Amazon Selling Level 2 Electric Vehicle Home Chargers

Posted on 1 October 2019 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com on Electrify America Electric Vehicle Home Charger

With a charging power of up to 7.6kW, it’s about 6 times faster than the typical Level 1 charger.

Electrify America today announced that it is offering Level 2 electric vehicle home chargers beginning today, customers can purchase the Electrify America Electric Vehicle Home Charger on Amazon for $499. The home charger is also at electrifyamerica.com/charging-at-home.

The Electrify America Electric Vehicle Home Charger is compatible with all electric vehicles available in the North American market today. It has a charging power of up to 7.6kW – about 6 times faster than the typical Level 1 charger provided to some new EV owners, depending on vehicle make and model. Continue reading →

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Weak Chinese Retail Sales in August Delay Recovery

Posted on 1 October 2019 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed on slowing Chinese economy

American becoming less great again as Chinese tariffs backfire on the beleaguered, inconsistent and chaotic Trump mis-Administration.

China’s Passenger Vehicle (PV)  wholesale sales) in August fell by -8.6% year-on-year (YoY) to 1.71 mn units, while the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment contracted by -4.0% YoY to 0.24 mn units. The overall Light Vehicle (LV) market ended the month with a decline of 8.1% YoY, on total sales of 1.80 mn units, says consultancy LMC.

Chinese passenger production improved in August, with a drop of  -0.7% to 1.66 mn units, recovering from the double-digit declines seen in recent months. LCV output fell by – 0.9% to 0.24 mn units. LV output was down by 0.8% YoY, on total build of 1.90 mn units. Now that vehicle stocks have been unwound, OEMs no longer are carrying bloated inventories and are preparing to resume normal production rhythms, says LMC. However, LMC decided to make a further cut to the passenger vehicle growth forecast for 2019, from -5.5% to -7.4%. This is bad news for the global economy in general and the Detroit Three.

AutoInformed.com on China August 2019 Light Vehicle Sales

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Ford Restructuring – Mahindra Joint Venture Announced

Posted on 1 October 2019 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com on Mahindra and Ford

Exports are ~7% of Mahindra’s auto business revenues. Its products are exported to South Africa, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Chile, and other areas.

Mahindra & Mahindra Limited and Ford Motor Company have signed an agreement to create a joint venture that will develop, market and distribute Ford brand vehicles in India and Ford brand and Mahindra brand vehicles in high-growth emerging markets around the world. It’s the latest step in Ford’s sweeping reorganization and a retreat of sorts from Ford’s global position as a leading automaker. (Mahindra, Ford to Study Links in India, Emerging Markets)

Mahindra owns a 51% controlling stake and Ford will transfer its India operations to the joint venture, including its personnel and assembly plants in Chennai and Sanand. Ford will retain the Ford engine plant operations in Sanand as well as the Global Business Services unit, Ford Credit and Ford Smart Mobility. The move comes after Ford’s credit by the rating agencies earned “junk” status. Ford was among the first global automakers to enter India in 1995. (August Global Light Vehicle Sales Drop -3.9%) Continue reading →

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Mercedes One, Two at Russian Grand Prix. Ferrari Third

Posted on 30 September 2019 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com on 2019 Formula One - Russian Grand Prix

Another good Sunday for Mercedes-Benz, but for racing fans?

Formula One continued its struggle to present a race on the track at the Russian Grand Prix yesterday, as safety cars once again turned the racing into a battle of pit crews with the drivers providing entertainment via their car radio communications complaining or questioning the team strategies.

Early on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was on the radio saying he wanted to swap positions back with Sebastian Vettel after Vettel passed him at Turn Two after the start, with Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes having a tough time keeping up with either of them. Seems Leclerc forgot who he was really racing against by complaining that Vettel didn’t stick to the rules, whatever they were. It was clear that something was discussed before the race as a team strategy and Leclerc was miffed at the deviation by saying something wasn’t followed. Continue reading →

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BMW Motorrad Heritage Collection 2020 Coming

Posted on 29 September 2019 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com on BMW Motorrad Heritage Collection 2020

The collection celebrates the history of BMW Motorrad, which dates back to 1923. The first production BMW motorcycle was the R32 equipped with an air-cooled, two-cylinder flat-twin boxer engine.

