Europe

STOCKHOLM — Autoliv’s second-quarter adjusted operating profit fell 25 percent to $124 million. Earnings were hit by lockdowns in China, raw material cost increases, currency movements and volatile car production, the Swedish supplier of airbags and seat belts said in a statement on Friday. Quarterly revenue rose 2.9 percent to $2.08 billion, helped by a

Volkswagen Group’s dramatic move to oust its combative CEO, Herbert Diess, was set in motion a week ago, when his backing from the billionaire Porsche and Piech family began to crumble. Unwavering support from the reclusive clan that majority-owns VW had helped Diess survive frequent clashes with powerful worker representatives. But as key project failures

FRANKFURT — The appointment of Oliver Blume as the next boss of Volkswagen Group heralds a change in management style that is expected to replace the erratic and unpredictable attitude of his predecessor with a more team-based culture. A long-time Volkswagen executive who joined the carmaker in 1994, the 54-year-old Blume has hammered home the

Volkswagen veteran Oliver Blume, who will succeed Herbert Diess as VW Group on Sept. 1, has worked at the multibrand automaker for his whole career. Born in Braunschweig, Germany, near VW’s Wolfsburg headquarters, Blume, 54, joined Audi’s international trainee program in 1994 after studying mechanical engineering at university. He specialized in production planning and earned

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess is stepping down and will be succeeded by Porsche boss Oliver Blume. Diess is resigning “by mutual agreement,” VW said on Friday. Blume will continue his role as the head of the Porsche brand, flanked by VW’s current Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz, who will assume the position

MARRAKECH — Morocco is negotiating with electric-vehicle battery manufacturers to set up a plant in the country to mesh with its existing automotive sector and cobalt output, Industry Minister Ryad Mezzour said. “We hope to sign a deal for the plant before the end of this year,” the minister said in an interview with Reuters,

Ford Motor plans to add a new battery cell chemistry to its electric vehicle portfolio to increase capacity and make them cheaper to build. The automaker plans to add lithium iron phosphate cells to the Mustang Mach-E next year and to the F-150 Lightning in early 2024, a move it said will reduce material costs

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor posted a rise of 59 percent in second-quarter profit as a weak won currency lifted the value of overseas earnings and demand stayed strong for the South Korean automaker’s high-margin SUVs. Net profit climbed to 2.8 trillion won ($2.13 billion) for the April-June period from 1.8 trillion won a year earlier.

MADRID — Spain has signed a partnership agreement with Chinese green energy company Envision Group to embark on four projects, including an EV battery plant, with 3.8 billion euros ($3.9 billion) in total investment, partly funded by European Union aid. Jose Dominguez, head of Envision Spain, was quoted in a statement from the Spanish government

BERLIN — Ford is severely restricting the availability of its key Fiesta and Focus models for ordering throughout Europe, closing the order books for both models until further notice. This means that only preconfigured models can be ordered until further notice, as the automaker responds to excessively long delivery times, according to a report in

Volkswagen Group of America CEO Scott Keogh will leave the brand and take over as the first CEO of the German automaker’s new Scout electric vehicle brand. Pablo Di Si, who has headed VW’s South American region, becomes CEO of Volkswagen Group of America and CEO of Volkswagen North American Region. Keogh, 53, has been

LONDON — Solid state batteries could cut the carbon footprint of electric-vehicle batteries compared with today’s liquid lithium-ion batteries, especially if sustainably sourced materials are used, the Transport and Environment (T&E) campaign group said in a statement. Based on a comparison of one of the most promising solid-state batteries to lithium-ion technology and using sustainable

PRAGUE — Hyundai plans to launch a full-electric, entry-level car in Europe – just not yet. The automaker is working on a battery-powered minicar, but it will take some time to develop a production-ready version, said Hyundai Motor Europe’s marketing chief, Andreas-Christoph Hofmann. Automakers in Europe are developing affordable small electric cars as lawmakers tighten

PRAGUE — Automakers will need to adjust their manufacturing strategies to account for a constant stream of disruptions affecting everything from supply chains to product distribution, Toyota Europe’s executive vice president for manufacturing, Marvin Cooke, said. “We have been through an unprecedented period of challenges, and the previous normality is gone,” Cooke said as the

European passenger car sales fell 17 percent in June to 1.07 million, the lowest monthly tally since 1996 as persistent supply chain snarls and record inflation afflict the industry. Volkswagen Group was the hardest-hit major automaker, with registrations dropping 24 percent from a year ago, according to data published on Friday by industry association ACEA.

Volkswagen Group’s newly formed battery business is working to overcome supply-chain headwinds as it ramps up production and prepares for an initial public offering. PowerCo, which bundles the automaker’s global battery efforts, is trying to secure raw materials amid surging prices and logistics issues, according to the unit’s Chief Financial Officer Kai Alexander Mueller. VW

PRAGUE — The use of hydrogen is a viable alternative to battery-powered vehicles in the race to reduce vehicle emissions, but industry observers acknowledge that much more needs to be done in building infrastructure, educating consumers and governments, and maturing the technology. At Automotive News Europe’s congress in Prague on Thursday, Guido Dumarey, CEO of

SHANGHAI/BEIJING — Volkswagen will stick to its goal of doubling sales of its ID electric vehicles this year despite COVID-19 disruptions, with its China chief, Stephan Wollenstein, calling the target “promising.” The ID series, which VW produces at its Chinese joint ventures with SAIC Motor and FAW Group, is driving the automaker’s electric vehicle ambitions