Europe

PRAGUE — Hyundai plans to launch a full-electric, entry-level car in Europe – just not yet. The automaker is working on a battery-powered minicar, but it will take some time to develop a production-ready version, said Hyundai Motor Europe’s marketing chief, Andreas-Christoph Hofmann. Automakers in Europe are developing affordable small electric cars as lawmakers tighten

Saudi Arabia’s PIF sovereign wealth fund will become the second-largest shareholder of Aston Martin with a nearly 17 percent stake in a capital raise aimed at paying off debt and shoring up its business. Aston Martin said it planned to raise 653 million pounds ($773.15 million) through PIF’s 78 million pound investment and a separate

European passenger car sales fell 17 percent in June to 1.07 million, the lowest monthly tally since 1996 as persistent supply chain snarls and record inflation afflict the industry. Volkswagen Group was the hardest-hit major automaker, with registrations dropping 24 percent from a year ago, according to data published on Friday by industry association ACEA.

PRAGUE — The use of hydrogen is a viable alternative to battery-powered vehicles in the race to reduce vehicle emissions, but industry observers acknowledge that much more needs to be done in building infrastructure, educating consumers and governments, and maturing the technology. At Automotive News Europe’s congress in Prague on Thursday, Guido Dumarey, CEO of

SHANGHAI/BEIJING — Volkswagen will stick to its goal of doubling sales of its ID electric vehicles this year despite COVID-19 disruptions, with its China chief, Stephan Wollenstein, calling the target “promising.” The ID series, which VW produces at its Chinese joint ventures with SAIC Motor and FAW Group, is driving the automaker’s electric vehicle ambitions

BRUSSELS — The European Commission has approved a 5.4-billion-euro ($5.4 billion) hydrogen project jointly funded by 15 EU countries and 35 companies including Alstom and Daimler, to boost the bloc’s competitiveness and economy. Called IPCEI Hy2Tech, the project hopes to attract another 8.8 billion euros in private investments. The 27-country bloc has in recent years

Volkswagen Group’s newly formed battery business is working to overcome supply-chain headwinds as it ramps up production and prepares for an initial public offering. PowerCo, which bundles the automaker’s global battery efforts, is trying to secure raw materials amid surging prices and logistics issues, according to the unit’s Chief Financial Officer Kai Alexander Mueller. VW

Aston Martin is closing in on a deal to raise over 500 million pounds ($589 million) by bringing in Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund as a major shareholder and launching a rights issue for investors, the Financial Times reported. The proposal will result in Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) investing up to 200 million pounds

PRAGUE — The CEO of wire harness manufacturer Leoni, Aldo Kamper, praised the efforts of the company’s 7,000 employees in Western Ukraine for producing components under pressure. Speaking at the Automotive News Europe Congress in Prague on Thursday, Kamper called wire harnesses “the nervous system of the car” composed of hundreds of wires totaling between

Nineteen young and talented automotive executives on Wednesday received their Rising Star awards from Automotive News Europe at a gala awards dinner in Prague. Since the program was started in 2011, Automotive News Europe has awarded more than 220 Rising Stars. The 12th annual Rising Stars awards recognize fast-climbing auto leaders who are already taking

Polestar increased sales of its electric vehicles by 125 percent to 21,200 during the first half, nearly matching its full-year volume from last year. The Volvo Cars EV subsidiary, which joined the Nasdaq last month in an $890 million deal, sold 29,000 vehicles last year and aims to increase that total to 290,000 by 2025.

SHANGHAI — Zhejiang Geely Holding Geely on Tuesday unveiled a new electric pickup truck, targeting growing demand from city residents as coronavirus curbs fuel an interest in outdoor activities such as camping. The Volvo owner also launched a new brand, Radar, at an online event on Tuesday where it showcased the first pickup, the RD6.

