Europe

Maserati could be a stand-alone brand in the future if it can become sustainably profitable, Stellantis Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer said, adding that no decision has been made. In recent years, a number of Maserati’s high-end competitors have been spun off from their parent companies as separate listings, including Ferrari (from Fiat) at the

Garrett Motion, a key supplier of automotive turbochargers and other equipment, is exploring strategic options including a sale, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The Rolle, Switzerland-based company is working with an adviser on a possible sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Garrett

BASF’s new battery materials site in Schwarzheide, eastern Germany, will start production towards the end of the year, the company said as it seeks to cater to a growing European electric vehicle industry. Under a push to build a global materials network serving the EV industry, BASF has been seeking a string of alliances with

Volvo’s next-generation EX90 electric crossover will introduce lidar technology that cocoons the vehicle in an “invisible shield of safety.” Lidar is a remote sensing method that uses laser light pulses to render precise images of the environment around the vehicle. While automakers typically embed safety sensors in the vehicle grille or front fascia, Volvo positioned

MILAN – Kia will expand its range of full-electric models with a small crossover due to be launched in 2024 as well as a compact hatchback as soon as 2025 that would be the South Korean brand’s first EV assembled in Europe. The two cars were revealed as part of Kia’s revised 2030 EV strategy,

PRAGUE — The European Union asked the United States to treat EU electric vehicles, batteries and sustainable energy equipment sold in the United States the same as those from Canada and Mexico, Czech trade minister Jozef Sikela said. The 27-nation EU has been complaining that the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act effectively discriminates against EU producers

The London Electric Vehicle Company, which makes the city’s battery-powered black cabs, plans to cut as many as 140 jobs in the UK as part of a plan to increase efficiency. LEVC, as it is known, is owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group – the parent company of Volvo, Lotus, Polestar and others —

Mining companies are going to great lengths to source the raw materials needed for electric vehicle batteries, even miles below the ocean’s surface. They are racing to tap into these seabed stockpiles, striking deals, developing mining processes and equipment and striving to be eco-friendly. Meanwhile, environmental groups want to slow the rush until more is

Tesla began clearing a German forest late Friday to expand its electric-car factory near Berlin, a key piece of the company’s growth plans for Europe. The automaker is working on an application to increase its storage and logistics capacity at its site in Gruenheide, a spokesman said early Saturday, confirming a report by the Maerkische

BERLIN — Volkswagen Group reported third-quarter earnings of 4.3 billion euros ($4.29 billion), behind pre-pandemic levels, following 1.6 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in one-off charges from the suspension of Russian activities and its Porsche listing. The automaker cut its vehicle sales expectations for the year as chip availability remains scarce and logistics continue to pose

Tesla’s Model Y was Europe’s best-selling car in September, moving past some of the region’s most popular combustion-engines models as battery-powered vehicles continue to gain traction. With deliveries more than tripling compared to a year ago to just over 29,000 cars, the Model Y led by a significant margin over the Peugeot 208 with about

Porsche’s operating profit jumped 41 percent to 5.05 billion euros ($5 billion) in the first nine months from the same period last year partly due to exchange-rate effects and healthy sales of its iconic 911 model, the sports-car maker said in a press release. Porsche’s deliveries in the first three quarters rose 2 percent to

BERLIN — Volkswagen Group expects growth in the autos market next year despite the worsening economic outlook as order books showed ongoing high demand was being stifled by supply chain shortages, CEO Arno Antlitz said. The automaker had almost fully compensated for the rising energy and inflation costs this quarter by cutting fixed costs, Antlitz

BERLIN — Volkswagen Group plans to expand its cooperation with Intel’s Mobileye to include its automated driving program after the automaker’s decision to stop investing in self-driving startup Argo AI, two sources told Reuters. Mobileye, which already cooperates with VW’s software unit Cariad on autonomous driving technologies, is likely to be the automaker’s partner for

French President Emmanuel Macron is looking to enlist German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s support for a new plan to help European automakers compete with the U.S. and China, after President Joseph Biden outlined heavy subsidies benefiting electric cars made in North America. Though they have squabbled over defense and energy policies, Paris and Berlin agree that

