Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said on Saturday there had been about 150,000 orders for the electric carmaker’s cybertruck, which was unveiled in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Related: Cybertruck: Tesla unveils new pickup truck but windows break during demo
Continue reading...Elon Musk has said he wants to build ‘supertruck with crazy torque’ as Ford and GM plan offerings of their own
Elon Musk has talked for years about building an electric pickup truck that would threaten Detroit’s automakers, and on Thursday he will finally take off the wrapping.
Tesla’s so-called “cybertruck” will debut at an evening event in Los Angeles.
In a tweet on Thursday, Musk referenced his longtime ambition to build “a Tesla supertruck with crazy torque, dynamic air suspension” that “corners like its on rails” (sic).
Continue reading...More Americans engaged in work stoppages last year than since 1986 – and the successful GM strike may encourage other union leaders, experts say
The recently ended General Motors strike was part of a surprisingly large recent wave of walkouts, and by many measures, the 49,000 strikers emerged so well from their 40-day showdown with the US auto giant that the results could help inspire more worker militancy and strikes, labor analysts and experts say.
“They did pretty well,” said Kristin Dziczek, vice-president of industry, labor and economics at the Center for Automotive Research, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “They got more money. They got a pathway to regular employment for temporary workers. They defended their healthcare” when GM was seeking to sharply increase the premiums the United Automobile Workers (UAW) members paid.
Continue reading...Carmakers fear disorderly exit would cripple the just-in-time supply chain, investment and lead to tariff barriers
The European car industry has warned of catastrophic effects of a no-deal Brexit, saying it would have a “seismic” impact on making cars in Europe.
In a rare joint statement, chiefs from 23 automotive business associations across Europe joined forces to caution against a brutal exit from the bloc by Britain, where auto giants BMW, Peugeot PSA and Japan’s Nissan have factories.
Continue reading...Emissions rose 20-30% in Paris when temperatures topped 30C, raising urgent questions as the climate gets hotter
Emissions from diesel cars – even newer and supposedly cleaner models – increase on hot days, a new study has found, raising questions over how cities suffering from air pollution can deal with urban heat islands and the climate crisis.
Research in Paris by The Real Urban Emissions (True) initiative found that diesel car emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) rose by 20% to 30% when temperatures topped 30C – a common event this summer.
Continue reading...German carmaker’s CEO offers to travel to London to deliver message to PM saying ‘listen to business’
The boss of BMW has urged Boris Johnson to respond to calls from business to find a compromise on Brexit – and offered to travel to the UK to deliver the message to the prime minister in person.
Speaking as the German carmaker reported falling profits due to its investment in electric vehicles, BMW chief executive Harald Krüger said it would be a “lose-lose” scenario if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Continue reading...Japanese motor giant refuses to say where cuts will fall as it seeks to revive flagging fortunes
Nissan said it would cut 12,500 jobs globally over the next three years as the Japanese carmaker tries to revive its business after profit was almost wiped out in the first quarter of its financial year.
The company, which employs about 8,000 people in the UK and 139,000 worldwide, did not disclose where the job cuts would fall. The cuts are bigger than expected after it emerged on Wednesday that at least 10,000 jobs would go.
Continue reading...Cuts would be twice as many as the carmaker announced in May and will increase fears of UK losses
The carmaker Nissan plans to cut more than 10,000 jobs around the world as part of efforts to turn itself around, Japanese media have reported.
Nissan announced in May it would cut 4,800 jobs from its global workforce of around 139,000 as it grapples with a fall in profits to a near-decade low amid “a difficult business environment”.
Continue reading...PSA Group’s decision is boost to British car industry and workers at Ellesmere Port plant
PSA Group said it will build its new Vauxhall Astra car at its Ellesmere Port plant but only on the condition the government secures a good Brexit deal.
The decision is a major boost for the embattled British car industry and the 1,100 employees at the plant, whose future had been thought to be dependent on winning the Astra contract.
Continue reading...Carmaker to have 25 electrified models on sale by 2023 as strict new EU rules loom
BMW is accelerating its push away from the internal combustion engine towards battery technology, as the German carmaker seeks to double the number of electric and hybrid vehicles it sells in the next two years.
The company will have 25 electrified models on sale in 2023, two years earlier than previously planned, it announced on Tuesday. More than half of the vehicles will be fully electric.
