Northvolt has hit a new high for the production of lithium-ion battery cells at its main plant in Sweden, even as the company scales back some operations to address a financing crunch. The group produced 60,000 cells at the Skelleftea site last week, its highest tally ever, meaning that production has increased threefold since the start of the year, spokesperson Matti Kataja said. “We now need to … [Read more...]

MILAN — An Italian judge has seized assets worth about €75 million ($84 million) from five people including Stellantis and Ferrari Chairman John Elkann over an investigation into alleged tax fraud, the Turin prosecutor's office said on Sept. 20. The investigation, opened earlier this year, alleges Elkann and his siblings did not pay taxes in Italy on assets they inherited after the death in 2019 … [Read more...]

The automaker will make affordable full-electric small cars in Pamplona starting in 2026 while Polo production for Europe moves to South Africa. Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck floated the idea of additional support for the country’s automakers and will discuss ways to address the challenges facing the embattled sector in talks with executives on Sept. 23 in Berlin. Speaking during a visit to a Volkswagen Group electric-vehicle plant in northwestern Germany on Sept. 20, Habeck told workers that while automakers must take some of the … [Read more...]

Tesla’s first factory in Europe was supposed to revitalize the region near Berlin with thousands of jobs and millions in extra tax revenue. It succeeded on both those counts, but discontent over the site could still help deliver the state of Brandenburg to the far-right AfD in elections on Sept. 22. The €5 billion ($5.5 billion) Gruenheide facility has been a flashpoint for controversy since it … [Read more...]

Wang Wentao is on a whirlwind tour of Europe, trying to convince enough nations to vote against the tariff increase, by visiting Germany, Italy, and now Belgium, where the EU is headquartered. Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]

Mercedes-Benz cut its financial forecast for the year, citing a rapid deterioration of its business in China, in the latest blow to Germany’s struggling industrial sector. Adjusted returns in the main cars unit are now expected in a range of 7.5 to 8.5 percent, compared with a prior forecast of as much as 11 percent, the automaker said on Sept. 19. China, the company’s biggest market, has cooled … [Read more...]

Adjusted returns from Mercedes' main cars unit are now expected in a range of 7.5 to 8.5 percent, compared with a prior forecast of as much as 11 percent.   Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]

Volvo, Skoda and Dacia made big gains thanks to small cars; BMW and Audi lost ground; and a Chinese newcomer soared into the top 30. Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]

The Tesla Model 3, VW ID7 and BYD Seal are propping up the midsize segment, while big declines for the Tesla Model Y and Kia EV6 are hurting the midsize SUV category. Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]

Companies are enabling drivers to pay for charging from inside the vehicle. Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]

Volkswagen Group could cut up to 30,000 jobs in Germany, a business magazine said, as the automaker seeks to become more competitive amid Europe's shrinking market. VW Group CEO Oliver Blume considers reducing the company's German workforce by 30,000, about 10 percent of its total employees in the country, as realistic in the midterm, Manager Magazin said. The cuts would be deepest in the … [Read more...]

The Dacia Sandero, Toyota Yaris Cross, Dacia Duster, VW Polo and Kia Sportage increased European sales in August. Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]

Nio is preparing a purchase offer for the factory, Belgian newspaper De Tijd reported. Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]

Chinese electronics giant Luxshare has acquired a 50.1 percent majority stake in Leoni, a German manufacturer of cable and wiring systems. As part of the deal, Luxshare’s subsidiary, Time Interconnect Singapore, will also take over Leoni’s Automotive Cable Solutions (ACS) division, Leoni said in a press release. The total purchase price amounts to €320 million ($357 million) for the ACS business … [Read more...]

Uwe Schwartz, plant manager at the automaker’s factory in Emden, Germany, will take on the same role in Wolfsburg on Nov. 1. Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]

Output of the Grenadier and its derivative is being stopped at the off-road vehicle maker's French factory until it can regain access to a key component. Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]

The U.S. chipmaker’s move to delay the project in Magdeburg by about two years is a blow to the EU’s goal of producing one-fifth of the world’s semiconductors by 2030. Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]

European automakers are calling for “urgent action” ahead of 2025 emissions targets that could potentially cost billions of euros in fines for some of them at a time when the industry is struggling with a sharp slowdown in electric vehicle demand. The industry is also urging the European Commission to bring forward planned C02 regulation reviews to next year from 2026 and 2027, the Brussels-based … [Read more...]

Europe-wide, EV market share has shrunk to 14 percent in the region through August, down from just over 15 percent as government incentives fall away in a range of countries and consumers battling high living costs shy away from purchasing expensive EVs. Source: autonews.com … [Read more...]