Volkswagen AG is considering whether to pay out a record 3.3 billion-euro ($3.6 billion) dividend as planned, or use at least part of it to shore up its finances for what is shaping up to be the biggest economic crisis since World War II.
Author: World_Newz Mon
Haval, Avtotor to resume cars production
MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. The China's Haval plant in Tula has resumed production of cars today, the company's press service told TASS on Wednesday.
“Haval resumes operation of its plant in Tula from today. We provide unprecedented safety measures for our employees, clients and partners in view of the coronavirus pandemic,” the press service said.
The Kaliningrad-based Avtotor will resume production of cars from April 13, the corporate press service said.
“We inform that production at Avtotor enterprises will restart from April 13,” the company said. Avtotor is producing BMW, KIA, and Hyundai branded cars.
SsangYong says parent company Mahindra won’t exit from S. Korea
The head of India’s Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. has ruled out plans to pull out of South Korea’s troubled SsangYong Motor Co., the carmaker said Wednesday.Pawan Goenka, managing director and CEO of the Indian conglomerate, gave the assurance during a video conference with Yea Byung-tae, president and CEO of SsangYong Motor, and SsangYong’s union leader on Monday.SsangYong has struggled with worsening performance since 2017, when it shifted to a net loss of 66 billion won from a net profit of 58 billion won the previous year.
Honda back to work in China’s Wuhan with temperature checks and masks
WUHAN, China, April 8 (Reuters) – Temperature checkpoints and posters telling workers to keep more than a metre apart at Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co's reopened plant in the Chinese city of Wuhan show how the coronavirus has created a new normal on the factory floor.
The plant, a Honda joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group was shut in late January when authorities ordered a lockdown in Wuhan in a bid to snuff out the coronavirus, which emerged there late last year.
It reopened on March 11 to resume operations in stages and is now back to pre-virus production levels, Li Shiquan, assistant director of the joint venture's No. 2 final assembly plant, told reporters on Wednesday.
Returning workers were asked to report where they had been since the epidemic started and temperature checkpoints were set up, Li said.
About 98% of its 12,000 workers were now back and were putting in over-time to make up for lost production, he said.
The joint venture produced 800,000 cars last y..
Renault plant in Moscow extends production suspension
MOSCOW, April 6. / TASS /. The Renault concern in Moscow has extended the suspension of production in connection with the decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the extension of non-working days until the end of April, an official representative of the company told TASS on Thursday.
“In accordance with the decree by the Russian President, the Moscow Renault plant suspended car production starting on March 30, 2020. These are paid non-working days for workers. The plant will resume its work depending on further decisions of the government,” the representative said.
Previously, the week from March 30 to April 3 was declared a non-working week, to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The Renault plant suspended the conveyor for this period. Later, the President announced the extension of non-working days until April 30.
The suspension of production was also announced by Nissan, Toyota and the Avtotor Kaliningrad plant. At the same time, starting on April 6, automobile production w..
Russian truck maker Kamaz resumes truck production on Monday
KAZAN, April 6. /TASS/. Russian truck manufacturer Kamaz fully resumes production on Monday, April 6, despite the extension of non-working days due to the coronavirus pandemic until April 30, Oleg Afanasyev, head of the company's press service told TASS.
The company suspended work on March 30 in compliance with a decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On April 3, TASS reported that, after consulting with the leadership of Russia's republic of Tatarstan and federal authorities, the truck manufacturer decided to resume work on April 6.
“Nothing has changed (with the plan to resume production from April 6 – TASS), we will resume work from Monday. This applies to all production,” Afanasyev said.
On Friday, the company announced that measures to prevent the coronavirus pandemic will be strengthened. The daily inspections of workers, the disinfection of common facilities and vehicles will be supplemented by the remote work of part of the staff and a flexible schedule for the s..
Ford and GM are undertaking a warlike effort to produce ventilators. It may fall short and come too late
Inside the auto giants’ efforts to build prototypes and revamp factories to produce tens of thousands of ventilators in time for covid-19 patients.
‘Cash for Clunkers’ Overseer Backs Ford’s Pitch for a Sequel
A federal program to issue rebates to consumers toward new vehicles could provide a much-needed jolt to the U.S. auto industry that’s seen plants idled and showrooms emptied by the coronavirus, according to the Obama administration official who oversaw the program known as “cash for clunkers.”
Kia Seltos crosses 81,000 units cumulative sales mark in India since launch
Ever since its launch in India in August 2019, Kia Seltos has been the most popular SUV here.The SUV is BS6-compliant right from the time it was introduced in India and has three engine options in the form of 1.4-litre Turbo GDI petrol (140PS and 242Nm), 1.5-litre petrol (115PS and 144Nm) and 1.5-litre VGT diesel (115PS and 250Nm).The automatic transmissions available are 7-speed DCT (1.4-litre Turbo GDI petrol), IVT (1.5-litre petrol) and 6-speed AT (1.5-litre VGT diesel).
Audi Hungaria plant extends shutdown
German carmaker Audi will extend the shutdown at its base in Győr (123 km west of Budapest) by another two weeks until April 19, Audi Hungaria’s spokesperson told Hungarian news agency MTI.As the Budapest Business Journal reported earlier, Audi Hungaria shut down its plant on March 23.Parent company Volkswagen also stopped production at most of its bases, affecting Audi AG plants in Ingolstadt, Neckarsulm, Brussels, and Mexico, as well as the one in Győr.