Europe

Rivian Automotive, the EV startup backed by Amazon and Ford Motor, is in talks with the UK government on building its first manufacturing plant outside the U.S. near the English city of Bristol, Sky News reported. The investment would probably include a large state-support package, but the UK faces competition from Germany and the Netherlands

FRANKFURT — Daimler will keep a 35 percent stake in the trucks division that it plans to spin off later this year, the automaker said, unveiling more details about the landmark corporate split announced earlier this year. The spinoff of Daimler Truck Holding  as a separate listed entity will be voted on by Daimler shareholders

Daimler released teaser pictures of the Mercedes-Benz EQE full-electric sedan. The EQE, an electric version of the E-Class will go on sale next year. It will debut at the IAA Munich auto show on September 6. The sedan uses Mercedes’ EVA electric platform that also underpins the EQS, the electric version of the S-Class that

Nissan took advantage of President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Japan last weekend to pass on a message: The tumultuous relationship with French partner Renault is now good. During a meeting with a host of Japanese chief executives on Saturday at the French ambassador’s residence in Tokyo, Macron was told by Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida that

Volkswagen Group is moving closer to a deal to buy Europcar Mobility Group after gaining support from the car rental company’s hedge fund backers with a sweetened offer, according to people familiar with the matter. A consortium led by the automaker increased its offer for Europcar to around 50-euro cents per share, or around 2.5

Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors reported a wider-than-estimated first-quarter loss as a global semiconductor shortage dragged down sales at the UK luxury unit. Tata Motors reported a loss of 44.5 billion rupees ($598 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared to an 84.4-billion-rupee shortfall a year earlier, the company said. Analysts had

Gigi and Glenn Moss took delivery of their 40th anniversary present to each other on July 8: a complementary pair of Rolls-Royces. The white Rolls-Royce Phantom Tempus and red Rolls-Royce Dawn Black Badge are the first cars that the California couple has ever owned from the storied brand. But they are the first of many,

MILAN — Stellantis said on Friday it had signed a 12 billion euro ($14 billion) revolving credit facility with a group of 29 banks, “available for use in general corporate purposes.” The facility is made up of two tranches worth 6 billion euros each, with three- and five-year maturities, which can be both extended by

It will take ZF Friedrichshafen months to return to full production capacity at a suspension parts factory in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany, after flooding caused damages estimated to be in the millions of euros. All of the plant’s assembly lines, which make specialized valves for damping systems, have to be rebuilt. In the interim, ZF will

HAMBURG — Volkswagen could not produce several hundreds of thousands of vehicles in the first half of 2021 due to the ongoing shortage of semiconductors, a management board member said. VW is working hard to soften the impact that the lack of chips has had on the industry, procurement chief Murat Aksel told shareholders at

DETROIT — The global semiconductor chip shortage that has hit automakers around the world and constrained vehicle production will easily drag into next year, Stellantis Carlos Tavares said. The comments by Tavares at an Automotive Press Association event in Detroit on Wednesday echoed those made by Daimler earlier in the day. “The semiconductor crisis, from

BERLIN — BMW said on Tuesday nearly all its German plants were affected by an ongoing shortage of semiconductors that are currently preventing the automaker from completing around 10,000 cars. The Munich-based company earlier this month said that the bottleneck, which has affected carmakers around the world, has already led to 30,000 vehicles in lost

LONDON — Stellantis said on Monday it will temporarily halt a shift at its Vauxhall van factory in Luton, England, due to the large number workers isolating to halt the spread of COVID-19. “The safety of our staff is of the highest priority at Stellantis,” the company said in a statement. “In order to protect

Robert Bosch is considering closing a plant in Munich that makes components for cars powered by internal combustion engines, local newspaper Muenchner Merkur said on Sunday. Germany’s coming transition from combustion to electric cars will lead to “considerable overcapacity and the need for adjustment,” according to a company spokeswoman cited by the newspaper. Demand for

LONDON — The McLaren Group announced a 550 million pound ($758 million) equity investment, with much of it coming from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and global investment firm Ares Management. McLaren Group includes the British supercar maker as well as McLaren Racing, which competes in Formula One and IndyCar in the United States

