Auto News 5

Tesla said it would fight a class-action lawsuit filed against it earlier this week claiming the electric automaker's California production plant was a "hotbed for racist behavior."

News 15 Nov, 2017

Aston's vice president took aim at "misleading" reports claiming the brand would move production out of the UK if there was no Brexit deal

Kia veteran Yong Kew Park, who oversaw the brand's rise to the No. 2 in spot in Russia, has been appointed president of the automaker's European operations.

A fifth round of negotiations on rules governing NAFTA trading relations get underway today, with participants focused on arrangements for automotive trade between member countries.

BYD, the Chinese electric-vehicle maker backed by Warren Buffett, plans to open its first assembly plant in Canada, anticipating a surge in demand for electric trucks.

Although only about 80 of the brand's 180 UK dealers have signed up to sell it so far, Kia's new Stinger, in those showrooms from January, is certainly going to change its image a bit. Suddenly, the maker of staid but worthy family and fleet cars, like Rio, Picanto, Soul and Sportage, pitches a flagship five door, grand tourer with a turbocharged, 365bhp, 3.3-litre petrol V6, capable of 0-60mph acceleration in a claimed 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 168mph.

Opel plans to change the incentive system used by its European dealers to promote sales of higher-priced vehicles. The plan includes introducing a new top trim line called Ultimate.

ZF is ploughing EUR34m (US$40m) into its North East England camera plant in Peterlee as it ramps up new production lines and looks to add a further 80 jobs to the current 880-strong workforce.

News 15 Nov, 2017

New BMW trademark applications for the iX1 to iX9 model names suggest more electric SUVs are on the way

PSA chief Carlos Tavares has said governments and legislators need to stop imposing unrealistic emissions targets on carmakers - they should leave it to the experts to reduce CO2 emissions.

As Groupe PSA unveiled its global mobility strategy in Paris, chairman and CEO Carlos Tavares said he has not ruled out engineering and building cars specifically for car-sharing in the future.

In October, Skoda delivered 107,400 vehicles to customers worldwide (October 2016: 97,900 vehicles; +9.7%).

Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America (MBRDNA) will be opening the doors to their sixth R&D lab this year.

Ford premium brand Lincoln is putting Continental's head-up display with digital micromirror device (DMD) technology into production for the first time.

Jaguar Land Rover India has announced the start of local manufacturing of Jaguar's first performance SUV, the F-Pace.

Hyundai Motor has signed a technical partnership with Michelin to equip next-generation tyres for electric and luxury vehicles. The co-operative deal links the research and development work of the two companies and will enable Hyundai Motor to strengthen its capabilities in tyre performance technology.

Deutsche Telekom is offering owners of cars built in 2006 or later a service that will monitor driving data and turn the vehicle into a Wi-Fi hotspot, as the company taps into demand for connected devices.

VW said it had obeyed the law in the payment of its works council chief, whose office was raided along with those of the company's chairman, finance chief and head of personnel.

Honda and Aston Martin have warned British lawmakers that automakers in the UK could endure "semi-catastrophic" production interruptions if the EU stops accepting the nation's vehicle certification program after Brexit.

The Tuesday raid was related to suspicions of overpayments and tax evasion for VW works council chief Bernd Osterloh, a company spokesman said.