Industry
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Toyota and technology investment firm Softbank on Thursday agreed to join forces in developing a new mobility company that will offer a variety of services including automated delivery and ride hailing. The new company, to be called Monet Technologies, will be established before the end of 2018 with a 50.25-percent ownership by Softbank and the remaining 49.75 percent by Toyota. The two companies plan to spend only about $17.5 million initially but will increase this depending on the success of the venture. Softbank, which has more than $100 billion of assets under management and is...
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Feds look to loosen rules holding back self-driving car developmentCompanies in the self-driving car space have been clamoring for a loosening of road rules originally designed for cars with human drivers, which the companies say are impeding the development of the technology—the main one being the requirement for a human onboard at all times. Regulators are...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Daimler starts work on US battery plant for future Mercedes EVsMercedes-Benz parent company Daimler is following Tesla's lead by constructing a battery plant in the United States to supply its future fleet of locally made electric cars. The battery plant will be located seven miles from Mercedes' vehicle plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and is part of a $1 billion...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies shows design for passenger podCalifornia-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies showed off the design of its future passenger pod on Tuesday. Called the "Quintero One," the pod was revealed in Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain, which HTT's manufacturing partner, Carbures, calls home. After showing off its creation to the world...
Sean Szymkowski -
VW targets 150,000 EV sales by 2020, over 1 million by 2025Volkswagen has set some ambitious sales targets for its future electric-car portfolio. In 2020, the German automaker expects to sell 150,000 electric cars globally. Five years later? One million electric cars. On Thursday, VW said it's working to accelerate its electric-car plans as it prepares to...
Sean Szymkowski -
Hummer maker AM General reportedly up for sale, GM and FCA interestedAM General, best known for bringing the Hummer brand into the world, has reportedly hung up a "for sale" sign. The company is allegedly seeking potential bidders, which may include both General Motors and Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles. Reuters reported Monday the list of potential buyers includes GM...
Sean Szymkowski -
In the race to develop the world's first safe, reliable and robust driverless ride-hailing service, General Motors and its Cruise self-driving car unit just received major backing from rival automaker Honda. The companies announced Wednesday that Honda will invest $2.75 billion in the Cruise unit over the next 12 years, with $750 million of the investment representing an equity stake and the rest to help fund the development and deployment of the ride-hailing service. The announcement comes just four months after SoftBank Vision Fund, which has more than $100b of assets under management and...
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Aston Martin shares start trading at $24, value company at $5.6BTalk of Aston Martin going public by way of an initial public offering (IPO) dates back as far as the brand’s 2008 sale by Ford to a consortium led by Prodrive founder David Richards, but the company finally took the plunge on Wednesday with its shares listing on the London Stock Exchange at...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Vietnam's Vinfast launches at Paris auto show with pair of rebodied BMWsVietnam is getting into the vehicle manufacturing business with its own brand. Called Vinfast, the first two products from the newly established car company include a mid-size sedan and SUV, and they were presented to the public for the first time on Tuesday at the 2018 Paris auto show. But rather...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi CEO Rupert Stadler terminated over dieselgateVolkswagen on Tuesday terminated Audi Chief Executive Officer Rupert Stadler after lengthy discussions between the automaker's legal team and its board of directors. Stadler, who has been jailed since June in Germany, was also stripped of his position on VW's board of management. "Due to his...
Sean Szymkowski -
Audi names new R&D bossAudi on Monday named Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler as its new R&D chief. Rothenpieler will replace the automaker's current R&D chief Peter Mertens on November 1. Mertens only took up the job in May 2017 but has decided to step down due to health reasons. “Over the past 16 months, we have...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Bentley Mulsanne recalled over rearview camera quirkEven the pinnacle of luxury can fall victim to recalls. In this case, it's Bentley's range-topping Mulsanne sedan. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration recieved notice on September 14 that Bentley will recall 10 vehicles over a rearview camera defect. According to NHTSA and the...
