Europe

FRANKFURT — The drama that played out in recent weeks at the highest levels of Volkswagen Group can be explained with these two facts: 1. VW is in the midst of a generational shift toward a fully carbon-neutral business over the next 30 years. 2. The software-enabled, zero-emission vehicles favored by CEO Herbert Diess will

Volkswagen brand aims to develop a full-electric sedan for global markets that could take on Tesla’s flagship. It will be built in VW’s home plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. The new model would slot in above the VW Aero midsize electric car, which is due in 2023, but below upper-premium electric sedans such as the Mercedes-Benz

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Mike Manley will become head of Americas operations for Stellantis, the automotive group that will be formed after the merger of FCA and PSA Group. Manley, 56, was a key figure in driving forward the merger, working with PSA CEO Carlos Tavares since late 2018 to bring the two automakers together. But,

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group are pressing to complete their merger ahead of schedule as disruptions to the auto industry add urgency to their efforts to realize synergies from joining forces. The two companies that would form the world’s fourth-largest automaker are aiming to seal the deal by the end of January, according to

Chinese electric-vehicle maker Xpeng has started entering the European auto market with an initial batch of deliveries to Norway. The Guangzhou-based company has begun handing over the first 100 of its G3 sport utility vehicles to customers in the country where EVs have seized a dominant market share. The model starts from 358,000 krone ($41,000).

Volkswagen Group could get access to advanced battery cells that have the potential to increase electric vehicle ranges by 80 percent as early as 2024, bolstering its efforts to surpass Tesla as segment leader. Developed by the U.S. startup QuantumScape, the second-generation cell technology relies on a solid rather than liquid electrolyte and lithium metal

Ferrari may take months rather than weeks to name a new boss after CEO Louis Camilleri abruptly left the Italian supercar maker, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is taking a thorough and deliberate approach to resolve its second leadership crisis in as many years, the people said. Ferrari’s board will meet

LONDON — Honda will resume production at its Civic factory in Swindon, England, on Monday after output was halted because of parts delays. Honda had halted production at the plant on Wednesday as congestion at ports trying to cope with Brexit and COVID19-related demand affected deliveries. Britain’s major container ports such as Felixstowe have been

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Mike Manley is in pole position to take over the top job at Ferrari, Italian daily Il Messaggero said. Names of possible candidates to lead Ferrari are emerging in the Italian press after the automaker said on Thursday that Louis Camilleri, 65, was retiring as CEO with immediate effect. Camilleri

MILAN — Ferrari’s search for a new leader of the same standing as Louis Camilleri will be a challenging task for the Italian brand, just as it looks to roll out new hybrid models and its first ever SUV. CEO Camilleri, 65, retired with immediate effect citing personal reasons late on Thursday, after being in

The European Union has sent perhaps its strongest signal yet that it intends to tighten 2030 greenhouse gas emissions standards further, increasing the pressure on automakers to electrify their lineups. The EU released its proposals for a “Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy” on Wednesday, the bloc’s plan to cut transport emissions to reach its overall goals

HAMBURG — Volkswagen Group’s top committee failed to give CEO Herbert Diess the vote of confidence he is demanding but it said talks on his future were “constructive.” VW Group’s supervisory board, which comprises its key stakeholders, met Wednesday to seeks ways to defuse a leadership crisis at the automaker. The meeting was convened after

HAMBURG — Volkswagen Group’s supervisory board is due to discuss a reshuffle of the company’s management board on Thursday, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, as the automaker seeks to defuse a leadership crisis. CEO Herbert Diess this month demanded a vote of confidence in his reform efforts by asking stakeholders to

BMW Group CEO Oliver Zipse will be the new president of ACEA, the European automobile manufacturers’ association, replacing Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Mike Manley. Zipse will serve a one-year term at the head of the organization, which represents 16 Europe-based car and truck manufacturers. He can be re-appointed for another yearlong term. His appointment comes

BERLIN — Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess expects autonomous vehicles to be ready for sale between 2025 and 2030. Diess cited the improving performance of computer chips needed in autonomous cars while developments in artificial intelligence are also speeding the process. “It is foreseeable that the systems will soon be able to master even the

