Category Archives: mobility company

Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri Speaking on Decisions That Will Shape the Next Decade of Automotive Manufacturing

Posted on 9 June 2026 by Ken Zino

“There is no single future. We are no longer moving towards one predictable outcome. We are navigating in multiple plausible futures or paths at a time, and you see that in the different adoption curves. Across regions, you see different investment logic across companies and obviously different policy priorities by margin. Electrification is a good example. The direction is clear for the long term. But the pace and the path are not uniform, and that creates fragmentation. Product mix evolves differently by region. We are seeing that investment timing varies. Industrial policies influence footprint decisions in real time.

“Historically, success came from getting the forecast right. Today’s success comes from staying effective when the forecast is wrong. So the shift is pretty fundamental from optimizing for one expected future to building systems that can perform across several realities. So that’s a different capability and increasingly a competitive one,” said Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri. Continue reading →

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Ralph Nader Arises Again in Uber Legal Accountability Bout

Posted on 5 June 2026 by Ken Zino

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader has released an open letter to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi condemning the company’s efforts to limit legal accountability for crashes involving rideshare drivers and autonomous vehicles. It objects to Uber’s push for federal legislation sponsored by Representative Vince Fong (Republican – Bakersfield, CA) that would limit the company’s legal exposure for crashes involving drivers using its platform. Continue reading →

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Nissan to Build Chinese Chery Vehicles in UK?

Posted on 3 June 2026 by Ken Zino

Nissan (7201T and NSANY ADR) and Chery International UK (9973.HK) said today they have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the study of contract manufacturing for Nissan to manufacture Chery International UK passenger vehicles at its Sunderland Plant. … Continue reading →

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FuelFest – 2027 Toyota GR86 Sports Car Debuts

Posted on 2 June 2026 by Ken Zino

“Track testing played a key role in shaping these updates, with every lap helping engineers further refine the vehicle’s response and feel. To improve control, engineers refined the relationship between accelerator input and torque delivery to help create a smoother, more linear response. They also widened the chamfer of the shifter interlock between 4th and 5th gear by approximately 0.02 inches to help deliver a smoother shift feel,” Toyota said. Continue reading →

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Airbag Failures – American Honda Recalls ~99,000 Vehicles

Posted on 1 June 2026 by Ken Zino

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling ~99,000 Acura and Honda models because the front passenger seat weight-sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the airbags to deploy unintentionally during a crash. This is an expansion of a previous recall for the same safety defect.

“In the event of a crash, the front passenger frontal and knee airbags may deploy despite the presence of an occupant (infant in child seat, child, or person smaller than AF5) for whom deployment should be suppressed, increasing the risk of injury.” Honda said in the mandatory safety defect filing made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this morning. Continue reading →

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Milestones – Volkswagen Chattanooga at 15 Years

Posted on 28 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Volkswagen Group of America’s Chattanooga Plant is celebrating 15 years since its grand opening in May 2011 (VOW3.DE or OTC VOW3.DE). Volkswagen Chattanooga has assembled more than 1.85 million vehicles, invested $4.3 billion in its operations, and now employs more than 4,000 team members. Today, the plant is home to the Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport. The models together composed about 30% of Volkswagen’s U.S. sales in 2025. The plant is also noteworthy as becoming UAW organized despite VW’s long opposition to a union in North America. Tennessee is a Right to Work state [right to work for less? – AutoCrat] since 1947. Continue reading →

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Toyota Eliminates Production Engineering Development Center

Posted on 27 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM, 7203T) said today that it is eliminating its Production Engineering Development Center. It’s part of the organizational changes TMC is taking to recover from its weak 2026 Japanese fiscal-year results as well as changes announced at the 122nd Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting in April 2026.

“Manufacturing engineering functions across the Production Group, Production Engineering Development Center, Powertrain Company, and other relevant organizations will be consolidated under the newly established Production Engineering Group,” TMC said in a release.

“By bringing together the capabilities and expertise cultivated in each area and further integrating engineering, production, and manufacturing engineering, Toyota will strengthen its manufacturing capabilities for the future,” TMC claimed. Continue reading →

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Stellantis FaSTLAne 2030 Financial Reform Revealed

Posted on 21 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“We have great people, the muscle of global scale, unmatched brands that connect and inspire, the deep local roots of our regions and dealer partners to meet our customers’ distinctive needs, and a relentless focus on innovation and excellence in execution. With these strengths, we are uniquely positioned to offer delight, functionality, and affordability. Adding to these the accelerating and amplifying benefits of our ‘win-win’ partnerships, we have everything we need to deliver our FaSTLAne 2030 ambitions,” claimed Filosa. [This is the corporate equivalent of betting on the come line in the Casino at Monte Carlo – AutoCrat.] Continue reading →

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Chinese Dongfeng Voyah Vehicles Coming to EU Via Stellantis

