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☆ Tesla launched its own car insurance. These drivers say it's a lemon.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

Tesla Insurance, launched in 2019 by the electric-car company, has promised policyholders “vastly better” service than rivals, as Tesla chief Elon Musk put it in April 2022. “What do they have, three people answering phone calls?”Complaints about Tesla Insurance are drawing scrutiny from state regulators and the plaintiffs’ bar. And there’s no way to know exactly how many have been made against Tesla Insurance and how its record compares with competitors’. That fall, Tesla launched InsureMyTesla, a new insurance offering for U.S. Tesla owners, in partnership with Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. Lester F. Aponte, a Los Angeles attorney who signed up for Tesla Insurance in August, described a maddening ordeal to obtain proof of insurance.

Persons: Mark Bova, lurched, “ I’m, ” Bova, policyholders “, Elon Musk, Musk, Bova, he’s, Tesla, ”, Musk’s, Virginia –, Phil Fioresi, Tesla’s adjusters, adjusters, ” Zachary Kirkhorn, ” Kirkhorn, Teslas, InsureMyTesla, it’s, It’s, Chanda Santiago, ” Santiago, Lester F, Aponte, haven't, Understaffed, “, —, Policyholders, Jonathan Garcia, Garcia, adjuster, Scott Sawyer, Sawyer, Lauren Lee Sawyer, ” Sawyer, –, Steve Stecklow, Koh Gui Qing, Norihiko, Mike Scarcella, John Emerson, Brian Thevenot Organizations: Green, U.S . Army Special Forces, Tesla Insurance, Tesla, Reuters, Bureau, Twitter, U.S, SpaceX, Ohio Department of Insurance, California Department of Insurance, Data, AAA, The Auto Club Group, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co, Liberty Mutual, Markel, National Insurance Company, State National, State, Facebook, Better, policyholders, Better Business Bureau Locations: Maryland, That’s, California , Utah , Illinois, Virginia, South San Francisco , California, California, Draper , Utah, Texas, policyholders, InsureMyTesla, U.S, Illinois, Colorado, Ohio, Florida , Georgia, Washington, Santiago, Los Angeles, Draper, North Carolina, Riverside , California

☆ Exclusive: GM snatches key Tesla gigacasting supplier
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Tesla and TEI President Oliver Johnson did not respond to requests for comment. The specialists use sand casting in a process called rapid prototyping to help validate Tesla's designs and engineering specifications for its giant molds quickly and cheaply. According to all four sources, TEI began helping Tesla around 2017 to develop the Model Y and is considered in the industry to be one of the world's top sand casting specialists. "TEI will remain its own business entity with GM as its parent company," GM said. Reuters was unable to determine whether Tesla was one of the several companies that bid for TEI.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, Tesla, TEI, Oliver Johnson, Ford F.N, Elon Musk, TEI's Johnson, James Womack, Womack, David Clarke Organizations: Motors, REUTERS, Equipment, General Motors, GM, Ford, Hyundai, Toyota, Chief, Tesla's, Celestiq, American Foundry Society, GM's Global Manufacturing, Reuters, SEAT, Tesla, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Thomson Locations: Detroit , Michigan, U.S, , Texas, Britain, Germany, Japan, TEI, Livonia, Detroit

☆ Gigacasting 2.0: Tesla Reinvents Carmaking With Quiet Breakthrough
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +8 min

Another said the whole design process for a large metal mold would typically cost about $4 million. To overcome the obstacles, Tesla turned to firms that make test molds out of industrial sand with 3D printers. To cast subframes with hollows as part of one gigacasting, Tesla plans to place solid sand cores printed by the binder jets within the overall mold. But despite that greater flexibility achieved in both the design process and the complexity of the large frames, there was still one more major hurdle to clear. And once Tesla is happy with the prototype mold, it can then invest in a final metal one for mass production.

Persons: Norihiko Shirouzu, Tesla, Elon Musk, Musk, Terry Woychowski, Woychowski, Tesla's, David Clarke Organizations: Caresoft, U.S, GM, Reuters Locations: Norihiko Shirouzu AUSTIN , Texas, Britain, Germany, Japan, United States

☆ Gigacasting 2.0: Tesla reinvents carmaking with quiet breakthrough
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk, Terry Woychowski, Woychowski, Tesla's, David Clarke Organizations: Caresoft, U.S, GM, Reuters, Thomson Locations: AUSTIN, Texas, Britain, Germany, Japan, United States

☆ Tesla’s secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +21 min

He expected to get something close to the electric sport sedan’s advertised driving range: 353 miles on a fully charged battery. Driving range is among the most important factors in consumer decisions on which electric car to buy, or whether to buy one at all. Electric cars can lose driving range for a lot of the same reasons as gasoline cars — but to a greater degree. The EPA said all the changes to Tesla’s range estimates were made before the company used the figures on window stickers. Independent automotive testers commonly examine the EPA-approved fuel-efficiency or driving range claims against their own experience in structured tests or real-world driving.

