Volkswagen is going to create joint ventures and help finance battery production to persuade skeptical cell providers to back its aggressive push for mass-producing electric vehicles, board member Stefan Sommer informed Reuters. VW has stated it will purchase 50 billion euros ($56.57 billion) worth of battery cells and has identified Sweden’s Northvolt, South Korea’s SKI, […]
European
Fiat Chrysler signs EV charge point deals with Enel, Engie
Automaker Fiat Chrysler (FCA) has signed an agreement with European utilities Enel and Engie to assist provide its customers charging points for electric vehicles (EV) it is preparing to roll out. FCA, which is lagging competitors in developing electrified vehicles, stated last June it is going to invest 9 billion euros ($10 billion) during the […]
Renault-FCA merger idea remains good opportunity: France
The idea of a merger between Renault SA and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) remains a good opportunity, but nothing has changed in terms of the conditions the French government has set, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stated on Monday. Le Maire made the comment in Tokyo, where he happened to visit after a weekend meeting […]
France is looking for a ‘reasonably favorably’ on Renault/Fiat deal
The French government is looking “reasonably favorably” on a proposed merger deal between Italian automaker Fiat and French peer Renault, stated government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye on Monday. “It’s a project that we are looking on in a reasonably favorable light,” Ndiaye informed BFM TV. “Of course we have to look at the conditions under that […]
Government of Italy might ask for symmetry with Paris in FCA-Renault merger
Italian government is going to defend national interest in the FCA- Renault merger and might look for a stake in the new international automaker to match French state holdings, a major League ruling party lawmaker said on Monday. Fiat Chrysler has made a “transformative merger” proposal to Renault, the Italian automaker stated, in a deal […]
German appeals court rules in favor of Volkswagen diesel owners
A local appeals court in Karlsruhe on Friday ruled that German Volkswagen dealers should take back cars fitted with illegal software devices or provide their customers new vehicles. The case was brought by owners of VW and Audi cars constructed in 2009, 2011 and 2013. It is the first time that a local appeals court […]
Status quo at Renault-Nissan must be changed, says Le Maire
The current status quo about the alliance between French automaker Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan cannot carry on and must be modified as it is presently weakening Renault, stated French finance minister Bruno Le Maire. “The status quo is not possible, the status quo is weakening the overall group, we have to push forward, […]
Volkswagen truck brand to invest $344 million in Brazil after Ford departs
Volkswagen AG truck brand Scania stated on Tuesday it is going to invest 1.4 billion reais ($344.14 million) to modernize its Brazilian factory located in Sao Bernardo do Campo, an industrial city close to Sao Paulo. The investment in the historic center of Brazil’s auto industry comes after Ford Motor’s decision to depart the heavy […]
American senators urge Volkswagen to end delay in Tennessee union vote
Three Democratic U.S. senators on Tuesday debated a decision by Volkswagen AG’s U.S. unit to postpone a union election for employees at its Tennessee assembly plant. Previously this month, the largest German automaker won its bid to put off a union vote for 1,700 employees at the Chattanooga plant until its challenge to a smaller […]
Volvo Cars is slashing several hundred jobs
Volvo Cars is cutting several hundred jobs according to Swedish radio, which cited sources for the information. The automaker, whose amount of workers has more than doubled during the past decade to about 43,000, confirmed it was revisiting staff and other costs to make sure its business had the “right skills”. “As a growing company, […]
VW to use Traton proceeds to internationalize truck business, says CEO
German automaker Volkswagen will use proceeds of an initial public offering of its Traton trucks unit to spend in the “internationalization” of the division, CEO Herbert Diess stated on Tuesday. Volkswagen on Monday stated it would press ahead with a listing of Traton prior to the 2019 summer break and would spend nearly 1 billion […]
Volvo Offers Post-Crash Guidance to Traumatized Owners via ‘Advisor’ App
To be honest, it is quite satisfying to see Volvo, the famous Swedish automaker, actually caring about its customers by striving to ensure their complete safety on the roads. Human life is a single-tracked essence, after all, and it is a shame to see it so easily wasted on roadside crashes and accidents. According to […]
Judge questions SEC on delay in filing Volkswagen civil suit
A federal judge on Friday asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on the timing of its civil suit submitted in March alleging Volkswagen AG of defrauding investors and demanded the agency describe its rationale. Volkswagen was caught using illegal software to evade U.S. pollution tests in 2015, causing a global backlash against diesel vehicles […]
VW wins worker support for restructuring with $1.1 billion battery plan
Volkswagen workers supported a restructuring of Volkswagen on Tuesday after CEO Herbert Diess vowed to spend 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) on a new battery cell production plant close to its headquarters in Lower Saxony. Diess requires the support of Volkswagen’s powerful unions as he tries to slim down and simplify the German company, that […]
Nissan revenues slide fuels Renault deal pressure
Renault is slowly pushing for a change of Nissan leadership as a beginning to merger talks, sources at both companies stated, after the Japanese automaker warned of additional slide in earnings following the Carlos Ghosn scandal. Jean-Dominique Senard, who took the place of Ghosn as Renault chairman in January, sees Nissan boss Hiroto Saikawa as […]
