Motoring

Lamborghini joins fast-growing SUV market

by Céline Cornu Agence France-Presse Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy (AFP) — Lamborghini, the fabled Italian sports car manufacturer, on Monday unveiled its new sport utility vehicle, accelerating into a fast-growing market already crowded with upmarket rivals. The Urus, as the four-wheel drive “super SUV” will be known, was revealed at the Volkswagen group-owned company’s historic home near Bologna. It will reach a top speed of 305 kilometers per hour (190 mph), can go from zero to 100 kph […]

Connected electric cars highlighted in L.A. auto show

LOS ANGELES, United States (Reuters) — The century-old Los Angeles Auto Show kicked off its press preview earlier this week with a focus on how to make green cars more connected. In addition to the  stunning debut of many new cars from top brands, the cooperation between IT companies and automakers has grabbed the most spotlight. IT giant Microsoft unveiled its cloud computing service platform for green cars at the show. Many car manufacturers said […]

Volkswagen heats up electric cars race with $40 billion spend

(Reuters) — 40-billion-dollars is roughly the size of Jordan’s GDP. And that’s also the amount of cash Volkswagen is going to splash in the next 5 years to gain ground in the electric and driverless car race. “We are seeing the first successes of this strategy. Volkswagen is in robust health. This is, above all, the result of great teamwork.” Volkswagen Chairman, Hans Dieter Poetsch, said. Competition in the sector is strong and VW has […]

Five things to see at the Tokyo Motor Show

by Hiroshi Hiyama Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — From a car that wants to be your friend to another that burns off the fat: here are five hot vehicles on display at the Tokyo Motor Show. The biennial event opens for a media preview on Wednesday, before throwing its doors open to the public until November 5. The event will feature concept vehicles from top Japanese manufacturers, as well as fresh offerings from major […]

DOTr serves MRT3 maintenance provider notice to terminate contract; BURI has 7 days to respond

(Eagle News) — The Department of Transportation has asked Busan Universal Rail Inc. to explain why the agency should not terminate its contract to maintain the Metro Rail Transit 3. The DOTr said in a statement that under the notice to terminate it sent BURI on Tuesday, the company was given seven days for this. The agency said the notice was served on the basis of “poor performance; failure to put in service and subsequently […]

Baidu to hit the road with self-driving bus

by Glenn Chapman Agence France-Presse LAGUNA BEACH, United States (AFP) — Baidu chief executive Robin Li on Tuesday said the Chinese internet giant will have a self-driving bus on the road soon as it races for a lead in autonomous vehicles. Baidu is collaborating with an array of companies on autonomous cars, and is working with a large bus maker in China to have a self-driving bus running a route by next year, Li said […]

Nissan says recalling 1.2 mn cars in Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Nissan said Monday it was recalling some 1.2 million cars in Japan that did not meet domestic rules for the final inspection of vehicles. “Approximately 1,210,000 units produced between October 2014 and September 2017 will be subject to re-inspection,” the Japaese automaker said in a statement. The announcement came after Nissan’s shares slumped in Tokyo on reports that tests were performed by staff who were not certified to check the vehicles […]

Volkswagen to electrify entire range by 2030

(AFP) — German carmaker Volkswagen doubled down Monday on efforts to clean up its image tarnished by the dieselgate scandal, vowing ahead of the IAA auto industry show to electrify its entire range by 2030. By the end of next decade, VW vows to offer “at least one electrified version of each of the 300 or so group models”, the firm said in a statement. The Wolfsburg-based group owns a stable of 12 brands ranging […]

Nissan unveils new electric car in bid to drive off competition

CHIBA, Japan (AFP) — Japanese giant Nissan Wednesday unveiled a new electric car with an extended range and semi-autonomous driving functions, as it seeks to battle off competitors in a sector it once pioneered. The second-generation Nissan Leaf has a potential range of 400 kilometers (250 miles) between charges, compared with 250 kilometers for its previous version. It also boasts semi-autonomous driving capabilities such as keeping the vehicle automatically in one lane on the motorway […]

VW recalling 281,000 vehicles due to defect

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States branch of embattled German carmaker Volkswagen announced Tuesday it was recalling 281,000 vehicles to fix a faulty fuel pump in another blow to the company’s image. While the number is far smaller than the 11 million cars worldwide recalled in the “dieselgate” emissions cheating scandal, including about 600,000 vehicles in the US, news of another problem comes as the company is trying to restore its image with […]

Toyota discussing stronger alliance with Mazda

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Toyota said Friday it would discuss strengthening its partnership with Mazda as reports said they were close to a deal on a capital tie-up and building a $1.6 billion factory in the United States. The move comes as the Japanese auto industry is facing uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s drive to support US firms over foreign imports. He had earlier strongly criticized Toyota over its ongoing project to build a new […]

Honda motorcycle sales boost quarterly net profit

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese vehicle maker Honda on Tuesday said net profit for the second quarter rose by double digits boosted by strong motorcycle sales, revising up its full-year forecast. The Tokyo-based company said “solid sales of two-wheel vehicles in Asia and cost reduction efforts” contributed to increased profits. Motorcycle sales volume grew in India and Vietnam, Honda said, while four-wheel vehicle sales volume increased in Japan and China but declined in North America. […]