Persons: Alexandre Ponsin, ”, Tesla, Elon Musk, “ Elon, Scott Case, Case, Gregory Pannone, Pannone, “ They've, carmaker, Ford, I’m, ” Pannone, ” Jonathan Elfalan, Edmunds, Elfalan, ” Elfalan, Santa Clara –, Ponsin, ” Ponsin, “, Steve Stecklow, Norihiko, Heekyong Yang, Peter Henderson, Eve Watling, Lucy Ha, Ilan Rubens, Brian Thevenot Organizations: Reuters, Tesla, South, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai Kona, National Science Foundation, SAE International, U.S, Porsche, Benz, EV, Independent, General Motors, Hyundai, Korea Fair Trade Commission, Virtual Service, Santa, San Francisco Art Locations: AUSTIN, Texas, Colorado, California, Las Vegas, Austin , Texas, Nevada, U.S, Seattle, Vegas, Henderson, Utah, Santa Clara, London, Austin, Seoul, San Francisco

The preliminary report said Nissan had installed two sets of security cameras at the entrance to Gupta's house in Tokyo's Shibuya ward, the people said. Uchida and Gupta, who was still a Nissan director and chief operating officer on June 20, were recused from the board meeting. In his letter, Nada asked for an international law firm to be brought in to investigate the surveillance of Gupta. Reuters was unable to determine if either law firm had made any finding about the harassment claim itself, beyond how it was handled. Nada said in his letter he understood that Japanese law firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune had investigated the claim.

Persons: Ashwani Gupta, Makoto Uchida, Davis Polk, Gupta, Uchida, Nissan, Akira Takeuchi, Hari Nada, Nada, Iwata Godo, Motoo Nagai, Nagai, Anderson Mori, Tomotsune, Daniel Leussink, Maki Shiraki, Kevin Krolicki, David Clarke Organizations: Nissan, Renault, Reuters, NEW, Senior Renault, Thomson Locations: Yokohama, Tokyo's Shibuya, Tokyo, French, Austin , Texas

TOKYO, June 24 (Reuters) - Nissan (7201.T) has launched an investigation into claims by a senior adviser that Chief Executive Makoto Uchida carried out surveillance of his deputy Ashwani Gupta, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said. In the letter, Nada said Uchida carried out surveillance over a long period. Asked to comment on the surveillance investigation, Nissan said in response to Reuters: "Independent third parties have been retained to verify facts and carry out appropriate actions." Nada did not detail in the letter how he knew of the alleged surveillance of Gupta. Nada is a member of two executive committees established by Nissan in 2019 as part of a governance reform after the Ghosn scandal.

Persons: Makoto Uchida, Ashwani Gupta, Hari Nada, Nada, Uchida, Renault, Gupta, Nissan, Akira Takeuchi, Anderson Mori, Tomotsune, Carlos Ghosn, Ghosn, Jean, Dominique Senard, Luca de Meo, de Meo, Greg Kelly, Nissan's, Ampere, David Dolan, Gilles Guillaume, Kevin Krolicki, David Clarke Organizations: Nissan, Financial Times, Reuters, Renault, NISSAN, RENAULT, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo, Lebanon, Japan, Paris

The unboxed assembly process is intended to enable Tesla to hit that ambitious price target. Several big questions loom: What sort of impact will Tesla's process have on the auto industry overall? Body panels are painted separately, then joined together toward the end of the assembly process. If everything works as planned, the unboxed process could rewrite the industry's standard playbook and practices. Oba worked previously for the Toyota Production System Support Center, a division that helps the automaker's suppliers and others implement TPS.

☆ Geely's EV brand Zeekr jumps on the 'gigapress' bandwagon
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoApril 27 (Reuters) - Geely's EV brand Zeekr is the latest to join a growing list of automakers that have turned to the "gigapress" die casting technique pioneered by Tesla to slash the cost of electric cars. "In the future, Zeekr will use giga-casting technology on more models," Jiang said. Metal and plastic die casting has long been used in manufacturing, but its application to large aluminium underbodies in carmaking is relatively new. The front and rear sections are then connected with large under-floor battery packs to form a three-piece EV chassis. 'MEGA-CASTING'Other automakers turning to large die casting include General Motors (GM.N), which is using the technology to help design its Cadillac Celestiq electric saloon.