STOCKHOLM — Sweden’s Autoliv, the world’s largest producer of airbags and seatbelts, swung to a strong operating profit during the second quarter, but scaled back its full-year guidance as component shortages crimped car production. Autoliv on Friday reported an operating profit of $164 million compared with a $234 million operating loss in the year-ago quarter

Aston Martin has unveiled its first plug-in hybrid model with the 937-hp Valhalla hypercar. The Valhalla is the second of three mid-engine models Aston Martin has promised as it shifts into segments long dominated by Ferrari. Deliveries of the delayed Valkyrie are planned to start September this year, with a lower-priced mid-engine supercar called Vanquish

Automakers criticized the European Commission’s proposal to effectively ban the sale of gasoline and diesel cars in the bloc by the middle of the next decade. The Commission’s new climate package to slash planet-warming CO2 emissions, announced Wednesday, includes a target to reduce CO2 from new cars sold in the bloc to zero by 2035.

PARIS — Stellantis said its wholly owned subsidiary FCA Italy had been placed under investigation by a Paris court on Tuesday over allegations of consumer fraud relating to the sale of diesel vehicles between 2014 and 2017. Stellantis said FCA Italy S.p.A. was placed under investigation in connection with the sale of Euro 6 diesel

LONDON — Jaguar Land Rover has hired a veteran from technology company Dyson to help strengthen the automaker’s shift toward electromobility and advanced technology. Lennard Hoornik, Dyson’s chief commercial officer, is taking the same role at Jaguar Land Rover, the UK automaker said in a statement on Monday. Hoornik “is a hugely experienced leader in

PARIS — Renault will reveal the Megane-e full-electric compact car and a prototype version of the Renault 5 retro-themed EV at the Munich auto show in September. The Megane-e will be one of the most critical new models to be launched under CEO Luca de Meo since he took over in July 2020. It has

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with executives and union representatives from the automobile sector on Monday to discuss the green transition, ahead of the publication of a sweeping climate-policy package by the European Union. The meeting will revolve around “what’s at stake for the sector,” Macron’s office said on Saturday. The European Commission is

The European Union is set to propose a switch to zero-emission vehicles and boosting its renewable energy target in an unprecedented push to align its economy with more ambitious climate targets. The European Commission, the bloc’s regulatory arm, plans to require emissions from new cars and vans to fall by 65 percent from 2030 and

Opel/Vauxhall will become a pure electric brand in Europe by 2028, CEO Michael Lohscheller said. The automaker will also launch a full-electric car inspired by the 1970s Opel Manta, Lohscheller said on Thursday during on webcast detailing parent Stellantis’s new electrification strategy. “The highly emotional Manta is coming back in an all-electric version,” Lohscheller said.

BERLIN — The German auto industry association VDA said a shortage of semiconductors would continue to negatively impact car production in the short and medium term. During the organization’s mid-year conference call with reporters on Wednesday, VDA President Hildegard Müller called for an EU-wide approach to shoring up semiconductor manufacturing capacity. Müller said the “exponential

PARIS — The HYVIA hydrogen venture between Renault and U.S. company Plug Power will sell products throughout Europe, and will assemble fuel cells and hydrogen refueling stations at the Flins factory in France in late 2021. The venture will offer a range of three fuel-cell powered Master large vans by the end of 2021, Renault

UK new-car sales rose 28 percent in June but the market’s recovery is being slowed by the global shortage of microchips, industry association SMMT said. Registrations increased to 186,128 from 145,377 in the same month last year, the SMMT said in a statement on Monday. The monthly performance was artificially lifted through comparison with June

Volvo’s goal to sell 800,000 vehicles globally by 2020 was derailed by the pandemic, but the automaker’s rapid recovery over the last 12 months has put the target within reach again. “Right now we are on a run rate of 770,000,” Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson told Automotive News Europe. “I think we will finish 2021

BERLIN — Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler will unveil a new business group comprising the AMG, Maybach and G-Class subbrands at the Munich auto show in September. The move will streamline marketing costs and is part of Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius’ plan to boost productivity and profitability, with a focus on high-margin sales. AMG boss Philipp Schiemer

PARIS — Stellantis said Friday that talks were continuing with the Italian government over the possible construction of a new gigafactory in Italy. Stellantis, which already has battery factory projects in France and Germany, has said that decisions on adding gigafactories in Europe and the United States would be made this year. The company is