February 20, 2024
The French-German Automotive supplier Forvia plans to cut up to 10,000 jobs in Europe by 2028. That should improve the company’s competitiveness, Forvia says, and generate half a billion euros in yearly savings. Although the company, formed from the merger of Nanterre-based Faurecia and German Hella, has returned to profitability, it continues to carry heavy […]
February 19, 2024
Tesla’s Cybertruck community has been up in arms recently about two issues: possible rust or corrosion of the electric pickup truck’s stainless steel panels and the ability to skip the waiting line for delivery in exchange for referral credits. Let’s take a look. To recall: Tesla finally started delivering the Cybertruck to US customers at […]
February 19, 2024
The CEOs of U.S. automakers Ford and General Motors said last week they would consider partnerships to cut electric vehicle technology costs as Chinese rivals move into the U.S. and European markets. “If there are ways that we can partner with others, especially on technologies that are not consumer-facing, and be more efficient with R&D […]
February 19, 2024
Just 17% of electric cars sold in Europe are compact vehicles in the cheaper B segment, compared to 37% of new combustion engines, a new analysis finds. Carmakers are slowing EV adoption by prioritizing sales of larger, more expensive electric cars, according to Transport & Environment (T&E), which conducted the research. According to the report, […]
February 19, 2024
For the fiscal year 2023, car manufacturer Stellantis Group recorded a net profit of € 18.63 billion (+11%) compared to last year’s € 16.78 billion. Net revenues were € 189.54 billion, up from last year’s € 179.59 billion, with consolidated shipment volumes increasing 7%. The adjusted operating income increased 1% to € 24.34 billion from […]
February 16, 2024
Scout Motors, Volkswagen’s rugged American EV brand, has broken ground on its brand-new production facility in South Carolina. Production of the off-road capable pickup truck and SUV is targeted to begin by the end of 2026, with a market launch soon after. But the models will already be revealed this summer. Scout Motors is the […]
February 16, 2024
After appointing several top management positions, Audi CEO Gernot Döllner is also installing a new head of the design department. JLR’s current chief designer, Massimo Frascella, will replace Marc Lichte as Chief Designer on June 1st, although Lichte will remain with the Group. Frascella (52) has held senior positions at JLR since 2011, most recently […]
February 16, 2024
More than ten years ago, BMW shook the car world with its first i-cars, the i3 and the i8. In 2019, it showed a concept for a successor of the PHEV i8 sports car called Vision M Next. The canceled production version of this car, called I16, has now been revealed by BMW’s chief designer, […]
February 16, 2024
Officially, VDL Nedcar’s contract with BMW ends on March 1st, 2024. Still, the curtain drops definitively this Friday with the last MINI, a silver-grey cabrio, rolling off the production line in Born (Netherlands). On Thursday, the main assembly line came to a halt; on Friday, on three smaller lines, the finishing touch on the last […]
February 15, 2024
Renault is doing well again these days. Its turnover has grown by 17,9% to €52.5 billion, with a net benefit of €2.3 billion. Its free cash flow has turned around €3 billion now and has grown by €905 million last year. More interestingly, the operational margin has increased to 7,9%, a record figure for the […]
February 15, 2024
On Wednesday, the revived Lancia brand launched its first car of the new era, a successor to the current Ypsilon that will be available as a pure electric car or (somewhat later) as a hybrid. It starts with a limited series of 1,906 cars (the founding date of Lancia) designed in collaboration with the famous […]
February 15, 2024
German automotive supplier has finally announced it will slash 7,150 jobs in its car division, of which around 5,400 jobs are in the administrative areas and a further 1,750 in research and development. That reduces roughly 3.6 percent of the German supplier’s global workforce. In November, Continental said there would be job cuts in 2024, […]
February 14, 2024
Today, the resurrected Italian car brand Lancia launches the first car in its new product portfolio, the successor to the current Ypsilon. We presented the car in another article and talked to Lancia’s brand CEO, Luca Napolitano. Napolitano studied Business Administration in Rome and began his automotive career at Ford. In 2000, he started working […]
February 14, 2024
American carmaker Chrysler has presented a new concept that shows a glimpse into the brand’s electric future, however far it may be. Unlike the Airflow concept of 2022, the Chrysler Halcyon EV Concept demonstrates technologies that don’t exist. The Chrysler Halcyon EV Concept features a lithium-sulfur battery, inductive charging that could give it unlimited range […]
February 14, 2024
Stellantis will manufacture electric drives at its Hungarian plant in Szentgotthárd. The car manufacturing group will also use Tesla’s fast-charging system NACS in North America. The Stellantis Group will invest some 100 million euros in equipping its Hungarian factory accordingly. The first Electric Drive Modules made in Hungary will roll off the production line at […]
February 14, 2024
