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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group are pressing to complete their merger ahead of schedule as disruptions to the auto industry add urgency to their efforts to realize synergies from joining forces.

The two companies that would form the world’s fourth-largest automaker are aiming to seal the deal by the end of January, according to people familiar with the matter. European antitrust approval is expected by the end of the year, and if that timeline slips, the companies still expect to hold meetings Jan. 4 to get sign-off from shareholders, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

Fiat Chrysler and PSA are eager to sew up the merger and get on with the work of squeezing the roughly 5 billion euros ($6.1 billion) of annual savings from cooperating as one company called Stellantis, they said. Tesla Inc. has emerged as far and away the world’s most valuable automaker this year by reaching high volumes of electric vehic…

Harald Müller, president of Volkswagen’s Jetta subbrand, passed away in Germany, according to information VW Group CEO Herbert Diess disclosed via his LinkedIn account this week.

Diess didn’t disclose what Müller died of or who will succeed him as head of the Jetta brand and president of FAW-VW’s Chengdu plant. 

“The Jetta brand will forever be associated with Harald Müller - no brand has ever started more successfully in China, the world’s largest automotive market,” Diess said in the LinkedIn post.

Jetta, previously a volume model under the VW brand, was unveiled as an entry-level subbrand specifically for China in February 2018. 

VW expects Jetta to capture share in China’s entry-level segment, where 80 percent of customers are first-time car buyers. 

Jetta has launched three products – the VA3 sedan, and the VS5 and VS7 crossovers. The vehicles, developed on VW’s MQB platform, are produced at the Chengdu plant run by FAW-…

BYD Co., a leading Chinese electrified vehicle maker, said 246 electric buses it delivered to Dutch customer Keolis Nederland BV went into service in the Netherlands this month. 

The fleet, comprising 12- and 13-meter-long buses with low floors, now operate in Dutch cities including Zwolle, Apeldoorn, Ede, Dedemsvaart, Vaassen, Harderwijk and Deventer. 

The buses were mainly built at BYD’s assembly plant in Hungary. They are part of an order for 259 electric buses the company received in December 2019 from Keolis Nederland, the Dutch subsidiary of global public transport operator Keolis. 

BYD said it will deliver the remaining 13 electric buses to Keolis Nederland next spring. 

In Europe, BYD also operates electric bus assembly plants in France and the United Kingdom. 

It has secured orders for more than 1,400 electric buses from European customers, BYD said. 

Outside China, the Chinese company also asse…

Connected vehicles vulnerable to major hacks, Upstream Security says

Connectivity can boost the capabilities of automated vehicles, enhance vehicle personalization and improve driver experiences.

These benefits are so widespread that connected vehicles — able to communicate with each other, the infrastructure, the cloud, even pedestrians — are expected to comprise nearly 86 percent of the global automotive market by 2025.

But all of this technology leaves vulnerabilities and increases opportunities for hackers, according to Upstream Security's 2021 Global Automotive Cybersecurity Report, released Tuesday.

The Israeli company analyzed 633 publicly reported cyber hacks or attacks since 2010, nearly one-third of which occurred this year.

"Traditional forms of cyber threats like ransomware, as well as more automotive-specific threats targeting telematics services, vehicle components, and the vehicles themselves, contributed to the recent incr…

President-elect Joe Biden has selected former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, North Carolina environmental regulator Michael Regan and Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico to advance his climate policy and strengthen safeguards against pollution.

If confirmed, Granholm would be secretary of energy, Regan would become Environmental Protection Agency administrator and Haaland secretary of the Interior.

The team announced Thursday also includes Brenda Mallory as chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, Gina McCarthy as National Climate adviser and Ali Zaidi as Deputy National Climate adviser.

“This brilliant, tested, trailblazing team will be ready on day one to confront the existential threat of climate change with a unified national response rooted in science and equity,” Biden said in a statement released Thursday night. “They share my belief that we have no time to waste to confront the climate crisis, protect our air and drinking water, and deliver ju…

Dongfeng Motor Group Co., a Hong Kong-listed state-owned automaker, said it was approved last week by the stock Exchange in the south China city of Shenzhen to issue shares on the bourse.

The move makes Dongfeng the second Hong Kong-listed Chinese automaker to secure a dual listing on stock exchanges in mainland China so far this year, following Geely Automobile Holdings. 

Dongfeng expects to raise 21 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) from the dual listing. The company said 9.2 billion yuan will be used to fund the development of new full electric vehicles including products for its newly created premium brand, Voyah. 

The remaining capital will be used to develop connected and autonomous driving technology, as well as hydrogen fuel cell batteries, according to the initial public offering application the company filed to the Shenzhen stock exchange in September. 

Dongfeng, based in the central China city of Wuhan, produces light vehicles …

Great Wall Motor Co., a leading Chinese light-truck maker, broke ground in late November on an engine factory on a site adjacent to its vehicle assembly plant in central Russia’s Tula Oblast region. 

