Trade News

FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group's new battery cell plants and securing vital raw materials will cost as much as 30 billion euros ($34 billion), board member Thomas Schmall said, putting a price tag on the expansion for the first time.

VW will seek outside partners to help fund the automaker's push to open six large battery cell plants in Europe by the end of the decade, Schmall, who is in charge of technology at VW, said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference.

The battery cell push is a strategic pillar in the company's bid to become the world's top EV seller.

"We are talking about 25 to 30 billion (euros) ... including the vertical chain of raw materials, not only the factories," Schmall said.

VW would not have to take the lead on funding and was not aiming for a 50/50 investment split, he said. "It depends on the partnership model we will establish in the next months. We're open to discuss it. For us it's necessary that we can control ...…

Amazon Web Services has launched a new cloud-based data service that it says could help automakers remotely diagnose issues in their vehicles to prevent recalls and improve safety, as well as manage related data.

Called AWS IoT FleetWise, the latest tool in the company's newly branded AWS for Automotive portfolio of products and services for the transportation industry is being rolled out on Tuesday at Amazon.com's annual re:Invent conference in Las Vegas.

FleetWise enables customers, including auto suppliers and transportation providers such as Lyft and Uber, to collect, organize and transfer vehicle data to the cloud, while standardizing different data formats to simplify data analysis, according to Mike Tzamaloukas, general manager of AWS for Automotive.

"As vehicles become more intelligent and advanced, the sheer amount of data produced from vehicles equipped with cameras, lidars and radars is growing exponentially," Tzamaloukas said. FleetWise was d…

The future of Stellantis’ Brampton Assembly Plant will remain in limbo until U.S. lawmakers firm up or drop a Biden administration-backed bill aimed at boosting electric vehicles adoption south of the border, according to the union that represents workers at the plant outside Toronto.

Unifor Local 1285 President Danny Price told members last week the automaker’s COO for North America, Mark Stewart, informed union leadership the company’s product allocation choices hinge on the outcome of the U.S. bill that includes funding for automakers and incentives for American EV buyers,

“He was very candid when explaining the final decisions on product allocation,” Price said in a Nov. 22 letter to members. “These decisions are contingent on what happens with the legislation before the United States Congress.”

Stellantis refused to comment on the meeting with union leadership.

“When it comes to new investment and product allocation, many factors are taken in…

Diversified powertrain and electronics supplier Marelli said Tuesday that it aims to become carbon neutral throughout its operations by 2030.

The Japanese-Italian supplier said it would take a series of steps to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, including using new, higher-efficiency equipment at its plants, using renewable electricity and generating its own power.

"This is a first step for Marelli in outlining firm plans to reduce our overall carbon emissions," Marelli CEO Beda Bolzenius said in a statement. "Our next step will be to define clear goals and measures across indirect emissions, which includes working with suppliers, customers, as well as internally within our own product and manufacturing processes. We have a long way to go, but the investments being announced today are a significant step forward."

The company said in a news release that its strategy would be based on "energy efficiency Monozukuri," a Japanese word meaning "the making o…

Volkswagen Group of America said it will use the sides of Amazon boxes this holiday season to put virtual butts in the virtual seats of its new Taos subcompact crossover, and reward participants with three months of premium music streaming for virtually going along for the ride.

The German automaker revealed its new Web-based augmented reality campaign Monday to promote the Taos, which went on sale in the U.S. in the second quarter of this year and was the brand's third-bestselling vehicle in the third quarter, trailing only the Tiguan and three-row Atlas crossovers.

The campaign uses a QR code printed on the side of more than 1 million Amazon boxes to direct consumers to a website, where they are able to experience the Taos and its features across a digital map all while listening to one of four digital soundtracks. By recording the virtual drives, consumers are able to unlock three months of Amazon Music Unlimited at no additional cost, Volkswagen says.

Volvo Cars said on Tuesday the supply of microchips had improved going into the fourth quarter, as it posted its first quarterly report after listing its shares publicly last month.

The Gothenburg-based manufacturer, majority owned by China's Geely Holding, said preliminary sales volumes were around 52,000 cars in November, down year-on-year due to lower production and build-up of in-transit inventory.

It added that supply was still restrained, but that production had "improved month by month" since September, while the supply of cars was still lower than demand.

