Tag: us automotive industry news

Braking defect prompts Tesla’s big recall in China

By on April 19, 2026

Tesla Inc. recalled virtually every car it’s sold in China due to a braking and acceleration defect that may increase crashes and safety risks. The automaker will deploy an over-the-air software fix to more than 1.1 million vehicles produced in Shanghai from January 2019 to April this year, plus some models imported into China, the State Administration for Market Regulation said Friday in a statement. The defect relates to Tesla’s regenerative braking system, which makes use of energy created when drivers take their foot off the accelerator by sending power to the car’s battery. The vehicles haven’t allowed drivers to…

Cupra announced Raval as the name of small electric hatchback

By on April 14, 2026

Also on Thursday, the Seat announced record operating profit for the first quarter of 2023, at 144 million euros, compared with five million euros in the first quarter of 2022. Revenue was 3.6 billion euros, 48 percent higher than the first quarter of 2022. Cupra began as a trim line of Seat and became its own sub-brand under former CEO Luca de Meo, now CEO of Renault Group. Cupra is now Seat’s main growth driver, Seat said. Seat said Cupra sold 46,600 units during the first quarter of 2023, 83 percent more than in the same period in 2022. Seat…

Ford to alter China strategy, Farley says

By on April 1, 2026

Farley said the region remains key to Ford. “We believe that not only is it the biggest EV market in the world, but customers digitally are ahead of the rest of the world, and so it’s a really important market for us,” he said. “And what we really see in our presence there is battery technology, digital experiences for the customer and advanced products, both software and hardware integrated.” Earlier this year Ford shook up its China leadership team, promoting Sam Wu to CEO following the retirement of Anning Chen. Wu previously served as managing director and COO. Chen became…

Robotaxi companies like Cruise, Waymo, Baidu seek scale

By on February 21, 2026

Robotaxis operate like ride-hailing services. Both incorporate data analytics to determine where rides will be needed, maximizing the utilization of their platforms. Customers hail them via apps. The similarities end there. “It is an entirely different business than ride-hailing,” said Alisyn Malek, CEO of consulting firm Middle Third and former COO of self-driving tech startup May Mobility. Unlike Uber and Lyft, which rely on independent drivers who own and maintain their own vehicles, robotaxi providers must account for vehicle ownership and maintenance costs, whether they absorb themselves or partner with fleet management companies. That business is inclined to conventional taxi…

Leasing a Nissan Leaf just got cheaper

By on February 15, 2026

Nissan was an early proponent of local sourcing for the Leaf, when it constructed a dedicated battery plant next to its Smyrna vehicle assembly that produced its own battery cells. Japanese supplier Envision AESC now operates that battery production center on the Smyrna site. But now, to qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit, at least 40 percent of the value of the EV battery’s critical minerals must be extracted or processed in the US or in a country where the US has a free-trade agreement, or from materials recycled in North America. In addition, at least half of…

Ford Oakville plant’s switch to EVs will start in 2024

By on November 28, 2025

Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday said the previously announced $1.3 billion transformation of its Oakville Assembly Plant for electric vehicle manufacturing will begin in the second quarter of next year and take about six months to complete. During that time some of the 3,000 workers at the Ontario, Canada, the site will be furloughed, although the company expects to retain virtually all of the employees when the plant comes back online at the end of 2024. Ford said the site, which currently builds the gasoline-powered Edge and Lincoln Nautilus crossovers, will be renamed the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex and include…

EV startups are burning through cash. Can they attract more investment?

By on August 11, 2025

In September 2020, Hindenburg Research released its report on Nikola, saying it was “an intricate fraud.” The company acknowledged a truck appearing to cruise down a desert road under its own power in a video was not. The SEC launched an inquiry. Ultimately, Trevor Milton, Nikola’s founder, was convicted of fraud. Nikola settled with the SEC for $125 million. In 2021, J Capital Research published a report calling Faraday Future “nothing but a bucket to collect money from US investors and pour it into the black hole of debt created by its founder.” A company spokesperson said “the substantive allegations…

Ford job cuts in Europe: Where the ax will fall

By on September 12, 2024

A spokesperson at the automaker’s headquarters in Michigan said on Monday that discussions with the German works councils were continuing and that the company needs to be “more competitive” as it transitions to EVs. He would not comment on specific job plans. Workers were told to expect concrete numbers of job losses from the automaker in mid-February, according to Cologne’s daily paper, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. Industrial action threats Ford’s plans triggered a union threat of Europewide disruption. “If negotiations between the works council and management in coming weeks do not ensure the future of workers, we will join the process.…