Industry
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Ford will soon become the first company to begin testing self-driving cars in Washington, D.C. The automaker announced on Monday it plans to expand its self-driving teams to D.C. after setting up similar operations in Detroit, Pittsburgh and Miami. The automaker laid out a wide list of goals it hopes to accomplish with its new D.C.-based self-driving car operation. Among them is a chance to show off the technology to U.S. legislators as Ford and other automakers continue to push for comprehensive self-driving car regulations and laws. The automaker said its pushing for a solid regulatory...
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Someone paid $26M for outgoing Aston Martin Vanquish's tooling and design drawingsAston Martin went public this month. With that move to offer shares on the London Stock Exchange, Aston Martin had to provide a lengthy public prospectus, 321 pages to be exact, ahead of its IPO. The document is filled with every bit of information on the company, and buried deep within the...
Jeff Glucker -
NHTSA shuts down "unlawful" self-driving school bus in FloridaAfter the NHTSA called its self-driving school bus operating in Florida "unlawful," French transport company Transdev will halt its autonomous vehicle. The NHTSA originally gave Transdev the approval to temporarily import the EZ Generation II bus for testing and demonstration purposes, but not to...
Sean Szymkowski -
Dyson's electric cars will be built in SingaporeDyson confirmed Tuesday it will build electric cars at a new plant in Singapore. The British firm, famous for its line of bagless vacuum cleaners, said construction of the plant will be completed by 2020 and that the first cars should be rolling off the line by the following year. It's been a year...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Waymo publishes first responders guide in case of self-driving car crashWith the advent of self-driving cars, emergency services will need to rethink how to approach wrecks and other crashes. To help them out, Waymo has published a guide for first responders in case of an emergency involving one of its self-driving cars. Crashes involving self-driving cars have been...
Sean Szymkowski -
Aston Martin's prototypes will call Silverstone homeAston Martin has added the Silverstone Circuit, the home of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, to its list of racetracks where development of future models will take place. Another site is the Nürburgring, where Aston Martin has operated a test center since 2008. The German site since the start...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles officially has a buyer for its Magneti Marelli supplier division in Japan's Calsonic Kansei, itself owned by U.S.-based private equity firm KKR. FCA will unload the parts division for a reported $7.1 billion, according to a Sunday Reuters report. With KKR acquiring the business, Magneti Marelli and Calsonic Kansei will become Magneti Marelli CK Holdings and emerge as the seventh-largest independent auto supplier in the world with annual revenues of $17.5 billion. Magneti Marelli specializes in lighting, powertrains, and high-tech electronics. A spin-off or sale of...
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Boring Company tunnel under LA opens Dec. 10, free 155 mph ridesThe Boring Company's first tunnel finally has its date with destiny set: Dec. 10. Chief executive officer Elon Musk named the December date as the grand opening and plans for a ceremony in Los Angeles. The first tunnel has been under construction for months, but Musk announced in May it would open...
Sean Szymkowski -
Ford to use new "miracle" material to make cars quieterThe pursuit of reducing unwanted noises from the engine compartment has reached a new level at Ford. The automaker announced last Tuesday it will begin incorporating the two-dimensional nanomaterial graphene under its hoods—a first for the automotive industry. Graphene has been called a...
Sean Szymkowski -
VW Group builds first plant dedicated to EVs based on MEB platformThe Volkswagen Group has started construction of the first plant that will solely build cars based on the new modular EV platform known as the MEB, the German auto giant announced Friday. Settled near Shanghai, China, where Tesla also plans a plant, the VW Group's new EV plant will first build...
Sean Szymkowski -
Aston Martin names carbon fiber supplier for Valkyrie hypercarAston Martin has a carbon fiber supplier in TenCate Advanced Composites. The automaker said Wednesday it is forming a partnership with the materials manufacturer in order to source carbon fiber for the upcoming Valkyrie hypercar. Aston Martin said it has already worked closely with TenCate to...
Sean Szymkowski -
Tesla buys site for Chinese GigafactoryAs Tesla moves forward with plans to build electric cars in China, the automaker has secured land in the country for one of its so-called Gigafactories. Reuters reported Wednesday that Tesla has signed an agreement with the Shanghai government for an 860,000-square meter plot of land for the new...
