Automobile

Bloomberg Waymo said that it is opening its fully driverless ride-hailing service in suburban Phoenix to the public. Alphabet Inc’s self-driving car unit began ferrying a select group of a few hundred customers, known as “early riders,” in vehicles without safety drivers in the summer of 2019. After receiving feedback from those riders, who were bound by non-disclosure agreements not ...

Bloomberg BMW ended an upbeat quarter for European automakers by warning that the rapidly resurging coronavirus pandemic could wreck a sales recovery driven by strong demand in China. BMW confirmed its full-year profit forecast on the back of rising sales in China. Still, the German luxury carmaker cautioned that Covid-19 is worsening in Europe’s biggest markets, with fresh lockdowns threatening ...

Bloomberg This is not a list of bad cars. The Chevrolet Corvette, the McLaren 570S, and Lotus Evora, for example, are among the most athletic, fun-to-drive vehicles on market today. But the ability to provide a thrilling experience from behind the wheel doesn’t mean a car sailed through the interior design portion of the test. Engineering prowess doesn’t always transfer ...

Bloomberg Tesla Inc. secured its own lithium mining rights in Nevada after dropping a plan to buy a company there, according to people familiar with the matter. The automaker held discussions in recent months with Cypress Development Corp., which is seeking to extract lithium from clay deposits in southwest Nevada, but the parties didn’t reach a deal, the people said, ...

Bloomberg Bugatti Automobiles SAS has put on hold plans for a second model to flank the Chiron supercar ahead of parent Volkswagen AG’s annual investment review next month. The decision was prompted by the damage inflicted on the car industry by the Covid-19 pandemic, Bugatti chief Stephan Winkelmann said in a Bloomberg TV interview. Despite the outbreak, the carmaker expects ...

Bloomberg Renault reported third-quarter revenue that beat estimates, partly fuelled by a surge in sales of its popular electric model that the carmaker said will allow it to meet European emissions rules. Although revenue falls 8.2% to 10.37 billion euros in a period still marked by the pandemic, it surpassed the 9.96 billion-euro average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The ...

Bloomberg Mercedes-Benz, which has fixated for years on leading the auto industry in luxury-vehicle sales, will put less emphasis on volume and restructure its operations to be more profitable in the midst of a costly shift to electric cars. Daimler AG’s main division will aim for a return on sales in the mid to high single-digit range by 2025, even ...

Bloomberg Automakers are so eager to replace less-lucrative cars with higher-margin SUVs, they’re willing to scrap iconic nameplates along the way. Volkswagen’s newest North American model, the Taos, is perhaps the starkest example of this yet. The German automaker made room to manufacture the compact sport utility vehicle in its Mexican assembly plant by ceasing production of the Beetle, one ...

Bloomberg Volkswagen AG’s Audi is expanding its partnership with Chinese manufacturer FAW as the German premium brand seeks to build more battery-powered cars geared to customers in its largest market. Audi and FAW signed a memorandum of understanding to start a company that will produce electric cars for the Chinese market from 2024, Audi said in a statement. The new ...

Bloomberg Sales of electric vehicles in Europe are growing at such a pace that the continent looks increasingly likely to outpace China in the near future. That’s one of the findings of a report by London-based automotive research firm Jato Dynamics. However, it found that Europe and the US still have a few things to learn from China, the world’s ...