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☆ Luxury European automakers are getting crushed in China
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-01 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AdvertisementThe days of European carmakers dominating China's luxury vehicle market are over. A study by AlixPartners found that Chinese automakers released 40 over-the-air software updates between March 2023 and February this year, compared with just two from legacy automakers. AdvertisementHard to quitDespite a challenging environment, Western premium automakers can ill afford to give up on China. As well as increased competition, European automakers face a geopolitical headache. AdvertisementTim Urquhart, principal automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility, told BI the European Union's tariffs on Chinese automakers meant Beijing could impose levies on European car imports in retaliation.

Persons: —, Aston Martin, James Bond, Chris Brownridge, BYD, Lutz Meschke, Max, Xiaomi, Steve Dyer, Dyer, AlixPartners, Mercedes, GAO, China's, Tim Urquhart, Urquhart Organizations: BMW, Mercedes, Benz, Porsche, Service, upstarts, Volkswagen, Royce, British, Bloomberg, Reuters, Getty, P Global Mobility Locations: China, British, London, Korea, Western Europe, Beijing

Toyota Motor Corporation's cars are seen at a briefing on the company's strategies on battery EVs in Tokyo, Japan December 14, 2021. The Japan Mobility Show, which opens on Thursday, comes at a critical moment for the domestic industry. Toyota (7203.T), the world's top-selling automaker, this year announced a strategic pivot to battery EVs, including plans to commercialise advanced batteries and adopt die-casting technology pioneered by Tesla (TSLA.O). Toyota's shift has helped silence criticism that it was too slow to embrace battery EVs. In contrast to the darkening outlook in Japan, data from the ASEAN Automotive Federation shows that the auto market in Southeast Asia has been growing.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Koji Endo, Daniel Leussink, David Dolan, Jamie Freed Organizations: Toyota, REUTERS, Companies, Japan, Japan Mobility, Tesla, Subaru, Mazda, Mitsubishi Motors, BYD, HK, BMW, Honda, SBI Securities, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, ASEAN Automotive Federation, EV upstarts, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, TOKYO, China, Southeast Asia, Thailand

☆ Trump is attacking electric vehicles. Automakers already bet their future on them
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Legacy automakers are pivoting to electric vehicles in response to expected strong consumer demand, tougher environmental regulations both from US states and foreign countries, and a push from Wall Street. Electric vehicles have outpaced growth of traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) cars in recent years. But automakers bucked Trump and agreed to meet tougher standards set by California rather than the Trump administration’s rules. At a Detroit battery plant Wednesday, Trump said America didn’t need what the factory produced“This plant, we just walked through this plant and the electric vehicles are gonna put [automakers] out of business,” Trump said. Trump’s proposals could undermine US companies’ EV investments and hand over control of an increasingly EV future to foreign manufacturers.

Persons: Donald Trump, Donald Trump’s, “ don’t, Trump, ’, ”, Barry Rabe, EVs, Brian Kemp, Ford, Rabe, Biden’s, Tesla, Jon McNeill, McNeill, ” McNeill, EVs Trump, bucked Trump, ” Trump, “, Biden, Rishi Sunak, Lisa Brankin Organizations: New, New York CNN, Detroit, Cox Automotive, Biden, Environmental Protection Agency, University of Michigan, Hyundai, Kia, EV upstarts, Republican Gov, Environmental Defense Fund, Nissan, Mercedes, Benz, Wall, Investors, ICE, General Motors, GM, Biden’s EV, Legacy, DVx Ventures, Tesla, Obama, Trump, America, ” Ford, Fiat, Peugeot Locations: New York, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, United States, California, Detroit, Michigan, China

HONG KONG, Aug 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) China shortcut sets a tricky roadmap for its western rivals. An increasingly competitive Chinese market means others may also need to plot a new route. VW’s western peers may feel they do not need to follow in its tracks. Second, VW’s Xpeng deal highlights how companies need to adapt quickly to stay relevant in China. Both partnerships will see the companies jointly develop intelligent, connected electric vehicles for the Chinese market.

Persons: China’s, that’s, Bernstein, Alix, Elon Musk’s, VW’s, Auto, Neil Unmack, Pranav Kiran, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, HK, FAW, SAIC, VW, BMW, upstarts, Alix Partners, Elon, Mercedes, Benz, Nissan, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volkswagen’s Audi, Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology, Jetta, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Xpeng, Kingdom, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Zhejiang

☆ 2023 layoff tracker: The latest on which companies have announced job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

New York CNN —BuzzFeed, Lyft, Whole Foods and Deloitte all recently announced layoffs affecting thousands of US workers. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced in March, Meta’s headcount will fall to around 66,000 — a total reduction of about 25%. The company announced in January that it was eliminating some 18,000 positions as part of a major cost-cutting bid at the e-commerce giant. IndeedJob listing website Indeed.com announced cuts of approximately 2,200 employees, representing almost 15% of its total workforce, the company said in March. The cuts come after the company announced several rounds of job cuts throughout the pandemic due to falling demand, followed by rapid hiring last year.

☆ EV maker Rivian to cut 6% of jobs amid price war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Reuters —Rivian Automotive is laying off 6% of its workforce in an effort to cut costs as the EV maker, already grappling with falling cash reserves and a weak economy, braces for an industry-wide price war. The company is focusing resources on ramping up vehicle production and reaching profitability, Chief Executive R.J. Scaringe said in an email to employees on Wednesday announcing the job cuts. Layoffs at Rivian come amid falling EV prices kicked off by cuts made recently by Elon Musk-led Tesla (TSLA) and Ford Motor Co. To further conserve its cash, Rivian late last year shelved plans to build delivery vans in Europe with Mercedes. Its cash and cash equivalents stood at $13.27 billion as of Sept. 30, 2022, down from over $18 billion a year earlier.

The company is focusing resources on ramping up vehicle production and reaching profitability, Chief Executive R.J. Scaringe said in an email to employees on Wednesday announcing the job cuts. Layoffs at Rivian come amid falling EV prices kicked off by cuts made recently by Elon Musk-led Tesla (TSLA.O) and Ford Motor Co (F.N). The price cuts by Tesla and Ford are expected to hurt EV upstarts such as Rivian, Lucid Group (LCID.O) and British startup Arrival , which Monday said it would lay off half its staff. To further conserve its cash, Rivian late last year shelved plans to build delivery vans in Europe with Mercedes (MBGn.DE). As of Sept. 30, 2022, the automaker reported having $13.27 billion in cash and cash equivalents, down from over $18 billion a year earlier.

☆ 2023 will be critical for Lucid's bid to one-up Tesla — and it will have to overcome its production constraints and a sinking stock price
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-05 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Based in Newark, California, EV startup Lucid Motors has been racing to up its production in 2022. Much like many other EV upstarts, Lucid's stock has dropped around 80% this year. Quality control may prove vital for any EV startup trying to outdo Tesla. He's determined to lead in the same space that's seen the rise and fall of other EV startups, such as Nikola, Lordstown, and Faraday Future. Churchill Capital IV soars 33% after report says the SPAC is nearing a deal to take EV-maker Lucid Motors publicAre you a current or former Lucid employee?

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