Trade News

Despite new-vehicle shortages, South Motors CEO Jonathan Chariff expects consumer demand to remain strong as the retail sector slowly approaches a 'new normal' with inventory levels.

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FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen's deliveries of battery-powered electric vehicles in China more than tripled in the first nine months of the year, the carmaker said on Friday, less than two months after it flagged the need to change its e-car strategy there.

Deliveries of battery electric vehicles in the world's largest car market stood at 47,200 in the January-September period, up from 15,700 in the same period last year.

"As planned, we significantly accelerated the BEV market ramp-up in China in the third quarter, and we are on track to meet our target for the year of delivering 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles of the ID. model family," said Christian Dahlheim, head of group sales.

Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess in July said the carmaker had to change its approach to how it markets BEVs in China after first-half deliveries stood at just 18,285.

MEXICO CITY -- Ford Motor Co. will temporarily suspend production Friday at its Hermosillo plant in Mexico's Sonora state due to a shortage of materials, the plant's labor union said Thursday.

Workers will be paid 75 percent of salaries on Friday, the union added.

Ford had also suspended production from Oct. 11-12 at its Hermosillo plant, where it makes its Bronco Sport crossover and Maverick compact pickup.

The union did not specify which materials were in short supply, but other automakers have been struggling with a chip shortage as semiconductor manufacturers shifted production toward parts needed for laptop computers, cellphones and video games during the pandemic.

Ford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

BEIJING -- Electric vehicle maker Nio Inc. said it would double the capacity of its Hefei plant to 240,000 vehicles a year, up from 120,000 units.

The factory, in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei, can make sedan and crossover models. After the expansion, with extra operating shifts, the plant will be able to make up to 300,000 cars a year, it told Reuters.

Nio will finish the production line expansion in the first half of 2022, it said.

Nissan was told by a court in the United Arab Emirates to pay 1.3 billion dirhams ($354 million) to a joint-venture partner that sued the automaker for breaching an agreement over the distribution of vehicles in the region.

Al Dahana FZCO, a Dubai-based company established by people with links to former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, accused Nissan in 2019 of reneging on its contractual obligations. That happened months after Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo on allegations of understating his compensation, although he has since fled Japan to escape trial and now resides in Lebanon.

Nissan said the partnership ended in 2019 after it fully complied with its contractual obligations, and that legal proceedings are ongoing in the emirate.

"We are confident that Nissan has acted properly throughout and look forward to resolving the matter through the Dubai courts for the benefit of our employees, customers and stakeholders," Azusa Momose, a spokeswoman for the autom…

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. will cut global production for a third time next month as the pandemic and global shortage of automotive microchips continue to bite, but the impact will not be as painful as before and Japan's biggest automaker finally sees signs of recovery on the horizon.

"I think we are over the worst period," global procurement manager Kazunari Kumakura said.

Toyota will produce between 850,000 and 900,000 vehicles worldwide in November, the company announced on Friday. The total represents a 15 percent cutback from Toyota's revised November production plan to produce 1 million vehicles in the month.

But even with the cutback, the reduced output level still represents an all-time high for the month of November, Toyota noted. That is because in August, Toyota actually raised the November monthly target to 1 million units in an attempt to catch up from earlier setbacks.

Procurement manager Kumakura said the company could have reach…

European passenger-car registrations slumped 25 percent in September as the microchip shortage squeezed the supply of vehicles to dealerships.

Sales of new cars were 972,723 in the European Union, U.K. and EFTA markets, the lowest for the month since 1995, data from industry association ACEA showed on Friday.

The industry group ACEA largely attributes the decline to the semiconductor shortage, which has led to production stoppages at car factories.

The September sales plunge puts the industry on course to come up short of last year's disastrous showing amid COVID-19 lockdowns that closed many dealerships.

After three consecutive declines, sales in Europe have fallen in more months than they have risen this year.

Market researchers now expect sales to be down this year after optimism in early 2021 when ACEA predicted growth of about 10 percent.

"We currently forecast that this year will not eclipse the desperately weak 2020 result," …

Oak Ridge National Laboratory teams believe on-the-go wireless EV charging will help eliminate range anxiety and reduce strain on the nation's power grid.

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NUERTINGEN, Germany -- Geely and Volvo Car's joint Lynk & CO brand, which both sells and rents cars to customers on monthly subscriptions, could be profitable within one or two years, CEO Alain Visser said.

"We could be profitable in a surprisingly short time, one to two years," Visser said said Thursday at a car conference in Nuertingen, near Stuttgart.

Visser worked for General Motors, Ford, and Volvo before taking over at Lynk & CO.

The brand, which currently offers just one China-made 01 compact crossover in hybrid and plug-in hybrid form for between 35,000 euros and 42,000 euros ($40,635-$48,795), saw 29 percent sales growth in the first half of 2021 to 17,077 units, Geely reported in July.

However, its main measure of success is monthly memberships, which numbered 25,000 in September of this year.

"There is a conflict of interest between sharing cars and selling cars," Visser said. "Lynk & CO does not need to sell cars." Read more about Lynk & CO could be profitable in 1-2 years, CEO says

The Ford Mustang 5.0-liter GT snagged the top spot in an annual automotive index that measures the amount of U.S.-manufactured content in vehicles.

This is the second consecutive year a Ford Motor Co. model has topped the Kogod Made in America Auto Index. The Ford Ranger topped the list in 2020 but fell to 16th place this year because its overall amount of U.S. and Canadian content fell from 70 to 45 percent.

The Mustang contains nearly 89 percent domestic content, according to the index. For comparison, the 10th-ranked vehicle contains 76 percent domestic content.

The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray placed second, the Tesla Model 3 placed third and the Ford Bronco placed fourth.

Five models tied for fifth place: the Ford Expedition, the gasoline engine-equipped GMC Canyon pickup, the gasoline engine-equipped Chevrolet Colorado pickup, the Tesla Model S and the Tesla Model Y.

Only the gasoline engine-equipped versions of those two General Motor…