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☆ Stellantis retains strong pricing power in North America, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN, April 13 (Reuters) - Stellantis (STLAM.MI) has managed to preserve a strong pricing power in North America, its CEO Carlos Tavares told shareholders on Thursday, in contrast with signs of pricing power declining for global automakers, with possible impacts on margins. Electric car maker Tesla (TSLA.O) earlier this month cut its prices in the United States, the fifth such cut in its largest market since the start of the year. Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Gilles Guillaume, editing by Silvia AloisiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

☆ Amid risk of stalling in EV race, Spain's rebooted aid scheme gets warm reception
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Joan Faus | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Madrid will launch a new, more flexible version of the PERTE scheme around July, worth 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) after last year's initial funding round flopped, with only 27% of an earmarked 2.9 billion euros allocated. Stellantis already manufactures EVs in Spain and received 67 million euros from the first PERTE, but could request more funds to boost production. Griffiths said using the EU funds is "essential" for Spain's future as some investments would otherwise be non-viable. Unlike Germany, Europe's leading car producer, Spain lacks a domestic manufacturer to champion the EV cause. In last year's PERTE round, VW-SEAT received the highest payout, of 357 million euros, but had hoped for more.

☆ Italy's coastguard works to rescue 1,200 migrants drifting at sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The boat in distress with about 400 people on board is pictured in Central Mediterranean Sea in this handout obtained by Reuters on April 10, 2023. Giacomo Zorzi/ Sea-Watch/Handout via REUTERSMILAN, April 10 (Reuters) - The Italian coastguard is carrying out operations to rescue two boats carrying a total of 1,200 people, it said on Monday, after a surge in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa over the weekend. The other rescue operation by Italian coastguard on Monday was to help a fishing boat carrying 800 people that was located over 120 miles southeast of Siracusa, in Sicily. A spokesperson for coastguard said it would take hours to complete the two ongoing operations because of difficult conditions, including the long distance form the coast. Before these two operations, the Italian coastguard had already rescued around 2,000 migrants since Friday, it said.

☆ Italy's Berlusconi health conditions steadily improving, his doctors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Former Italian Prime Minister and leader of the Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party Silvio Berlusconi attends a rally in Rome, Italy, April 9, 2022. REUTERS/Remo CasilliMILAN, April 10 (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's health condition is steadily improving as he is treated in hospital for a lung infection caused by chronic leukaemia, his doctors said on Monday. Doctors later revealed that Berlusconi had been suffering from Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukaemia (CML) "for some time" and that he had recently developed a pulmonary infection. "Cytoreductive, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory therapies are producing the expected results, allowing us to express a cautious optimism," Zangrillo and Ciceri said.

☆ Boat with 400 migrants adrift between Libya and Malta, support service says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, April 9 (Reuters) - A vessel with around 400 people on board is adrift between Malta and Libya and is taking on water, support service Alarm Phone said on Sunday, amid a sharp rise of migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa. Alarm Phone said on Twitter they had received a call from the boat, which departed from Tobruk, in Libya, last night and that they had informed authorities. But no rescue operation has been launched so far, they added. Alarm Phone said the boat was now in the Maltese Search and Rescue area (SAR). Another NGO, Germany's Resqship, said on Sunday at least 23 migrants died the previous night in the Mediterranean in a separate shipwreck.

☆ ISS tells Stellantis shareholders to back Tavares pay package
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, April 4 (Reuters) - Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) is recommending a vote in favour of Stellantis (STLAM.MI) Chief Executive Carlos Tavares' remuneration after he took a pay cut and shareholders rejected last year's compensation package. The recommendation came in a report on Stellantis's upcoming annual general meeting seen by Reuters on Tuesday. The world's third largest carmaker earlier this year said Tavares' total pay for 2022 amounted to 14.9 million euros ($16.3 million), 14% lower than a 17.4 million euro compensation for the previous year. The executive remuneration package for 2021, which prompted criticism from trade unions and politicians, especially in France, was rejected by over 52% of Stellantis investors in a consultative vote at last year's annual general meeting. ($1 = 0.9119 euro)Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ CNH Industrial agrees to buy Hemisphere GNSS for $175 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, March 30 (Reuters) - CNH Industrial (CNHI.MI) said on Thursday that it had agreed to buy Hemisphere GNSS, a high-performance satellite positioning technology company, for $175 million to improve automation in its agriculture and construction businesses. Just before that, in 2021, it bought U.S.-based Raven for $2.1 billion to consolidate its presence in the precision farming segment. "Combined with our Raven Brand's capabilities, this development gives us full control of our precision and navigation technologies," CNH said with reference to the deal announced on Thursday. CNH said Hemisphere's core technology capabilities included application-specific integrated circuit chips, circuit boards, radio frequency signal processing, navigation algorithms and satellite-based correction designs. Hemisphere will continue to operate as a standalone business through its operations in the U.S., Canada and Australia, CNH said.

