Automobile Industry

Industry Roundup

Electric & Hybrid Vehicles

US lawmakers from New York, California, Arizona introduce Earth Act to Stop Climate Pollution by 2030; it aims for 100% renewable electricity production, 100% zero emission motor vehicle production, increased regenerative agricultural practices by 2030
ForeignAffairs.co.nz (02/06)

Commercial EV maker Cenntro Electric has started assembling lithium-ion phosphate battery packs at its plants in Freehold, New Jersey, and Herne, Germany; batteries to be installed in Cenntro’s Metro Series commercial EVs
Business Wire (02/06)

Light Vehicles

Lexus expects India to become second biggest Asia Pacific automotive market by 2025; Lexus looking to double its sales in India in 2023 following 76% annual growth in 2022
Auto Business News (02/06)

Volvo Car USA reports sales January sales up 8.2% from a year ago at 7,693 cars, with BEV sales increasing 80.1% from a year ago; sales in the Americas Region up 15% year-over-year to 10,130 cars, with Recharge units accounting for 40% of sales
Volvo Car Group (02/03)

Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs)

Ford Performance and Bronco to Defend King of the Hammers Stock Racing Class Crown
Ford Motor Co. (02/06)

US Treasury Dept. revises which EVs are eligible for Inflation Reduction Act clean vehicle tax credits; Cadillac Lyric, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Tesla five-seat Model Y now qualify for federal EV tax credits
FinancialPress (02/03)

Heavy Trucks/Commercial Vehicles

DHL Parcel opens climate-neutral CityHub in the Netherlands to receive all packages for surrounding Leeuwarden area; site handles approximately 6,000 packages/day, deploys 17 solar-charged electric vans and five fossil-free diesel-powered delivery vans
Contify Retail News (02/06)

Daimler Truck North America unveils SuperTruck II high-efficiency tractor-trailer combination, which features over 12% less aerodynamic drag compared to SuperTruck I, to help fleets reduce environmental impact; truck achieves 5.7% fuel economy improvement
Indian Transportation & Logistics (Weekly) (02/03)

Vans

Volvo reportedly planning to roll-out six new battery EVs by 2026, convert entire lineup to fully electric by 2030 reports Reuters; plans include new luxury EV van intended for Asian market
National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) (02/03)

DHL opens fully automated terminal in Uppsala, Sweden, to help meet rising demand for freight, logistics from local companies, residents; facility features charging sites for delivery vans, geothermal heating and is set to have solar panels installed
M-Brain Nordic News (02/03)

Automotive Care

AutoNation completes acquisition of full-service mobile automotive repair service RepairSmith; acquisition gives AutoNation another channel to provide service to its customers and to potential customers who have purchased vehicles from other dealers
Mergers & Acquisitions Daily News (02/03)

Automotive Use

Global aluminum demand to rise 40% by 2030, driven by transportation, construction, packaging, electrical sectors, with two-thirds of growth coming from China and Asia; concerning is China’s heavy reliance on coal-fired power plants for smelting
World Economic Forum (02/06)

Poland proposes EU's tenth package of sanctions on Russia include embargo on rubber, in addition to existing bans on tires, tire materials; Europe has sufficient capacity to compensate for ban on Russian rubber, but prices would increase, analysts note
Interfax Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire (02/06)

Auto Parts & Accessories

Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi strengthen alliance for Europe, India, South America with focus on electrification, developing joint vehicle models; the three companies plan to share 80% of components in their vehicles by end of 2026
CE Noticias Financieras (Latin America) (02/06)

Monroe releases new part numbers in February to cover 13 million vehicles in the US, Canada; products include new OESpectrum shock and mount assembly, Monroe conversion kits, Quick-Strut assemblies, OESpectrum light truck shocks, Magnum RV shocks
PR Newswire (02/03)

Tires

Hankook Tire Q4 net profit falls 65% from a year ago on strong won; Q4 net profits drop to US$23.0M from US$82.4M a year ago despite increased sales of high-end tire products
Korea Times (02/06)

Hankook Tire announces 2022 financial results
Contify Automotive News (02/02)

Batteries

Executive Perspective: Ford CEO says future Ford EVs to be simpler, easier to produce, have smallest possible battery; new EVs to have volume potential of up to one million units in a handful or orderable combinations to lower manufacturing costs
Green Car Reports (02/06)

Magna and Indian micro-mobility firm Yulu form YUMA Energy JV as a battery-as-a-service network to support Yulu’s fleet, other OEMs and mobility firms; YUMA Energy to offer battery charging, swapping stations for two-wheeled EVs in India
Motoroids (India) (02/06)

Car Dealers

Hyundai Motor America reports January sales up 9% from a year ago to 52,001 vehicles, the third consecutive month for record total sales; retail sales totaled 48,247 units, up 1% year-over-year, lead my Elantra N, Elantra HEV, IONIQ 5, Santa Fe HEV
PR Newswire (02/01)

Autonomous Transportation Technology

NYK enters business, capital alliance agreement with AI firm Ghelia to partner on research and development for autonomous ships; company also to introduce Ghelia’s AI tech to business processes within its sales, corporate divisions
Maritime Gateway (02/02)

Nissan hosting Nissan Futures event February 4 to March 1 to showcase innovations in sustainable mobility at global headquarters gallery; event to feature innovations in electrification, vehicle intelligence, power management, vehicle battery reuse
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (02/02)

Electric Vehicle Charging

CEO Corner: Daimler Truck North America CEO says charging infrastructure challenges are limiting deployment of EVs in trucking; company currently has annual output capacity of 2,000 units that it built based on earlier conversations with potential buyers
Transport Topics (02/03)

