Category Archives: auto news

BREXIT Curse – UK Car Production Falls -11.3% in April

Posted on 26 May 2022 by Ken Zino

UK car production fell -11.3% in April year-on-year with 60,554 units rolling off factory lines, according to the latest figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The ongoing global shortage of semi-conductors, the impact of … Continue reading →

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Pure EV Sales at All-Time Record in US

Posted on 26 May 2022 by Ken Zino

Pure EV Sales at All-Time Record in US, whose transaction prices are close to a $70,000 making them a new category – Luxury Clean – in AutoInformed’s view. Republicans, with a history of backing from Big Oil, continue to block the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better bill that addresses drastic climate change and prepares the way for a cleaner future. Continue reading →

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Ford Joins 50 First Mover Coalition Companies

Posted on 25 May 2022 by Ken Zino

Ford is committing that at least 10% of its primary aluminum* purchases will have near-zero carbon emissions by 2030, a small step in the right direction of addressing planet-killing and people killing global warming. Continue reading →

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Semiconductor Crisis – Toyota Again Suspending Production

Posted on 24 May 2022 by Ken Zino

“We at Toyota would like to again apologize for the repeated adjustments to our production plans due to the parts shortage resulting from the spread of COVID-19, and for causing considerable inconvenience to our customers, suppliers, and other parties concerned,” Toyota said. Continue reading →

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Stellantis and Samsung SDI JV to Build EV Batteries in Kokomo

Posted on 24 May 2022 by Ken Zino

The joint venture company will invest more than $2.5 billion (€2.3 billion) and create 1400 new jobs in Kokomo and the surrounding areas. The investment could gradually increase up to $3.1 billion (€2.9 billion). The new facility will supply battery modules for a range of vehicles produced at Stellantis’ North American assembly plants. Continue reading →

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Toyota 4Runner 40th Anniversary Special Edition Debuts

Posted on 24 May 2022 by Ken Zino

The 2023 Toyota 4Runner 40th Anniversary Special Edition is based on the SR5 Premium grade and will be available in three colors: White, Midnight Black Metallic and Barcelona Red Metallic. It has bronze-colored 17-inch alloy wheels, a body-color-matching heritage grille and a bronze-colored 40th Anniversary exterior tailgate badge. In short, all the “usual” special edition tweaks. Continue reading →

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BMW Group to Open Cell Manufacturing Center this Fall

Posted on 23 May 2022 by Ken Zino

In an area of ~15,000 square-meters, the BMW Group claims it will demonstrate industrial feasibility of future generations of high-performance battery cells. The pilot line will make it possible to analyze and fully understand cell value creation processes. “This will enable future suppliers to produce cells to the BMW Group’s own specifications and thereby further optimize battery cell production with regard to quality, output and costs. The company is currently ruling out the option of establishing its own large-scale battery cell production,” BMW said. Continue reading →

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Hyundai Motor Group to Build EV and Battery Plant in Georgia

Posted on 20 May 2022 by Ken Zino

The new plant represents an investment of ~$5.54 billion. Commercial production to begin during the first half of  2025 with annual capacity of 300,000 units. With the additional EV and battery production capabilities, the Group aims to become one of the top three EV providers in the US by 2026. Continue reading →

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CARB Presents Six 2020-2021 Haagen-Smit Awards

Posted on 20 May 2022 by Ken Zino

“The Haagen-Smit Award is our way of honoring individuals who have championed public health with innovative and far-reaching contributions to air pollution research, science, clean air technology and advocacy, policy and leadership,” CARB Chair Liane Randolph said. “From shaping our understanding of the human health impacts of toxic diesel pollution to groundbreaking work in atmospheric chemistry research, the long and distinguished careers of these six extraordinary people have changed how we address climate change and fight air pollution around the world.” Continue reading →

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BMW iX Flow Connected Directly to the Brain?

Posted on 20 May 2022 by Ken Zino

“We have already introduced further improvements for the technology since CES,” said Stella Clarke, project lead of the BMW iX Flow. “Previously, the changes between color patterns only took place in a gradual transition. Now, the control electronics have been tweaked to enable instantaneous transformations, resulting in an even more stunning visual effect.” Sounds like a stoner on speed to AutoInformed. Keep truckin’. Continue reading →

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Mercedes-Benz to Increase Focus as a Luxury Car Company

Posted on 20 May 2022 by Ken Zino

Mercedes-Benz will change its product portfolio, allocating more than 75% of its investments to develop products for the most profitable market segments. As part of this strategy designed to please the capital markets, Mercedes-Benz aims to increase sales share of its Top-End vehicles by around 60% by 2026 compared to 2019. Like many auto companies it intends to achieve “higher quality growth and a further significant increase in profitability and resilience, striving for an operating margin target of approximately 14% by mid of the decade in favorable market conditions.” Continue reading →

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Lamborghini Joining IMSA GTP LMDh in 2024

Posted on 19 May 2022 by Ken Zino

Since 2016, Lamborghini has posted 15 victories in the WeatherTech Championship GTD class, including consecutive wins at the Rolex 24 in 2018, ‘19 and ’20. Continue reading →

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NHTSA Consumer Advisory – 2021 Expedition, Navigator Fires

Posted on 19 May 2022 by Ken Zino

“Until further notice, owners of these affected vehicles should not park them inside – they should only be parked outside and away from homes and other structures. Fires have occurred in vehicles that were parked and turned off. Continue reading →

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Restricted Sale of Genesis GV60 EV Starts Today at $60,000

Posted on 17 May 2022 by Ken Zino

The GV60 will be offered in two packages in the United States. Initially, the 2023 Genesis GV60 will only be sold at some Genesis retailers in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. It is as much a biometric information sales experiment as it is a vehicle. Customer response will be worth watching. No range numbers were in the release? Continue reading →

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A Closer Look at Biden’s 49 MPG CAFE Standard

Posted on 14 May 2022 by Ken Zino

The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards proposed by the Biden Administration# last month require an industry-wide fleet average of ~49 mpg for passenger cars and light trucks in model year 2026, the strongest fuel efficiency standards to date. On … Continue reading →

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