On Tuesday, Toyota Motor Corp. said that the president of its small-car manufacturing unit, Daihatsu Motor Co., will step down over a safety testing scandal. The parent company will send new executives to take the lead in revamping the unit to bolster its governance. Masahiro Inoue, chief of Toyota’s operations in Latin America and the […]
February 13, 2024
A few months ago, Volvo Cars announced that it would withdraw its interests in its sister company, Polestar. Today, Volvo confirms that it won’t be the major investor in Polestar anymore, but a total withdrawal seems out of the question. In an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Volvo CEO Jim Rowan (59) declared: “We […]
February 13, 2024
Audi has started preparations at its plant in Györ, Hungary, to produce the new generation of electric drives called MEBeco for the Volkswagen Group’s small electric cars announced in 2025. According to Audi Hungaria, the first systems for this have arrived, and the planning of the production lines is underway. Audi had already confirmed in […]
February 12, 2024
While support for hydrogen trucks is still building, the market for hydrogen passenger vehicles simply doesn’t seem to be there. Shell has decided to close all of its seven California-based hydrogen stations for light-duty vehicles due to “supply complications and other external market factors”. The support for hydrogen-powered passenger cars seems to be dropping. Even […]
February 12, 2024
Abarth unveils the first picture of the pure electric New Abarth 600e as it undergoes its final tests while making its public debut. The New Abarth 600e – in its Scorpionissima launch edition – appeared for the first time in public last Thursday at the shooting of a new commercial in Milan, Italy. The new […]
February 12, 2024
Regarding the roll-out of electric vehicles, JLR is stepping on the brakes or is at least recuperating energy. The carmaker also announced launching more plug-in hybrids, saying the demand for pure EVs has cooled down. The announcement is quite surprising as it comes when the company is seeing strong interest in the first electric Range […]
February 12, 2024
The European Council confirmed on Friday an agreement with the EU Parliament on a 90% CO2 emission reduction by 2040 for heavy-duty vehicles and a 100% reduction for buses by 2035. It came after a last-minute debate within Germany’s coalition over the proposal, with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), the smallest party in the three-party […]
February 12, 2024
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has used an electric heavy truck from Swiss boutique manufacturer Designwerk to clear snow for the first time. Thanks to the 1,000 kWh battery capacity, the truck was able to complete a full day’s plowing work with ease. Designwerk is a small, Swiss-based manufacturer of custom electric trucks. It’s partially […]
February 09, 2024
Hyundai’s IMA platform, detailed last year as a successor to its current E-GMP architecture, will spawn two electric pickup trucks aimed at the US market. A trademark application for the names of these two new vehicles also gives insight into their size and place in the model range. The IMA platform, first announced in 2022 […]
February 09, 2024
Volvo Cars is building a new center for mobility innovations in Torslanda near Gothenburg. With this facility, Volvo wants to take new technologies out of the laboratory environment and test them in a realistic way. Volvo describes the new center, ‘ Mobility Innovation Destination Torslanda’, as a tailor-made test field for automotive development near the […]
February 09, 2024
As the German magazine Automobilwoche reports, Audi will focus more on software in future vehicle development. Döllner wants to set up a ‘Software Defined Vehicle’ hub to focus on new vehicle concepts across the Group’s brands. Volkswagen and the much-criticized VW software subsidiary Cariad will also participate in the hub. That means other Group brands […]
February 08, 2024
Nikola and Daimler Truck have inaugurated new hydrogen refueling stations in the US and Europe. While Nikola can start to move past its mobile fueling units, Daimler Truck is aiming to change the game with cheaper and more efficient subcooled liquid hydrogen stations. Nikola, the American zero-emission truck manufacturer, has opened its first HYLA hydrogen […]
February 08, 2024
The European Investment Bank will grant Belgian Umicore an eight-year loan of 350 million euros for research. The money is intended for the technological development, innovation, and recycling of batteries for e-cars. In 2022, Umicore invested 316 million euros, or 7,6% of its revenues, in research and development. Umicore’s battery materials technologies, innovation roadmap, and […]
February 08, 2024
CAKE, the nifty Swedish maker of premium lightweight, electric motorcycles and mopeds, has unexpectedly filed for bankruptcy on February 1st. The lawyer’s office, Fylgia, says attorney Jakob Callmander was appointed as the bankruptcy administrator, and tender documents are being prepared for the sale of the business. Its Swedish compatriot Polestar, Volvo’s electric sister brand, launched […]
February 07, 2024
After announcing the Touring version at the new 5 Series sedan presentation and sending teaser images, BMW has officially revealed its estate version. Meanwhile, spy pictures had already leaked from a studio shoot. Now, BMW comes with the full story of the car. A flexible drive architecture allows model variants with gasoline and diesel engines, […]
