Europe

TURIN — Stellantis is aiming to make 50 percent of Lancia sales online as the automaker gears up to relaunch the premium brand across Europe, Lancia CEO Luca Napolitano said. The 116-year-old brand, which had shrunk to just one model in one market — its home of Italy — plans to launch a new Ypsilon

Mercedes-Benz’s new, more luxury-focused MMA entry-level platform will launch in 2024 with an all-electric model in 2024, the company said. The “electric first” platform, which can also accept internal-combustion engines, will debut a new generation of technology and set the standard for future Mercedes architectures to come, CEO Ola Kallenius said.  Mercedes briefly showed a silhouette

BERLIN — A German court has put a nationwide sales and production ban on Ford cars able to establish internet connection as part of a lawsuit over the violation of wireless technology patents. The verdict by the Munich regional court is not legally binding and can still be appealed, the court said, adding a 227

Mercedes-Benz can now focus exclusively on passenger cars following the Daimler Trucks spinoff in 2021, and strong first-quarter results appear to be proof that strategy is working.  Mercedes is achieving those results as it rolls out its lineup of dedicated full-electric cars, including the EQS sedan and SUV, and the EQE sedan and expected SUV.

Russia could resume production of the Soviet-era Moskvich brand using a Chinese platform from automaker JAC in partnership with truckmaker Kamaz, two sources said. Kamaz is in talks with its partner, China’s JAC, about using its design, engineering and production platform to produce the brand, the sources told Reuters. Kamaz and Moskvich declined to comment.

Mercedes-Benz will cut back its entry-level suite of cars as part of a strategic overhaul that will channel more than three-quarters of the automaker’s investment to its higher-end vehicles. Mercedes unveiled its plans to major investors on Thursday, placing the drive for greater profitability on its so-called Top End Vehicle segment, home to the iconic

TOKYO – The troubled, ever-evolving Tokyo Motor Show will rebrand itself yet again in an attempt to breathe life, energy and attendance into Asia’s onetime premier auto expo. When the show returns in 2023, it will open under a “Japan All-Industry” banner, said the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, which has hosted the event since its

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has announced that prices for the ID Buzz electric van will start at 54,430 euros ($57,220) in Germany for the Cargo version and 64,581 euros ($67,891) for the five-seat passenger Pro version. Orders will open on Friday for the Buzz, with retro styling that evokes the original air-cooled, rear-engine VW Kombi (or

Europe’s new-vehicle sales shrank for a 10th month in a row as the industry remains mired in supply-chain crises that are stoking record inflation and threatening to put off car buyers. Registrations in the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) fell 20 percent to 830,447 in April, the industry association ACEA

BERLIN — Mercedes-Benz will incorporate a new, highly energy-dense battery in its upcoming electric G-Class from 2025, a solution to the problem of how to power large electric cars without weighing them down with heavy batteries. The battery, made by start-up Sila Nanotechnologies, uses silicon-based anodes and is 20 percent to 40 percent more energy

Swedish battery-maker Northvolt became the first European company to start commercial shipments to an automaker last week, giving shape to the continent’s five-year push to counter Asian dominance in supplying energy cells for electric vehicles. The first deliveries, which came from Northvolt’s plant in Skelleftea, Sweden, were made on schedule, a spokesman said. The company

Renault’s Moscow plant will be repurposed to produce Moskvich cars that were last manufactured two decades ago. A Soviet-era car brand the “Moskvich” could make a surprise comeback in Russia, as Moscow takes over assets belonging to Renault following the French automaker’s exit from the country. Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said he would nationalize Renault’s

BERLIN — Audi is pausing production of key models at one of its German factories because of supply chain problems. Production of the A4, A5 and A8 cars in Neckarsulm will be suspended from May 16 to May 20, Audi said. The pause results from the war in Ukraine, the ongoing semiconductor shortage, and COVID-19

Russia’s AvtoVAZ is poised to stop production next week for five days due to lack of components, the ASM trade union said. The automaker, which is controlled by Renault and produces the Lada and Renault car brands, declined comment. The union said production will be halted on May 16-20. The company has said it would

Nissan took a 52.6 billion yen ($499 million) financial hit from its Russian and Ukrainian operations in its latest financial year and is not expecting to restart operations in Russia during the coming year. Nissan stopped deliveries to Russia in March following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, then ceased production at its St Petersburg plant

If the worst-case scenario for Germany hits, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen Group would struggle to paint their cars and the air across the country would get dirtier. Europe’s largest economy is bracing for the prospect that Russian natural gas gets cut off suddenly, a shock that would trigger a form of martial law for energy

Nissan says net revenue from sales of the new Qashqai compact SUV in Europe is 38 percent higher than for the previous model, giving the company hope that it can reverse continuing losses in the region. Nissan posted an operating loss of 28.4 billion yen ($221 million) in Europe in the fiscal year ending March

Polestar is preparing to go public next month in a reverse merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, Gores Guggenheim. The deal could peg the Geely electric brand’s market valuation as high as $25 billion, according to analysts. The move is part of a wave of potential spinoffs of EV brands or units, as automakers try to