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☆ Sustainability takes back seat in auto industry sourcing decisions - survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File PhotoBERLIN (Reuters) - Automakers and suppliers are deprioritising sustainability initiatives in their sourcing policies and focusing on lowering exposure to geopolitical risk after years of supply chain turmoil, a survey of over 1,000 executives showed on Monday. The average amount suppliers are investing in sustainability initiatives has fallen to $30.5 million in 2023 from $36.6 million in 2022, it said. One-third of all companies surveyed said they did not have a comprehensive sustainability strategy. The most common factors respondents based supply chain decisions on were quality, geopolitical risk, cost, and resilience - followed by sustainability. Respondents said around 50% of semiconductor supply was still not considered fully secure, with full-stack computing platforms and microcontrollers the hardest to obtain.

Persons: Simon Dawson, ” Capgemini, Ford Organizations: REUTERS, BERLIN, Lamborghini, Capgemini Locations: Britain, London, BYD

☆ Tesla's China-made EV deliveries rise 9.3% y/y in August
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Chinese flag and Tesla logo is seen through a magnifier in this illustration taken January 7, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Sept 4 (Reuters) - U.S. automaker Tesla (TSLA.O) sold 84,159 China-made electric vehicles (EVs) in August, a 9.3% rise from a year earlier, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Monday. Sales of China-made Model 3 and Model Y cars rose 30.9% from a month earlier. Chinese rival BYD (002594.SZ), with its Dynasty and Ocean series of EVs and petrol-electric hybrid models, recorded deliveries of 274,086 passenger vehicles in August, a jump of 57.5% year-on-year. Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Tesla, BYD, Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Christopher Cushing, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, China Passenger Car Association, of, Thomson Locations: Rights BEIJING, China, of China

☆ Africa Climate Summit: Electric motorcycle startup Spiro expands into Kenya
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Spiro, a startup looking to eliminate fuel-guzzling motorbikes and scooters from the roads by trading them in for electric two-wheelers, is expanding to Kenya. Ahead of the first Africa Climate Summit, which kicked off in Kenya’s capital Nairobi today, the host government announced on Friday that the e-bike and battery-swapping startup would be entering the East African country with its biggest deployment yet: 1.2 million electric vehicles. In Kenya, they will be offered 50,000 Kenyan shillings (about $344) – around a third of the price of a new electric bike – to swap their existing bike for an electric one. Last week, US company Uber also launched an electric motorbike service in Kenya, promising to roll out 3,000 bikes within six months. “We’re surpassing the symbolic but significant milestone of one million electric bikes signed with a government,” says Samain.

Persons: CNN — Spiro, Jules Samain –, polluters, Samain, Spiro, CLEMENT, CLEMENT DI ROMA, ”, ” Spiro, William Ruto, Ampersand, Uber Organizations: CNN, Africa Climate, CLEMENT DI, AFP, Getty, FIA Foundation, Spiro, McKinsey Locations: Kenya, Africa, Kenya’s, Nairobi, West, Benin, Togo, Rwanda, Uganda, China, Mombasa, Saharan Africa, Swedish, Kenyan, East

☆ Russia faces domestic fuel crunch, braces for more shortages
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Traders said that the fuel market has been hit by a combination of different factors including maintenance at oil refineries, infrastructure bottlenecks on railways and the weaker rouble which incentivises fuel exports. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that there were no fuel shortages. FUEL CRUNCHTraders said the shortages on the retail market followed by a sharp rise of wholesales prices. The state caps the retail prices, ordering the sellers to raise prices of gasoline and diesel only in line with official inflation. For the past two months commodity exchange diesel prices jumped on average by more than a quarter to 67,000 roubles ($700) per ton.

Persons: Alexander Natruskin, Alexander Novak, Andrei Neduzhko, Vladimir Soldatkin, Guy Faulconbridge, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Traders, Kremlin, CRUNCH Traders, Industry, Wholesale, Russian Railways, Thomson Locations: Moscow, MOSCOW, Russia, Russia's, Krasnodar region, Adygea, Astrakhan, Samara, Russian, Rostov, Krasnodar, Stavropol