BERLIN — Mercedes-Benz is facing a class action-style lawsuit which alleges that the automaker knowingly manipulated diesel-emissions tests by installing defeat devices. Germany’s largest consumer protection group, the VZBZ, accused the automaker of installing devices in its GLK and GLC SUV models that in tests made it appear the vehicles produced lower pollutant levels than

Mercedes-Benz sold 16 percent fewer cars during the second quarter as COVID-19-related lockdowns in China and a prolonged shortage of semiconductors continued to weigh on production. Deliveries in China, the world’s largest car market, declined 25 percent, while sales in Europe fell 10 percent and North America saw a dip of 3 percent in the

MEXICO CITY — Continental will invest $40 million to build a hydraulic hose plant in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, the company said in a statement. The plant, which is set to open in 2024 and hire around 150 people, will also produce braided and spiral wire components and help supply chain

Automotive News Europe honors the winners of the 2022 Rising Stars awards. Through July 13, the 19 winners will be featured. The Rising Star for in the Entrepreneur category is Florian Petit, who is founder of lidar specialist Blickfeld. For his full profile click here. The 2022 Rising Stars winners will be honored in Prague

British International Investment and Mahindra will each invest up to $250 million in the automaker’s new electric vehicle unit, as Mahindra aims to lead sales of electric SUVs in the country. BII will have a 4.8 percent ownership in the business, which will focus on electric passenger vehicles. The unit, with a $9.1 billion valuation,

Volkswagen Group’s software unit Cariad believes one of the ways the automaker can monetize future software developments is by offering customers pay-as-you-go autonomous driving technology. “There is a new business model already out there — a subscription model, or function-on-demand — where you can drive autonomously if you want, for the next 50 miles. We

Volvo Cars has announced it will leave Europe’s main automotive lobbying group, ACEA, by the end of this year. The automaker, which aims to be electric-only by 2030, said in a statement Friday that its sustainability strategy is “not fully aligned with ACEA’s positioning and way of working at this stage. We therefore believe it

ZF Friedrichshafen has named Holger Klein, a current management board member focusing on China, as its next chairman and CEO, succeeding Wolf-Henning Scheider, who will leave the company at the start of 2023. ZF also said that Chief Financial Officer Konstantin Sauer and Commercial Vehicles chief Wilhelm Rehn would leave the company. Those changes take

BERLIN — BMW sales fell 13 percent in the first half of 2022 amid chip shortages and intermittent lockdowns in China. From January to June, 1.16 million BMWs, Mini and Rolls-Royces vehicles were delivered, the group said in a statement on Friday. The figure was in contrast to the first half of 2021, the strongest

Volkswagen Group has added a slew of additional underwriters as it pushes ahead with the planned initial public offering of its Porsche sports car unit, people with knowledge of the matter said. BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley were selected as senior joint bookrunners, the people said. Barclays, Banco Santander, Societe Generale and UniCredit

BEIJING — China has announced a raft of new steps to spur consumer demand for cars, saying it would consider extending a tax break for electric vehicles and outlining plans to build more charging stations and encourage lower charging fees. The plans were announced by the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday as part of a

Germany needs more foreign workers and more efficient policies to integrate them into the labor market if the country is to keep its social security systems from collapsing in the future, Continental said. “The impact of demographic change, decarbonization and digitalization is huge,” Ariane Reinhart, the board member at the supplier responsible for human relations

MOSCOW – Volkswagen Group will close one of two of its production sites in Russia, where it was assembling VW and Skoda cars under contract with Russian GAZ Group, a trade union said, citing the company’s message to the plant’s staff. VW announced in March that production at its Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod sites would

FRANKFURT — German new-car registrations fell 18 percent to 224,558 in June, according to data released by the KBA motor transport authority. Problems with parts supplies stemming from the war in Ukraine and China’s COVID-19 lockdowns have led to limited availability of vehicles for consumers in Europe’s largest auto market. Mercedes-Benz, Dacia, Alfa Romeo and

PARIS — Valeo has completed its acquisition of Siemens’ 50 percent share of an electric motors joint venture and will integrate it into its powertrain systems division, the supplier said Tuesday. The JV, Valeo-Siemens eAutomotive, was established in 2016 to develop and sell electric motors, axles and powertrain electronics. Valeo said in February that it

Lithium and battery producers warned the European Union that a proposal to classify the metal as a reproductive toxin could severely hurt Europe’s burgeoning electric vehicle industry. The material is a key part of EV batteries and widely used in pharmaceuticals, industrial lubricants and specialty glasses. A proposal being considered by the European Commission this

Automotive News Europe honors the winners of the 2022 Rising Stars awards. Through July 13, the 19 winners will be featured. The Rising Star for Sustainability is Nari Kahle, who is head of strategic programs at Volkswagen Group software arm Cariad. For her full profile click here. The 2022 Rising Stars winners will be honored

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is in early talks with Aston Martin about taking a stake in the business that could be worth 200 million pounds ($243.5 million), the Financial Times reported. Shares in Aston Martin, which had fallen as much as 20 percent to a record low on Thursday, trimmed losses to trade 9