Renault could ‘disappear’ without government help, French finance minister warns

London (CNN Business)Renault may not survive the shock of the coronavirus pandemic without help from the French government.The French government and Japan’s Nissan (NSANF) are Renault’s largest shareholders, each owning a 15% stake in the company.The government is currently negotiating the terms of a €5 billion ($5.4 billion) loan for Renault.

LEAKED: Europe’s draft ‘green recovery’ plan

The European Commission’s promised green recovery plan will focus on building renovation, renewables and hydrogen as well as clean mobility and the circular economy.Yesterday, EURACTIV got hold of a draft presented as “a working document” related to the green aspects of the recovery plan.On the funding side, the Commission plans to launch a “European Renovation Financing Facility”, tentatively financed with €91 billion per annum and blended with other sources of funding to reach €350 billion in investment per year.

Uber to cut 3,000 more jobs amid COVID-19 pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO, May 18 (Xinhua) — Uber said on Monday that the company is cutting about 3,000 more jobs amid COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have made the incredibly difficult decision to reduce our workforce by around 3,000 people, and to reduce investments in several non-core projects,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in a letter to employees.
Along with the 3,700 jobs the company announced to cut earlier this month, the San Francisco-based ride-hailing company is laying off 25 percent of its staff.
Uber is also closing or consolidating some 45 offices globally, including its Pier 70 office in San Francisco, a branch responsible for its experimental projects like self-driving cars. Over the next 12 months, it will begin the process of moving its Asia-Pacific headquarters out of Singapore to a new location “in a market where we operate our services,” according to the company.
Uber will reduce its costs by over 1 billion U.S. dollars a year by these actions, the company said.
“We began 2020 on..

Hazards with Leading Ideal One puts NEV safety in spotlight

It set back the startup’s ability to market its products and brought the safety of NEVs back into the spotlight.On Tuesday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched three mandatory national standards on the safety of electric vehicles.China’s NEV standards are the first mandatory national standards for the country’s electric vehicle industry.

BMW remains optimistic with a glimmer of hope coming from China

China is offering a ray of hope for BMW as auto markets in Europe and the US are still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.The overall car market saw a 4.4 percent rise in April as well, ending a 21-month decline.The carmaker is ramping up investment in the country because of its confidence in the medium and long-term business outlook of the world’s largest auto market.

SsangYong launches downsized gasoline Tivoli SUV in Europe

SsangYong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Monday it launched a downsized Tivoli SUV in Europe last week to help revive sales.The SUV-focused carmaker currently sells most of its models in Europe: the Tivoli models with a 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine or a 1.6-liter diesel engine, the flagship G4 Rexton, Korando and Rexton Sports SUVs.Mahindra currently owns a 74.65 percent stake in SsangYong Motor after two rounds of rights issues worth 130 billion won since 2013.