The new factory is the first step toward localizing production of key components for vehicles produced at the Russian assembly plant, Great Wall said. 

The engine factory, due to start production in 2022, can initially produce up to 80,000 engines a year, the company added. 

Great Wall in 2019 opened the vehicle assembly plant in Russia, its first vehicle production site outside of China. The plant builds Great Wall’s Haval-badged H7 crossover and H9 SUV. 

The private Chinese automaker, further expanding its global footprint, acquired General Motors’ assembly plant in Rayong in eastern Thailand last month. 

After renovation, the Thai factory will reopen sometime in the first quarter of 2021 to build right-hand-drive pic…

WILMINGTON, Del. -- President-elect Joe Biden touted the diversity of his incoming administration as he introduced former rival Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday as his choice for U.S. transportation secretary to take the lead in upgrading America's aging infrastructure.

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., would be the first openly gay cabinet secretary confirmed by the Senate if he is approved.

"The Biden-Harris cabinet will be a historic cabinet -- a cabinet that looks like America, a cabinet that taps into the best of America, a cabinet that is opening doors and breaking down barriers and accessing the full range of talent ... in this nation," Biden said as he puts forth what is shaping up to be the most diverse cabinet in U.S. history.

Appearing with Buttigieg in Wilmington, Del., Biden said the 38-year-old would confront the task of restoring what he called "our crumbling roads, bridges and ports." Biden has proposed a massive boost in infras…

General Motors will invest $76 million in two plants in New York and Ohio to meet full-size pickup demand, the automaker said this week.

GM will commit $70 million to its Tonawanda, N.Y., engine plant to increase capacity on the engine block machining line. At the Parma, Ohio, metal stamping plant, the investment will go toward building four metal assembly cells to support increased pickup production volume, GM said in a statement.

"GM continues to invest to strengthen our core business and respond to growing customer demand for our full-size pickups," Phil Kienle, GM vice president of North America manufacturing and labor relations, said in the statement. "Our Tonawanda and Parma teams are dedicated to building world-class products for our customers and these investments reflect our confidence in these teams."

The investments will support production at the Oshawa, Ontario, assembly plant, according to a person familiar with the deta…

Nikola Corp., an electric-truck startup, plans to enter into an agreement with an Arizona utility to supply cheap electricity it needs to produce hydrogen for a planned fueling network.

The proposed contract between Nikola and Arizona Public Service Co., a unit of Pinnacle West Capital Corp., was disclosed in a Dec. 11 filing requesting approval from Arizona utility regulators.

The deal would mark a significant step for a startup that’s faced a series of setbacks since going public in June and whose business plan rests on being able to produce hydrogen fuel cheaply. Nikola shares closed Wednesday's trading up 3.2 percent to $17.

In an April filing, Nikola outlined an estimated cost of producing hydrogen at around $2.50 per kilogram, which it based on securing wholesale electricity at a rate of 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The rate APS proposes is around 2.7 cents per kilowatt hour.

“This rate schedule enables Nikola’s planned deployment of fueling…

Joe Finn, CEO of the Irvin Products business of supplier Piston Group, is also assuming leadership of Piston's Detroit Thermal Systems business.

Finn, 53, takes the helm effective immediately. Former Detroit Thermal Systems CEO Kurt Hall, 62, retired in November, Piston Group said Wednesday.

Piston Group, based in suburban Detroit, is controlled by former NBA star Vinnie Johnson. Johnson led the acquisition of Irvin from scandal-ridden Japanese airbag supplier Takata Corp. in 2016 for a reported $175 million.

Irvin Products primarily supplies seat covers, visors, armrests, consoles and custom accessories. Detroit Thermal Systems supplies climate control systems and components.

Both work extensively with Ford, the group's largest customer. Under one executive, Detroit Thermal Systems will benefit from Irvin's other customer relationships with Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, Honda Motor Co. and Tesla, according to the group.

Finn joined Irvin …

The second-generation Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell sedan arrives in the U.S. this month with more luxurious styling, a longer range and a significantly lower starting price than its predecessor.

The 2021 Mirai XLE trim starts at $50,495, Toyota said in a press release Wednesday, which is $8,985 less than the outgoing 2020 model, when factoring in shipping. The Limited starts at $66,995, including shipping. The new two-trim strategy lowers the barrier of entry for customers by adding a lower-priced version — the previous generation had only one trim.

XLE lease offers will start at $499 a month, while Limited leasing starts at $549. Toyota will offer launch incentives, including special finance rates, retail cash back and launch cash back.

The 2021 Mirai is built on Toyota's GA-L modular platform for luxury rear-wheel-drive cars. The XLE has an EPA-estimated range of 402 miles, a 30 percent improvement over the outgoing version. The…