Trade News

BEIJING -- Electric vehicle maker Xpeng Inc. said on Monday it would start building a new vehicle assembly plant in Guangzhou with 4 billion yuan ($590 million) in financing from the local government.

Xpeng, listed in New York and headquartered in Guangzhou, will start making cars at the factory from the end of 2022. It is already makes P7 sedans and G3 SUVs in two existing factories in China.

The Guangzhou city government will provide the financing to Xpeng to build the new plant in the area, Xpeng said in a statement. The new plant will have an annual manufacturing capacity of 100,000 vehicles.

Uber Technologies avoided a ban in its biggest European market after a London judge said the ride-hailing service deserved an 18-month license to operate in the UK capital.

Uber did enough to satisfy the court that it was now "fit and proper" to hold a permit, despite its "historical failings," Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram said on Monday.

In November, Transport for London revoked its license a second time over concerns that it failed to adequately verify drivers’ identities and safeguard passengers.

While Uber's new license is shorter than the 5-year permit it could have received, the magistrate was far more complimentary of its executives than a prior judge in 2018 who criticized the "gung-ho attitude" of previous management.

Ikram pointed to Uber’s "credible and honest witnesses and said the firm may perhaps be doing "even more" than what a reasonable business is expected to do in the sector.

The license review is just one of a numbe…

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ The drama never ends

This time next year, Detroit will be kicking off its first auto show in nearly 1,000 days. Maybe.

Who knows whether such an event will even be possible again by then. But with next spring looking unexpectedly crowded on the auto show calendar and still iffy for in-person gatherings, organizers last week decided to shift the Detroit event to the fall from now on. It was a shrewd move to get some breathing room and take advantage of an opening created by several major European expos losing their luster, our Chief Content Officer Jamie Butters writes in Monday's issue.

This year, with their glitzy auto show exhibits still packed away, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors have big events of a different kind on their calendars at the end of September. It's the changing of the Jims at Ford this week, as Jim Hackett retires and Jim Farley becomes the 13th CEO in the company's 117-year history. Meanwhile, General M…

Nissan Motor Co. expects to return to profitability in 2021 if the current momentum continues, with demand in China already bouncing back from the pandemic, CEO Makoto Uchida said.

The company, which in May reported its first fiscal year loss in a decade and the biggest in 20 years, is forecasting a strong recovery in the Chinese market by year-end and plans to expand its presence there, Uchida said during a media briefing at the 2020 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition on Saturday.

China has emerged as a crucial market for Japan’s second-biggest automaker by output as it struggles to recover from a boardroom scandal surrounding former chairman Carlos Ghosn and a sales slump that threatens its alliance with Renault. Thanks to a strategic partnership with Dongfeng Motor Group Co. that was forged in 2003, Nissan is one of the strongest Japanese passenger automakers in Asia’s biggest economy.

Dongfeng Motor President and Nissan executive Shohei Yama…

Editor's note: All figures in Canadian dollars. As of Sept. 27 $1 U.S. equals $1.34 Canadian.

Unifor members were set to begin a ratification vote today that will decide whether the union’s tentative contract with Ford Motor Co. goes into effect.

The three-year deal includes a commitment from Ford to invest $1.8 billion in its Oakville, Ontario, plant to begin building battery-electric vehicles by 2026, following a retooling in 2024, according to a document posted on Unifor’s website. Wage gains for members include a two-year reduction in the contentious 10-year wage grow-in period, two $2,000 “inflation protection” bonuses, a $7,250 “productivity and quality bonus” and two general wage increases of 2.5 percent for workers at the full pay rate, according to the union.

“This is one of the most significant investment announcements in Canadian automotive history, and is a game-changer for the Canadian auto sector,” union leaders said in a statement.

…

Kay Cheng, head of policy initiatives at Spin, discusses micromobility in the age of coronavirus, the ideal infrastructure for e-scooters, how city streetscapes are changing and whether these changes are here to stay.

How do I subscribe?

Apple Podcasts: “Shift: A podcast about mobility” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe.

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Editor's note: This story is part of the annual Automotive News "Future Product Pipeline" series.

Tesla Inc.'s stock price isn't the only part of the business that's growing. The electric vehicle maker continues to ramp up production of its Model Y crossover and has two plants — one in Germany and another in Texas — under construction. It plans to broaden its lineup with the Cybertruck pickup and a semitruck next year, and CEO Elon Musk says he wants to further expand the portfolio to potentially include a minivan and compact vehicle.

It's a tall order for a company known for blown deadlines and launch problems, but the ambitious plans have won over Wall Street investors, who have made Tesla the most valuable automaker in the world, in spite of new EVs coming from rivals that are attempting to replicate its success. Whether Musk and Tesla can deliver on its objectives remains to be seen; much of the company's future product plans are without firm deadlines and…

Nikola Corp.'s chaos isn't necessarily General Motors' disaster.

The partnership between GM and the electric truckmaker is slated to close by Wednesday, Sept. 30, and despite accusations of fraud against Nikola and founder Trevor Milton that led to Milton's resignation as executive chairman, GM likely will move forward with the partnership relatively unscathed, analysts say.

Because GM hasn't committed capital as part of its agreement to engineer and build Nikola's pickups — in exchange for an 11 percent stake, a $700 million payment and valuable electric vehicle credits — the deal is still low-risk financially for GM and has the potential to be high-reward, analysts say.

"Even if Nikola completely imploded and went out of business tomorrow, GM financially would not be hurt by that," said David Whiston, senior equity analyst for Morningstar. "If Nikola is not a fraud, the long-term upside option value of the deal is still there fo…

At the nation's franchised ultraluxury and exotic dealerships, new vehicles usually are the stars of the showroom. But with the new-vehicle production pipeline squeezed by COVID-19, 2020 has been anything but ordinary for elite brands.

Inventories are tight, used models are commanding higher prices and service has taken on even greater importance.

"Inventory levels are at a 12-to-15-day supply, where we like them to be at 45-to-60-day, so we're woefully out of stock," Robert DiStanislao, president of RDS Automotive Group, said of the brands he sells.

His used-vehicle inventories also are lower than he'd like.

"We're seeing that the used-car market is stronger than it's ever been," said DiStanislao, whose group has stores in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and California that sell Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, Maserati, McLaren and Porsche vehicles.

Although sales are expected to be down this year, there are …

FRANKFURT -- Daimler's Dieter Zetsche will not seek to become chairman of the German carmaker's supervisory board, he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper.

Zetsche, 67, a former CEO of the company that owns the Mercedes-Benz brand, was due to take a seat as chairman on the board of directors, which in Germany is known as the supervisory board.

"Naturally I would like to have done the job. I also believe I would have done it well. But in the end I decided that I do not want it, that I renounce this opportunity," Zetsche is quoted as telling the paper.

"We acknowledge Dr. Zetsche's decision with great respect," a Daimler spokesman said.

Zetsche says Daimler's top investors would have backed him to succeed Manfred Bischoff but that there may have been opposition from other shareholders.

"The fact that after 40 years of work I am not regarded by some as an asset, but as a burden, I do not need that," Zetsche is quoted as tellin…