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BERLIN -- German rangers stand guard to visitors away from a nondescript stretch of forest near Berlin, where a sign nearby warns of "Lebensgefahr" (danger to life).

The precautions are part of the frantic activity underway to set up Tesla's latest assembly plant, Elon Musk's most daring attack yet on the German auto establishment.

Workers wielding metal detectors have started combing through an area covering some 200 soccer pitches to search for old wartime ammunition beneath the sandy surface of tiny Gruenheide.

It's the first stage to prepare a site that could build as many as 500,000 cars a year, employ 12,000 people and pose a serious challenge to Volkswagen Group, Daimler and BMW as they all push toward an electric future.

Once deemed free of World War II explosives, trucks will roll in to clear thousands of trees in the first stage of development. All this work needs to be done by the end of February to meet Tesla's aggressive timetable. Read more

HONG KONG -- Volkswagen Group will take a 20 percent stake in Chinese electric-vehicle battery maker Guoxuan High-tech, two sources told Reuters, as the automaker accelerates its electric push into the world's largest auto market.

The deal would mark Volkswagen's first direct ownership in a Chinese battery maker and comes as the automaker strives to meet a goal of selling 1.5 million new energy vehicles a year in China by 2025, including plug-in hybrid cars.

VW, the top-selling foreign automaker in China, plans to acquire the stake in Shenzhen-listed Guoxuan via a discounted private share placement in the coming weeks, the two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Based on Guoxuan's market capitalization of $2.8 billion, a 20 percent stake in the company at present is worth about $560 million.

The deal's details have been mostly finalized and the two companies are waiting for new Chinese regulatory rules on private share placements that …

NEW DELHI -- Great Wall Motor has agreed to buy General Motors' car plant in India, the companies said on Friday, as the Chinese automaker expands overseas amid slowing domestic demand.

The deal, which is expected to be completed by the second half of 2020, will jumpstart Great Wall's plans to build and sell cars in India and bring to an end GM's manufacturing operations in the country.

People aware of the deal told Reuters earlier on Friday that the two companies had agreed on the sale, with one of the sources adding that Great Wall is likely to pay around $250 million to $300 million to acquire the plant.

"The Indian market has great potential, rapid economic growth and a good investment environment. Entering the Indian market is an important step for Great Wall Motors' global strategy," Liu Xiangshang, vice president of global strategy at the Chinese automaker said.

Great Wall, one of the biggest sellers of SUVs in China, plans to enter India w…

General Motors on Thursday said it will invest $40 million in its Spring Hill Global Propulsion Systems operation to increase engine capacity for full-size trucks and SUVs.

The investment will expand capacity of the 5.3-liter V-8 engine with Dynamic Fuel Management, which is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. The engine is available on the Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe and Suburban and the GMC Sierra.

The propulsion plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., builds three engines for a total of 13 GM vehicles.

GM announced a separate investment of $22 million in the facility early last year. GM's labor contract with the UAW also calls for it to invest a combined $1 billion in Spring Hill Assembly and the Lansing-Delta Township plant in Michigan to build next-generation midsize crossovers.

In addition, GM said it would invest $6.7 million to upgrade production systems at its Tonawanda Engine plant in New York. GM will spend $2.3 million to improve effici…

TOKYO -- Lebanon asked Carlos Ghosn not to identify Japanese government officials in his internationally televised news conference last week, where the fallen auto executive lashed out against Nissan Motor Co. and those he says were behind a plot to have him arrested for financial crimes, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The Lebanese government, pushed by Japanese diplomats, exerted pressure on Ghosn before he spoke to reporters on Jan. 8 in Beirut so that he wouldn’t divulge names or the details of how he escaped Japan, said the people, asking not to be identified given the sensitivity of the issue. Lebanon agreed to talk to Ghosn as a way of maintaining good diplomatic relations with Japan, they said. Ghosn intended to name names in the government but understood and agreed to stay quiet, according to the people.

Ghosn’s shock escape from Japan while out on bail has embarrassed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe‘s government and opened up a new wound wit…

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the parent of iPhone assembler Foxconn plan to set up a joint venture to build electric cars and develop internet-connected vehicles.

FCA confirmed on Friday it was in talks with Hon Hai on the potential creation of a 50-50 joint venture to develop and manufacture new generation full-electric vehicles in China and engage in the IoV (Internet of Vehicles) business.

The initial focus will be on the Chinese market, with exports coming later, according to the automaker.

FCA said it is in the process of signing a preliminary agreement with Foxconn aimed at reaching final binding agreements in the next few months.

