Auto News 5

Spain is not playing a low-cost labour game to attract overseas OEMs and suppliers, says its automotive association, but is more concentrating on the efficiency of its factories and solid union agreements.

Porsche Engineering, which has operated the facility since 2012, said the renovation of the 12.6km circular track and dynamic platform for car testing at the Nardo Technical Centre in Apulia, Italy, had been completed and opened officially.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), China's largest automotive lithium-ion battery maker, has forecast a 120-150% annual profit growth in the first half of 2019 amid a booming new energy vehicle (NEV) market.

Volkswagen claims its new six-speed manual, the MQ281, saves up to 5g of CO2 per kilometre, compared with previous transmissions, depending on the engine-gearbox combination.

As trade tensions between the US and EU simmer, a German government minister has visited Daimler's US vehicle manufacturing plant at Tuscaloosa, underscoring the plant's importance to the German engineering giant and the US economy.

Spain's supplier association is underlining why the country is proving so attractive to overseas and domestic producers, who are now grappling with the new challenges of CASE technologies and Industry 4.0.

Swedish EV manufacturer NEVS and autonomous vehicle start-up AutoX have agreed an exclusive partnership to use AutoX's AD technology for NEVS' new vehicle architecture.

News 15 Jul, 2019

England will be the first country in the world to introduce mandatory electric car charging points for new-build homes

News 15 Jul, 2019

Government “prepared to intervene” to force contactless payments on public chargers; Chargemaster announces contactless payment

SEAT Components, working with other company assembly plants in Martorell and Barcelona, has started production of the Volkswagen Group's new MQ281 gearbox.

PSA has posted first-half sales down 12.7% to 1.9m vehicles with China experiencing particular challenges in the face of falling demand.

News 13 Jul, 2019

BMW’s i3 bespoke electric hatchback is unlikely to be replaced as the firm focuses on developing ‘mainstream’ EVs

Toyota Motor Europe (TME) said on Friday (12 July) it would begin testing automated driving (AD) technology on public roads with the launch of programme that will trial its in-house developed systems around the streets of Brussels, where the European distribution operation is based.

News 12 Jul, 2019

MINI bosses eye 2030 as a possible date for the British brand to become fully electric

Ford and and Volkswagen Group have announced an expansion of their alliance to include electric vehicles - and will collaborate with Argo AI to introduce autonomous vehicle technology in the US and Europe. The two companies said the expanded collaboration allows both companies to better serve customers while improving competitiveness and cost and capital efficiencies.

Land Rover's progress remains uneven. Worldwide, sales fell by 10.1 per cent last month yet in Britain the brand enjoyed a record June even with the local market falling by 4.9 per cent. New models such as the L551 Evoque are beginning to make an impact, while a state of the art straight-six petrol engine is now giving the L494 Range Rover Sport a fresh boost.

News Osram's board was supporting an offer for the supplier from a bidding consortium of Bain Capital and The Carlyle Group was the most-read item on just-auto this past week.

Toyota is aiming to build on its partnership with Softbank and the Monet JV to transform from vehicle manufacturer to mobility services provider.

News 12 Jul, 2019

Initiative from London’s Metropolitan police will see drones target dangerous drivers and those taking part in street races

Volkswagen Group June 2019 sales rose 1.6% year on year to 974,400 vehicles, driven by China where volume rose 15%