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen brand has solved the software glitches that affected the launch of its key ID3 battery-powered hatchback. VW is now ready to start delivering the ID3 to European customers with fully functioning software, spokespersons for the automaker told Automotive News Europe. VW began ID3 deliveries in September, but without key functions such as

FRANKFURT — Opel is recalling all the Ampera-e EVs that it has sold to date to fix a battery problem that could pose a safety risk to drivers. The decision comes after Opel’s former parent, General Motors, which built the Ampera-e in the U.S., told Opel that the battery pack can under certain conditions begin

Automakers say they are looking to reduce the size of their dealer networks in Europe, but in many cases they don’t follow through, said automotive experts who took part in the Automotive News Europe Shift panel discussion, “Sizing the Dealer Network in the New Normal.” The experts also discussed the pros and cons of moving

FRANKFURT — The auto industry faces a new wave of consolidation as cars become electric, connected and add highly automated driving functions, Alexander Hitzinger, head of Volkswagen Group’s Project Artemis said on Wednesday. “There will be consolidation. Not everybody will be able to afford these complex platforms. We will see emerging a smaller number of

Registrations in Spain fell 19 percent in November compared with the same month in 2019, as a resurgence of the coronavirus depressed spending and partial lockdowns affected business in a number of areas. There were 75,708 passenger vehicles registered in the month, which had 21 selling days, one more than in November 2019, according to

Europe plans to impose stricter environmental requirements for batteries as it begins a radical economic overhaul set to boost electric vehicles and clean energy. The European Union will aim at setting a global standard in the fast-growing market when it proposes next month regulations to ensure all batteries marketed in the region are greener throughout

Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark discussed the automaker’s closer cooperation with sibling Volkswagen Group brands Audi and Porsche and the UK automaker’s preparations for a no-deal Brexit in an interview with Automobilwoche, a German-language sister publication of Automotive News Europe. Bentley had a good 2019 and you were confident about this year. How has it been

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said there will probably be a wider roll out of a new “Full Self Driving” software update in two weeks. In October, Tesla released a beta, or test version, of what it calls a “Full Self Driving” software upgrade to an undisclosed number of “expert, careful” drivers. “Probably going to a

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen will ax its Passat sedan in Europe and the U.S. as the automaker increases its focus on electric cars and SUVs, company sources familiar with the plans said. In Europe, VW will keep only the Passat station wagon when a new generation of the midsize car is due toward the end of

Hydrogen-fuel cell technology has been touted as a best-of-both-worlds mobility solution, combining the short fill-up time and longer range of an internal-combustion engine with zero CO2 emissions.  But it’s been slow to catch on, and the cost of the components is a significant barrier. Plastic Omnium, which is pursuing a comprehensive fuel-cell strategy that it hopes

Renault will convert its factory in Flins, France, into a facility for recycling, retrofitting and research by 2024, as the money-losing automaker moves to trim its global production by 20 percent. The automaker said Wednesday in a news release that it aims to employ 3,000 people at the revamped site by 2030, including staff from its nearby Choisy-le-Roi reconditioning

Elon Musk briefed a European battery conference on Tesla’s efforts to bring longer-range electric cars to market in the coming years, though he broke little new ground with regard to timing or other specifics. The factory Tesla is building near Berlin will make cars tailored for European buyers, including smaller models that can park in

Plug-in hybrid cars emit far more CO2 than advertised, according to tests commissioned by European campaign group Transport and Environment (T&E), which on Monday called on governments to end subsidies and tax breaks for such models. The tests were conducted by Emissions Analytics on three plug-in hybrid SUV models — BMW’s X5, Volvo’s XC60 and

The second round of coronavirus lockdowns, which has closed showrooms in France and the UK, will come at a cost of about 300,000 new car sales in Europe, analyst firm LMC Automotive said.  The expected sales losses have led LMC to slightly revise downward its full-year Europe-wide sales forecast, to a decline of 22 percent

Battery cell makers are rushing to open factories in Europe, and one of the most intriguing is Svolt, a spinoff of Great Wall Motors that has decided to invest up to 2 billion euros ($2.47 billion) in Germany to create a European manufacturing base. Executives say Svolt will be the first to bring to series