Car Industry: Electric Car Companies: Here’s Who Makes All the EVs

The electrics are coming! Hardly a month goes by now where we don't hear about several new electric cars and crossovers on the way to the U.S. from all manner of automakers big and small. Everyone's hoping to get a piece of Tesla's action, all while betting big that car buyers are getting ready to move away from combustion and hybrid-powered vehicles to full EVs. Maybe you've even been considering making just such a switch yourself.

Many of those very same (especially European) automakers have also set calendar dates for when they'll start or finish phasing out internal combustion engines entirely. We already told you about all the EVs you can buy in 2021, plus the electric SUVs available, and now it's time to run down all the electric car companies who make them. Who's making what, right now and in the foreseeable future? Read on for a list of every company and brand already building or planning EVs for the U.S. market, organized in alphabetical order and accompanied by a list of their current and future electric cars, trucks, and SUVs.

Read more at: Electric Car Companies: Here’s Who Makes All the EVs

Auto Industry; Merger between.Fiat Chrysler and Renault

Renault and Fiat Chrysler to announce merger talks: sources French and Italian-US auto giants Renault and Fiat Chrysler are set to announce talks on an alliance, with a view to a potential merger, informed sources said on Sunday.

Read more at: 
http://www.france24.com/en/20190526-renault-fiat-chrysler-announce-merger-sources-france

Auto Industry: GM slashing 14,700 jobs in North America, putting five plants up for possible closure

General Motors will lay off 14,700 factory and white-collar workers in North America and put five plants up for possible closure as it restructures to cut costs and focus more on autonomous and electric vehicles.

The reduction includes 8,100 white-collar workers, some of whom will take buyouts and others who will be laid off. Most of the affected factories build cars that won’t be sold in the US after next year.

EU-Digest

Insurance Industry: Autonomous cars could drive auto insurance to extinction - by Scott Mclaren

Autonomous cars on future roads could end the need for insurance

In a 2015 interview, Elon Musk pointed out that recent advances in auto technology could lead to human-operated vehicles becoming illegal someday.

While this may seem ludicrous to some, it could play out sooner than you think. By 2025 — just a few short years away — the auto industry’s autonomous segment is projected to reach a worth of $26 billion, according to insights from Bain & Company. Some estimates even project as many as 10 million self-driving cars will be on the road by 2020.

Musk’s prediction that human-controlled vehicles could be outlawed comes from not only an increase in autonomous options, but also for one simple reason: safety. It’s hard to imagine tech operation being safer than human operation, but vehicle safety statistics point to driver error as one of the top causes of auto accidents. In fact, more than 3,000 people were killed and 431,000 injured from distracted driving in 2014 alone, with contributing factors including cell phone usage, fatigue, aggressive driving, and running red lights. Although it’s far too early for statistical comparison, it’s fair to say that autonomous vehicles will face far fewer variables and will have greater predictability in certain driving situations.

Without driver error, will we need insurance at all?

In theory, removing human error from the roads means fewer accidents — which would also remove the need for private insurance that covers damage caused by drivers. In tandem, these two changes would lower accident liabilities and, theoretically, cause a huge drop in personal auto insurance premiums.

As it stands, auto insurers offer rates based on individual driving histories, and can even optimize each policy’s pricing via driver-approved telematics. As the insurance industry adapts to new technology saturating the market — turning drivers into mere passengers — the liability for accidents caused by autonomous vehicles could be handed off to the manufacturer, software designer, or even the government through the Department of Transportation. “

At least the current thinking is that the manufacturers will be ultimately responsible for a lot of these future accidents when an automated vehicle is involved,” said Rick Gorvett of the Casualty Actuarial Society.

But the Insurance Information Institute’s Michael Barry doesn’t think these changes will wipe out owner responsibility in total. Barry pointed out that driver error isn’t the only danger to vehicles, and owners and insurance companies will still have to factor in off-road damages that may occur. “Cars can still get flooded, damaged, or stolen,” he said, “but this technology will have a dramatic impact on underwriting. A lot of traditional underwriting criteria will beupended.

