Tag: VW

Friday Morning Auto News, Oct 11, 2019

Porsche and Boeing partner on electric flying vehicle – Automotive News: Porsche wants to expand into the “third dimension of travel” by developing a flying vehicle capable of transporting people in congested cities.
Renault CEO ouster marks fresh start from Ghosn era – Automotive News: It took just three days to topple Renault CEO Thierry Bollore, giving the automaker and its estranged partner, Nissan, a clean sheet to ponder how to revive trust in their alliance and redistribute the balance of power.
Renault board wields the CEO axe – the week – Just-Auto: News Renault has dismissed Thierry Bollore as CEO with immediate effect, ending a week of intense speculation concerning the future of the automaker’s top management, is likely to draw a lot of eyeballs to just-auto from about now.
Hydrogen is still a mystery to drivers, but Toyota plans 10 times more cars – LATimes: Hydrogen is still a mystery to drivers, but Toyota plans 10 times more cars Los Angeles Times
Lengthy UAW strike at GM to cost $1.5 billion: Credit Suisse – Reuters: Lengthy UAW strike at GM to cost $1.5 billion: Credit Suisse
Ford’s Q3 China vehicle sales down 30% – Automotive News: Third-quarter sales of the automaker’s mass-market Ford brand fell 38 percent in China, while its luxury division Lincoln saw sales drop by 24 percent.

Renault ousts CEO in post Ghosn-era reset – Reuters: Renault ousts CEO in post Ghosn-era reset Reuters Canada
They Say He Lost $320 Million on Bad Oil Trades. He Says Documents Show Otherwise – Bloomberg: The Chinese oil trader fired by Mitsubishi Corp. for allegedly losing $320 million in unauthorized trading said company documents that detail how the …
China’s Trade Chief Returns to Trump’s Oval Stage With Eyes on Deal – Bloomberg: Car warning | Nissan issued its starkest warning yet against a no-deal Brexit, saying any tariffs on auto exports to the European Union are likely to render its U.K. … Trade war fallout | Japan’s economy is losing momentum as 2020 … balance for September; Oct. 15: U.S. to raise tariffs on Chinese imports …
Business Is Thrilling Again. Enjoy the Spectacle, From a Distance. – New York Times: “Super Pumped,” the new book about Uber, the ride hailing giant, written by my colleague Mike Isaac, has become one of my favorites. He described …
Uber faces UK tax challenge – Reuters: Uber Technologies Inc says the UK is seeking to classify the company as a transportation provider, potentially opening it up to new tax charges that could weigh heavily on its business, according to UK accounts filings in recent days.
Nissan’s new CEO is no Ghosn, but that’s the point – Automotive News: Nissan’s new CEO is no Ghosn, but that’s the point
Uber launches boat service in Nigeria’s megacity Lagos – Reuters: Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] on Friday launched a pilot test of a boat service in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos to attract commuters seeking to avoid the megacity’s notoriously congested roads.
SpaceX needs to put people into space. NASA’s deadline is looming – LATimes: Two weeks ago, the head of NASA seemed sick of waiting for SpaceX and Boeing Co. to finish developing the capsules that are supposed to carry …
Porsche and Boeing to develop flying car concept – Autocar: Porsche and Boeing have released this image of a flying car Two firms will explore the viabilit…
Future cars: Toyota doubles down, Dyson gives up – Reuters: Different visions of future mobility: Toyota doubles down on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, but James Dyson pulls the plug on plans for an electric car.
Factbox: Renault’s new top executive committee – Reuters: Below are some facts on some of the new top executives appointed at Renault on Friday.
Hyundai invests in US road mapping company Netradyne – Just-Auto: Hyundai Cradle, which Hyundai Motor Group describes as its corporate venturing and open innovation business, in early October said it was investing in US fleet safety management software company Netradyne to gain access to the firm’s more than 350m miles of detailed road mapping data.
Hyundai, Kia earmark $760 million to settle U.S. lawsuits over engine fires – Reuters: Hyundai Motor Co and affiliate Kia Motors Corp have earmarked a total of 900 billion won ($757.86 million) to settle U.S. class action litigation and address engine-related issues in the United States and South Korea.
Geely’s September sales show a silver lining to some – Nikkei: Among Geely’s rivals, Guangzhou Automobile Group has reported a 3% fall in sales for the first eight months of 2019 while those for Dongfeng Motor …
Renault names Delbos as interim CEO to replace Bollore – Reuters: French carmaker Renault on Friday named Clotilde Delbos at interim chief executive after ending the tenure of Thierry Bollore following a boardroom vote.
Toyota LQ concept is self-driving electric hatchback – Autocar: Toyota LQ concept is self-driving electric hatchback
Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors agree to settle U.S. engine defect lawsuits – Reuters: South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co and affiliate Kia Motors Corp on Friday said they have agreed to resolve class action litigation with U.S. owners of certain vehicles over engine fire risks.
Toyota RAV4 Plug-in hybrid set for LA show debut – Autocar: New version of fifth-generation SUV will offer expanded battery size, range and power Toyota will…

