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Police departments are under siege by twin crises: State and local coffers have been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter movement is pressuring officials to target police budgets for cuts. That’s bad news for the automakers that supply law-enforcement vehicles, a niche business seen as a lucrative market not long ago.

Segment leader Ford Motor Co. and other police-vehicle manufacturers including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and General Motors compete for contracts that have provided stable profits and image-related benefits. Most are gussied up versions of their mass-market cars and trucks, so they can be produced relatively cheaply but with lots of upgrades such as motion detectors and 12-inch touch screens.

And there’s been no better way to signal toughness and durability than by making the vehicle-of-choice for cops chasing suspects down gritty streets and unpaved roads.

“It’s a highly visible branding message to see first r…

The Swedish battery cell maker Northvolt has received a $525 million loan guarantee from the German government for a pilot plant.

Northvolt, set up by two former Tesla executives, has assembled more than $3 billion in debt and equity to finance production in its native Sweden, targeting battery-cell output equal to about 40 gigawatt-hours of capacity. 

The company said it is aiming for a 25 percent share of the European battery market, which has been dominated by Asian companies, including LG Chem, Samsung and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.

Last month Northvolt announced that it had raised $1.6 billion in debt financing from a group of banks, pension funds and other public institutions. It raised $1 billion in equity capital in 2019 from investors including BMW Group and Volkswagen Group. 

The guarantee from the German government is a stepping stone to Northvolt’s plan to operate with VW a “Northvolt Two” plant in Salzgitt…

Japanese government officials tried unsuccessfully to bring Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. together for merger talks earlier this year, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The idea, first put to the companies at the end of 2019, was rejected before it reached the boards of both sides.

Nissan, Honda and the prime minister’s office declined to comment.

Government officials feared Nissan's alliance with Renault might collapse, leaving the company exposed, people familiar with the matter told the paper.

SHANGHAI -- China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., a Tesla supplier, is developing a new type of electric-vehicle battery that contains no nickel or cobalt, a company executive said Saturday.

Nickel and cobalt are key ingredients in the batteries that power EVs. Battery makers from Japan's Panasonic Corp. to South Korea's LG Chem are lowering the use of expensive cobalt in their nickel-cobalt-aluminium  batteries or nickel-cobalt-manganese batteries.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk last month urged miners to produce more nickel, warning the current cost of batteries remained a big hurdle to the company's growth.

CATL makes NCM batteries and supplies lithium ion phosphate batteries to Tesla. It has partnerships with Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. and supplies Germany's Volkswagen Group and Daimler.

The new battery type will be different from existing NCA, NCM and LFP batteries and will have no expensive metals like nickel or cobalt, …

SHANGHAI -- China's Geely Automobile Holdings on Monday booked a 43 percent drop in half-year profit as the coronavirus outbreak continues to trouble the world's biggest auto market.

The result come as China's overall auto sales slowly recovers from a virus-blighted start to the year. Sales climbed for the fourth consecutive month in July yet are still down 13 percent for the year to date.

China's highest-profile automaker -- due to group investments in Volvo Cars and Daimler -- posted January-June net profit of 2.3 billion yuan ($331 million), it said in a statement.

The automaker sold 530,446 vehicles, down 19 percent on year, leaving revenue down 23 percent at 36.82 billion yuan, meeting analyst estimates.

To curb expenses, Geely reduced its workforce by about 12 percent during the first half to 38,000.

"Geely's 1H20 earnings are largely in line with our expectation, thanks to its significant cost cut efforts, especially in wages and inv…

Senior analyst Mike Ramsey discusses his consulting firm’s latest transportation-tech Hype Cycle report, realistic timelines for widespread self-driving vehicle deployments, the prospect of air taxis, and the new Jim Farley era at Ford.

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Editor’s note: This story is part of the annual Automotive News “Future Product Pipeline” series.

Volvo Cars is trading its diesel-powered past for an electron-charged future.

Globally, every new Volvo model will have an electric motor as part of the Swedish automaker's plan to make all-electric cars account for half of its global sales by 2025 — with the rest being hybrids.

The first of those all-electric models will roll into U.S. dealerships this fall.

The XC40 Recharge P8 is an electric version of Volvo's fastest-selling model — the XC40 crossover. The dual-motor EV delivers up to 408 hp and can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. Volvo estimates that it will have an EPA-rated range of "more than 200 miles."

Another new sporty electric crossover — the C40 — is expected to arrive next year, followed by a battery-powered XC90 crossover.

Meanwhile, Volvo has a new plus-size luxury crossover in the works. The XC100, built on the nex…

LOS ANGELES — Hyundai Motor Co. is the latest major automaker to plan a distinct brand to contain its coming onslaught of electric vehicles.

It will be a mission of brand identity and awareness as Hyundai brings the venture to life.

Hyundai pulled the name Ioniq from its existing eco-friendly compact hatchback, which comes in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and EV versions. The low-volume Ioniq was pitched as something of a rival to Toyota's hybrid Prius, a nameplate that also was parlayed into a distinct brand effort at Toyota.

Hyundai said it is creating the Ioniq brand "in response to fast-growing market demand" as the company plans to "lead the global EV market."

Analysts say it's really a subbrand at best. The automaker confirmed that it will keep the Hyundai badge on the new Ioniq products and sell them through existing dealers. That's different from Hyundai's Genesis luxury brand, which has a separate identity and growin…

Bailout talks between Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Steel with the U.K. government have ended, leaving both companies to rely on private financing to overcome the impact of coronavirus on business, the Financial Times reported.

Talks for an emergency funding fell through as Jaguar Land Rover did not qualify for taxpayer support, the paper said.

Jaguar Land Rover also was unwilling to accept decarbonization requirements that would have forced the automaker to accelerate its program of vehicle electrification and phase out the diesel cars that still make up most of its fleet, the Financial Times said, citing a source with knowledge of the discussions.

The bailout plan, titled "Project Birch," had been authorized by U.K. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak in May to rescue companies that are seen as strategically important, with the Treasury saying it may step in to support crucial businesses on a "last resort" basis after other options run out.

The report, ci…