Read more: Autonomous cars could drive auto insurance to extinction | VentureBeat

Car Industry Tesla 3: What do Tesla Model 3 buyers want from the most - by by Andrew J. Hawkinsimportant electric car ever built? -

The new Tesla 3

You probably haven’t heard, but today is a very important day for Elon Musk and Tesla. Later this evening, Musk will host an exclusive handover party for 30 customers who reserved the Model 3, 

Tesla’s first mass-market electric car. They will be the first people in the world (not named Musk) to receive what is widely seen as one of the most important electric cars of our time. 

For Tesla, it’s all been leading to the Model 3. If you believe the hype, this is the car that will rescue us from the evil clutches of the internal combustion engine — and for just $35,000. So the pressure is on Tesla to finally deliver on its promise of bringing clean, sustainable driving to the masses.

“The Model 3 is far more than just another car,” said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at AutoTrader. “If successful, it would mark a breakthrough for electric vehicles and would be promising in terms of the proliferation of the technology. However, the challenges are formidable.”

Read more: What do Tesla Model 3 buyers want from the most important electric car ever built? - The Verge

Automobile Industry: Panasonic to invest over $256-million in Tesla’s U.S. plant for solar cells

Panasonic Corp will invest more than 30 billion yen ($256-million) in a New York production facility of Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors to make photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, deepening a partnership of the two companies.

Japan’s Panasonic, which has been retreating from low-margin consumer electronics to focus more on automotive components and other businesses targeting corporate clients, will make the investment in Tesla’s factory in Buffalo, New York.

The U.S. electric car maker is making a long-term purchase commitment from Panasonic as part of the deal, besides providing factory buildings and infrastructure.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the two companies said they plan to start production of PV modules in the summer of 2017 and increase to one gigawatt of module production by 2019.

The plan is part of the solar partnership that the two companies first announced in October, but which did not disclose investment details.

Tesla is working exclusively with longtime partner Panasonic to supply batteries for its upcoming Model 3, the company’s first mass-market car. Panasonic is also the exclusive supplier of batteries to Tesla’s Model S and Model X.

Panasonic to invest over $256-million in Tesla’s U.S. plant for solar cells - The Globe and Mail

World Solar Challenge: Dutch university Delft wins race in Australia

A team from Delft University in the Netherlands has won a solar car race in the Australian outback.

The university's Nuon Solar Team was the first to arrive at the finish line in Adelaide and the 3,000km (1,800 mile) race took four days to complete.

In second place was a team from the University of Twente, also from the Netherlands; while Japan's Tokai University came in third.

The race, which happens once every two years, started on Sunday in Darwin.

Nearly 50 teams from universities and schools around the world took part. Delft University had also won the last challenge in 2013.

The World Solar Challenge is aimed at promoting research on solar-powered cars which could become a consumer product one day.

World Solar Challenge: Dutch university Delft wins race in Australia - BBC News

Car Industry: Electric cars growing 100% every year (graphs) - Zachary Shahan

Actually, electric car sales are growing a bit more than 100%.

Many of us quite familiar with electric cars believe they will "disrupt" the automobile industry, replacing gasmobiles just as cell phones replaced landlines and smartphones replaced first-generation cell phones. Electric cars are simply much better... in numerous ways.

As manufacturing has gotten rolling and costs of lithium-ion batteries have fallen (quite sharply), overall costs for electric cars have dropped down to commercially competitive levels. In the US, you can now buy 11 plug-in electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars for under $30,000, which is less than the average new car now. There are similar stories in Europe, Japan, and China.

Furthermore, operating costs are several times lower than with gas- or diesel-powered cars, electric cars drive much more quietly and smoothly, and their acceleration is much greater. Then there are other things that appeal to many consumers: electric cars have zero tailpipe emissions, they help tremendously to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and they cut our addiction to oil, improving national energy security.

For these reasons and more, electric car registrations around the world have been growing by over 100% a year the past few years.

Read more: Electric cars growing 100% every year (graphs) : TreeHugger

Venezuela: Toyota halts Venezuela production

Toyota is halting production at its only assembly plant in Venezuela because the world's largest automaker lacks the hard currency to import parts due to government controls, a factory official said Friday.

