Europe

Nissan said it is too early to say if it will spin off its electric vehicle business, as alliance partner Renault is seeking to do, Nissan Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta said. “It’s too early to consider because of our diversified market portfolio and diversified product portfolio,” Gupta said Friday. Renault said in April that all

PARIS — A key European Union committee’s decision to reject calls for much deeper emissions cuts has disappointed environmental advocates, who pushed for new targets in the run-up to a 2035 deadline for automakers to sell only zero-emissions cars. The European Parliament’s environment committee on Wednesday voted to ratify new rules for CO2 emissions from cars

BMW cars underpinned by the company’s Neue Klasse (New Class) electric platform will be “as profitable as vehicles with state-of-the-art combustion engines,” CEO Oliver Zipse said. The Neue Klasse platform will have a new battery chemistry and new cell formats to increase power output, Zipse said at the automaker’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday. “That

Volkswagen Group confirmed that it will launch a U.S.-based Scout subbrand for an all-new “rugged” electric pickup and SUV that will be on a new platform and unlike anything else in the automaker’s massive global portfolio. VW Group will build a “separate, independent company” to resurrect the Scout name, which it acquired last year as

TOKYO — Toyota smashed earnings records across the board in the latest fiscal year, racking all-time highs for revenue, operating profit and net income even as it battled the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and global semiconductor shortage. Operating profit climbed 36 percent to 3 trillion yen ($24.61 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 31, topping

The latest Range Rover Sport gets a new platform, boosting its driving dynamics, along with a higher sticker price and a full-electric version arriving in 2024. Land Rover released details of the new generation of one of its most important models on Tuesday. The new Range Rover Sport “sets new standards as the ultimate sporting

PARIS — Renault said it was targeting a double-digit margin for its new Mobilize brand and that the business would aim to represent 20 percent of overall group turnover by 2030, as it unveiled new plans to boost growth at the division. The automaker is counting on this new business to help turn around its finances.

LONDON – Renault CEO Luca de Meo said the automaker will decide in the coming weeks on the future of its operations in Russia, where it suspended operations in March following the invasion of Ukraine. “Negotiations are still ongoing,” CEO Luca de Meo said at the FT Future of the Car 2022 conference on Monday,

Mercedes-Benz will offer Drive Pilot, the first Level 3 autonomous driving system approved for European public roads, as an option on S-Class and EQS models starting May 17. Drive Pilot will cost 5,000 euros ($5,300) on the S-Class and 7,430 euros on the EQS in Germany, Mercedes said Friday.  The system allows the car to

SHANGHAI — Quanta Shanghai Manufacturing City would seem like an ideal site to implement China’s “closed-loop” management system to prevent the spread of COVID that requires staff to live and work on-site in a secure bubble. Sprawled over land the size of 20 football fields, the campus houses factories, living quarters for 40,000 workers, some living

MIAMI — McLaren has had talks with Audi but is not for sale, team boss Zak Brown said on Friday in response to Volkswagen Group’s announcement that its Audi and Porsche brands would be entering Formula One. A source told Reuters in March that Audi was ready to offer around 500 million euros ($527.55 million)

BMW will focus its Neue Klasse (New Class) architecture on full-electric models for the midsize premium segment. The platform, which will go into production in 2025 at the automaker’s new factory in Hungary, will only offer a battery-electric drivetrain, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said during the automaker’s first-quarter earnings call on Thursday. “When it hits

The announcement that Porsche and Audi want to lend their names to Formula One comes at a high point of popularity in the U.S. for the world’s most glamorous racing series. Miami’s first-ever F1 Grand Prix will run on Sunday. Race-day ticket prices hit $1,342 this week on the secondary market, more than prices for

BMW will focus its Neue Klasse (New Class) architecture on full-electric models for the 3-Series segment. The platform, which will go into production in 2025 at the automaker’s new factory in Hungary, will have only a battery-electric drivetrain, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said during the automaker’s first-quarter earnings call on Thursday. “When it hits the

PARIS — A number of automakers are now exploring whether to shear off electric vehicles as a separate business unit, or even a listed company.  Their reasons include a need for more agility, a desire to attract capital from Tesla-besotted investors, and a fresh start unburdened by potentially worthless “legacy” assets such as engine factories.

The first year of Stellantis’ life brought many changes to the former PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles brands, including the realignment of the Europe region — now called Enlarged Europe. Within the region, nine main brands are coexisting: Alfa Romeo, Citroen, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel/Vauxhall and Peugeot, covering a range of segments

BMW said earnings rose 12 percent in the first quarter even as the war in Ukraine and COVID lockdowns in China disrupted the automaker’s supply chain. Group earnings before interest and tax rose to 3.39 billion euros ($3.6 billion) in the first quarter, the company said Thursday. BMW confirmed the outlook for the year that

Bosch will invest 500 million euros to develop components for hydrogen electrolysis, a technology that promises to speed adoption of so-called green hydrogen for use in transport and other sectors. The supplier said Wednesday at its annual news conference that it hopes to start production of electrolyzer “stacks” in 2025, with the expectation that the