Continue reading...French government blamed as €33bn deal to create world’s third largest carmaker stalls
The proposed €33bn merger of Fiat Chrysler and Renault has collapsed after an intervention from the French government, Renault’s biggest shareholder.
Fiat Chrysler, an Italian-American company, withdrew from a 50-50 merger proposal for its French rival after a board meeting on Wednesday. A deal would have created the world’s third-largest carmaker behind Volkswagen and Toyota.
Continue reading...Deal would create world’s third-largest automaker and ‘save €5bn a year’ by sharing research
Fiat Chrysler has proposed a merger with France’s Renault that would create the world’s third-largest carmaker and save billions needed to invest in the race to make electric and autonomous vehicles.
The merged company would produce 8.7m vehicles annually and save €5bn ($5.6bn or £4.4bn) each year by sharing research, purchasing and other activities, according to a statement released by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). It said the deal would involve no plant closures but did not address potential job cuts.
Continue reading...The Trump administration moved to cool the simmering trade war with its major trading partners on Friday, ending tariffs on metal imports from Canada and Mexico and announcing a pause on planned tariffs on cars and car parts.
“I’m pleased to announce we’ve just reached agreement with Canada and Mexico,” Donald Trump said. “We’ll be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs.”
Continue reading...Sales of Mercedes-Benz cars fell 7%, partly because of manufacturing bottlenecks
Daimler’s quarterly operating profit has fallen by 16% as a €718m (£620m) one-off gain failed to offset the impact of falling sales in China and production delays at three Mercedes-Benz factories.
Sales of Mercedes-Benz cars fell 7% in the first quarter 0f 2019, partly because of manufacturing bottlenecks for the A-Class compact car in Aguascalientes, Mexico, the Mercedes-Benz van in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Mercedes-Benz GLE SUV in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Continue reading...Prosecutors trying to force confession out of former Nissan chairman, says defence team
Carlos Ghosn’s lawyers have condemned his latest arrest as “inhuman”, claiming it has interrupted his treatment for chronic kidney failure and that prosecutors were attempting to force a confession out of the former Nissan chairman.
According to Reuters, Ghosn’s defence team said in documents prepared after he was arrested for a fourth time last week that Japanese prosecutors were attempting to frustrate their preparations for his trial – a date for which has yet to be set – and trying to force him to confess.
Continue reading...In video message ex-chairman says he is innocent and talks of fears for company’s future
Carlos Ghosn has accused Nissan executives of conspiring to have him arrested over unfounded fears about his plans for the Japanese carmaker, and saying he had been unfairly portrayed as a “dictator” by “backstabbing” former colleagues.
In a video recorded shortly before he was rearrested in Tokyo last week, the former Nissan chairman said he looked forward to a fair trial – a date for which has yet to be set – and he feared for Nissan’s future.
Continue reading...Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa opened meeting with a speech outlining allegations against his former mentor
Nissan shareholders have voted to eject Carlos Ghosn from the board, as the detained former chairman fights multiple financial misconduct charges that have landed him in custody.
The extraordinary shareholders’ meeting at a Tokyo hotel was the first such gathering since the stunning arrest of the 65-year-old auto sector titan on 19 November.
Continue reading...EU gives car manufacturers 10 weeks to respond to findings from antitrust investigation
The European commission has charged BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen with colluding to limit the introduction of clean emissions technology, in the preliminary findings of an antitrust investigation.
The car manufacturers have 10 weeks to respond and could face fines of billions of euros – up to 10% of their global annual turnover – if their explanations are rejected.
Continue reading...Former Nissan chairman says prosecutors are trying to ‘break him’ with latest move
Carlos Ghosn has been put back under arrest over allegations he misused company funds, prompting the former Nissan chairman to angrily denounce his detention as “outrageous and arbitrary”.
Japanese TV showed prosecutors arriving at Ghosn’s apartment in Tokyo, less than a month after he was freed on bail following more than 100 days in detention.
Continue reading...Road safety measure part of package of reforms likely to be adopted despite Brexit
All new cars sold in the UK and Europe are to be fitted with devices to automatically stop drivers from exceeding the speed limit under sweeping changes to vehicle safety rules provisionally agreed by the EU.
Although Britain may no longer be part of the EU when the rules come into effect, the UK regulator, the Vehicle Certification Agency, has said it will mirror safety standards for vehicles in the UK.
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