☆ European car sales rise 15% in July, EVs up nearly 61%
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Electric vehicle sales jumped 60.6%, continuing a rise buoyed by subsidies in a number of European Union countries. Full EVs accounted for 13.6% of all new car sales, up from under 10% in July 2022. Diesel vehicles, which alone comprised more than 50% of new car sales as recently as 2015, accounted for just over 14% of sales in July. Europe's top car seller Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) posted a 17.9% increase in sales in July, the ACEA said, while BMW (BMWG.DE) and Renault (RENA.PA) saw sales rise 22.5% and 16.9% respectively. But Stellantis (STLAM.MI), which has struggled with logistics problems and car deliveries in Europe, posted a 6.1% drop in sales in July.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, Nick Carey, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Renault, REUTERS, European Automobile Manufacturers Association, Wednesday ., European Union, Diesel, Volkswagen, BMW, Thomson Locations: Les Sorinieres, Nantes, France, EU, Europe's, Europe

☆ Op-ed: Why the world needs more oil, not less
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( His Excellency Haitham Al Ghais | Opec Secretary General | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

If oil vanished today, these and many other vital products and services that use oil or its derivatives would vanish too. The World Energy Report for 2022, published by the UK-based Energy Institute and consulting firms KPMG and Kearney, noted that fossil fuels constituted 82% of global energy in 2022. This is comparable to OPEC's latest world oil outlook and represents a similar level to 30 years ago. The bottom line is that it is possible to invest heavily in renewables while continuing to produce the oil the world needs today and in the coming decades. Similarly, in the EU, vehicles using petrol or diesel still accounted for around half of all car sales in 2022.

Persons: BEV, BEVS Organizations: Transportation, Energy, Energy Institute, KPMG, Kearney, Toyota Prius, U.S . National Automobile Dealers Association, EU Locations: U.S, China, Paris

☆ China's BYD H1 profit triples as deliveries break record
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Net earnings for the six-months ending June 30 reached 10.95 billion yuan ($1.50 billion), up 204.7% from 3.6 billion yuan a year earlier, on a 72.7% rise in revenue to 260.12 billion yuan, BYD said in a stock market filing. The company posted a 6.82 billion yuan net profit for the April-June quarter, up 144.7%, a Reuters calculation showed. The Q2 earnings, the second highest quarterly number, was within BYD's net profit forecast of between 6.37 billion yuan and 7.57 billion yuan. Buoyed by its Dynasty and Ocean series of plug-in petrol-electric hybrids cars and battery-only electric vehicles (EV), BYD set a monthly sales record in July after deliveries hit 700,244 vehicles in the second quarter. Tesla recorded a decline in quarterly automotive gross margin in the second quarter, prioritising sales over earnings.

Persons: Aly, BYD, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Tesla, Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Christopher Cushing, Mike Harrison Organizations: Security, Auto, REUTERS, Rights, Volkswagen, Inc, U.S, EV, Tesla, BYD, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Auto Shanghai, Shanghai, China, Rights BEIJING, Shenzhen, Singapore, Australia

☆ Europe’s summer of extremes triggers health warnings, nuclear output fears and shipping disruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Europe's protracted battle with extreme weather conditions comes shortly after official data showed July was the hottest month in history. To be sure, the climate emergency — which is primarily driven by the burning of fossil fuels — is making extreme weather and its impacts more frequent and more intense. People stand at an overflooded petrol station in Gjovik on August 11, 2023 after extreme weather with heavy rain hit south-east Norway. This gives us the long-term context for the increasing occurrence and severity of such extreme weather and extreme events." On the same day, France issued an extreme heat warning for four regional departments in the southern regions of Rhone, Drome, Ardeche and Haute-Loire.

Persons: Angelos Tzortzinis, Alvaro Silva, Heiko Junge, Silva, Christophe Archambault, Nero, sweltering, Fabrice Coffrini Organizations: Sikorsky, Afp, Getty, EDF, Turkish, Meteorological Organization, Firefighters, Reuters Locations: Acharnes, Athens, Europe, Greece, French, Italy, Norway, Gjovik, Alexandroupolis, France, Rhone, Drome, Ardeche, Haute, Loire, Bordeaux, Sardinia, Dardanelles, Switzerland

☆ A dissident who mocked Xi Jinping online fled China on a jet ski, crossing 180 miles of sea to reach South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

