Europe

Almost a decade after playing home to Europe’s first mass-produced electric car, the UK is at risk of becoming a footnote in the global auto industry’s shift to battery-powered vehicles. The UK lacks the battery cell and packaging factories automakers will need to support their transition away from the internal combustion engine. In what could be

SHANGHAI — The Chinese battery giant CATL said it will start supplying cylindrical cells to BMW from 2025 to power its new series of electric vehicles. The battery maker has signed an agreement with BMW in which it is nominated as the supplier of the cylindrical cells for the automaker, CATL said without elaborating. BMW

BERLIN — Germany’s Economy Ministry is refusing to provide Volkswagen with guarantees to cover new investments in China because of concerns over human rights, a German magazine reported. The report in Der Spiegel on Friday quoted a ministry spokesperson as saying that it had “for human rights reasons” rejected four applications from a company. The

TOKYO — Toyota cut its global production plan for June for the second time this week and signaled its full-year output estimate could be lowered, highlighting the pain from the supply-chain crunch and China lockdown. Global automakers’ production has been hit by the microchip shortage and also by China’s COVID-19 lockdowns. The reduction by Toyota –

Rolls-Royce is concerned ongoing supply chain issues could prolong waiting lists that already stretch into the second half of next year for some models. Parent BMW has prioritized feeding semiconductors Rolls-Royce’s way because of the contribution it makes to the group’s profitability, CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes told Bloomberg Television. Recent lockdowns in China have forced the

DAVOS, Switzerland — Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess said he sees “clear improvement” in semiconductor supplies and expects the automaker’s global production can recover during the rest of this year. Diess, speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland, said disruptions to VW’s supply chain in Ukraine are also easing.

MODENA, Italy – The Maserati MC20 Cielo, the roadster version of the MC20 coupe, looks set to help Stellantis’ only luxury brand to return to a healthy profitability level.  The MC20 Cielo will be Stellantis’ most expensive model. In Germany, Europe’s biggest market, it will cost at 260,000 euros ($277,300). The supercar is expected to

PARIS — Renault has received several partnership proposals for the combustion-engine unit it plans to create alongside one dedicated to electric vehicles and software, two sources familiar with the matter said. Renault plans to separate its electric and conventional car businesses, creating two entities to manage the shift towards fossil-free vehicles. “The group has already

Sales of electrified cars – full-electric and plug-in hybrids — doubled globally in 2021 to 6.6 million, but that rapid growth has further stretched supply chains already threatened by the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, the International Energy Agency said in its annual electric vehicle outlook report. Essential materials such as lithium, nickel and

Vietnamese EV maker VinFast is shifting its headquarters to Singapore as the fledgling company readies for a public listing and the first production run of cars for U.S. and European markets, its CEO, Le Thi Thu Thuy, told Reuters. The three-year-old unit of conglomerate Vingroup JSC will start building its VF8 SUV next week, its

BMW’s production chief said the carmaker will meet its output targets for 2022 even as congestion at Chinese ports, closures in Ukraine and other supply-chain problems continue to weigh on sales. Speaking in an interview, Milan Nedeljkovic said BMW is switching to alternative Chinese ports and modes of transportation to deal with the disruptions caused

Mercedes-Benz will cut 15 to 20 percent of its dealerships in Germany, and about 10 percent globally, as part of broad overhaul of its distribution network, executives said. Mercedes is also moving toward a more direct-sales – or “agency” – model, and is targeting 80 percent of European sales through this method by 2025, with

HAMBURG – Volkswagen Group supervisory board has called on management to present a reworked plan for the automaker’s software division, which forms the backbone of its strategy but has run into problems, two people familiar with the matter said. The board is expecting an update at the last supervisory board meeting before the summer break,

TURIN — Stellantis is aiming to make 50 percent of Lancia sales online as the automaker gears up to relaunch the premium brand across Europe, Lancia CEO Luca Napolitano said. The 116-year-old brand, which had shrunk to just one model in one market — its home of Italy — plans to launch a new Ypsilon

Mercedes-Benz’s new, more luxury-focused MMA entry-level platform will launch in 2024 with an all-electric model in 2024, the company said. The “electric first” platform, which can also accept internal-combustion engines, will debut a new generation of technology and set the standard for future Mercedes architectures to come, CEO Ola Kallenius said.  Mercedes briefly showed a silhouette

BERLIN — A German court has put a nationwide sales and production ban on Ford cars able to establish internet connection as part of a lawsuit over the violation of wireless technology patents. The verdict by the Munich regional court is not legally binding and can still be appealed, the court said, adding a 227

Mercedes-Benz can now focus exclusively on passenger cars following the Daimler Trucks spinoff in 2021, and strong first-quarter results appear to be proof that strategy is working.  Mercedes is achieving those results as it rolls out its lineup of dedicated full-electric cars, including the EQS sedan and SUV, and the EQE sedan and expected SUV.

Russia could resume production of the Soviet-era Moskvich brand using a Chinese platform from automaker JAC in partnership with truckmaker Kamaz, two sources said. Kamaz is in talks with its partner, China’s JAC, about using its design, engineering and production platform to produce the brand, the sources told Reuters. Kamaz and Moskvich declined to comment.