Taking a page from, gasp, Harley Davidson, BMW Motorrad is expanding its product line in the Heritage segment and launching its own Ride & Style collection on the market for the first time. The BMW Motorrad Heritage Collection 2020 has a wide range of new items, from leather jackets to denim outfits, as well as motorcycle gloves and signature boots

The famous black and white color of the early motorcycles is claimed to be reflected throughout the entire collection. The original branding and the BMW metal emblem are also incorporated in the design. The copper-colored details and visual accents displayed in these garments are similar to the materials used in classic BMW motorcycles. Continue reading →

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Fiat Chrysler Cops Plea on Fraudulently Reporting Sales

Posted on 28 September 2019 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com on fraudulent FCA Sales Reporting

Strong sales were an important step to becoming a publicly traded stock again.

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday charged Michigan-based automaker FCA US LLC, and its parent company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., for misleading investors about the number of new vehicles sold each month to customers in the United States.  FCA US and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have agreed to pay $40 million to settle the charges. Translation: FCA bought its way out of all legal troubles with the SEC here for a mere $40 million.*

According to the SEC’s order, between 2012 and 2016, FCA US issued monthly press releases falsely reporting new vehicle sales and falsely touting a “streak” of uninterrupted monthly year-over-year sales growth. However, the growth streak ended in September 2013. (FCA is New Name for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) Continue reading →

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Hyundai Motor and Cummins to Work on Fuel Cell Technology

Posted on 27 September 2019 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com on Hydrogen Fuel Cells

This Cummins demonstration project is a transit bus, called N’yu’ti, that can travel more than 200 miles on 38 kilograms of compressed hydrogen in partnership with Ad Astra Costa Rica and others.

Hyundai Motor Company and Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI), announced today that they have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly evaluate “opportunities” to develop and commercialize electric and hydrogen fuel cell powertrains.

Hydrogen can be produced from renewable sources, stored economically, and deployed for many industrial and residential energy-generation applications. It is, of course used, in fuel cell passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Energy experts predict hydrogen will become increasingly important in meeting fast-growing global energy demand, while also supporting efforts to drive down carbon emissions from energy generation. Continue reading →

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SEC Charges Westport Fuels Systems and ex-CEO with Bribing a Chinese Government Official via a Private Equity Fund

Posted on 27 September 2019 by Ken Zino

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Westport Fuels Systems, Inc., a Canadian “clean fuel technology” company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and its former chief executive officer, Nancy Gougarty, of Leesville, South Carolina, have agreed to pay more than $4.1 million to resolve charges that they violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying bribes to a foreign government official in China.
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Bentley Bentayga Hybrid Has 24-Mile Electric Range

Posted on 26 September 2019 by Ken Zino

AutoInformed.com on Bentley Bentayga HybridBentley claimed today that the its regulation dictated Bentayga Hybrid – a luxury SUV sector plug-in hybrid – is now on sale in Europe will be the company’s most efficient model ever, with CO2  emissions of just 79 g/km (WLTP – weighted, combined. See AutoInformed.com: WLTP How Does It Work? Will it Work?)

With a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 gas engine and an electric motor, a maximum speed of 254 km/h (158 mph) and 0 to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds (0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds) are claimed. It’s the first baby step on  the road to Bentley’s new line of electric vehicles, which will see the marque roll out an electrified version of every nameplate by 2023.
Continue reading →

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Workers at Google Contractor HCL to Join United Steelworkers

Posted on 26 September 2019 by Ken Zino

AutoInformed.com on USW Union Vote at Google Contractor HCLThe United Steelworkers (USW) announced yesterday that they are welcoming around 80 tech workers employed by Google contractor HCL Technologies as new members. The HCL workers voted to join the union despite of a company-led anti-union campaign.

The workers, who are staffed at the tech giant’s Bakery Square office alongside Google employees are seeking a voice on the job and the opportunity to bargain over wages and working conditions.
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CARB and United Nations Start Satellites for Climate Action

Posted on 25 September 2019 by AutoCrat
AutoInformed.com on CARB - NASA Pollution Mapping Satellite

 Click for more.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action Michael R. Bloomberg, and Planet, a San Francisco-based earth imaging company, today announced a new enterprise that will use satellite data to inform and accelerate climate protection.

