Nio to get 10b investment from Hefei

Chinese electric car startup Nio Inc is expected to get strategic investment of over 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) from the Hefei city government in Anhui province.As part of the deal, Nio will establish in Hefei a company in charge of its China operations, including production, research and development and sales.Nio has built a plant in Hefei with JAC Motors which is producing Nio’s ES8 and ES6 SUVs.

Over 60 percent of auto businesses resume operations

Over half of the companies in China’s auto industry are resuming production in the country as the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus each day continues to decline.The electric carmaker restarted production in Shanghai on Feb 10.French tire maker Michelin resumed production on Feb 10 at its plants in Shanghai and Shenyang, Liaoning province.

Kia to recall 228,000 Sedona, Sorento models in U.S.

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-biggest carmaker by sales, said Friday it will voluntarily recall more than 228,000 recreation vehicle models in the United States from April.The problem involves moisture that may get into the anti-lock brake system’s electronics, potentially causing an electrical short circuit and increasing the risk of an engine compartment fire.The Sedona is sold as Carnival in South Korea.

Tesla signs agreement with CATL battery maker

China’s leading power battery maker, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd, announced Thursday it has signed a volume production supply pricing agreement with US carmaker Tesla.Tesla is in talks to use CATL’s cobalt-free batteries in cars made at its Shanghai plant, citing people familiar with the matter.CATL saw its shares a sharp surge by the midday on Feb 20, gaining 5.32 percent to 161.35 yuan per share ($22.98).

Aston Martin puts planned WEC, Le Mans Hypercar entry on hold

Aston Martin said on Wednesday it was putting on hold a planned entry into the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Le Mans 24 Hours with its Valkyrie hypercar.This will allow IMSA prototypes to compete for outright victory at Le Mans and the WEC in 2021-22.The Valkyrie was created as part of a technology partnership between Aston Martin and Red Bull Advanced Technologies.