Category Archives: news

New Stellantis Opel CEO Hochgeschurtz From Renault

Uwe Hochgeschurtz will join the Top Executive Team of Stellantis and will report directly to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. He started his career in the automotive industry in 1990 at Ford, before joining VW in 2001 and Renault in 2004. He studied business administration in Germany (Wuppertal & Cologne), the UK (Birmingham) and France (Paris Dauphine). Continue reading

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EU Gets Tougher on Climate Change – Wants All EVs by 2035

Let the adverse lobbying begin by the plump, wealthy sacred cows of the polluting establishment – including countries such as Germany with a strong carbon-based economy and its global auto industry – who face butchering by increasing market incentives for consumers to force them to speed the move away from fossil fuels as not only the climate clearly heating up and changing – deadly floods in Germany and Belgium, as well as floods and fires in the Americas, scorching temperatures globally – but the political climate is heating up to do more now over what is clearly the growing negative effects of runaway climate change. Continue reading

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MILITEM Ferōx Adventure – Status or Expensive Jeep?

The original reason for purchasing Jeep under the Iacocca at Chrysler regime is once again proven – Jeep is an international brand subject to local tastes, as well as commercial exploitation. Continue reading

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Covid – Commerce NIST Grant of $153 million to National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals

NIIMBL* will work to increase the shelf life and reduce the amount of refrigeration required for messenger RNA vaccines, boost capabilities for rapid production of antigens used in testing and screening for new variants and develop novel technologies for detecting counterfeit vaccines, among other things. Continue reading

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IndustriALL – Organizing the Growing Battery Supply Chain

With widespread workers rights’ violations and low union participation, IndustriALL, a global union umbrella organization, has been warily looking at the increase in battery demand during the next ten years. No surprise that IndustriALL and affiliates have started developing a strategy for workers along the supply chain. The question is can they make positive changes for the people who often do the work in a world were the non-tax paying rich rig the political, legal and social systems against them? Continue reading

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GM’s Ultium Charge 360 Fleet Customers Can Now Access Preferred Electric Vehicle Charging Providers

The Ultium Charge 360 fleet service “will be one of the industry’s most holistic solutions offering, where available.” In addition, Ultium Charge’s approach will help to enable support for home charging and provide drivers access to more than 60,000 public places to charge while en route. As part of the solution, GM is working with preferred providers, including four depot infrastructure providers – eTransEnergy, a Duke Energy company; EVgo; In-Charge Energy; and Schneider Electric. Continue reading

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Automated Mapping – Toyota to Buy CARMERA

If the deal is closed, the CARMERA team will report into the Automated Mapping Platform (“AMP”) organization of Woven Alpha. Woven Alpha explores new strategic areas for business expansion and incubates several projects such as Woven City and Arene, which is Woven Planet’s open software platform. AMP is a connected crowd-sourced software platform that helps the creation, development and distribution of high-definition maps―a key aspect of so-called smart and safe automated mobility. Continue reading

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Nissan Starts Advanced Brain Training for Formula E Drivers

The program will be directed by Japanese resident Dr. Lucian Gheorghe. He is knowledgeable in the field of brain analysis and training, and part of the ongoing Nissan advanced research on how to enhance the connection between people and vehicles. The immediate priority of the Nissan Brain to Performance program is to enhance the performance of Nissan’s Formula E racers. It of course has broad applicability to connected and autonomous vehicles and their drivers/occupants. Continue reading

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Electrify America to Double its Current EV Charging Network

The announcement builds on Electrify America’s previous commitment to invest $2 billion over 10 years in Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, education, and access in the U.S. In addition to adding to its existing network in the U.S., Electrify America will also expand its Electrify Canada charging network, which began installations in 2019. Continue reading

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GM Design Jettisons North Hollywood for Pasadena

GM claims it has a long-term commitment to maintain a physical presence in one of North America’s largest hubs for multi-disciplinary design and innovation. The new campus, which sits on 8 acres, will expand GM’s capacity to support emerging business opportunities in areas of advanced technology, software integration and future mobility solutions. Continue reading

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June Global Light Vehicle Selling Rate Drops to 82.4 Million

The short-term trend is clear though. The recovery of the global auto industry is by no means assured given the flawed vaccination polices of nations comprising the world’s largest auto markets. Worse, the appearance of the aggressive and deadly Delta variant corona virus variant, as well as the ongoing semi-conductor shortage considerably cloud forecasting for the upcoming months. “The semiconductor shortage is clearly having an impact on selling rates in key markets. With no immediate remedy in sight, there is a risk of the situation worsening in coming months which could further disrupt the post-pandemic recovery in demand,” said LMC. Continue reading

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CARB Warns of Toxic Metal Contaminants in Smoke from Fires

Smoke produced from the Camp Fire exposed Californians to dangerous levels of particulate matter and contained concerning levels of toxic metal contaminants, including lead, which spiked for about 24 hours. Continue reading

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VW Group’s Supervisory Board Extends Chairman Herbert Diess’ Contract. Other Employees Face an Uncertain Future

This is just a German employment euphemism for stating the obvious – the old Works Council and Management dance supporting rigid categories of traditional jobs with guarantees of employment in old-style manufacturing, engineering and support areas will have to keep time to a different electronically generated score. Continue reading

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2021 Q2 US Sales – Light-Trucks, Crossovers, SUVs Rule

Real GDP in Q2 of 2021 is expected to grow by 8.6% on an annualized basis. The U.S. economy is predicted to return to its pre-COVID Trump Administration disaster level of ~ $19.2 trillion by the time final data is collected. For all of 2021, real GDP is expected to increase by around 7%. Initial jobless claims continue to fall each week and are headed toward pre-pandemic levels. About 14.7 million Americans continue to receive at least some type of unemployment benefits, down 54% compared to the same period in 2020 when Trump ruled. Continue reading

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Stellantis Ups Electrification Strategy by $35.54 Billion

“The strategy we laid out today focuses the right amount of investment on the right technology to reach the market at the right time, ensuring that Stellantis powers the freedom of movement in the most efficient, affordable and sustainable way,” claimed Carlos Tavares, Chief Executive Officer, Stellantis. Continue reading

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