"The supply situation has improved going into the fourth quarter, but we expect the industrywide shortage of semiconductors to remain a restraining factor,” CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement.

Volvo Cars confirmed a previously announced third-quarter operating profit figure of 3.3 billion Swedish crowns ($363.8 million), versus 4.6 billion in the year-ago period, and revenues down 7…

SINGAPORE -- Vietnam's largest conglomerate Vingroup is in talks with investors, including Qatar's sovereign fund and BlackRock, to raise about $1 billion in equity for its car unit, three sources aware of the matter told Reuters.

The fundraising exercise comes as VinFast, Vingroup's automobile arm, is betting big on the U.S. market, where it hopes that its electric crossovers and a battery leasing model will be enough to woo consumers away from the likes of Tesla and General Motors.

If successful, it is likely to end up as Vietnam's largest private fundraising, underscoring heightened investor interest in Southeast Asia, a region where ride-hailing and delivery giants Grab and GoTo have raised billions of dollars.

The fundraising move also shows EV projects remain a major draw for investors.

"Electric vehicles are the topic of the year and there's huge investor interest," said one of the sources.

Vingroup is in discussions for the fundrai…

Most auto executives are optimistic about the industry's long-term profitability and the adoption of electric vehicles, even as they remain concerned about short-term problems such as the tight labor market and microchip shortage, a new survey of industry leaders found.

According to KPMG's 2021 Global Automotive Executive Survey, 53 percent of respondents said they were extremely or somewhat confident that the industry would achieve more profitable growth over the next five years, compared with 38 percent who said they were concerned. KPMG surveyed 1,118 executives around the world in August, ranging from CEOs to department heads at automakers, suppliers, startups and other companies.

"With all of the massive changes expected to happen in our industry, there is this sense of dynamism in the industry that I feel like is there now," said Gary Silberg, global head of automotive at KPMG International.

Executives in the U.S. and China appeared to be the most …

TURIN -- Stellantis is working with its European dealers on a shake-up that industry experts say is unmatched in its size and scope.

The automaker wants to transition a network estimated to exceed 15,000 franchise points to a so-called "retailer model."

The move gives Stellantis more control over how its vehicles are sold and lowers the margin it pays dealers in exchange for taking on some new costs.

Stellantis believes the change will reduce overall costs, secure margins, make pricing more transparent and improve customer satisfaction.

"We are convinced that, when properly implemented, this distribution model will offer advantages for everyone," Stellantis' head of sales and marketing for Europe, Maria Grazia Davino, told Automotive News Europe.

To initiate the shift, Stellantis canceled all of its dealer contracts in its expanded Europe region this summer. Stellantis sent a letter of intent to the dealers it wants to retain.

Davin…

LOS ANGELES — BMW is expanding its utility vehicle lineup with the first standalone vehicle from its M performance brand since the BMW M1 launched five decades ago.

The BMW Concept XM, revealed at a press event here this month, is a preview of the most powerful M vehicle in its lineup, the automaker said.

The series-production version of the XM will launch late next year, assembled at BMW's factory in Greer, S.C.

Franciscus van Meel, CEO of the M brand for BMW, described the XM as "a pinnacle of expressive luxury."

He noted the new model's target customer as being "extroverted" and "non-conformist."

"We are really addressing target groups that we didn't address within BMW and M," van Meel said.

The new model will be offered worldwide, but the U.S. will be the single-biggest market, BMW said.

Like its Mercedes-Benz rival AMG, BMW's M subbrand holds a high level of prestige in the marketplace, and having a standalone model keep…

Justin Trudeau appears set to add another item to his government’s growing list of trade grievances with Joe Biden’s administration.

Canada is leaning toward forming a common front with Mexico in a fight with the U.S. over how to interpret rules governing the origin of vehicle parts. The rules, which are part of the North American free-trade agreement overhauled under Donald Trump, now called USMCA, set content requirements for cars shipped across regional borders. 

Both Mexico and Canada believe the trade deal stipulates that more regionally produced parts qualify for duty free shipping than the U.S. is allowing. Mexico requested formal talks on the issue in August that Canada joined as an interested third party. 

“Trilateral consultations regarding the application and interpretation of certain elements of the rules of origin that apply to motor vehicles under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement did not produce a resolutio…