The temporary shutdown of the Japanese car maker's operations in the western city of Cumana is to begin February 13 and last at least six weeks.

"We are going to close initially for 45 days in hopes that we will be granted the foreign currency needed to import auto parts," a source in Toyota Venezuela's management told AFP.

In a statement to its workers obtained Friday by AFP, the company said the lack of parts was "critical," and that the shutdown would affect not only production but all but essential administrative business.

The plant produced nearly 9,500 vehicles in 2013.

Companies such as Toyota must go through a complex bureaucratic process to obtain dollars.

Venezuela is only providing dollars at the official rate of 6.3 bolivars to the dollar to importers of designated priority goods such as food and medical supplies.

Others who need dollars to pay overseas bills have to buy them at a higher rate at government-run auctions. Many companies have complained Caracas is not providing them with enough hard currency.

Note EU-Digest: Regardless of the shortages produced by the restrictions for the corporate world in Venezuela, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says one of the major achievements made by the 14 year Government regime was to make food affordable for the poor and the reduction by 50% of citizens facing hunger.

Read more: Toyota halts Venezuela production

Electric Car Industry: Despite Several Electric-Car Fires, Tesla Is a Safer Option - by Daniel Sparks

Based on comments from Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a company blog post about the first fire in early October, earlier this week I explained that Tesla's Model S has only seen two fires in 100 million miles driven, while traditional vehicles have one fire for every 20 million miles driven. The numbers make a strong case that the vehicle is at least as fireproof as traditional vehicles.

But several readers suggested in the comments that the comparison doesn't suggest the Model S is safer, since the Model S is a new car and the national statistic for traditional vehicles includes much older models. A new car, they explained, should have far less vehicle fire incidents, they argued. It's a solid point.

Is there a counter to this argument? Or are electric vehicles simply just as likely to catch fire as traditional vehicles? As it turns out, there's still plenty of evidence that suggests Tesla's fully electric vehicles are a better alternative for preventing fires than filling your car with a large tank of highly flammable liquid.

Tesla has seen two fires in 130 million miles than it is to say two fires in 100 million miles. That brings the statistic to one fire in every 65 million miles, compared with traditional vehicles' one fire in every 20 million miles.

Read more: Despite Several Electric-Car Fires, Tesla Is a Safer Option (TSLA)

Russia: Car Industry - Independents vs dealership: the Russian market

The Russian market showed a dramatic increase in new car sales between 2009 and 2012, with approximately 95 per cent of these sold in dealerships.

It is estimated there are 14,000 businesses that  carry out collision repairs in Russia, however they range in quality from state-of-the art, dealer based bodyshops to unregistered independent garages.

There are very few independent bodyshops in Russia ,most bodyshops are part of the dealership sector.

Of the 4,250 dealerships 76% declare they have their own bodyshop.

Read more: Independents vs dealership: the Russian market

The Netherlands: Electric automobiles: Tesla Opens First European Plant in the Netherlands

Tesla Motors which recently won the car of the year award opened an assembly plant in Tilburg, Netherlands, and delivered the first Tesla Model S vehicles to customers in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany.

The 18,900 square meter facility will not produce the Model S from scratch; instead, it will receive the vehicles for final assembly and send them on their way across the continent.

To mark the occasion, first buyers from the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany showed up at the opening to receive their cars.

The car company chose Tilburg because of is proximity to the port of Rotterdam, as well as the high quality and availability of transportation options there.

"This location is pivotal to Tesla's European operations, which are expanding rapidly over the coming months with openings of around 15 new stores and service centres," Bryan Batista, Tesla's EU sales director, said in a statement.

Read more: Tesla Opens First Plant in the Netherlands

European car market begins rebound as economy improves

Renault Fluence

The European car market is showing the first signs of improvement as a recession ends in the 17 countries using the euro and deliveries in key regional markets begin to improve.

Ford Motor Co.'s deliveries last month in its 19 main European markets increased 9 percent from a year earlier to 90,000 cars, the company said today. "The worst is over," Roelant de Waard, head of sales and marketing for the Ford of Europe division, said in a phone interview on Wednesday from the unit's headquarters in Cologne, Germany. "It's a bit early to say that we're now on a way up. Certainly the outlook has improved."

