Automotive – Page 50090 – I wish I had more to offer

Bird Announces Monthly Scooter Subscription Service

Personal Scooting The electric scooter company Bird just unveiled a new subscription service: instead of hunting for an available unit and paying to activate it, customers can pay a monthly fee to get access to their own scooter for a full month. The new subscription service, currently available only in San Francisco and Barcelona, may… Continue reading Bird Announces Monthly Scooter Subscription Service

Velodyne Leads in Lidar Technology and Standardization

April 30, 2019 Velodyne is taking a leadership role in not only advancing lidar technology but also in advocating for autonomous vehicle (AV) community cooperation in addressing safety and standardization requirements for lidar sensors. Writing in Autonomous Vehicle International, Dieter Gabriel, marketing manager, Velodyne Europe, detailed Velodyne’s latest lidar sensors and discussed Velodyne’s call for… Continue reading Velodyne Leads in Lidar Technology and Standardization

Honestbee rejected an offer from Grab; new deal between them “unlikely”

Honestbee has been in talks with Grab for a potential investment or acquisition. Go to Source

New Land Rover Defender to be built in Slovakia, not the UK

Jaguar Land Rover Next model to be assembled at Nitra plant, after JLR ended production in Solihull in 2016 A camouflage-patterned prototype of the new Land Rover Defender model has been in testing. Photograph: Nick Dimbleby/Land Rover The new version of the Land Rover Defender will be built in Slovakia rather than the UK, its… Continue reading New Land Rover Defender to be built in Slovakia, not the UK

GM confirms plan to build electric pickup

Original Article

Chinese Ride-Hailing Group Demands Refund from Tesla via Times Square Billboards

The company purchased 278 Teslas for its fleet, but claims more than 20% of the vehicles experienced electrical issues. Photo via Blomst/Pixabay. Chinese ride-hailing group Shenma Zhuanche is so unhappy with its order from Tesla that it took out digital billboard ads in Times Square to demand a refund, Business Insider reports. The company purchased 278… Continue reading Chinese Ride-Hailing Group Demands Refund from Tesla via Times Square Billboards

Faraday Future revealed: Company gets funding to produce FF91

Faraday Future completes first pre-production FF91 on August 28, 2018
On-again, off-again electric-car startup Faraday may have a future after all.

The company announced two new rounds of financing Monday, a $1.25 billion stock sale expected to be completed by the end of the year, and a $225 million bridge loan to make it to the end of the year.

In a statement, Faraday Future said the money will pay for the production of the long-awaited FF91, and pay for continued on its second model, the FF81, for launch in 2021.

DON'T MISS: Faraday Future gets a $2 billion lifeline to build expensive crossover

The new financing round is being led by Stifel Nicolaus & Co., a St. Louis-based “diversified global wealth management and investment banking company.”

The bridge loan comes from Birch Lake Associates, a Chicago investment firm, which bills itself as deploying “intellectual and financial capital in stressed and transitional businesses by advising corporations and investors on mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings and complex situations.”

MUST READ: With cease-fire agreement, spark flickers toward Faraday's Future

Faraday Future's situation certainly has been complex.

Backed by a Chinese investor who founded the company along with several big-name automotive engineers, the company brought its FF91 ultra-luxury EV prototype to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in 2017 and announced that it would break ground on a giant factory there to build the car and a more affordable subsequent model, the FF81. Financing for the project fell through and the company abandoned the factory, and for a while the car as well, before leasing a smaller factory in California's Central Valley.

CHECK OUT: Faraday Future funder writes its own Saab story

After receiving a new round of financing last summer from a Hong Kong conglomerate, Evergrande Health, with a desire to get into the electric-car business, Faraday built more FF91 prototypes and hired more workers.

When that deal fell apart, amid back-and-forth finger pointing over spending and missed investment targets, the company laid off or furloughed about 80 percent of its workforce, and the five founders with automotive engineering experience left. A barrage of lawsuits and countersuits was settled in January in what amounts to a cease-fire agreement that allowed Faraday Future to seek additional sources of financing.

READ MORE: Faraday Future joint venture to create electric MPV based on FF91

Earlier this month, the company mortgaged its Los Angeles-area headquarters and reached a new agreement with Chinese gaming company The9 to build 300,000 copies of a new, lower-priced electric vehicle called the V9 for the Chinese market. That deal brought Faraday Future another $600 million.