The EU has progressively tightened limits since "Euro 1" in 1992. The Commission's proposal widens real-driving emissions (RDE) testing and adds continuous testing of emissions via an on-board monitoring system. Euro 7 would take effect in mid-2025 for cars and in mid-2027 for trucks and buses. The European Commission estimates Euro 7 could add up to 150 euros to car prices and 2,600 euros for trucks and buses. A Commission spokesperson declined to comment on executives' statements, but said Euro 7's real-driving emissions tests were important because of "scandals in the past about cheating devices".

☆ Ferrari CEO welcomes EU decision on e-fuels
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Ferrari NV FollowMILAN, March 27 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Ferrari (RACE.MI) on Monday welcomed plans to exempt cars that run on e-fuels from the European Union's planned 2035 phaseout of new combustion engine vehicles. The decision would give the luxury Italian carmaker "greater freedom on the propulsion scheme," CEO Benedetto Vigna told a Reuters newsmaker event. Ferrari, which is renowned for its roaring petrol engines, is already producing plug-in hybrid cars and has promised its first full-electric vehicle for 2025. Reporting by Lisa Jucca and Giulio Piovaccari; writing by Keith Weir; editing by Alvise ArmelliniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Banksy's migrant rescue ship seized by Italy's coast guard in Lampedusa
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, March 26 (Reuters) - A rescue ship funded by British street artist Banksy was seized in Lampedusa on Sunday after Italy's coast guard said the boat had disobeyed its instructions to head to Sicily after carrying out a migrant rescue operation. The coast guard said it had ordered the MV Louise Michel ship to dock in Trapani in Sicily after it performed an initial rescue operation in Libya's Search And Rescue area. The coast guard added that it was already on its way to assist the three other boats at the time. It ordered the Louise Michel to dock in accordance with a new law passed in Italy this year establishing a code of conduct for migrant charity ships, the coast guard said. The coast guard said it wanted to prevent the ship from taking too many people on board, thereby putting their safety at risk.

☆ Juventus says first half loss shrinks as pandemic impact fades
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The result compares with a restated loss of 112.1 million euros for the same period of the previous fiscal year. Juventus said in a statement that revenue development and actions taken to contain costs had also contributed to narrowing the loss in the six months to Dec. 31. It added that although the economic and financial background remained unfavourable, there was a "significant improvement" in the current fiscal year compared to the previous one. The club, which posted a 239 million euro loss for the year to June 30, 2022, had already said in September that it expects to also finish the current fiscal year in the red. Juventus are now in seventh place, just four points outside the European qualifying places.

Most carmakers said their battery packs are repairable, though few seem willing to share access to battery data. Lauterwasser said access to EV battery data is part of that fight. EV battery problems also expose a hole in the green "circular economy" touted by carmakers. Hill estimated at least 95% of the cells in the hundreds of EV battery packs - and thousands of hybrid battery packs - Synetiq has stored at Doncaster are undamaged and should be reused. 'PAIN POINTS'The British government is funding research into EV insurance "pain points" led by Thatcham, Synetiq and insurer LV=.

☆ Silk-FAW drops plan to build Italian plant for electric sports cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The facility was part of a wider plan to invest more than a 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to build electric cars in Italy under the Hongqi brand. The document includes acknowledgement by the Emilia-Romagna region of Silk-FAW's decision. Silk-FAW did not respond to a request for comment via the company's website. Two sources close to the matter said Italian prosecutors were investigating the Silk-FAW project. Silk-FAW did not respond to a separate request for comment on the matter via the company's website.

☆ CNH Industrial buys Augmenta to boost crop treatment accuracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, March 13 (Reuters) - Italian-American vehicle maker CNH Industrial (CNHI.MI) has acquired U.S. company Augmenta, valuing its strategic partner at $110 million, in a bid to help farmers harness technology to increase the effectiveness of crop spraying. CNH, a maker of farm machinery and construction equipment sees so-called precision technologies as a key competitive feature in its agriculture business, its largest one. The group, whose revenue topped $25 billion in 2022, has said it was pursuing an estimated contribution from precision technology components of $1 billion to this year's net sales. CNH already owned a 10.5% stake in Augmenta through its venture capital arm CNH Industrial Ventures. The deal, which will be funded with available cash, is expected to be closed in the first quarter, CNH Industrial said.

☆ Ford taps masses of vehicle data to stay ahead in commercial van market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ford, which leads the commercial vehicle market in both Europe and the United States, launched the system in 2021. Hans Schep, European head of Ford Pro, the company's commercial vehicle business, said it is already close to hitting long-term targets of increasing vehicle "up time" by up to 60%. Ford recently announced engineering job cuts in Europe, but is still hiring software experts for its data services. Data is a huge battleground for commercial vehicle makers and competition will only intensify with electric models, which are essentially computers on wheels. Starting with 2024 models, GM will provide a range of OnStar data services free for fleet vehicles.

