Automotive Industry

Hyundai plans to begin mass production from the plant in the first quarter of 2026, with construction expected to end in 2025.

Valeo, a world leader in mobility technology and in electrification of mobility has been chosen by Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), India’s leading SUV manufacturer to provide the electric powertrain for a certain range of their "Born Electric" passenger vehicle platform and on board charger combo for their electric utility vehicles. The total order is close to 1 billion dollars and was already included in the total amount of orders for high voltage powertrain announced in Valeo’s Q3 results.

The reductions are part of a plan to reduce annual costs by 400 million euros ($428 million), the company said. The exact number of job cuts is not yet decided but is expected to be in the "mid four-digit range," Continental said in a statement on Monday.

Manager Magazin reported earlier that the company plans to eliminate 5,500 jobs — 1,000 of them in Germany

In production output, the investment shall double the number of motor cores (stator and rotor) from an annual 4.3 million units in 2025 to 10 million by 2035.

Nothing spectacular, but slightly better than nothing

MEPs are ready to start talks with EU governments on new rules to reduce road transport emissions for passenger cars, vans, buses and trucks.

Renault has officially founded its EV division Ampere. The new unit, headed by Luca de Meo, is launching with the promise "to democratise EVs in Europe." The brand's logo has now also been revealed.

Also:

The new agreement for the restructured alliance between Renault, Nissan and junior partner Mitsubishi Motors came into effect on Wednesday

Mitsubishi has separately committed to invest up to 200 million euros in the unit, which Renault hopes to list on the market through an initial public offering by next spring.

Crosspost from c/Europe

Stellantis announced last week that it would invest in Leapmotor, acquiring a 20 per cent stake in the Chinese company for €1.5 billion. The deal is intended to boost sales of Leapmotor in China – and in Europe – and also includes the creation of a joint venture called Leapmotor International.

BYD achieved another record month selling battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, putting the automaker closer to surpassing Tesla for the first time on quarterly pure-EV sales.

The company recently exceeded Volkswagen Group in the first quarter this year as the biggest-selling auto brand in the country for the first time.

(non paywall link)

Volkswagen Group plans to cut 2,000 jobs at its software unit Cariad as part of a restructuring plan that will see new software architectures delayed even further, a German business publication said.

The job cuts would take place from 2024 until the end of 2025, manager magazin reported, citing leading managers of the group.

Mitsubishi's withdrawal from the Chinese market, which was announced in July due to the Japanese manufacturer's oversleeping in the transition from the internal combustion engine to the electric car, has been finalised. The former joint venture GAC Mitsubishi will be completely transferred to the GAC Group.

Ford announced that it will postpone part of its planned billion-dollar investments in new production capacities for electric vehicles and batteries, justifying this with “enormous downward pressure” on prices.

Stellantis and Leapmotor are hammering out final details of a transaction and an announcement could be made as soon as the coming days, the people said.

Also, California DMV Order of Suspension for Cruise.

The decision underscores GM's (GM.N) strategic shift to slow the launch of several EV models to focus on profitability, as it grapples with the rising costs of United Auto Workers strikes, which surged to $200 million per week this month.

Executives and supervisory board members have been evaluating dozens of units within Continental’s automotive division, the people said. The company, which has a market value of $13.6 billion, could reveal plans to cut some of the most unprofitable ones at its Dec. 4 capital markets day, according to the people.

Saudi Arabia is aiming to manufacture more than 300,000 cars annually by 2030.

Now driverless cars and their promise to reduce America’s road deaths is collapsing some of the differences between car companies and tech companies. “What Silicon Valley learned is the car business is a very, very sophisticated business, and it’s not really easy to design, engineer, manufacture, distribute a vehicle with critical safety systems and so many parts in it,” Lawrence Burns, a former GM executive and former adviser to Waymo, told me over email. “What the auto industry learned from this is that there’s extraordinary talent and capability in Silicon Valley for digital technology, software and experience design applied to the future of transportation.”