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A Tesla Inc. plan to purchase hard-to-get construction materials is being investigated by U.S. prosecutors, who are looking at whether the project was an appropriate use of company funds, Bloomberg reported.

Federal prosecutors also are looking into Tesla performance claims after Reuters reported the EV maker exaggerated the potential driving distance of its vehicles, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

In the purchasing investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York has sent subpoenas to a number of current and former employees at the EV maker in recent weeks seeking information related to the materials, according to people familiar with the probe.

The requests for information focus on correspondence with Omead Afshar, a key lieutenant to CEO Elon Musk and the individual at the center of an internal Tesla probe into the issue, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

Prosecutors are reviewi…

SAN FRANCISCO – Bosch CEO Stefan Hartung said the company needs subsidies from the U.S. government to carry out the full expansion it has planned for a California chip plant it is acquiring.

In April, Bosch said it planned to buy key assets of TSI Semiconductor's chip production facilities in Roseville, Calif., and invest $1.5 billion to retool the site to make silicon carbide chips, which can help boost the range of electric vehicles.

Production at the new company, called Robert Bosch Semiconductor, will start in 2026.

On Wednesday, Bosch said the state of California has approved a $25 million tax credit for the factory.

In an interview during a trip to San Francisco, Hartung told Reuters that expanding the facility to the intended full size "depends on the support of the U.S. government, or the regional government or the California government. And it is already supported by some, but obviously it needs more support."

The TSI facility woul…

The message from Chinese automakers at the IAA Mobility Munich auto show is “We’re here, and we’re here to stay.”

At least seven Chinese automakers are planning displays in Munich: BYD, Dongfeng, HiPhi, Leapmotor, MG, Seres and Xpeng, while two brands under the Geely umbrella, Smart and Polestar, will show models built in China. Notable absences include Nio and Aiways.

In addition, China’s electric mobility trade show, the World New Energy Vehicle Congress, will be held on Sept. 6 in Munich -- the first time the WNEVC has taken place outside of China.

Here’s what we know about Chinese brands’ plans for the show, opening to the public Sept. 5:

The brand rivals Tesla for global sales of full-electric vehicles, and it also sells hundreds of thousands of plug-in hybrids in its home market. BYD is rolling out a full range of models for Europe that it will display in Munich, including the European launch of the Seal midsize sedan (entering the Eu…

The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat muscle car is more than 60 times as likely to be stolen as the average 2020-22 model year vehicle, topping all other vehicles in a study released today by the Highway Loss Data Institute.

Dodge Charger and Challenger models with large engines frequently top the group's annual list, but the rate at which the Charger SRT Hellcat is stolen is spiking. There were about 25 whole-vehicle theft claims per 1,000 vehicles for the 2020-22 model years, up from 18 for 2019-21 models.

"If you own a Hellcat, you better check your driveway," Matt Moore, Highway Loss Data Institute senior vice president, said in a news release. "These numbers are unbelievable."

The Charger SRT Hellcat was joined by another Dodge model, the Charger Hemi, at the top of the list of vehicles most likely to be stolen relative to their numbers on the road. The Charger Hemi is more than 20 times as likely to be stolen compared with the aver…

NORMAL, Ill. — Rivian Automotive CEO RJ Scaringe likens the launch of the in-house Enduro electric motor to the EV maker's start of vehicle production two years ago.

While less important than launching an entire brand, the Enduro's arrival this year opened up possibilities for the startup, which had been struggling with supply chain shortages and elevated manufacturing costs at its factory here.

"More than just what this motor represents in terms of performance or efficiency or range, it's also emblematic of the capabilities we have as an organization today," Scaringe said at the Normal plant last week.

The new drive unit, which incorporates the gearbox and power inverter with the motor, is less expensive to build. It allows Rivian to offer a base model for $8,000 less compared with the third-party motor that Rivian launched with, the company said. The R1T pickup now starts at $74,800, and the R1S crossover starts at $79,800. Both prices include shippin…

Electric vehicle charging network companies know that this is crunch time.

Low utilization rates and high operating costs are hamstringing profits. Money is tight. Charging satisfaction is at an all-time low. And after waiting years for networks to get it together, automakers are joining with Tesla Inc. in an unexpected alliance.

Two of the largest publicly held charging networks in the U.S., ChargePoint and Blink Charging, have less than a year of cash left, according to their most recent quarterly filings.

They both said their business models, reliant on charger equipment sales more than owning and operating networks themselves, were not as sensitive to cash burn. But company leaders and industry analysts agree that this is a decisive moment for the networks.

