DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Many DLE technologies use lots of potable water and electricity. SQM (SQMA.SN) and Albemarle Corp (ALB.N), Chile's two existing lithium producers, use evaporation ponds to produce the metal. Livent Corp (LTHM.N) uses a variation of DLE technology in Argentina alongside evaporation ponds. Lake Resources is working with Bill Gates-backed Lilac Solutions Inc to deploy Lilac's DLE technology in Argentina. In Chile, DLE companies see a business opportunity despite the nationalization plans given that Boric's new state lithium company is expected to need technical support.

☆ GM Recalls Some Chevy Silverado Trucks Over Fire Risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Ginger Adams Otis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Some Chevrolet Silverado trucks were discovered to have a potential brake-fluid leak that could result in a fire. Photo: rebecca cook/ReutersGeneral Motors Co. has issued a recall for some of its Chevrolet Silverado trucks after discovering a potential brake-fluid leak that could result in a fire. The recall could involve as many as 40,000 medium-duty trucks made in 2019 or later, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

☆ Tesla's California market share tumbles despite aggressive price cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Hyunjoo Jin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAN FRANCISCO, April 21 (Reuters) - Tesla's market share in its key California market tumbled in the first quarter of the year despite aggressive price cuts as rivals stepped up, data showed on Friday. Tesla's sales in California accounted for 16% of the automaker's global deliveries last year, according to Reuters calculation. Tesla CEO Elon Musk's pursuit of Twitter and embrace of Republicans has sparked concerns about Tesla's brand, especially in liberal states like California. Globally, Tesla posted record quarterly vehicle deliveries for the quarter, but quarter-on-quarter sales growth was modest despite price cuts as rising competition, especially in China, and a bleak economic outlook weighed. The price cuts hit Tesla's first-quarter margins, pushing its shares down nearly 10% on Thursday.

DETROIT, April 21 (Reuters) - United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain said on Friday there is "no excuse" for Detroit's automakers to set up electric vehicle operations and ventures that are not unionized. Detroit automakers have set up several U.S. joint venture battery factories that are not covered by their current agreements with the UAW. Fain said workers at joint venture battery plants should earn higher wages than production workers at older Detroit Three factories. "I look forward to bring that work under the UAW," Fain said. The UAW president said workers displaced as factories dedicated to combustion vehicle technology lose work should have a right to get jobs at joint venture factories.

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday it reached a settlement with memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) to resolve an allegation of immigration-related employment discrimination. The investigation began when a U.S. citizen worker complained that Micron unfairly denied him employment because of his citizenship status. The Justice Department said it determined that Micron unlawfully preferred a temporary visa worker for the position, failing to meaningfully consider the U.S. citizen's qualifications. The amount of the civil penalty was not specified in the Justice Department statement. The Justice Department also released a fact sheet on Tuesday to help employers avoid immigration-related discrimination.

☆ South Korea announces $15 bln investment in advanced battery technologies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Heekyong Yang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] An employee walks past the logo of LG Energy Solution at its office building in Seoul, South Korea, November 23, 2021. "The joint investment will allow South Korea to start commercial production of solid state batteries ahead of others," the ministry said in a statement. South Korea is home to three of the world's five biggest electric vehicle (EV) battery makers --LG Energy Solution Ltd (LGES) (373220.KS), Samsung SDI Co Ltd (006400.KS) and SK On. EV battery makers are racing to develop new battery technologies that promise longer driving range, higher energy density and better safety than the conventional lithium-ion batteries. The industry ministry said South Korea aimed to quadruple domestic production capacity of cathode materials and triple exports of battery production-related equipment with the investment.

"The Tesla bull case has centered around the company's growth goals, which it is failing to meet." Tesla's stock is trading at about 43 times expected earnings, down from astronomical levels above 200 times in 2021, according to Refinitiv data. Tesla on Wednesday doubled down on the price war it started at the end of last year, as Musk said the company would prioritize sales growth ahead of profit. In the first quarter, Tesla posted its lowest quarterly gross profit margin in two years. You're investing in Elon Musk," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer of Bokeh Capital Partners.

[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.