He used a jet ski and a compass to get to the South Korean city of Incheon, per AFP. "He refilled the petrol on the ride and dumped the empty barrels into the sea," said the Korea Coast Guard on Tuesday, according to AFP. Kwon is now considering whether to apply for refugee status in South Korea, which only grants asylum to only a limited number of refugees each year. "While his means of entry into South Korea in violation of the law was wrong, surveillance of the Chinese authorities and political persecution of Kwon since 2016 are behind his life-risking crossing into South Korea," Lee told the news agency. The Incheon Korea Coast Guard Station was unable to be reached for comment because it was outside of office hours.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Kwon Pyong, Xi, Lee Dae, Kwon, Lee Organizations: AFP, Service, Agence France, Presse, Dialogue China, Korea Coast Guard, South Korea Korea Coast Guard, Coast Guard, Incheon Korea Coast Guard Locations: China, Korean, Incheon, Wall, Silicon, South Korea, Shandong, AFP, South

☆ Bus crash in eastern Pakistan kills 18 people
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LAHORE, Aug 20 (Reuters) - At least 18 people were killed after a bus crashed and caught on fire in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province on Sunday, authorities said. The bus collided with another vehicle in the early hours of the morning while carrying 33 passengers from the southern port city of Karachi to the capital, Islamabad. "The unfortunate bus ... collided with a mini-truck loaded with three small tanks of petrol at around 4.30 am," said Fahad Ahmad, the police chief of Punjab's Hafizabad district. "The bus and the truck caught fire immediately, the result of which 18 people including the mini-truck driver died on the spot." More than 40 people were killed in January after a bus fell into a ravine and caught fire in the southern Pakistani province of Balochistan on Sunday.

Persons: Fahad Ahmad, Mubasher Bukhari, Charlotte Greenfield, Kim Coghill Organizations: Thomson Locations: LAHORE, Pakistan's, Punjab, Karachi, Islamabad, Punjab's Hafizabad, Pakistan, Pakistani, Balochistan

☆ Fact Check-ULEZ: Most new vehicles exempt from London clean air zone fee
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Most petrol vehicles under 16 years old and diesel vehicles under 6 years old are exempt from London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) charges, a scheme expanded in August by London Mayor Sadiq Khan to tackle air pollution. This is contrary to a claim online that only electric vehicles avoid the fee. The TfL spokesperson said: “Most petrol vehicles under 16 years old or diesel vehicles under 6 years old already meet the emissions standards”. TfL’s website here says: “To meet the ULEZ emissions standard, your vehicle must meet the required Euro emissions standard for your vehicle and emission type.”Electric vehicles have no emissions and are exempt (here). Vehicles meeting the required Euro emissions standard to avoid paying ULEZ fees include some petrol and diesel vehicles manufactured in recent years.

Persons: Sadiq Khan, “, Read Organizations: London, Transport, TfL, European, Reuters, Vehicles

☆ EU greenhouse gas emissions fall 3% in the first quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Olivier Sorgho | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Eurostat FollowAug 16 (Reuters) - Greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union fell by nearly 3% in the first quarter of 2023, even as the bloc's economy grew slightly, statistics agency Eurostat said on Wednesday. The EU's emissions over the January to March quarter amounted to 941 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalents, down 2.9% from a year earlier, while the economy grew 1.2% year-on-year. Emissions fell in 21 of the bloc's 27 countries, with the largest decreases seen in Bulgaria, Estonia and Slovenia. Households were responsible for the biggest share - nearly a quarter - of total greenhouse gas emissions, Eurostat said, while manufacturing accounted for a fifth. Electricity and gas supply - the sector where emissions fell the most - still contributed 19% to the total figure, with agriculture accounting for 13% and transportation and storage responsible for 10%.

Persons: Neurath, Wolfgang Rattay, Olivier Sorgho Organizations: REUTERS, European, Eurostat, heatwaves, Electricity, Thomson Locations: Cologne, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Bulgaria, Estonia, Slovenia, Ireland, Latvia, Slovakia, Denmark, Sweden, Finland

France has used an anti-terrorism unit to question some climate activists, the police confirmed to Reuters. Britain’s National Police Chiefs’ Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment and its interior ministry did not comment. Germany does not have a national policy targeting climate activists, who the government considers mainly non-extremist, a spokesperson for the country’s interior ministry said. "Climate protesters can perhaps be locked away, but the climate catastrophe will come anyway," Lachner said after being convicted in Berlin in July for glueing incidents last year and fined 2,700 euros. In the January newspaper interview, the local office of the interior ministry confirmed both devices had been installed.

