Europe

Valeo agreed to acquire Siemens’ stake in their 5-year-old electric-car components venture to bolster its position in the rapidly expanding EV market. Valeo will buy the 50 percent holding for 277 million euros ($317 million), the supplier said in a statement. The deal will raise the French company’s net debt by 741 million euros. The

BERLIN — Production at Tesla’s German factory will not start until mid-March at the earliest, local broadcaster RBB reported. Authorities are currently still reviewing the factory’s safety precautions, RBB reported, without citing any sources. A spokesperson for the state environment ministry said “we do not specify a concrete date,” but “we are in the final

BERLIN — Volkswagen has implemented a quota system in its German retail network for its ID battery-electric cars amid the microchips crunch. VW has been forced to pause production of ID cars on some occasions at its plants in Zwickau and Dresden, Germany because of the global semiconductor shortage. Under the quota system, dealerships with

Volvo Cars will launch production of a new electric crossover at its U.S. assembly plant in early 2025. The model, as described by two sources familiar with the plans, will slot between the midsize XC60 and large XC90 crossover in size. The EV is based on a new electric platform and will feature advanced autonomous

BERLIN — Volkswagen’s ID Buzz full-electric van will be start below 60,000 euros ($69,000) in Germany when it goes on sale in September, company sources said. The price for the passenger version of the van will be similar to combustion engine versions of the VW Multivan T6.1 with similar equipment, sources told Automotive News Europe

MILAN — Stellantis has halted production for one day at its Sevel plant in Italy, Europe’s largest van assembly facility, due to a shortage of engines supplied by a plant of the group in France, a union representative said. Sevel produces light commercial vehicles under the Fiat, Peugeot and Citroen brands. Fiat-branded vans are fitted

PARIS — Faurecia said its new combination with Hella would result in it aiming for sales of above 33 billion euros ($37.72 billion) in 2025, and an increased annual cost savings target of 250 million euros. Faurecia, which produces seating, electronics and other car interior components, issued those financial targets as it marked the completion

BERLIN – Volkswagen Group does not expect the global shortage of semiconductors to end this year although it should further ease slightly in the second half, the automaker’s head of purchasing said. “The volatile situation will affect us at least beyond the first half of this year,” Murat Aksel, the head of procurement for VW

SAN FRANCISCO — Automakers including GM Motors, Ford and Hyundai predict a near two-year chip constraint will ease in the second half of 2022, but automotive chipmakers, on the other hand, expect a recovery to take longer. During their quarterly results reporting over the past two weeks, GM CEO Mary Barra projected the semiconductor shortage would

Volkswagen Group plans to cut nearly all night shifts at its main plant in Germany as Europe’s largest carmaker continues to battle the semiconductor crisis. VW will cut the night shift, which provides workers extra pay, from the start of the second quarter on three assembly lines in Wolfsburg, the automaker said Friday, confirming a

PARIS — Peugeot’s global sales increased by 5 percent in 2021 to 1,214,851, the Stellantis brand said, driven by strong gains outside of Europe, its biggest market, where sales grew only slightly. Sales in Peugeot’s newly enlarged Europe region, which includes Eurasia, were 943,805. That represents a gain of about 3 percent for what was

MOSCOW — New-car sales in Russia fell for the seventh month in a row in January, the Association of European Businesses (AEB) said, as the sector continues to suffer from a global shortage of some parts despite a recovery in domestic demand. Sales of new cars fell 3.7 percent to 91,662 units, the AEB said.

STOCKHOLM — Volvo Cars and battery manufacturer Northvolt will build their joint battery manufacturing plant in Gothenburg, western Sweden, the two companies said. The factory will employ as many as 3,000 people and produce up to 50 gigawatt-hours of cells a year — enough to supply around half a million cars.  It will make battery

Lithium ion batteries are a key part of the current move to electrification for automakers . With China expected to continue dominating production of lithium ion cells, the West is now hoping to win the race for a vastly improved successor. European automakers spending billions of euros in pursuit of battery breakthroughs are increasingly focusing

BERLIN — Opel is hiring several hundred temporary workers to help deliver its new Astra compact car. The move is in part to compensate for workers off sick with COVID-19 amid the spread of the Omicron variant, an Opel spokesperson told German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche. Opel, which is owned by Stellantis and operates three plants