Related

Lyft has been quietly offering a car-rental service in 3 California cities (LYFT)

Lyft has been quietly offering a car-rental service in three California cities.  When you book a vehicle in San Francisco, Oakland, or Los Angeles, the company will also offer customers $40 of ride credit to get to and from the pickup location.  The company said it’s another way to help stave people off of individual… Continue reading Lyft has been quietly offering a car-rental service in 3 California cities (LYFT)

Dyson scraps plans for electric car

Dyson, the technology company best known for its vacuum cleaners, has scrapped a project to build electric cars. The firm, headed by British inventor Sir James Dyson, said its engineers had developed a “fantastic electric car” but that it would not hit the roads because it was not “commercially viable”. In an email sent to… Continue reading Dyson scraps plans for electric car

Whisbi Raises €5M in Funding

Whisbi​, a Barcelona, Spain-based conversational Sales platform, raised €5M in funding. The round was led by Cipio Partners along existing investors Active & BDMI. The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations and its business reach. Led by CEO Alex Bisbe, Whisbi offers a Conversational Sales platform to capture, qualify and… Continue reading Whisbi Raises €5M in Funding

IMSA: Porsche pursues titles at the final works campaign with the proven 911 RSR

10/11/2019 Heading to the final round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Road Atlanta (USA), Porsche is poised to clinch the manufacturer, team and driver titles. The North American factory team of the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer tackles the final ten-hour race, dubbed Petit Le Mans, on 12 October holding a clear lead in… Continue reading IMSA: Porsche pursues titles at the final works campaign with the proven 911 RSR

Press Releases – Fuel cell vehicles: EU must act to build up much-needed hydrogen infrastructure

Brussels, 10 October 2019 – The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Hydrogen Europe and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) are jointly calling on European policy makers to ramp up investments in EU-wide hydrogen refuelling infrastructure for fuel cell electric vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles can contribute positively to the overall decarbonisation agenda of the EU.… Continue reading Press Releases – Fuel cell vehicles: EU must act to build up much-needed hydrogen infrastructure

Press Releases – Thomas Sedran new Chair of ACEA’s Light Commercial Vehicle Committee

Brussels, 8 October 2019 – The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has appointed a new Chairman for its Light Commercial Vehicle General Managers’ Committee: Thomas Sedran, who is also Chairman of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Board of Management. Light commercial vehicles (LCVs), better known as vans, represent a vital link in Europe’s logistics chain, enabling… Continue reading Press Releases – Thomas Sedran new Chair of ACEA’s Light Commercial Vehicle Committee

VW signals with light, Lexus teases EV, Volvo delegates engine development: Today’s Car News

Volvo is done developing internal-combustion engines. Well, almost; it’s delegating them to a new joint venture with parent Geely. Electrify Canada is pushing out some very high-power fast-charging hardware. Lexus will show the new iteration of an electric city car that’s likely production-bound. And VW is using light to send messages. This and more today at Green Car Reports.

Volkswagen is introducing a new light-based communication feature in its ID 3 electric car—and potentially all ID models—that helps the driver understand alerts and status updates without chimes and warnings.

Electrify Canada is pushing ahead with plans to install 32 high-power DC fast-charging stations by the end of 2020. On Thursday it mapped out more than 20 of those—all 350-kw-enabled—to be installed at Canadian Tire locations starting this year.

Lexus has teased the design of its production-bound all-electric city car, potentially to be shown in concept or prototype form at this month’s upcoming Tokyo Motor Show.

By 2025, half of all Volvos by sales volume are to be battery-electric. But for the other half, which will be hybrids in some form, Volvo still needs internal combustion engines—and this week it merged engine-development operations with its parent Geely.

And car-to-infrastructure technology, or C2X, is being tested in Germany as a way of directing road-maintenance crews to respond quicker to road conditions like ice and snow on roadways—one of many potential important steps toward autonomous-vehicle tech becoming viable.

_______________________________________

Follow Green Car Reports on Facebook and Twitter

Britain’s James Dyson scraps electric car project

* Project was not commercially viable
* Company said the car was a technical success
* Tried but failed to find a buyer
* Will seek to redeploy 500 engineers working on project (Adds further details)
LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) – James Dyson, the inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, has cancelled his ambitious plan to build an electric car because the project was not commercially viable.
Dyson said his engineers had built a “fantastic car” and that the project was not being closed due to any failures in research and development.
“However, though we have tried very hard throughout the development process, we simply can no longer see a way to make it commercially viable,” he told staff on Thursday.
The company had tried to find a buyer for the project but had not succeeded, he said.
Dyson announced two years ago that his engineers had been working a on a secret automotive project, building on its expertise in batteries and electric motors to develop a vehicle.
The company bet that its ba..