Persons: Yves Herman, Simon Lachner, he'd, “ radicalisation ”, Lachner’s, Lachner, Regensberg, Lafarge Holcim, SLT, Julien Le Guet, Le Guet, Pascale Leglise, Riham Alkousaa, Juliette Jabkhiro, Andrew MacAskill, William James, Katy Daigle, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: REUTERS, GPS, Bavaria, Reuters, Britain’s National Police Chiefs ’, Los, Prosecutors, Bavarian, Berlin, Military, National Commission, Control, Thomson Locations: France, Sainte, Soline, BERLIN, Lachner, Britain, Germany, Berlin, Europe, Los Angeles, Brandenburg, Bavaria, Bavarian, Regensberg, French, Deux, Sevres, Nouvelle Aquitaine, SLT, Paris, London

The sustained inflationary pressure, driven by a lira drop and tax hikes, comes as President Tayyip Erdogan's new finance minister and central bank chief orchestrate a policy U-turn including interest rate hikes that are expected to slow domestic demand. But in the meantime the U-turn has hammered the currency and left authorities asking already-stretched households for patience. In July, consumer prices soared nearly 10% sequentially due to tax hikes and a lira crash. This month, forecasts by five economists show them rising between 5.5% and 8.5%, with fallout from mid-July tax hikes lagging into August. After years of divergence with market expectations, the central bank matched those last month when it raised its end-2023 annual inflation forecast to 58.0% from a previous 22.3%.

Persons: Erdogan, Tayyip Erdogan's, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Erdogan's, Erkan, Mehmet Simsek, Moody's, Daren Butler, Jonathan Spicer, Toby Chopra Organizations: Turkish Statistical Institute, Thomson Locations: Erdogan ANKARA, Istanbul, Turkey's

☆ World Bank to help fund 1,000 mini solar power grids in Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A technician works on solar power panels at the Atlantic Shrimpers farm in Badagry, Lagos, Nigeria July 5, 2022. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja/File PhotoABUJA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The World Bank is aiming to help fund construction of 1,000 mini solar power grids in Africa's biggest economy Nigeria in partnership with the government and private sector, the lender's president Ajay Banga said on Saturday. Mini grids, made up of small-scale electricity generating units, typically range in a size from a few kilowatts to up to 10 MW, enough to power some 200 households. "Now the idea is not for the World Bank to be the only person putting the money. World Bank data shows that in sub-Saharan Africa, 568 million people still lack access to electricity.

Persons: Temilade, Ajay Banga, Banga, Abraham Achirga, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Bank, World Bank, Thomson Locations: Badagry, Lagos, Nigeria, ABUJA, Abuja, Banga, Saharan Africa, Africa

☆ Heavy rains wreak havoc in central Taiwan in wake of typhoon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TAIPEI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Intense rains in the wake of Typhoon Khanun lashed the mountainous parts of Taiwan on Saturday, unleashing flood and landslides that blocked roads and stranded hundreds of people as authorities rushed to resume transportation links. Rains have pounded the central county of Nantou since Typhoon Khanun brushed past northern Taiwan on Thursday, with more than 1 m (3 feet) of precipitation soaking Renai Township since then, shattering roads and triggering landslides and mudslides. Across Taiwan, two people were missing and more than 460 stranded, mostly in remote mountainous areas, the government said, adding no casualties had been reported. "Although Typhoon Khanun is gradually moving away from us, people should still make related preparations and must pay attention to rains and winds, as well as your own safety," he said in a post on Facebook. Heavy rain was forecast to continue over the weekend, although at a reduced level as authorities continued to issue warnings of landslides for mountainous central and southern Taiwan.

Persons: Khanun, Hsu Shu, Hua, William Lai, Yimou Lee, Fabian Hamacher, William Mallard Organizations: Central News Agency, Facebook, Thomson Locations: TAIPEI, Taiwan, Nantou, Nantou County

☆ Nigeria's president says central bank undergoing forensic audit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said on Friday the central bank was undergoing a comprehensive forensic audit as part of reforms following the suspension of the bank's governor in June. Tinubu has embarked on the country's boldest reforms in years, ending the central bank's currency controls that kept the naira currency artificially strong and scrapping a petrol subsidy that cost the government $10 billion last year. "A comprehensive forensic audit is on-going at the Central Bank (of Nigeria)," a presidency statement quoted Tinubu as telling World Bank head Ajay Banga at a meeting in Abuja. Tinubu, who was sworn into office on May 29, inherited an economy grappling with anaemic growth, record debt, shrinking oil production and widespread insecurity. Reporting by Felix Onuah, writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Ajay Banga, Felix Onuah, MacDonald Dzirutwe, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Central Bank, World Bank, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Abuja