Posted on 20 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) and the Dongfeng Group today announced their intention to form a European joint venture for shared sales, distribution, manufacturing, purchasing, and engineering activities. The joint venture would take responsibility for the sales and distribution of Dongfeng’s Voyah-branded vehicles in designated markets in Europe. This would circumvent EU tariff’s on Chinese-made vehicles. [Stellantis and Dongfeng Group recently announced the production of all-new Peugeot and Jeep models in China for the domestic market and export – AutoCrat]*

“The plans we are announcing today take our recently strengthened cooperation with Dongfeng to an all-new dimension of an international partnership to the benefit of customers around the world,” said Antonio Filosa, Stellantis CEO. “With this new chapter in our collaboration, we will give our customers an even greater choice of competitive products and pricing, leveraging the best of Stellantis’ global footprint alongside Dongfeng’s access to China’s advanced new energy vehicles ecosystem.” Continue reading →

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Volvo Cars and Google Gemini Add AI Tech

Posted on 19 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“The EX60 provides an ideal platform to explore the future of contextually aware driving experiences,” said Alwin Bakkenes, Head of Global Software Engineering at Volvo Cars. “Working closely with Google as a lead device partner allows us to help bring the latest advances in AI into the automotive environment faster and more collaboratively than ever before.” Continue reading →

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HondaJet APMG S Upgrade Expands to Mexico

Posted on 19 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Honda Aircraft Company said today that the so-called APMG S program (footnote 1) is now available to owners in both the U.S. and Mexico of HondaJet Classic and APMG aircraft. This improves performance and adds the capabilities of recent technical innovations.

“We are excited to provide our customers in Mexico the opportunity to upgrade their aircraft with the advanced technology and performance of more recent iterations of the award-winning HondaJet,” said Amod Kelkar, Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer at Honda Aircraft Company. “We are pursuing additional international certifications and hope to expand availability of the APMG S upgrade package to more HondaJet customers around the world soon.” Continue reading →

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Coming Soon Chinese-Built Jeeps?

Posted on 15 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“Dongfeng Motor has always taken the transformation and revitalization of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile Co., Ltd. (DPCA) as a key strategic priority, fully supporting and advancing its sustainable development. Through the signing of this strategic cooperation, by integrating Hubei’s industrial strengths, Stellantis’ global layout advantages and Dongfeng’s intelligent electric vehicle technologies, a new path featuring complementary strengths and win-win outcomes for all parties has been forged. This will undoubtedly inject strong momentum into DPCA’s transformation,” said Qing Yang, Dongfeng Group Chairman. Continue reading →

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BMW N.A. Starts Preferred Pricing at IONNA Charging Sites

Posted on 14 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“BMW firmly believes in an electric future, and it’s no secret that reliable high-speed charging infrastructure remains essential to the continued growth of the electric vehicle market,” said Shaun Bugbee, Executive Vice President, BMW of North America. “We currently offer one of the broadest portfolios of premium electric vehicles in the U.S., with the next-generation BMW iX3 arriving in the U.S. later this year. As our electric vehicle offerings continue to expand, initiatives like this help ensure our customers enjoy a seamless ownership experience wherever they travel.” Continue reading →

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BMW Group to Convert Preferred Shares to Common

Posted on 14 May 2026 by Ken Zino

At the Annual General Meeting of BMW AG (XETRA: BMWG.DE) late yesterday, and a subsequently held separate meeting of preferred shareholders [Susanne Klatten and Stefan Quandt – AutoCrat], the conversion of preferred shares into ordinary shares was approved.

“For the weighting of BMW AG in major stock indices such as the DAX or the EURO STOXX 50, it is already the ordinary shares that are decisive as the share class with the highest free‑float market capitalization. As a result of the conversion, their proportion in free float will increase significantly by around 19%,” said Chief Financial Officer Walter Mertl on Wednesday in Munich. “This step therefore strengthens the weighting of BMW AG in relevant indices. The simplified capital structure represents a clear added value for investors and may have a positive impact on the share price performance of the BMW share.” Continue reading →

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BMW Annual General Meeting – Chair Oliver Zipse Retires

Posted on 13 May 2026 by Ken Zino

At the 106th Annual BMW (XETRA: BMWG.DE) General Meeting today, Chair Oliver Zipse retired after 35 years with the German maker of premium automobiles and motorcycles.* Effective tomorrow, Milan Nedeljković assumes the Chair position on the Board of Management of BMW AG. Raymond Wittmann will succeed Nedeljković as Board Member for Production.

“For more than 35 years, the BMW Group has been my professional home. I am leaving with a deep sense of gratitude: for the trust that was placed in me, for the professional challenges that have taken me to various areas in the company; and above all, for an exceptional team that is shaping the mobility of the future with passion and a pioneering spirit. It has been a great honor for me to lead the BMW Group as Chairman of the Board of Management for seven years,” said Zipse. Continue reading →

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