"It's kind of a perfect storm" for charging network companies, said Sam Abuelsamid, an analyst at Guidehouse Insights. "They're facing new competition, and their…

Legislation supported by used-vehicle retailer Carvana Co. that codifies vehicle home delivery and other e-commerce sales procedures in Illinois was recently signed into law. It is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2024.

In late July, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1896, which clarifies language about modern automotive retailing practices in the Illinois Vehicle Code. As signed, the bill amends that statute to add text clearly stating that licensed vehicle dealers are permitted to conduct sales activities — including collecting electronic signatures — via the Internet.

Carvana was one proponent of updating Illinois law because online sales and home delivery are critical to its business model.

The provisions included in the legislation aren't related to motor vehicle titling and registration requirements central to Carvana's previous, contentious interactions with the state. Illinois twice last year suspended Carvana's dealer license over titli…

TOKYO — A malfunction that shut down all of Toyota Motor Corp.'s plants in Japan on Tuesday happened during an update of the automaker's parts ordering system, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The world's top-selling automaker has not given any details of what went wrong to cause the closure and a company spokesperson on Wednesday was unable to say whether the glitch happened during a system update.

Toyota, which restarted operations at its Japanese assembly plants on Wednesday, has seen production recovering this year. The full-day outage at its domestic plants could be equivalent to $356 million in revenue, Reuters calculations based on output data and financial reporting showed.

The company said its global sales had risen 8 percent in July from the same month a year earlier to a record 859,506 vehicles. It also reported a 15 percent increase in global production in that month.

The automaker has now posted year-on-year inc…

BYD remains confident of selling 3 million cars this year despite economic challenges and an intense price war in the world’s second-biggest economy, founder and Chairman Wang Chuanfu told analysts at a briefing, according to people who were present at the event.

China’s best-selling auto brand also signaled solid profits will continue in the second half of 2023, further boosting the outlook for the company, according to the people, who declined to be identified because the analyst meeting on Tuesday was private.

The automaker on Monday unveiled a 145 percent increase in second-quarter profit to 6.8 billion yuan ($934 million), and a 67 percent jump in revenue to 140 billion yuan after selling a record number of cars in a three-month period.

A price war started by Tesla at the start of the year has squeezed other EV manufacturers.

Both Xpeng and Nio this month reported wider-than-estimated second-quarter losses.

BYD, however, has resisted j…

A man authorities say was responsible for losses of more than $400,000 by using stolen identities to obtain vehicles and credit in California has pleaded guilty to a few of the many charges of identity theft and vehicle grand theft brought by the state and San Diego County prosecutors.

Jean Parret will serve 11 years in prison, California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office said Aug. 22.

Parret, 49, had faced seven counts of grand theft, three counts of attempted grand theft and 10 counts of illegally using another party's personal information in a case prosecuted by Bonta's office. The attorney general's office said Parret carried out an "extensive" scheme in Kern, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties from November 2021 to February 2022.

"His victims included not only the lenders and dealerships who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but also the identity theft victims who were left dealing with the financial, legal, and …

Two former South Carolina Mitsubishi dealership employees accused of a two-year scheme to mislead lenders about customers' creditworthiness have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and making false statements to financial institutions.

Shawn Rustin had served as general manager at then-Hoover Mitsubishi, now used-vehicle dealership Car Fare Charleston, from an unspecified time in 2013 to August 2018; Kentrell Davis had worked as Hoover Mitsubishi's finance manager from November 2015 to April 2018. According to authorities, both men scammed the store's partner lenders from January 2016 to April 2018.

Rustin pleaded guilty to the single fraud conspiracy count July 28, and Davis pleaded guilty Aug. 17. Rustin and Davis could each face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

According to authorities, Rustin and Davis produced two contracts on vehicle sales — an accurate one for the dealershi…

Zurich North America encourages dealerships to have sales staff consistently use a short, templated speech when they hand a customer over to the finance department. A trainer at a June finance and insurance seminar offered examples of behavior to avoid.

Time expectations: Customers normally spend a half-hour or more in a finance office, said Tony DiGregory, Zurich North America regional finance executive. So when a salesperson declares the business manager will " 'get you in and out' ... it's unrealistic expectations," he said.

Jargon: A customer may not know what terms such as F&I or "the box" mean, said DiGregory. "They don't live it," he said. For this reason, Zurich recommends calling the finance manager a "business manager."

Joking: DiGregory recalled a salesperson who used to describe him to customers as "the one that's going to offer you all the stuff you don't need." The joke wasn't mean-spirited, but "that doesn't help anything, right?" DiGr…