Tag: us automotive industry news

Ford job cuts in Europe: Where the ax will fall

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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.…
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McLaren’s electric SUV must wait for better battery tech

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SUVs have given ultraluxury companies a solid revenue boost. For example, in the first quarter, the Bentayga SUV accounted for 42 percent of Bentley sales, while the Lamborghini Urus accounted for over half the brand’s sales in the same period. McLaren Automotive Group’s loss increased to 335 million pounds ($433 million) in 2022, up from a 136 million pound loss a year earlier as the company struggled to roll out its core Artura V-6 plug-in hybrid model amid supply chain constraints. The Artura is still facing delays in the US, McLaren’s largest global market. McLaren sold 2,188 cars in 2022,…
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Investing in Quality Auto Glass Restores Your Vehicle’s Value

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Just like dents and dings happen on the doors, hood, and body of your vehicle, mishaps also affect the auto glass. Damaged auto glass detracts from the vehicle’s aesthetic appeal, and it also impacts safety while driving. If you plan to sell your vehicle, investing in quality auto glass restores its value in several key ways. What Dealers Consider When Valuing Your Vehicle No matter whether you engage in a private sale or you plan to sell your vehicle to a used car dealer, several factors go into its value. According to Consumer Reports, fixing auto glass defects helps restore…
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EV, battery plants flock to the South without consumer incentives

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South Carolina, which has received $10 billion in EV investment from Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and others, and Kentucky, which has received $10 billion in EV investments from Ford, SK On and AESC, fell below the level required to be included in the ranking. South Carolina earned 14 of the 100 points available. Kentucky earned 5.5. California, at the top of the list, earned 88. “I definitely think that the southern states, or the states that are receiving a lot of this new investment, are missing out,” Huether said. “It would be great if the drivers in those states could actually…
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Nio joins Tesla in cutting prices and ends free battery swapping

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Nio has been offering the battery swapping service for free at least four times per month to existing owners. It is among only a handful of EV makers betting on battery swapping as a way to power electric cars. Rival Tesla dismissed battery swapping as “riddled with problems and not suitable for widescale use.” Nio said in February it would accelerate the expansion of its battery swapping network with a plan to build 1,000 swapping stations in China this year to bring the total number of such sites to 2,300 by year-end. The money-losing company’s investments in battery swapping stations,…
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2024 Ford Ranger Raptor to boost ICE profits at little extra cost

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“When you can get scale and engineering efficiencies through a lot of re-use of parts, you can really do a lot of things both from a business perspective and also from a customer perspective, making sure we’re bringing them new and exciting products ,” John Emmert, Ford’s general manager of North America trucks, told Automotive News. “A lot of our enthusiast products create a halo for the rest of the brand.” The Raptor line started as a skunkworks project on the 2010 F-150 that was well received by customers looking for off-road performance. Such buyers also exist in the midsize…
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Braking defect prompts Tesla’s big recall in China

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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…
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Cupra announced Raval as the name of small electric hatchback

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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…
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