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☆ Auto worker wipeout: Why car companies are cutting thousands of jobs
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Benjamin Zhang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This is due to unprofitable EV investments, Chinese market losses, and more domestic competition. Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis plan to slash thousands from their workforce in the coming months. AdvertisementBut despite that growth — and with EVs accounting for roughly 10% of US auto sales — companies not named Tesla have struggled to make their EV businesses profitable. German carmakers are losing out to Chinese EV upstarts like BYD. Analysts say inventory levels are improving at Stellantis and industry-wide as automakers react to a slower sales environment.

Persons: Ford, Josh Lefkowitz, EVs, That's, Tesla, Tim Levin, Daniel Pier, Stellantis, Price, Donald Trump Organizations: Ford, GM, Volkswagen Group, General Motors, Volkswagen, Silverado, Angeles Auto, EV, Cadillac, VW Group, Geely, VW, Competition Locations: Germany, Cadillac Lyriq, China, United States

☆ Rivian stock soars 37% after it strikes $5 billion deal with Volkswagen
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rivian stock surged 37% after it secured a $5 billion deal with Volkswagen. The companies will form a joint-venture to develop next-gen vehicle software and electrical architecture. AdvertisementRivian stock soared 37% on Wednesday after it struck a $5 billion deal with Volkswagen. The two companies will form a joint-venture to collaborate on next-generation vehicle software and electrical architecture, which will be utilized in cars from both brands. As part of the deal, Volkswagen will invest an initial $1 billion in Rivian via a convertible note that will convert into Rivian stock later this year, assuming the companies receive regulatory approval for the deal.

Persons: —, RJ Scaringe, Dan Ives, Ives Organizations: Volkswagen, Service, JV, Volkswagen Group's, Rivian Locations: Rivian

☆ Volkswagen, Umicore venture picks Poland for first car battery parts plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Volkswagen vehicle is parked during a news conference to announce details on the construction of a gigafactory for electric vehicle battery production by Volkswagen Group's battery company PowerCo SE in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada April 21, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The auto battery parts joint venture between Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) PowerCo and Belgian materials firm Umicore (UMI.BR) has chosen Poland as the site for its first factory, PowerCo said on Saturday. Ionway wants to build up its annual production capacity by the end of the decade to around 160 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year - enough for 2.2 million electric vehicles. Ionway is intended to supply PowerCo's European battery cell factories with key battery materials and to cover a large portion of PowerCo's needs in the European Union. In return, Umicore receives secured access to an important part of Europe's demand for cathode materials for electric vehicles.

Persons: Carlos Osorio, PowerCo, Ionway, Umicore, Sabine Wollrab, Sarah Marsh, David Holmes 私 Organizations: Volkswagen, Volkswagen Group's, REUTERS, Rights, VW, European Union Locations: St, Thomas , Ontario, Canada, Volkswagen's, Poland, Nysa, Ontario

View shows the site where the gigafactory for electric vehicle battery production by Volkswagen Group's battery company PowerCo SE will be built in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada April 21, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 12 (Reuters) - The Canadian government will take 20 years to recoup the combined C$28.2 billion ($21 billion) subsidies it is offering Volkswagen and Stellantis-LG Electric Solutions (STLAM.MI), to build two electric vehicle (EV) battery plants, the country's budgetary watchdog said on Tuesday. Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux projected that the combined revenue generated from the two plants would only match the production subsidies by 2043, if production starts in 2024. In May, Stellantis stopped constructing its EV battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, saying the Canadian government did not deliver on the committed subsidies. The dispute was resolved after two months of bargaining when the government agreed to provide subsidies similar to the one it gave Volkswagen.

Persons: Carlos Osorio, Yves Giroux, Justin Trudeau, Stellantis, Francois, Philippe Champagne, Urvi, Divya Rajagopal, Josie Kao Organizations: Volkswagen Group's, REUTERS, Canadian, Volkswagen, LG Electric Solutions, EV, LG Energy, Thomson Locations: St, Thomas , Ontario, Canada, Windsor , Ontario, Ontario, Bengaluru, Toronto

☆ A protestor threw a cake-like pastry at a board member's head during a Volkswagen meeting that descended into chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

About a dozen protestors reportedly created chaos at Volkswagen Groups annual meeting on Wednesday. One protestor threw what appeared to be a cake at a board member's head. The Associated Press reported that the pastry was thrown in the direction of Wolfgang Porsche, the chairman of Volkswagen Group's majority shareholder, Porsche SE. But recordings of the moment, uploaded to YouTube from news outlets including The Guardian, show VW Group chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch dodging remnants of the pastry that flew in his direction. A Reuters video from the event shows the protestors being led out of the meeting by security.

