Aiways invests in carmaker to guarantee production

Chinese new energy vehicle startup Aiways is set to acquire part of Jiangling Holdings’ equity in exchange for investing 1.75 billion yuan ($252.65 million).New Energy startups Nio and Xpeng chose to cooperate with conventional automakers to produce vehicles.The two companies have built a production plant to manufacture the electric sport utility vehicle, Nio ES8.

Ford proposing autonomous mail truck tech to the USPS

Ford is one of the finalists vying for a $6.3 billion contract to build the next generation U.S. Postal Service delivery truck, and it’s already thinking about taking them to the next level.The USPS recently launched a two-week trial of a self-driving semi-truck developed by TuSimple that made five deliveries between its processing centers in Phoenix and Dallas.As far as the conventional trucks are concerned, Ford has partnered with Oshkosh on a Ford Transit-based vehicle to replace the iconic Grumman LLV, but is keeping details close to the vest, as are the other four bidders.

Germany’s Opel town shows struggle for Europe to plug in electric cars

RUESSELSHEIM, Germany, June 7 (Reuters) – Carmakers and policymakers in Europe are staking their futures on a race to electric vehicles. But the vast charging network needed to sustain their vision is patchy, and it's not clear who'll pay for it.
The central German city of Ruesselsheim, home to carmaker Opel, wants to build 1,300 electric car charging points by 2020, plans that would make it a frontrunner on the continent.
It has advantages enjoyed by few in Europe, including a powerful local car industry player and wealthy national economy. In Germany itself the city has an edge, having won a government grant of 12.8 million euros ($14.4 million) to fund the rollout.
Yet, even here, red tape, shortages of qualified staff and the requisite hardware are likely to delay the installation by around two years, local officials told Reuters.
The project will also need more money, said the officials who are running up against the complexity of civil engineering, potential power grid ..

Renault Samsung workers rise against union leaders

By Kwak Yeon-soo A “labor-labor” conflict is flaring up at Renault Samsung Motors as unionized workers are divided over staging a full-scale walkout after wage negotiations with management collapsed Wednesday.Following 60 partial strikes, the Korean unit of French automaker Renault halted production at the Busan plant several times resulting in losses.The continuing labor dispute has also led Renault and its ally Nissan to realign production; while the contract for the Busan plant to manufacture the Nissan Rogue mid-size SUV will expire in September.

GM president reconfirms electric pickup, says company’s EVs will sell for ‘average’ prices

General Motors president Mark Ruess says the automaker’s upcoming battery-powered cars will be sold at “very average transaction prices” as the company works to bring down the cost of the technology.GM plans to introduce 20 new fully electric vehicles by 2023, but the only one that the company currently builds, the Chevrolet Bolt EV, is a subcompact crossover that starts at $37,495.The Bolt EV uses a 60 kilowatt-hour pack.

France hopes “door not closed” on FCA/Renault deal – French budget minister

PARIS, June 6 (Reuters) – French budget minister Gerald Darmanin said he hoped the door had “not closed” on the possibility of a merger between Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Renault and added France would be happy to re-examine any new proposal from Fiat.
“Talks could resume at some time in the future,” Darmanin told FranceInfo radio on Thursday.
Earlier on Thursday, Fiat Chrysler said it had abandoned its $35 billion merger offer for Renault, blaming French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker.

China fines Changan Ford for vertical monopoly agreements

BEIJING/CHONGQING, June 5 (Xinhua) — China's State Administration for Market Regulation announced Wednesday that it has imposed a fine of 162.8 million yuan (about 23.6 million U.S. dollars) on automaker Changan Ford Automobile Co., Ltd for implementing vertical monopoly agreements.
Since 2013, Changan Ford has restricted the minimum vehicle resale prices for downstream dealers in Chongqing municipality, violating China's anti-monopoly law, the administration said in a statement.
The company's practices deprived the downstream dealers of pricing autonomy, excluded and restricted the competition within the brand and in effect weakened the competition among brands, the statement said.
“[Such practices] damaged the fair competition in the relevant market and the legitimate interests of consumers,” it added.
Thus, the administration imposed the fine that equals to 4 percent of the company's 2018 sales in Chongqing in accordance with the anti-monopoly law.
The authority..