The senior bridge financing note includes $150 million to maintain Faraday Future's supply chain for the FF91.

Working with another investment adviser, Faraday Future has valued its assets at $1.25 billion.

The larger $1.25 billion round of equity financing is expected to be completed early in the third quarter this year, the company said.

Uber adds real-time public transport data for London

From today, Uber has added public transport to its app in London, incorporating real-time information on the city’s Underground, Overground, train and bus network, as well as other trams, shuttle, river boat and the DLR’s driverless trains. Last summer the ride-hailing giant was granted a provisional 15-month license to operate in the U.K. capital —… Continue reading Uber adds real-time public transport data for London

UPDATE 4-Lyft elevates GM first-quarter profit, pickups in driver’s seat

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co on Tuesday reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, lifted by revaluations of shares it holds in ride-hailing company Lyft Inc and France’s Peugeot SA. FILE PHOTO: A General Motors sign is seen during the China International Import Expo (CIIE), at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, China November… Continue reading UPDATE 4-Lyft elevates GM first-quarter profit, pickups in driver’s seat

Oliver Hoffmann and Julius Seebach to take over the management of Audi Sport GmbH

Michael-Julius Renz, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH

INGOLSTADT/NECKARSULM, 30-Apr-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — Audi Sport GmbH’s Current Managing Director Michael-Julius Renz is to retire. Oliver Hoffmann (42) and Julius Seebach (35) appointed to take over the management of Audi Sport GmbH on May 1, 2019.

Oliver Hoffmann, Audi’s Head of Sport Technology, has been a member of the management since June 2018, he will also be responsible for technical development at Audi Neckarsulm as of May 1. Julius Seebach will be responsible for commercial functions within the management.

Julius Seebach was initially responsible for strategy and powertrain control in the Technical Development division at Audi since 2015. He successfully introduced model-series management at Audi Sport in 2017 and has since been in charge of the RS 4/RS 5 and RS 6/RS 7 Sportback series. Mr. Seebach was previously the industrial engineer and MBA Porsche, where he was involved in various projects of the Panamera model series and in powertrain development. Julius Seebach has been appointed to the management of Audi Sport GmbH as of May 1. Together, Oliver and Seebach will manage the business of the wholly-owned Audi subsidiary in the future.

Oliver Hoffmann will hold two management positions at the Audi group as of May 1: Head of Technical Development at the Neckarsulm site and Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH. Hoffmann’s previous career positions include quality management at Automobili Lamborghini and at Audi’s plant in Győr, Hungary, as well as the development of the V10 high-performance engines of the Audi R8.

Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler, Member of the Audi Board of Management for Technical Development said: “Transformation means becoming even more effective and innovative. By combining both positions with Oliver Hoffmann as an experienced expert, we are strengthening Neckarsulm as a technology location and at the same time securing its future viability.”

Michael-Julius Renz, former Managing Director, is leaving the company within the framework of an age regulation. He has made a significant contribution to the growth of AUDI AG and the Audi Sport brand with his international experience. A graduate in business administration, he has held various management positions at AUDI AG over the past 25 years. Before taking over as Managing Director of Audi Sport at the beginning of 2018, he was President of the Audi Sales Division China, where he was responsible for sales and the brand’s presence in one of the most important markets. Previously, Renz had been in charge of Sales Europe and Central Marketing for the Audi brand, among other things. The company thanks Renz for his dedicated and successful work.

For media information, you can reach:
Claudia Schneider
Spokeswoman Audi Sport GmbH
Tel. +49 152 57767826

SOURCE: AUDI AG

Oliver Hoffmann, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH

Julius Seebach, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH

MORE ON AUDI SPORT GmbH, ETC.:
Oliver Hoffmann succeeds Stephan Reil as lead of the Technical Development at Audi Sport GmbHAudi Sport: R8 V10 RWS successfully brings driving concept of our R8 LMS racing car to the streetsAudi Driving Experience Redirecting Its Program to Focus on Promoting Talent With the Audi Sport Racing AcademyThe new MINI John Cooper Works GP will be taking roads in 2020The Audi E-Tron Sportback Concept Combines Classic Elements and TechnologyWorld debut of the new Audi RS 4 Avant at the IAA 2017