February 07, 2024
Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will invest $1.3 billion in its Kentucky factory in the United States. The investment is part of the preparation to begin producing its first electric vehicles in the country in 2025. Meanwhile, the world’s number-one car manufacturer expects record net profit even as quality scandals bite. The new investment […]
February 07, 2024
On Monday, Stellantis Chairman John Elkann dismissed speculation that the Italian-US-French group plans to merge with Renault. “‘No plans are being examined for Stellantis mergers with other manufacturers,’ Elkann said when asked about the rumors. On Tuesday, he also tried to appease the Italian government about Stellantis’ commitment to Italy. Renault, for its part, said […]
February 07, 2024
This week the first fully electric Volvo EM90 minivans are rolling of the production lines at Geely’s Hangzhou Bay plant in China. Volvo launched its EM90 in November last year, a close brother to the Zeekr 009. It gets a 200-kW electric motor on the rear axle powered by a 116-kWh battery for 738 km […]
February 06, 2024
At the Netherlands’ only car production plant in Born, VDL Nedcar, unions see the last gleam of hope vanish of starting up again in 2026, as the British Gordon Murray Automotive Group is pulling out the so-called L60 project. Details were never given, but it was assumed Nedcar would build two electric premium SUVs with […]
February 06, 2024
The car rental giant Hertz freezes its mega-deal with Polestar. After deciding to sell off one-third of its existing EV fleet (mostly Teslas) in January, the company now puts a temporary hold on the agreement to purchase 65 000 Polestar 2 vehicles. That’s another big blow for Geely’s daughter Polestar, which recently announced the dismissal […]
February 06, 2024
Swedish Volvo Group, the parent company behind Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks, and Renault Trucks, has acquired Proterra’s battery plants in the US. Volvo Group paid $210 million (€195 million) before adjustment for inventory level at closing, including a development center for battery modules and packs in California and an assembly factory in Greer, South Carolina. […]
February 05, 2024
Dutch truck manufacturer DAF has closed 2023 with a record production of 69,800 trucks at its Eindhoven and Leyland factories. It has also settled with German train operator Deutsche Bahn over the losses incurred by the truck manufacturers’ price-fixing scandal a decade ago. DAF, part of the Paccar Group, can look back at a successful […]
February 05, 2024
The German electric vehicle developer ElectricBrands has filed for insolvency under self-administration and aims to “completely reorganize the company”. The company, based in Eppertshausen, says it is about to launch its lightweight electric vehicles on the market. ElectricBrands states that it has filed an application for insolvency under self-administration with the Darmstadt Local Court and […]
February 05, 2024
According to the specialized German magazine Automobilwoche, there’s a possibility that the Audi plant in Brussels will be closed. In a worldwide restructuring of the VW Group factories (including those of premium daughter Audi), no new car would be allocated anymore to Brussels. Hence, the closing of the factory after 2027. Automobilwoche states that Audi […]
February 02, 2024
Volvo Trucks has introduced its first electric truck not directly based on a combustion model: the FM Low Entry. Designed for city use, it features a lowered cab moved forward for better visibility and easier ingress and egress. Production starts in the second quarter of 2024. The Volvo FM Low Entry is related to the […]
February 02, 2024
It’s a half-yearly tradition for the Norwegian Automobile Federation (NAF) to organize the El Prix event, the world’s most extensive range test for electric vehicles. The winter test was won four times in a row by Tesla, but the American EV maker fell back to the middle field in the latest edition with the gold […]
February 02, 2024
German carmaker BMW has completed construction of the new production halls at its Steyr site in central Austria and is now adding half a billion worth of equipment for the future manufacturing and development of its Neue Klasse e-drives. Pre-series production will launch in the summer of 2024, and serial production will start in the […]
February 02, 2024
The car market in Belgium and Luxembourg starts the same way it ended last year: in January 2024, 46,667 new cars were registered, which is 17.1% more than in the same month last year. These are deliveries of cars ordered last year, so it’s too early to see an influence of the ‘salon conditions’ almost […]
February 01, 2024
Industry data show that in 2023, China became the world’s biggest car exporter for the first time, dethroning Japan with overseas solid sales of electric vehicles. Data from a Japanese trade organization, released Wednesday, showed the country’s car exports in 2023 rose 16% from a year earlier to 4,42 million vehicles, falling behind China, which […]
February 01, 2024
Stellantis has started production on its mid-size and large hydrogen fuel cell vans in its Hordain (France) and Gliwice (Poland) plants. They feature a zero-emission range of up to 500 km, with a 4-5-minute refueling time. The manufacturer now has combustion, battery-electric, and hydrogen variants of its commercial vehicles. In total, eight hydrogen fuel cell […]