☆ UK net-zero ‘pragmatism’ is an odd way to get real
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Yet official UK figures do not suggest the way to get real on climate change is to go any slower. Sunak himself has defended Britain’s record on climate and says he cares about reaching its 2050 net-zero target. As such the net cost of net zero may be more like 344 billion pounds over three decades, or perhaps only 0.4% of GDP per year. Policy certainty will meanwhile encourage foreign investors to help pay for Britain’s transition, reducing its exposure to gas price shocks. UK energy secretary Grant Shapps said on Aug. 2 that the government remained “absolutely committed” to hitting its net-zero carbon targets by 2050.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, dawdling, Andrew Forrest, ”, ” Sunak, Michael Gove, Grant Shapps, “, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Sunak’s Conservative Party, Budget, Reuters Graphics Reuters, ’, McKinsey reckons, Britain, Conservatives, Thomson Locations: Britain, London, China, United States, North

☆ Nigeria turns to natural gas for fuel as petrol prices rise after subsidy removal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File PhotoLAGOS, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Nigeria is turning to gas as an alternative fuel after it scrapped a popular but costly subsidy on petrol that has seen pump prices rise sharply, angering motorists and businesses that use petrol to generate their own power. State-oil firm NNPC said late on Thursday it has partnered with NIPCO Gas to speed up the adoption of compressed natural gas for buses, cars and tricycles to lower transportation costs. Under the NNPC-NIPCO deal, 35 compressed natural gas stations will be rolled out in phases to be completed next year and will be able to serve more than 200,000 vehicles daily. NIPCO already operates 14 compressed natural gas stations, NNPC said, and that the local firm has turned more than 7,000 vehicles to gas, it said. Last month, NNPC signed an agreement with UTM Offshore for the local company to construct a 1.5 metric tonnes per annum floating liquefied natural gas plant.

Persons: Afolabi, NNPC, Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Chijioke, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, NIPCO Gas, Offshore, Thomson Locations: Abuja, Nigeria, LAGOS, State, Africa's

☆ Tesla's China-made EV sales in July down 31% mth/mth
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Visitors wearing face masks check a China-made Tesla Model Y sport utility vehicle (SUV) at the electric vehicle maker's showroom in Beijing, China January 5, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File PhotoBEIJING, Aug 3 (Reuters) - U.S. automaker Tesla (TSLA.O) sold 64,285 China-made electric vehicles (EVs) in July, down 31% from a month earlier, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Thursday. Sales of China-made Model 3 and Model Y cars were up 128% from 28,217 a year earlier when a scheduled upgrade to Tesla's Shanghai factory lowered production. Chinese rival BYD (002594.SZ), with its Dynasty and Ocean series of EVs and petrol-electric hybrid vehicles, posted a 61% year-on-year rise in July sales to 261,105 passenger vehicles, including 18,169 exported. Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; editing by Christopher Cushing and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Tesla, BYD, Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Christopher Cushing, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, China Passenger Car Association, of, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, BEIJING, of China, Shanghai

☆ GSK Nigeria calls an end to its business, to return cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Chijioke Ohuocha | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Nigeria (GLAXOSM.LG) said on Thursday it plans to stop doing business after evaluating the options for moving to a third-party distribution model for its drugs and consumer healthcare goods. GSK Nigeria, which has faced increased competition from local companies and imports from India and China, said its half-year sales had dropped to 7.75 billion naira ($9.82 million), from 14.8 billion naira in the same period a year ago. GSK Nigeria said it is working with advisers to agree next steps and plans to submit a scheme of arrangement to Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission, which if approved will see it return cash to shareholders except its parent GSK. "For the above reasons, and having, together with GSK UK, evaluated various other options, the Board of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc has concluded that there is no alternative but to cease operations," GSK Nigeria said in a statement. Shares in GSK Nigeria, in which British drugmaker GSK has a 46.4% stake and Nigerian shareholders the remaining 53.6%, closed at 8.10 naira, down from a peak of 42.24 naira in 2014.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Chijioke Ohuocha, Alexander Smith Organizations: GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, Nigeria's Securities, Exchange Commission, Haleon, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, British, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, GSK Nigeria, India, China, British, Africa

