Europe

Western Europe’s electrified vehicle sales pulled ahead of China’s last month after countries including Germany and France boosted government subsidies to stimulate demand that had been decimated by the pandemic. The roughly 500,000 plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles registered in Europe during the first seven months exceeded China’s sales by about 14,000 units, according to

European battery makers are gearing up to take advantage of massive “green” stimulus packages unveiled since the coronavirus pandemic though many acknowledge it will be tough to match the Asian giants that dominate the mainstream market. While Sweden’s Northvolt, and more recently France’s Verkor, are making a play for large-scale production, other European companies are

Tesla’s vehicle sales collapsed in Europe in July as the electric-car maker continues to struggle to match demand with supply. Deliveries fell in all of the region’s big EV markets as the U.S. company prioritized sales in its home market. Tesla is losing ground in an EV market that is growing fast after European governments

Ford of Europe has recalled all models of its Kuga plug-in hybrid built up until June 26 after a number of vehicles caught fire. Until the recall is completed, Ford is asking Kuga owners not to drive the car in electric-only mode and not to charge the battery externally. It says the vehicle should only

TOKYO — Japan and Britain agreed to lift auto tariffs for a post-Brexit trade agreement in 2026 despite Japan’s push to lift the tariffs earlier, according to a report in the Nikkei Asian Review. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is currently in negotiations with British Trade Minister Liz Truss in London. Truss said in a

Robert Bosch is combining its automotive software and electronics activities into a new division, in an effort to reduce complexity and speed up development. The division, cross-domain computing solutions, draws employees from the supplier’s multimedia, powertrain solutions, chassis systems control and automotive electronics divisions. Harald Kroeger, the Bosch management board member who responsible for the

A lot can happen in two-and-a-half years. In early 2018, Georg Schaeffler became Germany’s richest person as shares of Continental, the vehicle supplier in which he and his mother — Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler-Thumann — own a major stake, surged in price. At the time, their combined fortune totaled $35 billion. They are now worth about a

ZF Friedrichshafen expects to record positive adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the year despite a loss of 177 million euros ($209 million) on an adjusted basis in the first half, CEO Wolf-Henning Scheider said.  On a nonadjusted basis, the supplier had an operating loss of 640 million euros in the half, compared

PARIS — Free2Move, the mobility service business developed by PSA Group, now has the capacity to start to court outside investors,  CEO Brigitte Courtehoux said. Created as a brand in 2016, the business became a fully fledged legal entity within PSA Group last week. It offers a range of services, which include taxi rides and

Continental reported a second-quarter operating loss of 829 million euros ($980 million) as global vehicle production fell by 45 percent. The supplier said it could not give a detailed 2020 guidance because of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Continental said Wednesday that revenue, adjusted operating profit and free cash flow are expected to significantly

New car registrations in Spain rose 1.1 percent in July, helped by a government scrapping plan that was approved in mid-June. There were 117,929 sales in the month, according to industry association ANFAC. It was the first monthly sales increase in 2020, as demand started slow and plunged between March and June because of COVID-19

Tesla could be on track to complete its new plant near Berlin more quickly than its Shanghai facility, according to a local government minister. The U.S. electric car maker has said it wants to finish the factory in Gruenheide by the middle of 2021, and faster than the Chinese operation, which went up in less

FRANKFURT – Volkswagen Group is not done reshuffling its management, CEO Herbert Diess told a German newspaper in an interview. “We are 80 percent done with our personnel decisions. Some outstanding decisions have been prepared and we will implement them in a planned manner,” Diess said in the interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published on Friday.

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk last spoke to Automotive News in January 2015, when he joined Publisher Jason Stein on the World Congress stage. Since then, Musk has slogged through “production hell,” run afoul of stock regulators by tweeting he had secured funding to take Tesla private and seen the value of his electric car

ROME — Italy’s latest stimulus package, aimed at helping the economy overcome the coronavirus pandemic, will include assistance for the auto and tourism sectors, Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said. The government has said it will present the measures, worth a total 25 billion euros ($29.32 billion), in an emergency decree early in August. A source

Renault swung to a record first-half loss as the French automaker grappled with a sharp market downturn and increasingly dismal results from partner Nissan. The 7.29 billion euro ($8.58 billion) net loss underlines the challenges facing the automaker, which is slashing costs and trying to repair relations with its Japanese alliance partner. It refrained from

LONDON — Aston Martin reported a wider first-half loss and steep cash outflows as the UK automaker invested in the launch of its debut SUV, the DBX, which has started to arrive at dealerships. Early signs from China, a key sales market for the all-important DBX, are positive, Aston Martin said Wednesday, without providing specifics.

