Trade News

LONDON -- Tesla Inc. is in discussions with Canadian miner Giga Metals about helping to develop a large mine that would give the electric vehicle maker access to low-carbon nickel for its batteries, three people familiar with the matter said.

Alongside its goal to reduce pollution from driving, Tesla is also striving to reduce its own carbon footprint.

"Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way," CEO Elon Musk said in July.

Giga Metals's low-carbon nickel plans include turning waste from its mining operations into cement type rock using carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and using hydropower.

Giga Metals's President Martin Vydra declined to comment on any talks with Tesla, but said: "Giga is actively engaged, and has been for some time, with automakers regarding our ability to produce carbon-neutral nickel.

"The cost of developing our project, excludi…

Nikola Corp., the startup EV maker that this week announced a multibillion-dollar joint venture with General Motors, said on Friday it could take legal action against short-seller Hindenburg Research, which accused the company of being a "fraud" in a scathing report on Thursday.

The company also said it intended to bring the actions of the activist short-seller, together with evidence and documentation, to the attention of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nikola said it retained corporate litigator Kirkland & Ellis, a national law firm that also represents General Motors. In fact, Kirkland & Ellis represented GM in its recent racketeering lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles that was later dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge in Detroit.

“Yesterday, an activist short-seller whose motivation is to manipulate the market and profit from a manufactured decline in our stock price published a so-called “report” replete with mislea…

Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.

AeroMobil CEO Patrick Hessel and adviser Meir Arnon discuss how the Slovakia-based company is planning to bring its two-seat flying car to market.

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Nissan has raised $8 billion in its first nonconvertible dollar bond sale in at least two decades, in one of the biggest-ever deals in Asia.

The company is also selling a 2 billion-euro ($2.4 billion) trio of bonds, after drawing orders more than six times the deal size, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak about it.

The automaker earlier sold the $8 billion securities in four parts, and may debut a public euro note offering as soon as Friday, according to people familiar with the matter. The fundraising comes after Nissan recorded its biggest loss in about 20 years, and underscores broader strength in global credit markets after a rally sparked by monetary stimulus from March.

It adds to record bond sales in the U.S. currency from Asian issuers this year as companies load up on cash amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Nissan, which allied with Renault Group in 1999 and later took …

Tesla plans to ship cars made at its Shanghai plant to other markets in Europe and Asia, according to people familiar with the matter.

China-built Tesla Model 3s intended for delivery outside the country will likely start mass production in the fourth quarter, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.

The people said the markets targeted include Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, as well as Europe, where customers currently have to wait for a Tesla to be delivered from the U.S.

Shipments could start as soon as the end of this year, or early 2021, according to the people.

The company is stepping up production as competition in the space intensifies, with traditional automakers starting to make EVs, especially for the China market, where local rivals like BYD already have a strong footing.

General Motors said this week it will take a $2 billion equity stake in electric truck maker Nikola.

A represent…

Auto dealers across Oregon evacuated and temporarily closed due to wildfires that started earlier this week along the West Coast.

According to The Weather Channel California has at least 24 fires burning, Oregon has 14 and Washington has 12.

Some dealerships near Medford, Ore., were under evacuation orders on Wednesday. Lithia Toyota of Medford on Wednesday posted this message, "The health and safety of our staff, customers, and community is our top priority. Medford Toyota is closed today due to wildfires in the area." The dealership reopened on Thursday.

In Ashland, Ore., Butler Ford and Butler Acura also evacuated and closed due to the fires.

"We evacuated our stores Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. And it was an instant evacuation," Curtis Hancock, director of fixed operations at Butler Automotive Group told Automotive News. "We had zero heads-up. The fire started and became what it was within a mile of our facility. So we d…

Auto companies plug into global EV party

Amid challenges, uncertainties and hardships sparked by COVID-19, it's been difficult to find reasons to celebrate this year.

Perhaps that's why some companies latched onto a newly designated day to commemorate vehicle electrification. Wednesday marked the inaugural World EV Day, and there were celebrations in Europe, Southeast Asia and across the globe.

Leading the initiative were Swiss technology company ABB, which is a major Formula E racing sponsor, and Green.tv, an online media company based in Oxford, England, that focuses on sustainability. Among the automakers and brands that signed on as partners for World EV Day were Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, Nissan, Mahindra, Polestar and electric vehicle startups Nio and BYD.