Sean Szymkowski -
The Lotus headquarters will soon undergo a transformation. The company has submitted plans for a new customer experience center, heritage center and museum. Lotus' Friday announcement comes as the company celebrates 70 years since founder Colin Chapman built his first car, and the Hethel, England headquarters plan comes as the latest investment in an injection of much-needed funding to the brand. Recall, China's Geely acquired Lotus in a 2017 deal and has proposed plans to invest up to $2 billion in Lotus to turn the sports car maker into a global luxury brand. The plans for the Hethel...
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VW chooses Microsoft as tech partner for digital services, mobilityVolkswagen plans to invest $4 billion to invest in digitalization by 2025, and it has named Microsoft as its partner for future endeavors. VW announced Friday it has entered a strategic partnership with Microsoft for all future digital services and mobility efforts. Microsoft will advise and work...
Sean Szymkowski -
Volkswagen developing virtual test drivers for self-driving techVolkswagen wants to one day forego real-world testing for self-driving technology. As a result, the German auto giant announced it is developing virtual "test drivers" of the sort to validate self-driving technology. The brand calls it "virtual validation," and the process could help technologies...
Sean Szymkowski -
Breakthroughs in racing helps speed up car development at FordIt's long been known that race car technology eventually filters down to and improves cars designed for the road. However, the technology can also benefit the way cars are designed and the speed at which they are developed. That's what Ford is discovering by getting its race car engineers to work...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Cadillac moving its headquarters back to Detroit from New YorkThe Cadillac brand will return to Detroit after a controversial relocation to New York City in 2015. The brand's new president, Steve Carlisle, announced the relocation in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. The move back to Detroit follows the departure of former Cadillac...
Sean Szymkowski -
Dieter Zetsche to pass Daimler leadership role to Ola Källenius in 2019A high-level executive shuffle is underway at German auto giant Daimler, parent of the Mercedes-Benz and Smart brands. Daimler confirmed Wednesday that longtime CEO Dieter Zetsche will pass the reins to current sales chief Ola Källenius in 2019. Källenius will also be responsible for the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
After four years on the job, current BMW M boss Frank van Meel will exit the role. BMW has appointed van Meel, formerly of Audi Quattro GmbH (Audi Sport), to chief of total vehicle development. Replacing van Meel will be Markus Flasch, chief engineer for the new 8-Series. Evo reported on the executive shuffle on Friday and said the shift from van Meel to Flasch shouldn't create any major diversions from the M division's current product plans. Van Meel championed a four-tier M strategy that introduced "M Performance" models beneath proper M cars. M cars themselves will start at base M, then...
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Porsche is done with diesels–this time for realPorsche wasn't able to avoid the recent diesel emissions scandal that afflicted a number of Volkswagen Group brands, with a diesel version of its popular Cayenne SUV among the vehicles fitted with emissions cheating software. With regulators now tightening emissions standards and placing extra...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW and Daimler's joint mobility business will be based in BerlinDaimler and BMW Group announced in March that the two rivals would join forces and combine their various mobility services under one equally owned joint venture. The two German auto giants have since confirmed that the mobility joint venture will be headquartered in Berlin. The company, which...
Sean Szymkowski -
Audi launches car subscription service in DallasThree years after launching its Audi On Demand short rental service, the German premium brand has waded into the full-blown car subscription segment with Audi Select. Audi announced Thursday that the new Audi Select car subscription service will launch in Dallas, Texas, starting with a flat...
Sean Szymkowski -
Electric self-driving semi concept previews Ford's long-haul visionFord isn't exactly known for semitrucks around the world, but that may soon change. At the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Germany on Thursday, Ford showed off its F-Vision Future Truck concept. Ford Otosan, based in Turkey and the automaker's largest commercial vehicle production base, debuted the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Classic car restorer and dealer JD Classics sold to new ownerJD Classics can breathe a sigh of relief as it's been sold to a new owner. AM Online reported Tuesday that the major classic car restorer and dealer found a buyer in Woodham Mortimer, a company controlled by HPS Investment Partners LLC. Woodham Mortimer's purchase of JD Classics secured 60 jobs at...
Sean Szymkowski