, with nearly 31% fewer global sales between Jan…
• GM expands medical projects and charitable deliveries to hospitals – Just-Auto: With ventilators and face masks now in production, GM is expanding its manufacturing of personal protective equipment, including latex-free face shields, protective gowns and aerosol boxes. All of these supplies are being donated.

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• Ford China sales down 35% – Just-Auto: Sales by Ford and its joint ventures in China fell 34.9% year on year in the first quarter.
• Toyota to Reopen Yaris Car Factory in Test Case for France – Bloomberg: Toyota to Reopen Yaris Car Factory in Test Case for France
• New Aston Martin boss says focus on SUV launch, restarting factories – Reuters: New Aston Martin boss says focus on SUV launch, restarting factories Reuters Canada
• No dates but PSA readies Ellesmere Port for restart – Just-Auto: PSA Group is readying its Ellesmere Port Vauxhall/Opel factory in Britain for reopening but has yet to confirm a date.
• Nissan licences battery technology to APB – Just-Auto: Nissan has licenced technology to APB Corporation to allow mass production of lithium-ion batteries with increased charging capacity.
• Ford: no plans for a fourth-generation Focus RS – Autocar: Low-volume hot hatch falls victim to increasingly stringent emissions regulations as Blue Oval …

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• EU sales data shocks include Volvo outselling Fiat – Just-Auto: ACEA data for calendar Q1 in the European region reveal some astonishing changes in brand rankings. That includes Volvo easily outselling Fiat in March and Nissan being fewer than 500 vehicles behind all of FCA.
• Volkswagen China boss sees sales in China on recovery course – Reuters: Volkswagen China boss sees sales in China on recovery course
• Ford’s CEO Says Its Cars Will Be Built to Kill Viruses – Barrons: Ford”s CEO Says Its Cars Will Be Built to Kill Viruses Barron’s
• Ford joins coalition on mobile coronavirus testing – Just-Auto: Ford, Wayne State University, the Wayne State University Physician Group and ACCESS are launching a new initiative, which will improve access to Covid-19 testing for symptomatic first responders, health care workers and corrections officers in Michigan.
• Volkswagen sales down 23% in Jan-March, March alone off 37.6% – Reuters: Volkswagen Group on Friday said sales of its cars dropped by 23% on the year to 2 million cars in the January to March period.
• Ricardo provides chassis/EV safety tech to Geely – Just-Auto: Ricardo provides chassis/EV safety tech to Geely

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• Tesla’s China car registrations surge in March as Shanghai factory back up – Reuters: U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc’s China car registrations jumped 450% in March, month on month, data from auto consultancy LMC Automotive showed.
• U.S. self-driving car startup Zoox agrees to settle lawsuit with Tesla – Reuters: Zoox Inc said on Tuesday it had settled a lawsuit with Tesla Inc after admitting that some new hires from the electric carmaker were in possession of certain Tesla documents when they joined the U.S. self-driving car startup.
• Missouri city offers $1 billion in incentives for Tesla Cybertruck factory – CNBC: Tesla isn’t running an Amazon-style public contest to find the location for a new plant to build Cybertruck electric cars, but one public bid has already rolled in.
• General Motors says will make 1.5 million masks a month in Mexico – Reuters: General Motors says will make 1.5 million masks a month in Mexico
• Kia looks to suspend production in South Korea – Just-Auto: Kia Motors said it was planning to suspend production at three of its nine vehicle assembly plants in South Korea later this month due to the sharp fall in global vehicle demand caused by the COVID19 coronavirus.

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