Mercadona invests €21M to implement approximately 5,000 semi-fast electric vehicle recharging points; company says move makes its recharging network one of the largest private networks in Spain, southern Europe
CE Noticias Financieras (Latin America) (02/02)

Ride-Sharing/Mobility Services

Uber suspends its ride-by-motorcycle service, Uber Moto, in Sao Paulo, citing further studies needed by city administration to ensure service is safe and legal; service continues operation in Rio de Janeiro, although local government is also resistant
CE Noticias Financieras (Latin America) (02/01)

Automotive & Driving

Nissan to take up to 15% stake in Renault's new electric car subsidiary Ampere, with Mitsubishi considering a stake in the company; Nissan, Mitsubishi to invest in Horse, a new company to be created by Renault and Chinese automaker Geely in Spain
CE Noticias Financieras (Latin America) (02/06)

NHTSA and Honda urge owners of about 8,200 2001-2003 Honda vehicles not to drive the cars until airbag inflators can be replaced; Takata ‘Alpha’ inflators in the cars have 50% chance of exploding in crash and hurling shrapnel toward driver’s face
Associated Press (02/03)

Mazda North American Operations reports January 2023 sales up 9% from a year ago at 22,967 vehicles; Mazda sold 5,065 CX-30 vehicles, 3,170 CX-9 vehicles in January
Auto Business News (02/03)

Auto Parts & Accessories

Lear Corp. Q4 profit tops estimates; sales up 10% from a year ago to US$5.4B, net profit up at US$118.0M from US$22.0M last year as global vehicle output grows 2% from a year ago
CE Noticias Financieras (Latin America) (02/03)

Earnings Preview: BorgWarner (BWA) Q4 Earnings Expected to Decline
Zack's Commentary (02/02)

Fortune Magazine adds Lear Corporation to 'World's Most Admired Companies' list
Auto Business News (02/02)

Automotive Use

Lear Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Results and Provides Full Year 2023 Outlook
Lear Corp. (02/02)

Autonomous Transportation Technology

US DOJ request information about Tesla’s ‘Autopilot’ and Full Self-Driving driver-assist system the automaker stated Tuesday in SEC filing; Tesla vehicles currently feature driver assistance but are not fully autonomous
AFP World News (01/31)

Batteries

GM, LG Energy fail to come to agreement to build fourth Ultium Cells JV manufacturing plant reports Wall Street Journal; GM discussing building plant with at least one other battery firm, as GM reports it plans to invest in fourth US cell plant
Indianapolis Business Journal (02/03)

The Progress Project by Hyundai Commences for a Second Year, Supporting Black-Owned Businesses in Georgia
Hyundai Motor Co. (02/01)

Volkswagen reportedly considering Ontario battery cell factory
Auto Business News (01/31)

Electric & Hybrid Vehicles

GM, Netflix partner for strategic marketing alliance to promote EVs; Netflix to increase presence of EVs in programs it produces, ensure more sustainable productions, with GM stating it is not paying to put its EVs in Netflix programs
Marketing Dive (02/02)

Tesla eyeing construction of EV plant near Mexico City's new airport, government official says, noting site could allow for exports by air; Tesla has not responded to the report
Houston Chronicle (TX) (02/02)

Tesla reportedly sent letter to Ontario government in November to share strategies for expanding EV charging network in the province reports Electric Autonomy; Tesla also advised allocation on C$91.0M to fund charging infrastructure expansion
iPhone in Canada (02/02)

Electric Vehicle Charging

Porsche invests 525 million Swiss francs in EV charging company ABB E-mobility Holding to accelerate rapid organic growth at the company; ABB has sold over 1 million EV chargers, including 50,000 DC fast chargers, since 2010
Contify Automotive News (02/01)

Atlis Motor Vehicles debuts proprietary AC/DC charge handle and cable design capable of delivering up to 1.5MW of power for the medium and heavy-duty vehicle and e-mobility charging market; handle designed to be less rigid, more malleable during handling
GlobeNewswire (01/31)

VW reports it has installed over 15,000 ultra-fast EV chargers around the world as part of plan to install 45,000 charging points globally; by end of 2023, VW plans to have 10,000 fast-charging stations in Europe, 25,000 in other parts of the world
Contify Automotive News (01/31)

Light Vehicles

DesRosiers Automotive Consultants reports January Canadian light vehicle sales up 7.5% from a year ago to 98,259 new vehicles; DAC hopeful market to move forward in 2023 as manufacturers show signs of improved vehicle availability
Canadian Press DataFile (02/02)

Kia reports January 2023 total global sales up 9% year-on-year to 232,437 vehicles, with sales outside of Korea increasing 9.9% from a year ago to 193,456 units; Kia sets global sales goal of 3.2 million units in 2023
ENP Newswire (02/02)

KIA AMERICA TEASES 14th SUPER BOWL AD
Kia Motors Corp. (02/02)

Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs)

Fourth-generation, three-row Toyota Grand Highlander to make world debut at Chicago Auto Show February 8
Toyota Motor Corp. (02/02)

Ford approves Continental’s WinterContact TS 870 and WinterContact TS 870 P premium winter tires for its latest versions of the Explorer, Fiesta, Focus, Mustang and Puma vehicles; the tires offer improved braking and handling on snow over previous model
Continental AG (02/01)

Mazda introduces new larger, wider CX-90 SUV based on new modular platform in mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid versions to replace CX-9 in North American market; mild-hybrid version to arrive in 2024, plug-in hybrid slated for 2025 introduction
CE Noticias Financieras (Latin America) (01/31)

xAutomobiles & Components group

Scandinavian Enviro Systems receives US$450,000 follow-up order from US oil company subsidiary for pyrolysis oil derived from end-of-life vehicle tires; initial oil shipment tested to determine oil’s suitability to produce biofuels
Cision (02/02)

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