PSA Group Executive Vice President and Europe Region Director Maxime Picat will be part of an Automotive News Europe Congress panel, The Road Ahead for Europe. It will be available via webcast on Thursday, July 30 at 14:00 CEST. As head of Europe for PSA, Picat has led the France-based group to industry-leading profits and

The European auto industry faces a long list of challenges: stagnant growth, tightening environmental regulations, and a transition to electrification and other capital-intensive technologies. This spring, the coronavirus pandemic shuttered factories and showrooms, and disrupted supply networks, leading to a virtual halt to sales in most of Europe’s largest markets. Sales and production are starting

TURIN – Former Seat design director Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos is set to join Renault, a source close to the matter told Automotive News Europe. Mesonero-Romanos, 52, will join the French automaker “to strengthen the design team,” the source said, adding that he will report to Renault Group design boss Laurens van den Acker. Mesonero-Romanos will reunite

Renault has had a “significant” breakthrough in cost reduction by co-developing its new CMF-EV electric vehicle platform with alliance partner Nissan. “We have achieved a 30 percent reduction on the platform cost, we have reduced the battery cost by 30 percent and the e-motor by 20 percent,” Jean-Paul Drai, Renault Group’s product development director for

Volvo Cars will not reach its goal of selling 800,000 vehicles globally in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. “There will probably be a year delay,” CEO Hakan Samuelsson said. “Before the pandemic we were on track to reach that or come very close to that.” Volvo would also fail to set a global sales

Volvo Cars increased global sales of its plug-in hybrids by 80 percent in the first half led by strong demand in Europe. The sales surge put Volvo in position to reach its target of having electrified models account for 20 percent of its worldwide volume this year. “In the first half 14 percent of the

Waymo and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles first partnered on building autonomous vehicles four years ago, and the result has been the self-driving minivan, now a fairly common sight in parts of California and Arizona, where they are used as robotaxis. Now the companies intend to spread the technology beyond the Chrysler Pacificas and throughout the FCA

FRANKFURT — Bugatti is delaying discussion of a second, slightly more affordable model than its 2.5 million-euro ($2.9 million) Chiron hypercar as it prepares for two potentially difficult years. The Volkswagen Group brand will prioritize cash conservation because of the coronavirus pandemic for at least the rest of this year. Bugatti President Stephan Winkelmann said

Mercedes-Benz will finally offer an electric range that is competitive with Tesla when it launches the EQS next year. The Daimler subsidiary says its full-electric rival to the Model S will travel more than 700 km (435 miles) on a single charge, based on the WLTP testing cycle. “The EQS will set the benchmark,” Daimler

Automakers and suppliers are looking into a potential problem that could affect passenger cars equipped with autonomous driving technology, industry experts told viewers during the latest Automotive News Europe Congress Conversations. “The question that worries us the most is how do the sensors and components work after they have been on the road for two

FRANKFURT — Tired of waiting for global regulators to act, the German government is preparing landmark legislation that could commercialize driverless vehicle technology by next summer. If passed, it could be the first comprehensive legal framework covering both homologation and road traffic requirements for robotaxis in which the computer controls the vehicle at all times.

FRANKFURT — Daimler said a late-quarter recovery in demand spared the automaker from losing as much money as analysts were expecting. The company reported a preliminary deficit of 1.68 billion euros ($1.9 billion) before interest and taxes in a statement Thursday. Daimler said that this was an improvement on the consensus estimate for 2.1 billion

Karl Obermair, director future mobility and global field coordinator car services and appraisal, TÜV Rheinland, will be part of an Automotive News Europe Congress panel discussion titled, Assisted or Autonomous Driving? It will be available via webcast on Thursday, July 16 at 14:00 CEST. TÜV Rheinland Future Mobility Solutions develops testing standards and engineering guidelines