Car makers: We would rather another Brexit delay than no-deal September 6, 2019 Britain’s automotive industry trade body chief has indicated that car makers would rather suffer yet another period of Brexit uncertainty than crash out of the European Union without a deal – a scenario that would be damaging to UK business, but particularly harmful to car makers. Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor [...]
Electric car sales charge ahead with record monthly demand September 5, 2019 More electric cars were sold in Britain last month than ever before, as zero-emission car sales rose fivefold amid an otherwise subdued automotive market. Zero emission car sales came to 3,147 vehicles in August compared to just 659 this time last year, as the release of several new models over the summer boosted demand, including [...]
Watch: Nissan invents self-driving golf ball that finds the hole every time August 29, 2019 Times are tricky for Nissan executives. The Japanese car maker’s profits have collapsed, it is gearing up to sack 12,500 workers to cut costs, and former boss Carlos Ghosn is facing jail time for swindling millions of dollars from the firm. Who could blame them for wanting a bit of light relief? The car maker’s [...]
More grief for British car industry as output falls again amid Brexit fears August 29, 2019 Britain’s car manufacturers endured another month of misery in July as exports took a hit and output slowed down for its 14th consecutive month. Manufacturing output fell 10.6 per cent last month, with only 108,239 vehicles rolling off the production line, according to figures released this morning by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders [...]
Land of the car? Trump slams Ford for backing stricter emissions rules August 22, 2019 Donald Trump has found a new target for his Twitter ire: the global automotive industry. The US President yesterday mounted a series of attacks on car makers for snubbing his plan to roll back Obama-era fuel efficiency rules, singling out Ford for instead siding with a California state deal which proposes stricter emissions standards. Read [...]
Automotive supplier SGL shares drop a third as chief quits on profit warning August 15, 2019 SGL Carbon, a major supplier to Germany’s car industry, has suffered a double blow as its chief executive threw in the towel over flawed business planning on the same day as a profit warning. Chief executive Juergen Koehler will step down at the end of August, he announced, as the company said it expected adjusted [...]
Car sales stagnate again in July but electric vehicle market share surges August 5, 2019 New car sales were hampered last month by confusion over Brexit uncertainty and the government’s future policies over plug-in hybrid electric cars. The British new car market shrunk 4.1 per cent in July, its fifth straight month of decline, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Read more: Car industry investment grinds [...]
Brexit warnings reach fever pitch as BMW and Ford sound the alarm August 1, 2019 BMW and Ford have become the latest manufacturing giants to warn Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the perils of a no-deal Brexit. Speaking to journalists this morning, BMW boss Harald Kruger said a no-deal would be a “lose-lose” scenario for Britain and the EU. He offered to personally deliver his portent to the new PM. [...]
Fiat Chrysler defies global car industry woes, beating analyst forecasts July 31, 2019 Car manufacturing giant Fiat Chrysler surprised markets today by sticking to its full-year profit forecast after strong sales in its US pickup truck division helped defy an industry slowdown. The earnings were the car maker’s first since it failed to merge with Renault in June. Read more: Car industry investment grinds to a halt as [...]
Ex-Audi chief Rupert Stadler faces criminal charges for his role in dieselgate scandal July 31, 2019 Former Audi boss Rupert Stadler has been charged for his part in Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal, known as dieselgate. Read more: Former VW boss Martin Winterkorn faces criminal charges for emissions scandal The Munich public prosecutor’s office said this morning that it has charged Stadler and three others with false certification and criminal advertising practices. [...]