The coordinated effort, called Satellites for Climate Action, will bring together governments, philanthropists, environmental groups and technology companies to use satellite technologies to monitor greenhouse gas emissions and turn satellite data into actionable information. Continue reading →

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Autonomous Driving – Aptiv and Hyundai $4 Billion JV

Posted on 25 September 2019 by Ken Zino

Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv say they will be forming an autonomous driving joint venture. This partnership brings together a  vehicle technology supplier  and one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers. The joint venture -it’s claimed – will advance the design, development and commercialization of SAE Level 4 and 5 autonomous technologies. The JV will begin testing fully driverless systems in 2020 and have a production-ready autonomous driving platform available for robotaxi providers, fleet operators, and automotive manufacturers in 2022. Aptiv conducted the first coast-to-coast automated drive in the United States in 2015 and was the first to commercially deploy autonomous vehicles globally. (SAE Autonomous Driving Levels)

As part of the agreement, Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv will each have a 50% ownership in the joint venture, valued at a total of $4 billion. Aptiv will contribute its autonomous driving technology, intellectual property, and approximately 700 employees generic nexium online focused on the development of scalable autonomous driving solutions. Hyundai Motor Group affiliates — Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis — will collectively contribute $1.6 billion in cash at closing and $ 0.4 billion in vehicle engineering services, R&D resources, and access to intellectual property. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions and is expected to close early in the second quarter of 2020. Continue reading →

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Death of the Diesel: Volkswagen Board Crisis as Three Chairman Indicted in Germany for Stock Market Manipulation

Posted on 24 September 2019 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com - VW Diesel Scandal

Prison?

The Brunswick (Germany) public prosecutor’s office announced today that it had brought an indictment against the former Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Prof. Martin Winterkorn, as well as against the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Hans Dieter Pötsch, and the Chairman of the Board of Management, Herbert Diess, for the charge of market manipulation. The cases will now be examined by an independent court that could impose jail time, which is virtually unheard of for this level of (alleged) white collar criminals.

As a result, the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG hastily convened a meeting, claiming that it was unaware that the indictments were coming since it was allegedly cooperating in the investigation by the public prosecutor. It will also meet again tomorrow to discuss what is company threatening development. Continue reading →

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Death of the Diesel: Daimler Guilty of Selling Dirty Diesels in Germany – Pays $957,000,000 Fine Rather than Litigate

Posted on 24 September 2019 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com on Dirty Daimler Diesel Engines

“We are not yet at the level that we aim to reach in the medium to long term,” said Dieter Zetsche, now retired, but a decade ago Chairman of the Daimler Board and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars as the diesel engine fraud was well underway. It ain’t over…

The multi-billion-euro German Dieselgate scandal continues to pollute the images and empty the coffers of  German automakers today as Daimler said it would pay a fine of  870 million euros for selling Mercedes-Benz diesel cars that polluted more than allowed since 2008. The Stuttgart public prosecutor issued a fine notice against Daimler AG pursuant to Sections 30 para. 1, 130 para. 1 of the Administrative Offenses Act based on a negligent violation of supervisory duties in the area of vehicle certification in connection with deviations from regulatory requirements in  Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles.

The negligent violation of supervisory duties occurred on the department head level. It appears that the Daimler has refrained from taking a legal action challenging the fine notice because senior executives are not implicated. The public prosecutor’s administrative offense proceeding against Daimler AG is thereby concluded. This is not so at Volkswagen Group where senior executives were indicted today. Continue reading →

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Penske’s Newgarden, Pagenaud One-Two in 2019 IndyCar

Posted on 23 September 2019 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com on Indy Racing League

Colton Herta leads the start of the IRL Grand Prix of Monterey.

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Hitachi Chevrolet), a 28-year-old from Hendersonville, TN clinched his second series title in the last three years by finishing eighth in Sunday’s double points race at Laguna Seca. He joined Sam Hornish Jr. as the only Americans to win multiple series crowns since 1995.

Newgarden entered the race needing a fourth-place finish to secure the title regardless of the performances of his fellow contenders, Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi (No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda), teammate Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet).  Pagenaud finished fourth in the race and second in the series championship, 25 behind Newgarden. Rossi took sixth to finish third in the championship, 33 back of the champion. Rossi came in 41 points behind, Pagenaud 42.

Newgarden gave team owner Roger Penske his 16th series championship, including the fourth in the last six years. Josef Newgarden didn’t have a race-winning car on Sunday afternoon, but his eighth-place finish was enough for him to earn his second Series Championship, and Team Penske’s 16th.  Continue reading →

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