Automobile

  Bloomberg The crowd of hundreds roared in Mandarin as the gull-winged two-seater aircraft rose and hovered roughly 30 meters (100 feet) above their heads, before smoothly lowering back down to earth. In the past months, China’s Xpeng Aeroht has staged two maiden public flights for its aircraft. The 90-second exercise in October was followed by another in Guangzhou, China ...

Bloomberg Stellantis plans to buy a stake in hydrogen company owned by tire-maker Michelin and car-parts supplier Faurecia SE as the automaker tries to bolster its low-emissions offerings. The maker of Fiat and Jeep vehicles will take a “substantial” stake in the Symbio business, with closing of the transaction expected for the first half of 2023, Stellantis said. “This move ...

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG (VW) Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said he expects next year to be “even more challenging” than 2022 as inflation and a worsening economic outlook cut into demand. Antlitz, speaking in a Bloomberg TV interview, said VW will need to improve productivity and lower fixed costs as the carmaker can’t fully pass on soaring raw material ...

  Bloomberg Mercedes-Benz Group AG has committed to manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) in Thailand after signing an agreement to import its battery-powered cars — part of a government plan to bolster the Southeast Asian nation’s status as a clean automaking hub. The luxury carmaker will receive a slew of benefits including lower import duties and excise taxes for each fully electric ...

  Bloomberg Stellantis NV plans to idle a Jeep-making factory in Belvidere, Illinois, citing challenges such as cost burdens due to the shift towards electrification of more models. The automaker said in a statement that the “difficult but necessary action,” effective Feb. 28, will result in layoffs of an unspecified number of workers, which will likely extend for more than ...

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG is considering funding coding schools in Mexico and Brazil as part of its strategy to recruit software-savvy employees. The carmaker is already backing similar institutions in the Czech Republic and Germany — including in Berlin and near its Wolfsburg headquarters — and is now weighing to expand, said Gunnar Kilian, the board member in charge of ...

  Bloomberg Porsche has finally made a modern off-road 911. The Porsche 911 Dakar was debuted during a private presentation at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The Stuttgart, Germany-based brand has sent its sports cars off-road since the early 1960s, when drivers Vic Elford and Herbert Linge piloted 911s in gruelling cross-country races. In 1968, a 911 T won the ...

  Bloomberg The UK is on course to botch the shift away from the combustion engine and end up a carmaking minnow. This week, mostly UK-based electric-van startup Arrival announced its CEO and president were stepping down. Last week, the CEO of Britain’s biggest auto manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, resigned after making little headway on an all-electric shift announced almost ...

  Bloomberg BMW AG is doubling its investment at its Hungarian factory to $2.1 billion, adding a high-voltage battery assembly facility that will create more than 500 jobs. Locating the battery assembly at the Debrecen plant will help BMW streamline logistics for production of its next generation electric cars that will use the ‘Neue Klasse’ underpinnings, the carmaker said. Output ...

  Bloomberg Mercedes-Benz Group AG cut prices on two electric car models in China by as much as $33,000, as heated competition in the world’s biggest EV market impacts sales. The luxury automaker said in a statement that it was reducing prices on certain models from its EQ range, and that it would provide subsidies to customers who recently bought ...