February 01, 2024
A new study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) indicates that the gap between real-world and official CO2 emission and fuel consumption values of new combustion engine cars increased from 8% to 14% between 2018 and 2022. The average gap, or divergence, between the official and real-world fuel consumption and CO2 emission values […]
January 31, 2024
Confident in the quality of its products, Peugeot offers customers of the new e-3008 ‘Peugeot Allure Care’”, a program that guarantees peace of mind by covering the electric motor, charger, powertrain, and the main electrical and mechanical components for up to 8 years/160 000 km. At the second E-Lion Day, the Stellantis daughter also promised […]
January 31, 2024
Launched in its home market with a gasoline engine, the Hyundai Casper should arrive in Europe in late 2024. However, for us, it’ll be electric only. Rumors talk of an affordable, small crossover with a 35-kWh battery and a range of about 200 km. Playing in the same ballpark as the recently unveiled Citroen ë-C3 […]
January 31, 2024
South Korean media report that Kia is delaying the launch of its future electric sedan, the EV4. Originally planned to be on the road before the end of 2024, the production version of the Kia EV4 Concept should be launched by early 2025. Kia didn’t mention any specific reason. The future Kia EV3, presented in […]
January 31, 2024
The fully electric BMW i5 sedan and BMW iX2 SUV Coupé will each be available with an additional drive system variant from March 2024. The drive system offerings for the BMW X2 and BMW XM have also been expanded. New features in the area of digital services will also be introduced in spring 2024. These […]
January 31, 2024
Various sources reveal that Isuzu Motors will invest nearly two billion dollars into electric trucks and batteries. News reached us over an order with LG worth one trillion won. There is also talk of a new EV pickup truck from Thailand. The Korean battery specialist LG Energy Solution will supply Isuzu Motors with cylindrical cells […]
January 30, 2024
BYD (Build Your Dreams), the Chinese car manufacturing giant that dethroned Tesla as the world’s biggest EV maker, expects to be on a bed of roses with a profit growth of 86.5%. That’s up to between 29 billion and 31 billion yuan (€3,98 billion) for 2023 compared to the previous year, driven by solid sales […]
January 30, 2024
Toyota Motor Corp. said today its group sold more cars than any other automaker in 2023, maintaining its lead for the fourth consecutive year as it ramped up production amid an easing chip shortage. The automaker sold a record 11.23 million vehicles globally last year, including those produced by the group’s mini-vehicle maker, Daihatsu Motor […]
January 30, 2024
Renault Group has announced that it has canceled the initial public offering (IPO) of its electric division, Ampere. This is a major strategic turnaround for the group and a sign of the EV sector’s difficulties in attracting investors. Renault justifies the decision in its statement by pointing out that “the current market conditions are not […]
January 29, 2024
Technical partners Honda and General Motors (GM) have initiated mass production of hydrogen fuel cell systems at their shared facility in Brownstown, Michigan. It has been a long time coming, as the two auto giants announced their collaboration in fuel cell technology ten years ago. The $85 million facility, part of the Fuel Cell System […]
January 29, 2024
Organizing photoshoots for imminent car launches without giving away the looks becomes more complex every day. After the recent leak of the new Lancia Ypsilon pics, the website car scoops got pictures of the announced BMW 5 Series Touring, scheduled to follow its sedan brother this year into the market. The Touring version of the […]
January 29, 2024
Over a year after its European launch, BYD’s Tang EV is set for an upgrade, including a larger battery and improved features. The Chinese carmaker wants to increase its appeal to compete with the Tesla Model Y, the best-selling car worldwide, last year. An essential upgrade component is the Tang’s battery capacity, which will increase […]
January 26, 2024
Porsche has (finally) unveiled its first electric SUV. After a couple of years of delay, the carmaker has high hopes for its second electric model after the Taycan. After all, the Macan is not only Porsche’s best-selling model, but with the new Premium Platform Electric, it is also a trailblazer for the upcoming electric models. […]
January 26, 2024
Holcim, the Swiss-based construction materials and cement company, has placed a record order for 1 000 battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 trucks. The company wants to have 30% zero-emission trucks by 2030, and it’s not just counting on Daimler Truck to achieve this goal. This isn’t the first time Holcim has signed a letter of intent […]
January 26, 2024
The news that the Model Y was the best-selling vehicle worldwide couldn’t remedy the market’s disappointment in the company’s annual results. Slow growth, dwindling margins, and a solid performing rival, BYD, form dark clouds above the company’s headquarters. During the earnings call, the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, warned that the Chinese car makers could […]