☆ Volkswagen Canada battery plant targets 90 GWh capacity, its biggest yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives to attend a news conference to announce details on the construction of a gigafactory for electric vehicle battery production by Volkswagen Group's battery company PowerCo SE in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada April 21, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos OsorioCompanies Volkswagen AG FollowBERLIN, April 21 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is targeting 90 gigawatt-hours of capacity at its planned battery factory in Ontario, Canada, the carmaker said on Friday, its largest planned battery plant to date. The carmaker is investing up to C$7 billion ($5.17 billion) in the plant, a statement said. The plant will cover most of the battery capacity it needs in North America, which battery chief Thomas Schmall said in March was between 60-100 gigawatt hours. ($1 = 1.3528 Canadian dollars)Reporting by Victoria Waldersee Editing by Madeline ChambersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/9] View shows the site where the gigafactory for electric vehicle battery production by Volkswagen Group's battery company PowerCo SE will be built in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada April 21, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos OsorioCompanies Volkswagen AG FollowStellantis NV FollowBERLIN, April 21 (Reuters) - Canada and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) on Friday together committed more than C$20 billion ($14.8 billion) for a battery gigafactory in St. Thomas, Ontario, the biggest single investment ever in the country's electric-vehicle supply chain. Europe's largest carmaker is investing up to C$7 billion to build the plant, Volkswagen said in a statement. The battery plant is expected to be Volkswagen's largest and create up to 3,000 jobs. "This secures the future of St. Thomas," the city's mayor, Joe Preston, told Reuters earlier this week.

☆ Ford reveals new Explorer EV for the European market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

DETROIT — Ford Motor on Tuesday unveiled its first all-new electric vehicle exclusively for the European market and said it plans to leverage the well-known Explorer nameplate to gain traction. The EV crossover is part of Ford's plans to transition its European lineup to be entirely electric by 2030. The naming is part of the company's strategy to leverage its "most iconic" brands for EVs, including the Mustang Mach-E crossover and F-150 Lightning. Ford said it has no plans to offer the midsize electric crossover in the U.S. It is one of two vehicles expected for Europe that leverages the Volkswagen Group's all-electric "MEB" platform at Ford's factory in Cologne, Germany.

☆ Volkswagen boosts earnings in 2022, high inventory drags down cash flow
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Earnings of 22.5 billion euros ($24.11 billion) put Volkswagen at the higher end of the 7-8.5% margin it had forecast in March of last year, with sales beating 2021 figures at around 279 billion euros compared with 250.2 billion the year prior. Still, net cash flow came to only around 5 billion euros, under the target of matching 2021's 8.6 billion euros, which the company blamed on an unstable supply chain leaving it sitting on high inventories of unfinished goods, supplies and materials. "Current planning for 2023 suggests that this year-end 2022 increase in working capital will largely reverse during the year," it added in its statement. Volkswagen also warned in January that the outlook for 2023 remained clouded by weak economies and supply-chain shortages. ($1 = 0.9331 euro)Reporting by Victoria Waldersee in Berlin Editing by Thomas Escritt and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Volkswagen Group deliveries lowest in over a decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Buzz, a fresh take on the iconic vehicle of the Volkswagen brand, during its world premiere in Paris, France, March 9, 2022. Group sales rose 14.3% in the fourth quarter, but the outlook for 2023 remains clouded by weak economies and supply chain shortages, extended executive sales committee member Hildegard Wortmann said. Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley weathered 2022 better than Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Skoda, with deliveries down around 4% at the premium brands and down 9% for mass-market vehicles. Group deliveries fell 7% versus 2021. The Volkswagen Group's deliveries were up 12% in the second half of the year, but the full-year figure was dragged down by a drop of over a fifth in the first half.

☆ Goldman Sachs names the global automakers exposed to a China slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Many global companies are heavily exposed to China, including some of the world's biggest automakers, which generate between 20% and 40% of their worldwide sales in the country, according to Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs has a $305 price target on Tesla, giving it potential upside of around 66% from its current share price of around $182. Mercedes-Benz Goldman Sachs estimates that Mercedes will sell 734,000 cars this year in China. Meanwhile, Volkswagen's joint-venture partner SAIC is sell-rated by Goldman Sachs, which gives it downside potential of 9%. General Motors Goldman Sachs estimates that nearly half of all cars GM sells worldwide will be in China between 2022 and 2024.

☆ How one GM auto plant's UAW union workforce is learning to make EVs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Bob Woods | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The Orion plant, in operation since 1983, was beginning to transition from making a variety of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs. "We started slowly introducing the Bolt on the assembly line," he said, a process that can take up to a year while working out the bugs. There's specialized training required for all the assembly workers on how to deal with those potentially dangerous connections in a safe manner, he said. In essence, "it takes more of an electrician than it does a mechanic" to assemble an EV, Brown said.. The recently upgraded center houses manufacturing laboratory facilities that simulate steps along the assembly line, including robotics and sheet metal fabrication.

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