Tag: automobile

Toyota factories in Japan hit by massive glitch

TOKYO, Aug 29, 2023 (AFP) – Toyota said Tuesday it halted operations at 12 of its 14 factories in Japan due to a system glitch, but that it did not appear to be a cyberattack. The world’s biggest automaker refrained from discussing other details of the incident, which began Tuesday morning. “Twelve vehicle factories, affecting 25 lines, are not able to process orders for parts due to a system glitch… At this point, we believe […]

Toyota Q1 net profit soars to $9.1 billion

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Toyota said on Tuesday that net profit in its first quarter surged 78 percent as global production rebounded after severe supply disruptions a year ago. The world’s biggest automaker by sales said net profit in the three months to June was 1.31 trillion yen ($9.1 billion) on sales of 10.55 trillion yen, up 24.2 percent from a year ago. Toyota, including its Lexus brand, sold 2.538 million vehicles worldwide, up […]

Chinese fans welcome ‘Comrade Musk’

BEIJING, June 1, 2023 (AFP) — Lavish meals, gushing praise and memes about “Comrade Musk” — China showered the Tesla CEO with admiration during his whistlestop tour of the country this week. The mercurial magnate is a controversial figure in the West but widely admired in China, where Tesla’s electric vehicles have become a staple of middle-class urban life. His visit was welcomed by Zhu Qi, a Tesla owner from the central city of Changsha. […]

Musk talks ‘new energy vehicles’ with industry minister during China visit

BEIJING, May 31, 2023 (AFP) — Elon Musk and China’s industry minister discussed ways to develop new energy vehicles Wednesday, a day after the Tesla CEO flew into Beijing and declared he wanted to expand his business in the world’s second largest economy. The mercurial billionaire, one of the world’s richest men, is on his first trip to China in more than three years. On Wednesday he met Jin Zhuanglong in Beijing to discuss “the […]

France to open its first electric car battery factory

By Caroline Nelly PERROT Agence France-Presse BILLY-BERCLAU, France, May 30, 2023 (AFP) — France will launch its first battery factory for electric cars on Tuesday, taking a big step in its race to build up a sector dominated by China. Building up the battery industry is at the heart of President Emmanuel Macron’s “reindustrialization” plan for France, with a clutch of factories set to emerge in the north of the country over the next three […]

Electric vehicles are key battleground at Shanghai Auto Show

Shanghai, China | AFP | Tuesday 4/18/2023 China was the road to the future for foreign brands at the Shanghai Auto Show on Tuesday who are racing to catch up with Chinese competitors in the crucial electric vehicle market. EVs now make up one out of four car sales in China, the world’s largest car market, and dozens of new models from domestic and Western brands were unveiled at the first auto show since the […]

Renault boosts profitability but Russia exit pushes it into loss

Boulogne-Billancourt, France | AFP | Thursday 2/16/2023 French automaker Renault said Thursday it boosted manufacturing profitability in 2022 but the sale of its operations in Russia pushed the company into a net loss. Renault expanded its operating profit margin to 5.6 percent of sales in 2022 and aims to increase it to at least 6.0 percent this year. Meanwhile sales rose by 11.4 percent to 46.4 billion euros ($49.7 billion). “2022 has more than kept […]

Renault, Nissan boards approve ‘rebalanced’ alliance

by Taimaz SZIRNIKS The boards of French automaker Renault and Japanese partner Nissan have approved a major overhaul of their rocky 24-year alliance following months of negotiations, the companies said on Monday. The carmakers said in a joint statement that they “rebalanced” their relationship, with Renault reducing its stake in the Japanese firm from 43.4 percent to 15 percent, the same size as Nissan’s share in its French counterpart. The agreement includes Nissan taking a […]

Renault to reduce stake in Nissan, rebalancing alliance

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Monday 1/30/2023 French automaker Renault will slash its stake in Japanese partner Nissan as part of a deal rebalancing the rocky alliance between the two companies, the firms said Monday. The deal will also see Nissan take a stake in Renault’s new electric vehicle venture Ampere, though the size of the investment was not immediately announced. The agreement comes after months of painstaking negotiations, and repeated delays, as the two […]

Jury hears Musk told ‘lies’ that cost Tesla investors millions

by Glenn CHAPMAN / Julie JAMMOT Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — A lawyer for angry Tesla investors told a California courtroom on Wednesday that CEO Elon Musk “lied” about having funding in place to take the company private, costing his clients millions of dollars. More than four years after Musk fired off tweets saying he had funding secured to buy the electric car maker at $420 a share, investors who felt burned […]

Elon Musk sells nearly $4bn in Tesla stock: SEC filing

Washington, United States | AFP Tesla chief Elon Musk sold nearly $4 billion worth of shares in the electric car company, SEC filings showed Tuesday, more than a week after he closed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. Musk has been pushing for ways to pay for the massive deal, for which he took on billions of dollars in debt and earlier sold $15.5 billion worth of shares in Tesla. On Tuesday, documents filed with […]

FBI busts huge theft ring of auto catalytic converters

  Washington, United States | AFP | The FBI announced Wednesday that it has broken up a nationwide catalytic converter theft ring that amassed staggering assets of more than half a billion dollars. A total of 21 people were arrested and charged in the US-wide bust, according to an FBI statement. “They made hundreds of millions of dollars… on the backs of thousands of innocent car owners,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said. Catalytic converters reduce […]