By Abhirup Roy (Reuters) – Ratan Tata, the former Tata Group chairman who put a staid and sprawling Indian conglomerate on the global stage with a string of high-profile acquisitions, has died, the Tata Group said in a statement late on Wednesday. He was 86. Tata, who ran the conglomerate for more than 20 years as chairman, had been undergoing intensive care in a Mumbai hospital, two sources with direct knowledge of his medical situation […]
Tag: auto
China’s competitive car market at heart of global EV revolution
BEIJING, March 28, 2024 (AFP) – China is the biggest electric vehicle market in the world, a battle royale featuring both established carmakers as well as upstarts such as Xiaomi, which launched its first EV on Thursday. EV makers from China have made inroads into markets from Europe to Southeast Asia and Tesla’s Elon Musk described them in January as “the most competitive car companies in the world”. How big is the Chinese EV market? […]
Tesla to recall 1.6 mn cars in China to fix steering software: regulator
BEIJING, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – Tesla is recalling more than 1.6 million electric vehicles in China, the country’s market regulator said Friday, owing to software issues that could pose safety risks while driving. The recall — sparked by the discovery of problems with assisted driving functions and door-locking systems — will be conducted through remote ‘over-the-air’ (OTA) updates to the cars’ software. China is a vital component in US-based Tesla’s global layout, both as […]
Toyota ad rapped as ‘irresponsible’ to the environment
LONDON, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – Britain’s advertising watchdog on Wednesday said it had banned an advert for a Toyota 4×4 vehicle because it promoted “irresponsible behaviour” towards the environment. The paid-for post on Facebook and poster ad for the Japanese firm’s Hilux sports utility vehicle showed a line of SUVs driving off road in a cloud of dust before joining a tarmacked road. A complaint was made to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that […]
US auto workers union extends strike to big GM plant
NEW YORK, Oct 24, 2023 (AFP) – The US auto workers union announced Tuesday it has extended its strike to a giant General Motors truck plant, saying the company’s strong profits meant workers should get “their fair share.” The latest United Auto Workers union stoppage, which expands the nearly six-week strike to GM’s Arlington, Texas assembly plant, came hours after GM reported a better than expected $3.1 billion in third-quarter profits earlier Tuesday. The move […]
UAW auto strike widens as 8,700 more workers walk off the job
WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – An auto workers strike in the United States expanded Wednesday with 8,700 more employees walking off their jobs, said the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union, as a deal with major automakers remained elusive. The staff at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville join some 25,000 other UAW members on strike against the “Big Three” companies — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. The UAW launched a targeted strike on September […]
F1 needs to ‘do better’ to avoid boring fans says Hamilton
By Simon EVANS Agence France-Presse MIAMI GARDENS, United States (AFP) — Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton says the sport must “do better” to create tighter competition amid fears that Red Bull’s domination could result in boredom. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, winner of the past two championships, leads the driver’s standings after splitting the opening four races of the season with teammate Sergio Perez. Arriving for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, drivers spoke openly about […]
Hamilton says he will be with Mercedes till ‘last days’
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton on Thursday emphatically put to bed any concerns that he wanted to leave Mercedes, saying he planned to be the team “till my last days”. The Briton’s disappointment after the season-opening grand prix in Bahrain, where he finished a distant fifth in his under-performing W14 car, led to claims that he was set to seek a move elsewhere. He insisted that was not the case after […]
Toyota top-selling automaker for third year running
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Toyota was the world’s top-selling automaker in 2022, retaining its lead over German rival Volkswagen for the third year, company data showed Monday. Despite the chip shortage and Covid-related supply chain disruption, Toyota and its subsidiaries sold nearly 10.5 million vehicles last year, around the same as in 2021. In comparison, Volkswagen Group — which held the top spot until 2020 when it was overtaken by Toyota — sold 8.3 […]
One in five cars on Norway’s roads are electric
Oslo, Norway (AFP) One in five cars on Norway’s roads are electric, a share that has doubled in less than three years, the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association said Monday. “The snowball is rolling faster and faster and a growing number of good electric car models are on Norway’s roads”, the head of the association, Christina Bu, said on its website. While it took almost 10 years for the country’s electric car fleet to go […]
Musk to testify at trial over his $50 bn Tesla compensation
by Juliette MICHEL Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Tesla tycoon Elon Musk will take the stand on Wednesday as part of a trial over his $50 billion pay package as CEO of the electric car giant. Musk will testify in the same Delaware court where he faced a lawsuit by Twitter to make sure he went through with his buyout of the social platform. The $44 billion purchase of Twitter has put […]
California says new cars must be zero emission by 2035
Los Angeles, United States (AFP) by Huw GRIFFITH California ruled Thursday that all new cars sold in America’s most populous state must be zero emission from 2035, in what was billed as a nation-leading step to slash the pollutants that cause global warming. The widely touted move has been hailed by environmentalists, who hope it will prod other parts of the United States to quicken the adoption of electric vehicles. The rules demand an ever-increasing […]