☆ Fears of European industry exodus to U.S. may be overdone
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

However, the risks are offset not only by the substantial existing European incentives, but also other factors - such as proximity to European consumers - that many companies cite as critical in their decisions. Think tank Bruegel says EU support is already on a par with, or even larger than, IRA money. Moreover, well over half of the IRA support is for renewable energy production, with local content requirements playing a very limited role. Some executives say rather than providing more subsidies, Europe needs to simply improve the way they are given. The United States is not a panacea for European firms, not least due to questions about what approach the next U.S. administration might take.

☆ Stellantis to invest $155 million in U.S. to produce new electric drive modules
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Stellantis NV FollowMILAN, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Stellantis (STLAM.MI) said on Tuesday it will invest a total of $155 million in three plants located in Kokomo, Indiana, to produce new electric drive modules (EDM) that will be fitted in electric vehicles which the carmaker will assemble in North America. "With the investment, more than 265 jobs will be retained across all three plants," it said. Stellantis aims to have battery electric vehicles (BEV) account for 50% of its sales in the U.S. by 2030. Stellantis was created through the $52 billion merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA in 2021. Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Stellantis, unions agree 2,000 voluntary job cuts in Italy this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Stellantis (STLAM.MI) and unions signed an agreement to cut up to 2,000 workers from the carmaker's Italian operations this year through voluntary redundancies, workers' representatives said on Monday. The redundancies amount to more than 4% of Stellantis' current workforce in Italy of around 47,000 people, FIM, UILM, Fismic, Uglm and Aqcfr unions said in a joint statement. Incentives will vary based on seniority and proximity to retirement age, the unions added. Proposed packages will be smaller for younger workers, while office workers will also be offered relocation schemes, unions said. The deal adds to at least two previous accords Stellantis and unions signed last year for more than 2,500 voluntary layoffs in Italy.

☆ Stellantis, unions agree 2,000 voluntary exits in Italy this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Stellantis said it had achieved cash synergies of 7.1 billion euros last year, far exceeding the 5 billion euros by 2024 target it had set at the time of the merger. Stellantis's adjusted second-half earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew 17% to 10.95 billion euros, topping a consensus estimate of 9.63 billion euros in a Reuters poll of analysts. The margin on adjusted EBIT was 12% in the second half, down from 14.1% in the first six months of the year. It reiterated the same margin target for 2023, as well as one for positive cash flows. ($1 = 0.9393 euros)Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing Jan Harvey, Mark Potter and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Stellantis tops forecasts in H2, launches 1.5 bln euro share buy-back
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] The logo of Stellantis is seen on a company's building in Velizy-Villacoublay near Paris, France, February 1, 2022. The company also announced a dividend of 4.2 billion euros ($4.48 billion), or 1.34 euros per share, on 2022 results, and said it would launch a share buyback program worth up to 1.5 billion euros to be performed by the end of this year. Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) at the world's third largest auto maker by sales stood at 10.949 billion euros in the July to December period, topping analysts' expectations from a Reuters poll of 9.63 billion euros. Stellantis, which was created just over two years ago through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA, said it had so far made cash synergies of 7.1 billion euros. That places it two years ahead of schedule in its target to reach annual cost savings of 5 billion euros.

☆ Bumper merger savings help Stellantis profit top forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Giulio Piovaccari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It will also pay a dividend of 4.2 billion euros on 2022 results, or 1.34 euros per share. Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) came in at 10.95 billion euros for July-December, topping analysts' consensus estimate in a Reuters poll of 9.63 billion euros. It reiterated the same margin target for 2023, as well as one for positive cash flows. Increased industrial costs had an overall impact on the group's results last year of over 9 billion euros. "Challenges continue in securing capacity for (vehicle) outbound transportation: initially it was from plants to compounds and from compounds to dealers.

"The amount of energy BEVs need is so enormous that I see a strain on our grid that ultimately it can't fulfill." Daimler Truck will invest up to 15 billion euros ($16 billion) on fuel cells over the next decade, Daum said. Symbio, which supplies fuel cells for Stellantis vans, expects global fuel cell vehicle sales to reach 2 million units annually by 2030 and wants a 10% share. Both General Motors (GM) (GM.N) and Toyota (7203.T) are testing fuel cells for larger vehicles including semi-trucks and trains to build scale and lower costs. While Volkswagen is not currently investing in fuel cells, it has hundreds of patents around the technology.

☆ Gigapresses - the giant die casts reshaping car manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Giulio Piovaccari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

GIGAPRESS 9,000Metal and plastic die casting has been largely used in manufacturing, but its application to large aluminium underbodies in carmaking is relatively new. The global aluminium die casting market was worth almost $73 billion last year and is projected to top $126 billion by 2032, according to an AlixPartners analysis based on Apollo Reports data. Ralf Bechmann of manufacturing consultant EFESO said the benefits of die casting would push it "to be applied to an increasing number of new models of BEV vehicles, also by other manufacturers". Yet not all automakers are convinced, and EFESO's Bechmann cautioned that large module die casting required product design to be "super solid". After initially considering die casting for its upcoming Trinity model, Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) has backtracked, while BMW (BMWG.DE) has never expressed an interest.

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