[1/6] Tundra trucks and Sequoia SUV's exit the assembly line as finished products at Toyota's truck plant in San Antonio, Texas, U.S. April 17, 2023. TOYOTA'S PAST SUCCESSWashington's push to accelerate the shift to battery-electric vehicles amplifies the threat posed by Tesla to Toyota's position as the world's largest automaker. Toyota San Antonio has weathered a series of challenges since it built its first truck in 2006. The future for factories like Toyota San Antonio will play out across the next several years. Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in San Antonio, Texas, Joseph White in Detroit and David Shepardson in Washington Written by Joseph White Editing by Ben Klayman and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Imbalance had long riled Nissan executives who complained Renault did not pay its fair share of costs for innovation and development. In a joint statement to Reuters, Nissan and Renault said they were working toward final partnership terms that would make them more competitive. Nissan will invest and provide technology for the venture but will limit its operational involvement, one of the people told Reuters. In rebalancing talks, Nissan has pushed for protection of its technology to limit any downside from continued partnership, people involved have said. Among technology Nissan wants to protect is its work on solid-state lithium-ion battery making and its e-Power electric hybrid powertrain, the people said.

☆ Lack of electric vans opens door for Chinese, other EV makers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/3] Tristan Thomas, CEO of Packfleet, demonstrates charging an electric van made by Chinese brand Maxus at the fully-electric package delivery firm's headquarters in London, Britain, October 27, 2022. Packfleet grew tenfold in 2022 and CEO Tristan Thomas said most of the company's 53-vehicle fleet are Maxus vans. SAIC said it sold 18,000 mostly electric Maxus brand vehicles in Western Europe and Scandinavia last year, including buses and pickup trucks. Fleet manager Sean Clifton has 50 additional Ford vans and 20 Maxus vans on order, but will need more soon as Asda electrifies its 1,300 delivery vans. There is no difference in delays for conventional and electric vans at Renault, said commercial vehicle marketing director John Cleworth.

A new EV platform, if implemented, would be the result of a far-reaching review of Toyota's electric-car strategy undertaken last year. Its current production architecture, the e-TNGA system, was launched in 2019 and produces electric vehicles on the same assembly line as gasoline cars and hybrids. The briefing was given by the former chief competitive officer tasked with the EV strategy review, Shigeki Terashi, according to the person. So far it has fallen short - its initial battery EV, the bZ4X, suffered an early recall and has had only limited sales. GM sold more than 20,000 electric vehicles during the first quarter while Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus sold about 1,880 battery electrics.

But production is running at least a third below plan, keeping the Ariya from shipping to new customers, according to three of the people and production planning notes reviewed by Reuters. Implementation has proved "an extremely, extremely high challenge" and the advanced paint line has become a persistent headache, one of the people said. In a statement to Reuters, Nissan said Ariya production had faced challenges including supply of semiconductors, disruptions in components shipments and the factory's paint line. EVs accounted for just 4.5% of Nissan's global sales of 3.2 million vehicles in 2022. Output over the next two months is expected to fall short of that, according to production planning notes from last month reviewed by Reuters.

☆ Exclusive: Tesla taps Asian partners to address 4680 battery concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Details about Tesla's Cybertruck battery strategy, including use of 4680 cells and consideration of other options, have not been reported. The Tesla-designed 4680 cell - so named for its external dimensions (46mm diameter, 80mm length) - is crucial to future production plans. Last year, LG said it planned to open a new 4680 production line at its Ochang plant in Korea in the second half of 2023. Tesla also has been installing first-generation 4680 cells with "wet" cathodes in so-called structural packs in Texas-built Model Ys. Tesla plans to use a cathode with more than 90% nickel in the next generation of 4680 cells, two sources said.

☆ Exclusive: Volvo readies EV blitz in biggest product revamp under Geely
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A Volvo S60 is displayed during the inauguration of Volvo Cars first U.S. production plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, U.S., June 20, 2018. The Swedish carmaker, wholly owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is expected to launch at least six new battery electric vehicles through 2026, the two people told Reuters. The previously unreported product plans amount to the largest revamp of Volvo’s model line-up since Geely acquired the brand from Ford Motor Co (F.N) in 2010. Under Geely, Volvo initially started to share technologies such as car platforms with Geely. Volvo has carved out and sold its gasoline engine and hybrid powertrain operations to Geely.

The 66-year-old Toyoda on Thursday announced he would step aside as leader of the company his grandfather founded from April 1 to take the role of chairman. He will hand over to Koji Sato, the 53-year-old head of Toyota's luxury Lexus brand. "It's likely that he'll remain active as chairman for a long time and continue to put his mark on Toyota." "Toyota is a public company that likes to pretend it's a family company," said John Shook, a former Toyota manager who now consults on the lean management techniques pioneered by the automaker. "Choosing someone who is much younger and with Sato's background indicates Akio recognised the time for change had come."

TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) chief Akio Toyoda is set to remain a dominant force inside the world's largest automaker for years to come, and will continue to influence the agenda after stepping down in April, experts and people familiar with the firm said. The 66-year-old Toyoda on Thursday announced he would step aside as leader of the company his grandfather founded from April 1 to take the role of chairman. "It's likely that he'll remain active as chairman for a long time and continue to put his mark on Toyota." "Toyota is a public company that likes to pretend it's a family company," said John Shook, a former Toyota manager who now consults on the lean management techniques pioneered by the automaker. "Choosing someone who is much younger and with Sato's background indicates Akio recognised the time for change had come."

TOKYO/PARIS, Jan 26 (Reuters) - French car maker Renault (RENA.PA) and its Japanese partner Nissan Motor (7201.T) aim to formally unveil a deal to reshape their alliance in London on Feb. 6, two sources close to the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Renault has consistently declined to comment publicly about the talks with its Japanese partner, while a spokesperson for Nissan declined to comment on Thursday. French newspaper Le Figaro reported late on Wednesday that the companies would announce 4 to 5 joint projects to relaunch the alliance. The future shape of the Franco-Japanese alliance has implications for both companies as well as their junior partner, Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T). Renault, for instance, has said it will partner with companies from China's Geely Automobile Holdings (0175.HK) to semiconductor giant Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O).

That would mean running Tesla factories leaner with fewer materials in inventory, cutting shipping and logistics costs and negotiating lower prices for components, he said - putting Tesla's suppliers on notice. "My guess is if the recession is a serious one, and I think it probably will be but I hope it isn't, that would lead to meaningful decrease in almost all of our input costs," Musk said. Tesla's third-quarter profit per car sold was more than seven times higher than Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), for example. The company's average cost per vehicle, including all categories of its spending, was almost $44,000 in the fourth quarter. I think there's just a vast number of people that want to buy a Tesla but can't afford it," Musk said.

☆ Exclusive: Geely plans to turn maker of London black cabs into EV powerhouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Geely will make consistent investments into LEVC because this is a very unique project." Nan said LEVC and Geely would seek to attract other investors to its zero-emission portfolio and would look to partner with other carmakers to develop new technology. "Geely fully supports the new transition strategy laid out by LEVC's board and executive team," Geely said in a statement. As such, Geely faces a complexity that larger EV makers BYD (002594.SZ) and Tesla (TSLA.O) have avoided. Allen said LEVC was exploring a range of commercial and passenger car models on a common electric platform.

Now, Chief Executive Elon Musk is using that superior profitability as a weapon in the EV price war he started. That emboldened automakers to push EV prices higher. Vietnamese EV startup Vinfast said Thursday it will use price promotions to fight back against Tesla. Chinese EV market leader BYD Co Ltd(002594.SZ) announced price increases effective Jan. 1 after Beijing phased out EV subsidies. However, BYD's gross margins of $5,456 per vehicle give it more headroom in a price war than VW, Toyota or GM.

☆ China's BYD takes cautious approach to U.S. in global EV push
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/2] The logo of BYD is pictured at the 2022 Paris Auto Show in Paris, France October 17, 2022. While BYD has not fully articulated its global ambitions in public, a concerted worldwide push has become the single most important strategic focus for China's biggest EV maker, four sources familiar with BYD management's thinking said. "BYD is taking a cautious approach to the U.S.," the person said. "I would say BYD at this point is already better positioned than Tesla in the EV era." "America is going to be a key, key part of this global push strategy," one said.

According to the document, Aramco's investment would be used to support development of decarbonization technologies for gasoline engines. SUBJECT TO BOARD APPROVALSThe oil company's deal with Geely and Renault still needs approval by the boards of the automakers, one of the people said. For Geely, the deal with Renault extends its pattern of building partnerships to expand beyond China. In that kind of arrangement, gasoline engines could be designed to operate in an "exceptionally efficient mode," one of the sources said. Geely has a previously announced a hybrid gasoline engine development deal with Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) and holds a stake in the German automaker.

☆ Nissan directors endorse steps to reach deal with Renault-sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Maki Shiraki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Nissan board-level review also marked progress after three months of working-level negotiations aimed at restructuring a partnership that dates back to 1999, when Renault bailed out Nissan. The Nissan outside directors, meeting in committee, endorsed steps to try to reach an agreement between the two sides, they said. The two companies are discussing reducing Renault's stake in Nissan from the current 43% to 15%, equal to Nissan’s stake in Renault. The 28% stake in Nissan that Renault would sell would be transferred to a trust, people involved have said. At the same time, Nissan is considering investing in a new electric vehicle company that Renault aims to establish code-named Ampere.

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