Nissan marked the production of its 500,000th Leaf EV on Wednesday at its plant in Sunderland, England.

Also in the United Kingdom, Highways England – the government-owned compa…

Sales at two large light-vehicle makers, Geely Automobile Holdings and Great Wall Motor Co., continue to rise at a double-digit pace after resuming growth in April. 

In August, Geely sales rose 12 percent to 113,443, the private and largest domestic Chinese passenger vehicle manufacturer said. 

As in the past several months, volume was driven by Lynk & CO, the premium upstart brand jointly owned by Geely and Volvo Car Corp. 

August deliveries at Lynk & CO, whose products – one compact sedan and four compact crossovers – share a platform with the Volvo XC40, surged 56 percent to 17,098. 

Great Wall, the largest pickup maker in China, said August sales jumped 27 percent to 89,442 on demand for trucks. 

With the Chinese government prodding more provinces to remove restrictions on pickup use in urban areas, the company’s pickup sales soared 80 percent to 20,951 last month. 

Because of sharp declines…

BYD Co., a leading Chinese electrified vehicle maker, started producing batteries in Brazil this month to supply locally assembled electric vehicles. 

The $2.7 million plant -- in Manaus, a city in the northern Brazilian state of Amazonas -- is building BYD’s proprietary lithium iron phosphate batteries mainly for electric buses. 

The factory, which can produce 18,000 battery modules a year at full capacity, is expected to deliver 1,000 battery modules by the end of September, the Chinese company said.

The battery models will be supplied to electric buses assembled at BYD’s plant opened in 2015 in Campinas, a city in the southeast Brazilian state of Sao Paulo.

BYD mainly assembles electric buses outside China. 

The Manaus factory is its second battery production site outside China. 

In 2013, BYD opened its first overseas electric bus plant, along with a battery factory, in Lancaster, Calif. 

In the pa…

Sales of new light vehicles in China grew in August, for the fourth consecutive month, as the market continued to rebound from the coronavirus outbreak. 

Total deliveries of new light vehicles, including sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles and minibuses, rose 6 percent from a year earlier to approach 1.76 million, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Thursday.

With truck demand boosted by massive government investment in infrastructure projects, such as construction of roads and railways, sales of new commercial vehicles, including trucks and buses, have remained robust since April, with August volume surging 42 percent to around 431,000.

Geely Automobile Holdings and Toyota Motor Corp. were among major automakers that posted increases last month, while the primary joint ventures of Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors saw volume slide. 

Because of the severe market contraction in the first quarter…

ATLANTA — Porsche's U.S. boss is said to be getting a major promotion.

Klaus Zellmer, 53, CEO of Porsche Cars North America, will be elevated to chief sales officer at Volkswagen, according to the website of Germany's Manager Magazin.

A Porsche Cars North America spokesman declined to comment Thursday morning.

Zellmer will replace Jürgen Stackmann in Wolfsburg, the German business magazine said, citing unnamed sources.

Stackmann joined VW as head of sales in 2015 after holding board-level positions at VW Group subsidiaries Skoda and Seat.

Stackmann, 58, who overhauled dealer contracts and designed the VW brand campaign, is under fire internally and expected to leave, according to media reports. Stackmann was also among the top-level VW brand executives who had to apologize in June for a racist video.

Since taking the top job in the U.S. in late 2015, Zellmer steered Porsche toward a nearly 20 percent increase in sales. The sports car …

Volkswagen Group's heavy-truck business boosted its bid for Navistar International Corp., offering to buy the rest of the U.S. manufacturer for $3.6 billion.

Traton increased its offer to purchase the portion of stock it doesn’t already own to $43 a share, up from $35 a share offered in January, according to a statement. Bloomberg News reported last week that the VW division was seeking to restart negotiations this month to win over Navistar’s management and main shareholders, which include billionaire investor Carl Icahn.

Navistar shares closed Thursday's trading up 13.8 percent to $40.78.

By acquiring Lisle, Ill.-based Navistar, VW would secure a strong position in the U.S. heavy-truck market and step up its challenge to Daimler and Volvo AB. VW said in a separate statement that it will provide funds for the financing of Traton’s increased offer.

“A strategic buyout of Navistar remains an eventual outcome with a competing bid unlikely,” Christop…