FCA's statement came after Taiwan's Hon Hai, the parent of Foxconn, the Chinese assembler of Apple iPhones, announced the potential joint venture in a separate statement.

Hon Hai said it would hold its 50 percent share both directly and indirectly and its direct shareholding would not exceed 40 percent.

A Columbus, Ohio, man pleaded guilty Monday to a $4.5 million scheme of defrauding his employers, Cummins Bridgeway LLC and Cummins Inc.

David Hudson, 54, faces a sentence of 51 to 63 months in prison for writing checks to himself out of profit-sharing funds, according to a news release the U.S. Department of Justice in Detroit. His sentencing is scheduled for April 15.

Hudson worked for power generator distributor Cummins Bridgeway from 2003 to 2014, when it was acquired by Cummins Inc., which makes engines and power-generation equipment.

After the acquisition, Hudson's responsibilities included transferring funds to entities created to share Cummins profits with Cummins Bridgeway employees, according to the news release. Hudson, according to the release, wrote unauthorized checks to himself from those profit-sharing vehicles between 2008 and 2017.

Cummins retains operations in New Hudson, Mich., and Hudson lived in Michigan at the time of the of…

DETROIT -- General Motors' captive finance company has restructured its leadership team to better align with its automaker parent, CEO Dan Berce said in a memo to employees.

A series of leadership shifts, including COO Kyle Birch's promotion to president of North America, will lead to more coordination between GM Financial and GM.

In his newly created role of president of North American operations, Birch will continue to report to Berce, according to the memo. A few key leaders on Birch's team will report not only to Birch, but also to executives within GM — Deborah Wahl, global chief marketing officer, and Travis Hester, global vice president of customer experience. Birch and much of his team will work closely with GM on marketing, customer experience and digitization.

In September, GM appointed Wahl as its first global chief marketing officer since 2012 and Hester to the newly created position of global vice president of custome…

Think of them as a cross between a city bus and an Uber. They are on-demand, app-based passenger shuttles, and they are beginning to pop up across the U.S. as cities work to expand mobility options.

These ​microtransit vehicles are often cheaper than hailing a personal car, and unlike other forms of mass transit, they aren't constrained by timetables and fixed routes. Passengers summon shuttles using an app. Some of the minibuses operate door to door; others pick up and drop off passengers at "virtual stops" near their desired location. They also operate on college campuses.

Among the companies powering these shuttle services are New York-based Via Transportation Inc. and Durham, N.C.,-based Transloc Inc., a subsidiary of Ford Smart Mobility.

Via announced on Monday that it had created the nation's largest on-demand microtransit system, expanding the SmaRT Ride service in Sacramento, Calif., to 42 vehicles. Via operates the service in partnershi…

TOKYO -- Japan's Honda Motor Co. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. on Wednesday said they would jointly research the use of hydrogen fuel cells to power heavy-duty trucks, looking to expand fuel cell use by applying the zero-emission technology to larger vehicles.

As part of a two-year deal, Isuzu will test Honda's fuel cell powertrain, which was designed for passenger cars, in Isuzu's commercial trucks, the companies said, which could pave the way for using the technology in a wider range of vehicles.

Automakers are looking to develop more electric vehicles to comply with tightening global emissions regulations.

Many see battery-powered EVs as a solution for passenger cars in urban settings, but a growing number see hydrogen fuel cells as an effective way to power trucks, buses and other big vehicles.

"Although we have done extensive R&D into passenger FCVs [fuel cell vehicles], we have not been able to study how best to apply the technology to commercia…

PARIS -- PSA Group named Vincent Cobee, a former Renault-Nissan alliance executive, as CEO of the Citroen brand, replacing Linda Jackson, who will take on a strategic role within the group.

PSA also said Wednesday that Beatrice Foucher, another former Renault-Nissan alliance executive, will be the CEO of its DS Automobiles upscale brand, replacing Yves Bonnefont.

Jackson, who had led Citroen since 2014 and also oversaw PSA's low-emissions vehicle business unit, will lead a study "to clarify and support differentiation" of PSA's brands, and will report to CEO Carlos Tavares. PSA last month signed a memorandum of understanding to merge with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The merged PSA-FCA will have more than a dozen brands.

Cobee, a French national, left Mitsubishi in April 2019 as part of a wider shuffle among the top ranks at Nissan and Mitsubishi in the wake of the arrest of Carlos Ghosn last November. He joined Citroen as deputy CEO in October 2019. He ha…