Global auto sales will improve somewhat in 2022, analyst firm LMC Automotive said, but semiconductor supply shortages will continue to constrain production at least through the third quarter. Overall, light vehicle sales are forecast to increase by 6 percent to 85 million, managing director Pete Kelly said Tuesday during LMC’s annual sales and production forecast

WASHINGTON — Tesla. is expected to recall 53,822 U.S. vehicles with the company’s Full Self-Driving (Beta) software that may allow some models to conduct “rolling stops” and not come to a complete stop at some intersections posing a safety risk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the recall covers some 2016-2022 Model S and

Aston Martin, looking to expand the appeal of its bestselling vehicle in years, the DBX SUV, is adding a super-high-performance version that accelerates to 60 mph (97 kph) in just 3.1 seconds. That level of performance in what Aston calls the “world’s most powerful SUV” comes at a price. When the DBX707 arrives in the

PARIS — Faurecia has completed its acquisition of a controlling stake in lighting supplier Hella in a 5.3 billion euro ($5.95 billion) deal that is one of the biggest in the European auto parts industry in the past three years.  Faurecia will hold 79.5 percent of Hella, the Paris-based supplier said Monday. The deal included

PARIS — Stellantis could cut up to 1,400 jobs in France this year as it continues to adapt to a changing industry, three union sources said. The automaker, which was created a year ago by the the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler, cut 1,380 jobs in France last year through voluntary buyouts, according

MILAN — Stellantis said its unit FCA Italy and other Italian subsidiaries had repaid a 6.3 billion euro ($7 billion) loan to Italy’s top lender Intesa Sanpaolo. The loan was “instrumental” in the restart of industrial production after the COVID-19 outbreak and provided continuity for key investment projects, the company said in a statement on

BERLIN — Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the automaker has stopped work for now on a compact electric car, which previous reports said was being developed for the European market. “We are not currently working on a $25,000 car,” Musk said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Jan. 26. “At some point we will.

BERLIN — BMW will end production of its i3 full-electric car in July as buyers shun the once ground-breaking model even though battery-powered cars are becoming more popular. Originally, the compact hatchback was due to be produced at the plant in Leipzig, Germany, until 2024 due to the high demand for EVs. However, last summer

Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius is pursuing a higher valuation for the luxury-car maker as the manufacturer shifts deeper into electric vehicles packed with digital gadgets.  Following the spinoff of Daimler’s truck unit in December, the automaker will change its name to Mercedes-Benz on Feb. 1, to signal its segue to a nimble standalone unit tackling

European plans to gradually phase out diesel powertrains over the next decade are already taking a toll on Italy’s car industry, with a wave of job cuts at suppliers and parts makers around the country.  German supplier Robert Bosch on Thursday said it would eliminate 700 jobs over the next five years at its plant

MILAN — Stellantis said its unit FCA Italy and other Italian subsidiaries had repaid a 6.3 billion euro ($7 billion) loan to Italy’s top lender Intesa Sanpaolo. The loan was “instrumental” in the restart of industrial production after the COVID-19 outbreak and provided continuity for key investment projects, the company said in a statement on

SHANGHAI — Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) rebuked Stellantis for announcing plans to increase a stake in their joint venture without the Chinese automaker’s approval. In a statement on Thursday, Stellantis said it was planning to increase to 75 percent its stake in the joint venture with GAC, which produces Jeep vehicles. Stellantis and GAC currently

Nissan will launch a full-electric successor to its Micra small car that will be based on a new EV platform shared with the upcoming Renault 5. The Micra will be designed by Nissan, engineered by alliance partner Renault and built at Renault’s ElectriCity network of factories in Douai, France. The battery-electric hatchback will use Renault-Nissan’s

Tesla‘s quarterly revenue rose as the world’s most valuable automaker sold a record number of vehicles to customers despite supply chain headwinds. Net income attributable to shareholders surged to $2.32 billion, compared with $270 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 65 percent to $17.72 billion in the fourth quarter, from $10.74 billion a year earlier.

PARIS — French auto supplier Valeo said on Wednesday it had appointed deputy CEO Christophe Périllat as its new chief executive, confirming previously announced plans, as the company posted preliminary 2021 results including disappointing cashflow numbers. Valeo said outgoing CEO Jacques Aschenbroich, who became CEO in 2009, will continue to act as chairman of the