FILE PHOTO: A Tesla Model 3 car leaves a cargo vessel at a port in Shanghai, China February 22, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s customs authority has lifted its suspension on imports of Tesla’s Model 3, an official in the authority’s news department told Reuters on Thursday. “We can confirm that the warning notice… Continue reading China customs lifts suspension on Tesla Model 3 imports
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SoftBank, Toyota in talks to invest $1 billion in Uber’s self-driving unit: sources
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A group of investors led by SoftBank Group Corp and Toyota Motor Corp is in talks to invest $1 billion or more into Uber Technologies Inc’s self-driving vehicle unit, which would value the unit at $5 billion to $10 billion, said two people familiar with the talks. FILE PHOTO: Uber’s logo… Continue reading SoftBank, Toyota in talks to invest $1 billion in Uber’s self-driving unit: sources
UPDATE 2-SoftBank, Toyota in talks to invest $1 bln in Uber’s self-driving unit -sources
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A group of investors led by SoftBank Group Corp and Toyota Motor Corp is in talks to invest $1 billion or more into Uber Technologies Inc’s self-driving vehicle unit, which would value the unit at $5 billion to $10 billion, said two people familiar with the talks. FILE PHOTO: Uber’s logo… Continue reading UPDATE 2-SoftBank, Toyota in talks to invest $1 bln in Uber’s self-driving unit -sources
Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer hits back at the doubters – BBC News
Media playback is unsupported on your device The boss of Aston Martin Lagonda has delivered a passionate defence of the company’s strategy amid signs some city investors are losing faith. Andy Palmer said the company will prove the sceptics wrong, as he stressed the luxury carmaker’s long-term plans and importance to UK manufacturing. Aston Martin’s… Continue reading Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer hits back at the doubters – BBC News
China’s car sales have fallen for 8 straight months. It may get worse before it gets better
VCG | Getty Images
New cars lined up at a parking lot on Sept. 6, 2017 in Shenyang, Liaoning Province of China.
Chinese auto sales declined almost 14 percent in February, an industry group announced Monday, marking the eighth straight month of year-on-year decline in the world's biggest vehicle market.
Auto demand in China surged for years as the country experienced decades of economic development that created rising consumer class. But annual sales fell last year for the first time in about two decades as growth in the world's second-largest economy slowed and uncertainty due to the trade war with the United States damaged sentiment.
As part of efforts to boost its slowing economy, China announced last week a set of measures to stimulate growth. Those included tax cuts that could help boost demand for autos, but the effect is likely to take time, analysts said.
Citi said in a Monday note that the timing of the planned tax cuts to boost consumer spending remains unclear and thus “will cause buyers to delay car purchases until after the tax is implemented.”
Autos sales are an important barometer of the health of Chinese consumer spending and thus the broader economy, and they're also a key factor for foreign automakers who have hoped China's demand can help support the global auto sector.
'Guide certain sectors'
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in a release on its website that sales declined by 1.48 million vehicles in February from the same month in 2018, marking a drop of 13.8 percent.
“The trend experienced last year has continued into this year, and the economic situation has also been weak,” Shi Jianhua the association's deputy secretary general told reporters at a press conference in Beijing, according to Reuters.
“This has dragged down consumption,” he added. “Consumers are also waiting for more government policies.”
Sean Taylor, chief investment officer for Asia Pacific and head of emerging markets at Deutsche Bank Group's DWS asset management arm, said he expects Chinese authorities to take further steps to boost autos spending if a resolution to the trade war can be achieved.
“The government will probably use policy to guide certain sectors and the autos is the easiest area to do,” Taylor told CNBC on Tuesday. He added that he'd expect Beijing would “front load” that stimulus by quickly putting out some sort of package that could include ultra-low financing for auto loans.
“That can kick in really, really quickly,” he added, though he stressed it won't happen until the uncertainty of the tariff conflict with the U.S. is resolved.
“Sentiment is so important,” he said. “We really have had terrible sentiment, both on the government level, a corporate level and investor level in China.”
Volvo may not sell its Tesla rival electric car in the US over tariffs
Wang Zhao | AFP | Getty Images
A man uses his mobile phone to take a picture of a Polestar 1 car at the Beijing auto show on April 26, 2018. –
Volvo Cars may not sell its high-performance Polestar electric vehicles in the U.S. if Washington slaps tariffs on imports from China, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
The automaker recently revealed its Polestar 2, which executives said is priced competitively with Tesla's Model 3 sedan.
But Volvo is owned by Chinese auto company Geely, and the group has so far intended to make the cars at a factory in China. It expects to sell more than 50,000 Polestar vehicles.
A lot of those cars won't make it to the United States if tariffs on Chinese imports are too high, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath told the FT.
The Polestar 2 is one of several vehicles automakers are hoping will draw customers from Tesla.
Competition is expected to heat up around the 2021 model year, said CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson. Competitors are already on the market at a midrange price that's competitive with the Model 3 and higher prices where Tesla's more premium Model S and Model X vehicles sit.
The global automotive industry has found itself caught up in President Donald Trump's trade war with China, leading many automakers to re-evaluate where they build and sell their products.
Read the full story from the Financial Times.
China carmaker’s export plan to US hit by trade war
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Tesla enters into agreement with Chinese lenders for Shanghai Gigafactory
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Tesla boss Elon Musk (L) walks with Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong during the ground-breaking ceremony for a Tesla factory in Shanghai on January 7, 2019. – Musk presided over the ground-breaking for a Shanghai factory that will allow the electric-car manufacturer to dodge the China-US tariff crossfire and sell directly to the world's biggest market for 'green' vehicles.
Tesla said on Thursday it signed an agreement with lenders in China for a 12-month facility of up to 3.5 billion yuan ($521 million) for the electric carmaker's Gigafactory in Shanghai.
The company broke ground on the factory in January, and a Shanghai city government official said on Wednesday that the facility is expected to be completed in May.
Tesla has said that the Gigafactory will cost around $2 billion.
Producing cars locally is likely to help the company minimize the impact of the U.S.-China trade war, which has forced Tesla to adjust prices of its U.S.-made cars in China.
Keeping prices in check will also help Tesla fend off competition from a swathe of domestic electric vehicle startups such as Nio Inc, Byton and XPeng Motors.
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Bollinger Gets Serious About Electric Offroading – EVWORLD.COM – EV World
inFOCUS Bollinger B1: First Serious Electric 4WD By Bill Moore While Rivian has stolen some of the limelight of late, Bollinger is rolling ahead with its production plans to bring zero-emission 4WD motoring to a world urgently in need of carbon-free off-roading. As a young man fresh out of college, I had no car and… Continue reading Bollinger Gets Serious About Electric Offroading – EVWORLD.COM – EV World
UPDATE 1-Tesla enters into agreement with Chinese lenders for Gigafactory
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A Tesla logo is seen at a groundbreaking ceremony of Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory in Shanghai, China January 7, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song (Reuters) – Tesla Inc said on Thursday it signed an agreement with lenders in China for a 12-month facility of up to 3.5 billion yuan ($521 million) for the electric… Continue reading UPDATE 1-Tesla enters into agreement with Chinese lenders for Gigafactory