Sales of Tesla's (TSLA.O) China-made vehicles fell 31% in July from June, data from China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Thursday, marking its first month-on-month decline since December, when it struggled with rising inventories. Tesla sold 64,285 China-made EVs in July, up 128% from 28,217 a year earlier when a scheduled upgrade to its Shanghai factory curbed production. Meanwhile BYD (002594.SZ), with its Dynasty and Ocean series of EVs and petrol-electric hybrid vehicles, said it posted a 61% year-on-year rise in July sales to 261,105 passenger vehicles, including 18,169 which were exported. CPCA is set to publish full data for July later this month, with sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China estimated to reach 750,000. Still, BYD outsold Tesla China by 29% in EV sales in the first half while its lower-priced Dolphin EV outsold Tesla's Model 3, which is expected to be revamped in September.

Persons: Tesla, BYD, Xpeng, Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Christopher Cushing, Kim Coghill, Alexander Smith Organizations: Tesla, China Passenger Car Association, General Motors, Volkswagen, EV, Authorities, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, SHANGHAI, China, Shanghai

The directive to present the optimistic range estimates came from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, this person said. The lawsuit's three plaintiffs cite occasions when their Teslas didn't achieve close to their advertised ranges and said they had complained to the company without success. The lawsuit states: "Had Tesla honestly advertised its electric vehicle ranges, consumers either would not have purchased Tesla model vehicles, or else would have paid substantially less for them." The complaint seeks class-action status to represent "all persons in California who purchased a new Tesla Model 3, Model S, Model Y, and Model X vehicle." A California Tesla owner also filed a proposed consumer class action in April after Reuters reported that Tesla employees had shared on an internal messaging system sensitive images and videos captured by cars' cameras.

Persons: Pascal, Tesla, Elon Musk, Adam A, Edwards, Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, James Porter, Hyunjoo Jin, Mike Scarcella, Steve Stecklow, Kevin Krolicki, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Wednesday, Northern, Northern District of, Reuters, Tesla, California Tesla, Thomson Locations: Chateauvillain, France, California, U.S, Northern District, Northern District of California, Nevada, Petaluma , California

☆ Nigeria's labour unions suspend strike after meeting president
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Nigeria's main labour federation has agreed to return to talks with the government following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, union leaders said, on a day when hundreds of Nigerians marched against the removal of a petrol subsidy. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said the marches across major Nigerian cities were successful enough to force Tinubu to meet union leaders and vow to expedite an agreement on a new minimum wage among other promises. [1/2]Members of the Nigerian Labour Union, holding flags and placards, march during a protest against fuel price hikes and rising costs, in Abuja, Nigeria August 2, 2023. REUTERS/Abraham AchirgaLed by union leaders, protesters carrying placards marched in Lagos, the oil-producing state of Bayelsa and in the northern cities of Kano and Kaduna. In the capital Abuja, marchers broke down a gate to the National Assembly, expecting to be addressed by the Senate president, witnesses said.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Tinubu's, Dele Alake, Abraham Achirga Led, Elisha Bala, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Tife, Hamza Ibrahim, Garba Muhammad, Tomasz Janowski, Giles Elgood, Sandra Maler Organizations: Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigerian Labour Union, REUTERS, NLC, National Assembly, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Abuja, Lagos, Bayelsa, Kano, Kaduna, Gbogbo, Yenagoa

Companies International Monetary Fund FollowISLAMABAD, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Pakistan announced an increase in petrol and diesel prices on Tuesday to better reflect rising international prices and to raise revenue to meet the objectives of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. In a recorded video statement, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said gasoline, or petrol, prices would be raised by 19.95 Pakistani rupees to 272.95 Pakistani rupees ($0.952) per litre and diesel by 19.90 rupees to 273.40 rupees per litre, an increase of 7.8% for both fuels. Fuel prices have increased sharply in global markets in the last 15 days, Dar said, adding his government had tried to minimise the hike. The IMF has also called on Pakistan to maintain a tight monetary policy. The central bank on Monday, however, kept the policy rate steady at 22%, with its governor saying the lender's requirement of tight policy didn't necessarily mean raising the rate.

Persons: Ishaq Dar, Dar, Asif Shahzad, Kim Coghill, Jamie Freed, Christian Organizations: International Monetary, International Monetary Fund, Brent, IMF, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Islamabad

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