Sean Szymkowski -
Terrafugia, the flying car startup company with backing from China's Geely, has begun taking orders for its first flying car. Automotive News Europe (subscription required) reported Tuesday that deliveries of the flying car are expected to begin in 2019. The vehicle, called the Transition, will only be sold in the U.S. at a starting price of $279,000. The company has been taking $10,000 deposits for reservations for the vehicle since July. Terrafugia claims the Transition will be able to switch from driving to flying mode in less than a minute and will fly at speeds up to 100 mph. When in the...
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German prosecutors fine Audi $927M over diesel scandalGerman prosecutors served Audi a $927 million fine for violating diesel emission regulations in Europe. Specifically, the fine pertains to 6- and 8-cylinder diesel engines that did not comply with emissions laws, Reuters reported Tuesday. The massive fine prompted Audi to cut key financial...
Sean Szymkowski -
Borgward's Chinese backer seeks new investors to support brand's expansionChinese automaker Foton announced a week ago that it will sell a 67-percent stake in Borgward to attract new investors and help the revived German automaker expand sales into new markets. Foton acquired the rights to the Borgward brand in 2014 and helped fund its revival. Under the sale plan, Foton...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM now offers extended bumper-to-bumper limited warrantyGeneral Motors on Monday said that it will now offer extended, full-coverage warranties for its Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac brands. Unlike other extended warranties, the new GM plans are a true extension of the factory warranty with no deductibles or limited coverage. For Chevrolet and GMC...
Sean Szymkowski -
US to finally allow modern, self-dimming adaptive headlightsWhile automakers have implemented advanced headlight technology in other markets for years, outdated regulations in the United States have kept advances from the market. That will soon change as the U.S. will soon allow self-dimming adaptive headlight technology. The National Highway Traffic and...
Sean Szymkowski -
Porsche CFO floated idea of IPO, could be valued at $81B, automaker says no wayGoing public with an IPO is a quick way to raise capital, which is important to Volkswagen Group in the wake of the diesel scandal. Porsche could provide that capital with an IPO of its own, if it were interested. On Friday finance chief Lutz Meschke floated the idea during a media event for the...
Joel Feder -
Volkswagen Group has named Scott Keogh its new Volkswagen Group of America head. He takes on the roles of president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America and head of the Volkswagen brand for the North American region. The executive was formerly head of Audi America and the Volkswagen brand in the region. Keogh replaces Hinrich J. Woebcken, who will transition to a senior executive strategy advisor role. Keogh takes on his new roles after his success with Audi in the region. Between 2010 and 2015, Keogh achieved record customer and dealer satisfaction and doubled sales for the premium brand...
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BMW sets course to buy controlling stake in Chinese joint ventureTo build cars in China and escape the country's steep tariffs on imports, foreign automakers have had to partner with local firms via 50:50 joint ventures. However, the Chinese government earlier this year laid out a plan to phase out the rule by 2022, thus paving the way for foreign automakers to...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
James Murdoch could take chairman role at TeslaJames Murdoch, son of billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is the leading candidate to take over the chairman role at Tesla, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter. However, Elon Musk, current CEO and chairman at Tesla, hit Twitter shortly after the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volvo will use Nvidia AI chip in next-gen SPA2 platformVolvo is the latest automaker to announce plans to integrate Nvidia's powerful Drive AGX chips in its cars. Volvo said Wednesday that Nvidia's Drive AGX Xavier chip will be the basis of the core computer that features in the next-generation SPA modular platform, which has been dubbed SPA2 and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
PSA Group will decide in coming months what brand(s) to launch in USFrench automaker PSA Group, which controls the Peugeot, Citroën, DS and Opel (Vauxhall) brands, plans to sell cars in the United States no later than 2026. In the coming months the automaker will make some key decisions surrounding how it plans to return, including what brand(s) will lead the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Faraday Future enters dispute with key investorElectric car startup Faraday Future is currently embroiled in a dispute with key investor Evergrande Health Industry Group, a subsidiary of property developer China Evergrande Group. Evergrande agreed in June to purchase a 45-percent stake in Faraday Future from a company by the name of Season...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran