Automobile

Fiat CEO sees ‘significant opportunities’ for auto partnerships

Bloomberg Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s CEO Mike Manley said he sees “very significant opportunities” to partner with other automakers on autonomy and electrification projects in the next two to three years. Fiat is seeking to fix a business that is losing money in Asia and Europe while sales in North America, which generates the lion’s share of the company’s profits, ...

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Toyota rejects electric cars as Volkswagen vows an embrace

Bloomberg A $255 billion debate is raging among the world’s biggest automakers. Some think electric cars made by companies besides Tesla Inc stand the chance to be hits, while others think they’ll fail to really sell. Toyota Motor Corp may have kicked off the green-car movement with its Prius hybrid more than 20 years ago, but the company is not ...

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With driverless cars late, Phantom tries remote-control trucks

Bloomberg For four days in February, Ben Shukman showed up to his office at Phantom Auto in Mountain View, California, sat down in front of a bank of computer screens with a steering wheel in a darkened room, and began driving. As the 25-year-old turned the wheel in Silicon Valley, an empty truck 2,500 miles away in Atlanta picked up ...

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Ford reboots its European strategy with electrification

Bloomberg Ford Motor Co will roll out four plug-in hybrids and two battery-powered models in its latest effort to boost its loss-making business in Europe, where manufacturers face slowing sales and tightening emissions rules. The US carmaker said it will offer a new compact Puma, part of a revamped SUV lineup that includes the Explorer and an overhauled version of ...

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Fastest electric car chargers waiting for batteries to catch up

Bloomberg The viability of electric vehicles depends in part on a manufacturing plant in eastern Australia, where gleaming white cabinets the size of large refrigerators are loaded onto shipping crates. They’re among the most advanced car chargers available, promising to deliver a full tank of juice in minutes. Automakers and energy companies are spearheading the global rollout of these ultra-fast ...

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Ford plans $900mn bet on Michigan-made autos of future

Bloomberg Ford Motor Co plans to spend about $900 million and hire about 900 workers to build electric and self-driving vehicles in Michigan, while moving production of a small commercial van to Mexico from Europe. The moves, announced the same day Donald Trump visits an Ohio tank plant, follow the president’s sharp criticism of General Motors Co for idling a ...

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Infiniti plans to offer only electric or hybrid vehicles by 2025

Bloomberg Lately, it seems, Infiniti can’t catch a break. Sales slumped last year to 149,280 vehicles in the US, down 2.7 percent from 2017. The automaker’s QX30—a small crossover that should be capitalising on the unfettered thirst Americans have for compact SUVs—hit just 8,101 units in the US, down nearly 43 percent from 2017. The larger QX50 was one the ...

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Porsche Taycan is 2019’s most-anticipated launch

Bloomberg The year 2018 was very good for the car industry. According to Cox Automotive, US auto sales are expected to total 17.2 million units in this year, which is more than last year and the fourth year in a row to beat 17 million, finishing above the firm’s forecasts. For starters, there’s the convertible version of the Bentley Continental ...

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Porsche plans $6.8bn profit push for e-cars

Bloomberg Porsche AG has an ambitious plan to improve operating profit by 6 billion euros ($6.8 billion) over eight years by streamlining operations as the automaker spends more to develop and manufacture electric cars, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Porsche aims to increase earnings before interest and taxes by about 750 million euros annually over a timeframe ...

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Lime launches car-sharing service in Seattle

Bloomberg San Francisco-based startup Lime has spent the last year scattering an assortment of brightly coloured scooters and bikes around American cities, arguing such services will reduce car use and traffic problems. But even Lime can’t quite sever ties with the automobile. Starting soon, the company will start spreading around Lime-branded cars, too. Lime is launching a car-sharing service in ...

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