[1/2] The new GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 16, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File PhotoWASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday said it had reached a settlement with General Motors Co (GM.N) to resolve the department's allegation that the automaker discriminated against non-U.S. citizens. Under the terms of the agreement, the Detroit-based company will pay $365,000 in civil penalties to the United States, the Justice Department said in a statement. GM in a statement said it had cooperated with the investigation and was committed to a discrimination-free workplace. The agreement reached on Tuesday requires GM to train its personnel on the law's requirements, revise its employment policies and be subject to monitoring and reporting requirements.

☆ VW, Rivian, Nissan, BMW lose access to US EV tax credits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoApril 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury said on Monday that Volkswagen, BMW, Nissan, Rivian, Hyundai and Volvo electric vehicles will lose access to a $7,500 tax credit under new rules for battery sourcing. VW said it was "fairly optimistic" the ID.4 SUV will qualify for the tax credit. Treasury also disclosed General Motors Co (GM.N) electric Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV will qualify for the full $7,500 tax credit. GM said earlier it expected at least some of its EVs would qualify for the $7,500 tax credit under the new rules, including the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq and forthcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV SUV and Blazer EV SUV. Treasury in December said EVs ineligible for the $7,500 consumer tax credit could qualify for a commercial leasing $7,500 credit.

[1/2] A Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) sign is at the U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S. May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File PhotoWASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by General Motors Co (GM.N) to revive its racketeering lawsuit against rival automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), now part of Franco-Italian automaker Stellantis NV , over bribery allegations involving the United Auto Workers union. Stellantis in a statement praised the court's decision to turn away what it described as "baseless claims" by GM. "Today's decision upholding the district court's dismissal of GM's lawsuit is another reaffirmation that its claims are meritless," Stellantis said. FCA paid a $30 million fine while the UAW agreed to independent oversight to resolve the U.S. Justice Department investigation.

☆ GM Ditches Apple CarPlay on EVs as Fight for Your Car’s Screen Intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Mike Colias | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, featured earlier this year at the Washington, D.C., auto show, will be equipped with GM’s new display-screen software. Apple Inc.’s CarPlay, the app that allows drivers to use their iPhones through the car’s display, has become a staple in millions of cars and trucks sold each year and a mission-critical feature for some buyers. Now, General Motors Co. is ditching the popular app on many of its new electric models, along with a similar one made by Alphabet Inc.’s Google for Android phones.

☆ 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.

Ford officials declined to say whether the plant will assemble five EV models, as agreed with Unifor during the 2020 contract talks. The Oakville plant currently builds combustion Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus SUVs. Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley has said Ford will have the ability to assemble 2 million EVs globally by 2026. Ford officials said Oakville will build the automaker's next-generation EVs, which Ford executives have said will have to be more efficient, easier to assemble and more competitive with the Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) vehicles that currently lead in North American market EV sales. Battery cells for the Oakville-built EVs will come from a factory Ford and battery partner SK On plan are building in Kentucky, Nowicki said.

[1/2] The new GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 16, 2021. Many teem with lithium, calcium and other minerals, and DLE technologies aim to separate out the lithium and leave the rest. LITHIUM METAL FROM BRINEEnergyX has said its technology can make lithium metal directly from brine, a tantalizing prospect for GM that could let the automaker bypass lithium refining, which is widely seen as a key supply chain bottleneck. The EnergyX investment comes after GM in January agreed to pay $650 million to become the largest shareholder in Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.TO), which is developing the Thacker Pass clay lithium project in Nevada. "This GM investment will completely change the trajectory of EnergyX," said Teague Egan, the startup company's founder and chief executive.

☆ South Korea to offer $5.3 bln in financing to support battery investment in North America
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Heekyong Yang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, April 7 (Reuters) - South Korea on Friday said it will provide 7 trillion won ($5.32 billion) in financial support for its battery makers seeking to invest in infrastructure in North America over the next five years to help firms cope with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. "Both the government and businessmen should cooperate to find solutions together to effectively cope with situations changing rapidly after the Inflation Reduction Act," Trade Minister Lee Chang-yang said while presiding over a meeting with major battery cell makers and materials firms. In November, South Korea launched the government-backed battery alliance to better source key metals dominated by China to bolster battery supply chain stability. In March, LGES said it would resume a stalled U.S. battery project with a $5.6 billion investment in Arizona to qualify for federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act. ($1 = 1,316.2200 won)Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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.

