Europe

Volkswagen Group is offering compensation to employees at a car assembly plant in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, if they agree to quit voluntarily. The offer of financial compensation and medical insurance until the end of 2022 is available to about 200 people working at the plant, a VW spokesperson said. The VW Taos compact crossover, along

European Union lawmakers voted to uphold a ban on new combustion engine cars from 2035 despite attempts by industry groups and conservative politicians to weaken the proposal. The European Parliament on Wednesday rejected an amendment that would have eased a requirement on carmakers to cut emissions to a 90 percent reduction by 2035, instead of

STOCKHOLM — German automotive supplier SAF Holland said it was offering 3.2 billion Swedish crowns ($325 million) in cash for all the shares it does not own in Stockholm-listed Haldex, sending shares in the brakes maker surging more than 40 percent. Haldex said its board unanimously recommended the bid, calling the 66 crowns per share

TERRAMAR, Spain — Volkswagen Group’s Cupra brand has set a target of 500,000 sales a year by 2025 — more than the combined 2021 sales of Cupra and Seat, VW’s other Spanish brand. Cupra sold 79,327 cars in 2021, with the Formentor compact crossover the most popular model with 54,595 units sold. Cupra had said earlier

Swedish automaker Polestar will introduce its flagship SUV in October, expanding the brand’s lineup to a trio of models. The Volvo Car affiliate will start deliveries of the Polestar 3, a Porsche Cayenne-sized crossover, in Europe and the U.S. early next year. Polestar excepts to sell 24,000 units of the Polestar 3 next year, increasing

Andy Palmer has been at the heart of the European mobility market for decades, first as a Nissan executive when the automaker introduced the pioneering Leaf electric car, and then as head of Aston Martin as the sports car maker worked to bring its first SUV to the market and go public. Now, Palmer is

New-car registrations in Britain tumbled nearly 21 percent last month, the second weakest May in three decades after lockdown-hit 2020, as persisting supply challenges hampered sales and deliveries despite robust demand, industry data showed. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said sales in the UK fell to 124,394 units last month, while full-electric

BERLIN — Ford plans to significantly cut production at its Focus compact car plant in Saarlouis, Germany, unions say. Output at the plant, whose long-term future is in doubt, will be reduced after August 29, Automotive News Europe’s sister publication Automobilwoche reported, citing works council boss Markus Thal. The latest production cut will further increase

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the electric vehicle maker’s total headcount will increase over the next 12 months, but the number of salaried staff should be little changed, backtracking from an email just two days ago saying that job cuts of 10 percent were needed. “Total headcount will increase, but salaried should be fairly flat,”

PARIS — France has put in place new rules that make it harder to profitably “flip” new electric cars bought with state incentives, including requiring owners to keep the car for a year before they can resell it. Under the new French rules, owners must keep their new EV for 12 months instead of six,

BERLIN — Elon Musk’s demand that Tesla staff stop “phoning it in” and get back to the office has received criticism from Germany’s largest trade union. The Tesla CEO waded into the future of work debate by telling staff at the automaker that they must return to the office for at least 40 hours a

SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and wants to cut about 10 percent of jobs worldwide at the automaker, he said in an email to executives seen by Reuters. The message, sent on Thursday and titled “pause all hiring worldwide,” came two days after the billionaire

AvtoVAZ said it will resume production of its best-selling Lada Granta model from June 8, after partially halting production in March due to a shortage of electronic parts because of Western sanctions on Moscow. Renault struck a deal in May to sell its majority stake in AvtoVAZ to a Russian science institute, reportedly for the

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK — The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday charged the U.S. business of Stellantis with criminal conspiracy in its multi-year emissions fraud probe surrounding vehicles with diesel engines. The government charges FCA US with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. to violate the Clean Air Act and to commit wire fraud. The automaker deceived U.S.

BERLIN — Former General Motors Europe executive Imelda Labbe will become sales and marketing boss at Volkswagen passenger cars brand boss on July 1. Labbe succeeds Klaus Zellmer, who takes over as Skoda CEO on the same day. Labbe will be tasked with aligning VW’s sales, marketing and service functions with customer needs as the

MILAN — Stellantis will again stop operations at its key Melfi plant in southern Italy next week, a union representative said, citing shortages of various parts, including semiconductors. Marco Lomio, local head of UILM metalworkers union, said chip shortage was the main problem. “Fortunately the plant has worked regularly all throughout May, but when chips

LONDON — Ineos Automotive plans to launch a full-electric version of its Grenadier off-roader, moving the company closer to replicating the Land Rover Defender lineup with three body lengths. The new model “will use an all-new, smaller platform than the Grenadier, while retaining its workhorse DNA and off-road capabilities,” Ineos said. The EV will be

Marelli Holdings, the auto supplier seeking to renegotiate its debt, selected current owner KKR & Co. as its sponsor in order to restructure the business. Hiroshi Watanabe, a spokesman for Saitama, Japan-based Marelli, confirmed the decision following a meeting with creditors on Tuesday. The company later issued a statement saying that a selection committee “concluded