Category: Automotive

THE NORDIC HALL OF THE HEROES IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS – ASTON MARTIN VALKYRIE AND VALHALLA TAKE FLIGHT

Aston Martin Valkyrie and Valhalla take flight at Aston Martin’s development home – Silverstone, UK First time Aston Martin Valhalla ‘dynamic concept’ shown Aston Martin Valhalla makes North American debut today at Monterey Car Week’s “The Quail” Aston Martin Valkyrie testing continues at pace following British Grand Prix debut  Friday 16 August 2019, Gaydon, UK:… Continue reading THE NORDIC HALL OF THE HEROES IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS – ASTON MARTIN VALKYRIE AND VALHALLA TAKE FLIGHT

This is the best time to buy cars, you will not get such discounts again: Nikunj Sanghi, FADA

The guarantee scheme for NBFCs that the Government of India has floated will do a lot in terms of shoring up funds for NBFCs which plays a very big role in inventory funding, says Nikunj Sanghi, Director, Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA). Excerpts from an interview with ETNOW.OEMs, dealers, everybody is trying his best… Continue reading This is the best time to buy cars, you will not get such discounts again: Nikunj Sanghi, FADA

New Fiat 500 Electric To Be Followed By Several Plug-In Fiats

500 Electric and Panda Electric will be just two out of around five new plug-ins expected from Fiat in the next few years Fiat is reportedly gearing up for a broader electrification initiative with several electric/plug-in models in Europe. The Italian’s firm approach is combining small cars with an electric drive option. The starting point… Continue reading New Fiat 500 Electric To Be Followed By Several Plug-In Fiats

Chinese EV maker Lixiang raises $530m Series C funding led by Meituan founder

Chinese electric vehicle producer Lixiang Automotive, formerly CHJ Automotive, has banked a $530-million Series C funding at a post-investment valuation of $2.93 billion, its early backer Plum Ventures said in an announcement. The round was led by Wang Xing, founder and CEO of online services giant Meituan-Dianping, according to the statement. While Plum Ventures did… Continue reading Chinese EV maker Lixiang raises $530m Series C funding led by Meituan founder

China’s iconic Hongqi starts selling first electric vehicle

CHANGCHUN, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) — China's automaker FAW Group on Sunday began selling the first electric model of its iconic Hongqi brand to get a slice of the country's booming new energy vehicle market.
The Hongqi E-HS3, a pure electric sport utility vehicle model, is priced between 225,800 yuan (around 32,000 U.S. dollars) to 265,800 yuan, said the carmaker.
The new model has a range of up to 407 km under the New European Driving Cycle, and it takes only around 15 minutes to charge from 30 percent to 80 percent.
The first car of Hongqi, or Red Flag, was made in 1958. It is one of China's iconic sedan brands and its vehicles have been used for parades at national celebrations.
The company has been actively exploring the private car market in recent years to reverse lackluster sales due partly to the lack of new models and shops.
In the first half of this year, more than 33,000 Hongqi vehicles were sold, up 255 percent year on year and outnumbering the total sales of 2018…

Car-crazy Californians slow their purchases of new vehicles

Getty ImagesNew car sales in the largest U.S. auto market have slowed this year as more and more drivers opt for less-expensive used cars.
New vehicles sales in California dropped 5.6% in the first half of 2019, setting the state on track for full-year sales to fall short of 2 million vehicles for the first time since 2014, according to the California New Car Dealers Association.
“It is not a huge surprise that after years of increased sales, we are seeing the market level off, reflecting the broader economic and political climates,” Ted Nicholas, the association's chairman, said in a release Wednesday announcing sales for the first half of the year.
The drop in new vehicle sales in California is greater than the 1.5% decline seen in the U.S. from January through June. One reason could be that cars make up a bigger percentage of new model sales in California than around the rest the country. Sales of new cars, which include sedans and compacts, dropped by 10.8% during the first half of the year across the state while sales of new pickups, SUV's, crossover utility vehicles and other light trucks fell by 1.1%.
Californians, who have long been known for their love of cars and trucks, are still buying vehicles. But they are increasingly turning to the used market. Sales of preowned models in California climbed more than 5% in the first half of the year.
Sales of new electric and hybrid vehicles continue to climb in a state where green transportation is in demand. In fact, the trade group says EVs and hybrids made up 13% of all new models sold. In addition, the California car group now estimates sales of fully electric vehicles will top 100,000 this year.
Much of the rise in EV sales in the Golden State is due largely to the popularity of the Tesla Model 3, which is built in Fremont, just outside of San Francisco. In the first half of this year, Californians bought 33,005 Model 3s. That means 1 in 4 Model 3s sold worldwide in the first half of this year was purchased in California.