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☆ Toyota slashes leasing fee for troubled EV to rekindle orders
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A worker prepares 2023 Toyota Electric bZ4X at the 2022 New York International Auto Show, in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., April 13, 2022. Starting Wednesday, the application fee is 385,000 yen while the monthly cost is 1,100 yen cheaper. Those who signed up beforehand are eligible for a discount, said Shinya Kotera, president of KINTO, the Toyota unit offering the leases. Just a year into its $38 billion EV plan, Toyota is already considering starting again to better compete in a market growing beyond the automaker's projections, Reuters reported on Monday. ($1 = 148.7900 yen)Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama and Maki Shiraki; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Toyota scrambles for EV reboot with eye on Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

As part of the review, Toyota is considering a successor to its EV-underpinning technology called e-TNGA, unveiled in 2019. TESLA AS BENCHMARKThe review was triggered in part by the realisation by some Toyota engineers and executives that Toyota was losing the factory cost war to Tesla on EVs, the sources said. Toyota designed e-TNGA so that EVs could be produced on the same assembly line with gasoline cars and hybrids. The person leading Toyota's EV review is Shigeki Terashi, former chief competitive officer, according to six people with knowledge of the work, including two people close to Toyota. The recognition within Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, that Tesla has set a new benchmark for EV manufacturing costs marks a major reversal.

The French and Japanese automakers said this month they were in talks about the future of their alliance, including Nissan potentially investing in an electric vehicle business being spun out of Renault. With Nissan holding only 15% of Renault - and without voting rights - French dominance of the alliance has long been a point of contention. Renault wants Nissan to invest in its electric vehicle unit, while Nissan wants Renault to cut its stake to 15%, Reuters previously reported. Given its investment needs, Renault is the more eager of the two to reach a deal, said a person familiar with negotiations. Alliance junior partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) will likely invest a few percent in the new Renault unit to retain its alliance relationship, said another person familiar with the matter.

☆ Nissan, Renault relationship should be 'more equal' Renault CEO tells Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The relationship between Japan's Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) and top shareholder Renault SA should be "more equal", the Nikkei newspaper quoted the French automaker's chief executive as saying. "Each company needs to do what is best," he told the Nikkei, adding that that was the spirit of their alliance. Such a shift could mean the biggest reset in their relationship since the 2018 arrest of longtime executive Carlos Ghosn. Talks so far have included consideration of Renault selling some of its Nissan stake, Reuters has previously reported. For Nissan, that could mean a chance to alter a structure that many executives at the Japanese company have seen as unbalanced.

☆ Battery maker Envision AESC seeking potential investors to fund expansion-CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ZAMA, Japan, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Chinese renewable energy group Envision's battery business is seeking potential investors, as it looks to fund a planned 30-fold expansion in its battery production capacity for electric vehicles (EV), the unit's chief executive said. Envision AESC has also said it plans to supply batteries for Honda Motor Co (7267.T) and Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE). The company hopes to break into the top-tier EV supply rankings by leveraging its more than a decade of battery production experience. Matsumoto said the company is aiming to expand its share in the global EV battery market by roughly five times to about 15% by 2025 or 2026. Solid-state battery technology involves a high-capacity energy storage device that improves on lithium-ion batteries, replacing the liquid or gel-form electrolyte with a solid, conductive material.

TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - A joint venture set up by Japan's Sony Group Corp (6758.T) and Honda Motor (7267.T) is aiming to deliver its first electric vehicles by 2026 and will sell them online, starting in the United States and Japan. The update from the joint venture, Sony Honda Mobility, is the first since the two companies launched the project in June. Sony will provide the software system for the new car, from the onboard controllers to cloud-based services that will connect with entertainment and payment systems. The still-to-be named EV will likely be manufactured by Honda at one of its plants in Ohio. The new EV will be delivered to the Japanese market in the second half of 2026.

Prosecutors with the 18th Judicial District and DEA agents seized 114 pounds of pure fentanyl in Colorado. A spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol, which made the initial discovery of the fentanyl, provided a blunt account of the botched operation. But after this story was published, a DEA official confirmed the seizure of 114 pounds of fentanyl. "DEA is relentlessly pursuing the individuals that were involved in the trafficking of the seized fentanyl and will continue to do so." “We’ve got a record amount of fentanyl involved here, in fact, enough fentanyl to kill everyone in the state of Colorado,” Figliuzzi said.

Banknotes of Japanese yen are seen in this illustration picture taken September 22, 2022. Almost a quarter of Japanese manufacturers' production is carried out overseas, according to the latest trade ministry data. The weak yen drives up the cost of acquiring businesses overseas, although that could be less of a concern for many cash-rich Japanese firms. At the same time, the weak yen makes Japanese companies cheaper targets for foreign buyers. For retailers, the weak yen has been particularly painful, as it drives up costs, including for energy and food.

☆ U.S. women skip jersey number 15 at World Cup to honour Griner
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Basketball - Women - Gold medal match - United States v Japan - Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan - August 8, 2021. Griner, who wore the number 15 in international competition, helped the United States collect two of their 10 gold medals in the quadrennial tournament, which takes place in Sydney this year. "USA Basketball continues to keep BG in our thoughts as we take the court in Sydney. U.S. President Joe Biden met with the WNBA star's wife, Cherelle Griner, last week and has called the judgment against Griner "unacceptable". The United States said in July it put forth a "substantial offer" for the release of Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

A man walks on the street in heavy rain and wind caused by Typhoon Nanmadol in Kagoshima on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu September 18, 2022, in this photo taken by Kyodo. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPANTOKYO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Typhoon Nanmadol brought ferocious winds and record rainfall to western Japan on Monday as one of the biggest storms to hit the country in years killed at least two people, disrupted transport and forced manufacturers to suspend operations. "We need to remain highly vigilant for heavy rains, gales, high waves and storm surges," a Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) official told a news conference. Up to 400 mm (15.75 inches) of rain was expected in central Japan's Tokai region, the nation's industrial heartland, over the next 24 hours, it said. Intermittent bouts of heavy rain lashed Tokyo but businesses in the capital were largely operating as normal.

☆ Drinking tea may lower the risk of diabetes, heart disease and death, mounting research shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-17 | by ( Aria Bendix | Aria Bendix Is The Breaking Health Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Mounting evidence suggests that drinking several cups of tea per day has numerous health benefits, including lowering one's risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and overall mortality. The risk of developing diabetes went down by 1% for each additional daily cup. The study also revealed an association between drinking multiple cups of tea and a lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Antioxidants in tea could reduce inflammationThe health benefits of drinking tea may have to do with polyphenols, compounds found naturally in plants that provide antioxidants. Inoue-Choi's study did not, however, find any association between drinking tea and a reduced risk of death from cancer.

☆ These are the meals you can buy on the app that offers restaurant leftovers for under £4
▼ + stars: | 2016-10-04 | by ( Alison Millington | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Too Good To Go lets users buy a box of leftover restaurant food, such as the one above from Peachy Keens, for less than £4. "The restaurant anticipates how much food they'll have left, then makes it available to buy through the app," Wilson says. "It's really important that social entrepreneurs are getting involved in trying to bring food waste to the forefront." Too Good To GoWilson and his business partner Jamie Crummie are hoping the app will "highlight food waste and change perceptions around it." "We can counter [food waste] by changing our attitudes towards it and hopefully start to be more considerate about the way we're consuming food," he said.

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