Ford said  it would exit Russia, after the automaker finalized a deal to sell its 49 percent stake in the Sollers Ford joint venture. “Ford shares will be transferred to the Joint Venture for a nominal value,” the company said on Wednesday, adding that it retains the option to buy them back within a 5-year

TOKYO — Toyota is considering a sharp increase in production of its first mass-market battery-electric vehicle from 2025, according to three people with knowledge of the developing plans, ramping up output of the vehicle amid a broader strategy rethink. The automaker is considering increasing production of its bZ4X electric crossover by either six or 12

Volvo will use colors to signal the difference between driver-assisted mode and what it calls “unsupervised autonomous driving” mode in its full-electric flagship. The EX90 driver-focused display screen visual through the steering wheel will use green to signal when the car is using assistance solutions such as lane keeping and adaptive cruise control. This color,

BERLIN – Volkswagen Group is entering into direct purchase agreements in unprecedented areas to tackle the worst supply chain shortages the automaker has seen, its purchasing chief Murat Askel said. VW is also building a database to help predict geopolitical, natural and supply chain risks ahead of time, as it did for financial risks after

BEIJING — Toyota will launch a small electric sedan, powered by BYD batteries and produced and sold in China. The Japanese automaker said the car would be called the Toyota bZ3. It did not say when the vehicle will be available in showrooms. It is the second model in the new Beyond Zero (bZ) series

Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume will travel to China next month as part of the automaker’s push to preserve its share of the world’s largest car market, according to people familiar with the plans. Blume will join a high-ranking German delegation led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz on a trip planned around Nov. 4, the people

PARIS — Renault will not reverse its strategy to reduce discounting and get higher transaction prices for its cars despite the continuing threat of inflation, Chief Financial Officer Thierry Pieton said. Renault has made fundamental changes in its business strategy, reducing incentives and aligning model prices to the competition, Pieton told analysts on Friday. Two

PARIS/TOKYO –The sharing of technology has emerged as a sticking point between Renault and Nissan as the companies negotiate an overhaul of their decades-old partnership, two people familiar with discussions told Reuters. The French and Japanese automakers said this month they were in talks about the future of their alliance, including Nissan potentially investing in

LEIPZIG — BMW production chief Milan Nedeljkovic expects stabilizing supply chains to lead to a clear improvement in profitability next year. From a production perspective, Nedeljkovic said he did not expect margins to fall. “Repeated undersupply and needing to re-plan production brought a certain turmoil. A clear improvement in our margins should result purely from

Swedish safety component supplier Autoliv reported a strong third-quarter profit on Friday and said its operating margin would trend toward the upper end of expectations. The Stockholm-based company said its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to $171 million from $99 million a year earlier. It now believes its adjusted operating margin for

MADRID — The Spanish government will offer more European funds than initially planned to investors in the first phase of support of electric mobility projects, ranging from vehicle batteries to cars, and said it sought to work with Volkswagen Group after the German automaker reportedly threatened to pull out. The Industry Ministry said that the

Stellantis has partnered with Norwegian startup Casi to launch a car subscription service called Drivenjoy, initially in the Netherlands. The service will offer about 200 vehicles in the coming months. The Drivenjoy fleet is not entirely electric, although more hybrid and full-electric vehicles will be added in the coming months. Stellantis is touting the partnership

Automakers are investing heavily in autonomous driving technologies, using simulation and digital twins to train, test and validate the deep neural networks running inside the vehicle. Designing software-defined vehicles is a distinctly time-consuming and costly process, requiring input from teams around the world. Traditionally, product development cycles in the automotive industry stretch over many years

LEIPZIG — BMW is testing a burner able to operate on both hydrogen and gas in its paint shop in Leipzig, the automaker said on Thursday, as it also announced an 800-million-euro ($782 million) investment in new battery assembly lines at the plant. The burner, developed together with combustion technology firm Saacke with the aim

BERLIN — Volkswagen Group is looking for an investor to take over its factory in Kaluga, southwest of Moscow, where production was halted soon after the Ukraine war began. VW said it is looking at various scenarios for the future of its business in Russia and one option was to sell the assets to a