☆ GM Says 5,000 White-Collar Workers to Depart Through Buyouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Ryan Felton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

General Motors plans to achieve cost savings by reducing vehicle complexity and implementing other measures. About 5,000 salaried workers and executives at General Motors Co. have accepted voluntary buyout offers through a separation program announced last month, the company said Tuesday. GM initiated the head-count reduction as part of an effort to cut $2 billion in costs by the end of 2024, a spokesman said.

GM shares were trading down nearly 2% at midday, even though CFO Paul Jacobson said demand for GM's trucks and SUVs remains strong in the United States. GM has been able to raise prices in the United States over the past two years as supply chain bottlenecks kept production in check. GM will cut production to keep inventories in check, Jacobson said. GM has three battery factories in North America, and will announce the location of a fourth domestic battery plant soon, he said. Jacobson added that the company was going to have to "prioritize down" on growth businesses to focus on preserving cash.

April 3 (Reuters) - Membership in the United Auto Workers union rose 3% in 2022 to 383,000 as it works to organize workers in battery plants and other electric vehicle components. Fain said last week the union was ready to go to war against "employers who refuse to give our members their fair share." Membership in the Detroit-based union rose from 372,000 in 2021 but is still down from 397,000 at the end of 2020. North American operations for the Detroit Three automakers are under pressure as they pour billions into electric vehicles and battery production. In 2019, UAW workers at GM went on strike for 40 days before a new contract was ratified, costing the automaker $3 billion.

Companies Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co Follow(Reuters) - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (GT.O) convinced an Ohio federal judge on Friday to throw out a $64 million jury verdict over its alleged theft of trade secrets related to self-inflating tires. A jury decided last year that Goodyear misappropriated five of the 12 trade secrets Coda accused it of misusing. But Lioi said Friday that four of the five secrets – related to Coda's design, development and placement of self-inflating tire pumps – were not specific enough to be considered protectable trade secrets. Lioi said Coda's fifth alleged secret, related to developing a functional self-inflating tire, was "no secret at all" because the concept was not new in 2009. The case is Coda Development SRO v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, No.

☆ As Dealerships Get More Stock, Auto Makers’ Sales Rebound
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Ryan Felton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. auto-industry sales, beaten down through much of the pandemic, are starting to rebound as buyers see something they haven’t in a long time: more cars and trucks on dealership lots. In a reversal from last year, many car companies reported higher U.S. sales in the first quarter, with some manufacturers, such as General Motors Co. and Hyundai Motor Co., posting double-digit gains.

☆ US first-quarter auto sales set to rise on better inventory
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But rising interest rates and fears of a recession may play spoilsport in an industry where most vehicle purchases are financed with loans, analysts say. "Consumers are facing credit uncertainty as rapidly rising interest rates have created barriers to entry for even the most qualified buyers," said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at auto research firm Edmunds. The automaker is set to post a 15% rise in first-quarter U.S. sales, while Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) sales are likely to fall nearly 10%, when they publish data beginning Monday, according to consultant Cox Automotive. Toyota has continued to struggle with inventory shortages sparked by supply constraints, losing its crown as the top selling U.S. automaker to GM. Trucks and crossover SUVs are expected to account for majority of new retail sales in the quarter, according to automotive data company J.D.

☆ GM says it expects some EVs to receive $7,500 US tax credits
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) expects some electric vehicles (EVs) will qualify for $7,500 U.S. tax credits after stricter Treasury Department guidance takes effect April 18, the U.S. automaker said on Friday. The EV battery sourcing guidance issued on Friday triggers new requirements for critical minerals and battery components. GM currently also receives $7,500 tax credits for the Chevrolet Bolt and is eligible for $7,500 for the forthcoming 2024 model Chevrolet Silverado. Vehicles not eligible for consumer tax credits can qualify for clean commercial tax credits including in leasing. The government will publish by April 18 a revised list of qualifying models and tax credit amounts.

"You're going to see a lot more aggressive UAW," Fain told reporters late Monday after a day-long meeting with local union officials. Those contracts could be models for the UAW's goals in talks with the Detroit automakers beginning this summer, analysts said. The Detroit automakers have reported robust profits during the past four years from their North American operations, mainly thanks to the pickup trucks and SUVs that UAW members assemble. Securing UAW jobs as the Detroit automakers shift toward electric vehicles is a "top priority," Fain said. The UAW and Detroit automakers will begin bargaining toward new contracts this summer.

Search resuls for: "General Motors Co"

25 mentions found