In July, new-car sales rose 2 percent in Germany and 1 percent in France. Both the UK and Spain reported double-digit rises at 13 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Even the monthly decline in Italy was the smallest this year, following a drop across the region in June to the lowest demand since 1996.

Gross domestic product in the euro area rose 0.3 percent in the three months through June, led by expansions in Germany and France, ending a six-quarter streak of contractions, the European Union statistics office in Luxembourg said on Wednesday.

Even so, new-car sales in Europe, including the non-EU countries of Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, are still projected to reach a two-decade low for the full year in a sixth annual drop.

"Markets are stabilizing in Europe and we will see some positive numbers in the second half," Christoph Stuermer, a Frankfurt-based analyst at analyst IHS Automotive, said today. "The second half of the year will be better than the first as markets are bottoming out, yet the total year will remain negative."

Read more: European car market begins rebound as economy improves

Automobile Industry: EU and US car industries pull out of ditch

Car industries in Europe and the United States and Europe are showing clear signs of getting back on track after severe setbacks in the financial and debt crises.

The US auto market returned to pre-crisis levels in July and the slump in European sales seemed to ease.

US car sales reached the best levels for seven years as American consumers are being encouraged by low interest rates and a boom in the shale oil and gas industry.

A closely watched indicator, the sales adjusted annualised rate (SAAR), gave a reading of 15.67 million units, allowing the sector to return to the volumes it knew before the 2007 global financial crisis that crippled the sector.

It's a stunning recovery from a deep and painful downturn which pushed General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and which forced the American auto industry to undergo massive restructuring.

Both GM and Ford last month reported better-than-expected results for the quarter while Chrysler inflated the earnings of its parent company Fiat.

Read more: SKNVibes | US, EU car industries pull out of ditch

ESA - Auto Industry: Space drives e-mobility

Toyota i-Real Electric armchair car

A European Space Agency (ESA) business incubation start-up company is helping major car manufacturers to develop electric vehicle concepts and improve safety systems by turning ideas quickly into virtual prototypes.

Foreseeing products by modelling and simulations can provide big jump-starts ( cost savings) for companies,” explains Johannes Gerl, founder and CEO of German start-up company Modelon GmbH.

They reduce their development efforts by saving on the number of prototypes. In addition, they often reduce the time to market.”

Supported during their start-up phase by ESA Business Incubation Centre Bavaria, their Modelica simulation libraries are now used by industry in several countries for modelling the behaviour of complex automotive and energy systems.

The company’s simulation approach has been used by car manufacturers to develop a wide range of novel e-mobility designs such as more efficient hybrid and electric automobiles.

Engineers at Japan’s Toyota company use Modelon’s simulation libraries in developing novel e-mobility vehicle concepts such as their i-Real for easy city transportation and short commuting.

Small, electric and lightweight, i-Real is almost an armchair controlled by two joysticks.  Toyota modeled, simulated and optimized it with Modelon’s Vehicle Dynamic libraries.

Another customer is Sweden’s Volvo. Here, engineers use Modelon’s libraries for improving car safety systems. Real-life testing using physical prototypes is time-consuming, expensive and often unsafe for the test drivers.  "If you can represent the vehicle behaviour with a mathematical model, you have a great platform for active safety system development,” said Per Ola Fuxin, Manager, Active Safety Functions at Volvo Cars.

Complete vehicle models can be created from construction data and physical tests, and the results can be validated against similar real-life test cases.

"The overall aim is to help our customers save money by using virtual simulation methods and save the number of real prototypes, thereby reduce the development effort,” says Magnus Gäfvert, CEO Modelon AB.

Read more: Space drives e-mobility

Car Industry: Ford’s hot hatchback has Volkswagen playing catch-up - by Craig Trudell

Stan Visnesky wanted to spice up his daily drive with a souped-up small hatchback. Rather than go for a more popular and pricey road rocket from Germany’s Volkswagen, Visnesky bought Ford Focus ST.

