The Covid-19 crisis has driven the UK’s 4,500-strong franchised car dealer network to a Darwinian junction: adapt to survive or risk extinction.Customers will choose their preferred dealer/agent at the outset, which will organise the test drives, process the transaction and arrange the handover.KPMG’s Burn believes dealer chiefs would be wise to follow a “hub and spoke” model.
Author: World_Newz Mon
Volkswagen scraps plans in Turkey and might look at Bratislava instead
German carmaker Volkswagen’s dropped plans to build a brand new factory in Turkey could lead to an extension of the number of models produced at the VW plant in Bratislava.The Slovak arm of the German carmaker, Volkswagen Slovakia, has not confirmed the information.If confirmed, analyst Jesný sees this as positive news because the plant in Bratislava would produce middle-class models on a slightly different platform than it has produced so far.
Equity cap in commercial vehicle JVs to be removed
China is scheduled to phase out foreign investors’ equity cap in commercial vehicle joint ventures starting from late July, as part of its commitment to further opening up the world’s largest vehicle market.Gasoline passenger cars remain the largest automotive segment in China.German premium carmaker BMW inked deals in October 2018 with its Chinese partner Brilliance Auto to raise its stake from 50 percent to 75 percent in its passenger car joint venture BMW Brilliance.
Ford Sollers shifting to four-day workweek from July 1 – spokesperson
MOSCOW, June 25. /TASS/. The Ford Sollers automobile plant in Tatarstan will change to the four-day workweek from July 1, an official spokesperson of the Group told TASS on Thursday.
“Considering the market situation, macroeconomic changes and the effect of the coronavirus pandemic influencing on the automotive industry, Ford Sollers revises the company's operating conditions. The transition to the four-day workweek will be implemented from July 1 for the purpose of preserving the staff and business efficiency,” the spokesperson said.
Ford Sollers will be ready to return to normal operating conditions in case of positive dynamics on the Russian auto market, the Group said.
The Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant and ZMZ Plant will shift to the four-day workweek from July 10 and Mazda-Sollers plant in Vladivostok from July 1, Sollers said earlier.
Spain launches €4.2bn auto industry stimulus package
Spain’s government has recently announced its intention to launch a stimulus programme to help the country’s struggling automotive industry climb out of the hole left by the coronavirus outbreak.The automotive industry forms a solid backbone of the Spanish economy and will be vital once its sectors begin to fully reopen.A current estimate places it as roughly 10% of the country’s total annual GDP and it is the second biggest automotive industry in Europe behind Germany, and the eighth largest in the world.
Volkswagen intends to increase stake in U.S. battery specialist QuantumScape
BERLIN, June 16 (Xinhua) — Volkswagen would increase its stake in QuantumScape and make an additional investment of up to 200 million U.S. dollars in the U.S. battery specialist, the German carmaker announced on Tuesday.
With the investment, Volkswagen was seeking to “drive forward” the development of solid-state batteries with which Germany's largest carmaker expects to significantly increase their range while further reducing charging time.
“The additional investment will effectively strengthen and accelerate our joint development work,” said Thomas Schmall, chairperson of the board of management of Volkswagen components.
Volkswagen had already been cooperating with QuantumScape since 2012 and is the largest automotive shareholder with its previous investment of more than 100 million U.S. dollars.
The closing of the announced investment and the resulting increase of Volkswagen's stake in QuantumScape was still “subject to various conditions,” according to Germany's la..
BMW Group Australia CEO Vikram Pawah says the government could do more to support the electric vehicle industry
As more car companies start to introduce electric vehicles into their product lineups and the number of charging stations across Australia increases, driving a greener alternative is becoming more achievable to the average consumer.BMW Group Australia has a partnership with Chargefox, Australia’s largest electric vehicle charging network which is powered by 100% renewable energy.The company also believes in giving consumers the power of choice by offering a number of vehicle variants, including hybrid and fully electric among its traditional petrol and diesel options.
Hyundai, Kia Pass 1.5 Million Mark in Combined Green Car Sales
Hyundai and affiliate Kia have seen their combined sales of eco-friendly cars exceed the 1.5 million milestone globally.Despite the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus epidemic, their green car sales in the first five months of the year rose 12 percent on-year to 160,000 units.The carmakers are also expanding their presence in the global green car market.
Jaguar Land Rover plunges to £501m loss as sales sink
Jaguar Land Rover has plunged to a huge loss as sales fell by almost a third in the first three months of the year, driving it to announce 1,100 jobs will go.The 1,100 agency workers being cut from the company’s manufacturing operations will leave about 1,000 contract staff spread around the business, including in non-production roles.In January 2019, about 10pc of the workforce – 4,500 jobs worldwide – was cut as JLR responded to falling sales of its cars.
Spain launches a $4.2 billion coronavirus auto industry stimulus package
Spain launched a 3.75 billion euros ($US4.2 billion) stimulus program to help the country’s automotive industry recover from the fallout of coronavirus.The automotive industry is considered one of the many lifelines of the Spanish economy.Spain is Europe’s second largest car manufacturing country, producing around 3 million cars every year.