“It’s definitely a steal,” said Visnesky, 26, of Deptford, N.J. He paid $27,000 in December for his black Focus ST with racing seats and touch-screen controls. “For anything around the same specs, you’d be paying probably more than $30,000.” 

Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally had many triumphs to discuss Thursday at his seventh annual meeting at the helm of the No. 2 U.S. automaker. Ford is on a winning streak with its new Fusion mid-size sedan complementing the F-Series truck line. Now Dearborn-based Ford also is appealing to more young male buyers in a corner of the market ruled for the past 30 years by Volkswagen: racy little hatchbacks.

Read more: Ford’s hot hatchback has Volkswagen playing catch-up - The Trentonian

Russia - Car Industry: Homegrown Luxury Car Fails to Excite

The ZiL

The plan to mass-produce a Russian luxury car has elicited little, if any, enthusiasm from the companies that are supposed to be hard at work to make it happen.

None of the three carmakers the government asked for manufacturing proposals signaled that it was excited about the idea Thursday.

ZiL spokeswoman Tatyana Lomakina said that for the time being the company is focused on developing an armored presidential limousine. ZiL could, however, rethink the approach to appeal to a broader market than just heads of state. "If the Industry and Trade Ministry asks, we will perhaps give it a try," she said.

A GAZ Group spokeswoman declined comment on the project until the government made its choice of carmaker.

A Marussia Motors spokesman said only that the sports car manufacturer is working on the proposal.

Read more: Homegrown Luxury Car Fails to Excite | Business | The Moscow Times

Automobile sector: new 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid Offers 45 MPG

The 2013 Volkswagen Jetta hybrid SE starts at $27,785, including a $795 destination charge, the automaker said Wednesday. The base Jetta hybrid, which is only available by special order, stickers at $25,790.

A turbocharged, direct-injected 1.4-liter engine mated to an electric motor powers the hybrid, along with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Combined output of the package is 170 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. That's good for a 0-to-60-mph time of nine seconds.

The Jetta hybrid will be the most fuel-efficient car in the company's U.S. lineup, returning an estimated combined fuel economy of 45 mpg. It will also be able to travel at speeds of up to 44 mph on electric power alone, but with a range of only 1.2 miles. Last year's Jetta TDI diesel returned 42 mpg on the highway.

The base model is well equipped with daytime running lights, one-touch power windows, automatic climate control, Bluetooth, auxiliary audio input, multifunction steering wheel and a few other baubles.

Read more: 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid Offers 45 MPG

US Economy improving: Auto, home sales on the up-swing - by Christophers Rugaber, Tom Krishher and Dee-Ann Durbin

Cheap loans and a bounty of fuel-efficient models enticed people to buy new vehicles at a brisk pace last month. And the nation enjoyed another year-over-year surge in home prices in August – a sign that the housing industry is making a sustained comeback.

Both trends reflect rising confidence in the economy. They show that more families are replacing aging cars, more homeowners are deciding to sell and more would-be buyers are concluding that a home is a good investment. Two surveys last week also reported improving consumer confidence.

The apparent progress could benefit President Barack Obama, who faces off with Mitt Romney today in an economy-focused debate just five weeks ahead of the election.

Read more: The Durango Herald 10/02/2012 | Auto, home sales help weak U.S. economy

France on green ‘offensive’ to save auto industry

An Electric Renault Town Car

With France’s biggest car manufacturer, PSA Peugeot Citroen, cutting jobs and posting record losses, the French government responded to the crisis in the auto sector Wednesday by unveiling a raft of measures aimed at promoting green cars.

The French government went on the offensive to restore its crisis-hit auto industry Wednesday with a raft of measures aimed at supporting the production of environmentally friendly cars.

With France’s biggest car manufacturer unveiling a record first-half loss of €819 million the same day, the new measures could not come at a better time.

PSA Peugeot Citroen, which is also Europe’s second largest carmaker, has already announced some 8,000 job cuts in France as part of a much-criticized cost-reduction plan worth €1.5 billion over the next three years.

Read more: France on green ‘offensive’ to save auto industry - FRANCE - FRANCE 24