Investing

Cox Automotive Signs Service Deal With U.S. Commercial EV Maker | Investing News

By Michael J. Moody 1 week ago

DETROIT (Reuters) – U.S. electric commercial vehicle maker Electric Last Mile Solutions (ELMS) said on Monday it has signed a letter of intent for Cox Automotive to supply service and repairs for the delivery van it will launch later this year.

Under the deal, Cox’s Pivet unit will provide warranty repairs, vehicle maintenance, roadside assistance, collision repairs and EV battery servicing to ELMS’ customers, the companies said. Cox boasts a network of more than 6,000 service centers, 3,000 partners and over 800 mobile technicians. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“The opportunity to collaborate with industry leader Cox Automotive helps put us on track to offer customers one of the most comprehensive service solutions that addresses their fleet needs in the most time and cost-efficient manner,” ELMS Chief Executive James Taylor said in a statement.

Cox, a subsidiary of privately owned Cox Enterprises, owns the Autotrader online automobile market, Kelley Blue

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Japanese Carmakers Assess Impact of Fire at Renesas Chip Plant | Investing News

By Michael J. Moody 2 months ago

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota, Nissan, Honda and other Japanese carmakers scrambled on Monday to assess the impact on their production of a fire at a Renesas Electronics chip plant that could aggravate a global semiconductor shortage.

Renesas has said it will take at least a month to resume production at a 300mm wafer line at its Naka plant in northeast Japan after an electrical fault caused machinery to catch fire on Friday and poured smoke into the sensitive clean room.

The fallout on carmakers could spread beyond Japan to auto companies in Europe and the United States because Renesas has about a 30% share of the global market for microcontroller unit chips used in cars.

“We are gathering information and trying to see if this will affect us or not,” a Honda spokesman said. Other automakers including Toyota and Nissan said they too were assessing the situation.

Two-thirds of production

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Volkswagen Points Finger at Suppliers Over Car Chip Shortage | Investing News

By Michael J. Moody 3 months ago

By Jan Schwartz and Christoph Steitz

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Volkswagen said bad planning on the part of its suppliers has compounded a computer chip shortage blighting the global auto industry, claiming it gave ample notice that the coronavirus’ hit to car production would be limited.

VW was in December the first carmaker to warn of a chip supply crunch that has hit global automakers, forcing them to cut or halt production as the semiconductor industry struggles to keep up with a recovery in the car sector.

The German company told its suppliers in April last year – when much of global car production was idled due to the coronavirus pandemic – that it expected a strong recovery in the second half of 2020, a VW executive, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

Volkswagen, the world’s second-largest carmaker, says it was made aware of the chip shortage by one of

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Nissan Sets up New Business Unit for African Region | Investing News

By Jaime E. Love 5 months ago

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Japanese automotive group Nissan is to set up a new regional business unit for Africa as it seeks to boost manufacturing capacity and penetrate one of the world’s biggest undeveloped new car markets.

The move marks a reorganisation of the company’s disparate operations on the continent, bringing them within one entity headed by Mike Whitfield, who has previously served as managing director of Nissan’s units in both South Africa and Egypt.

“Beyond internal operating enhancements, this also positions Nissan to focus on the massive opportunity that Africa presents to the organisation globally,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s population and household incomes are rising. But its 1 billion inhabitants account for only 1% of the world’s new passenger car sales, based on industry data.

Most carmakers have focused manufacturing and sales in South Africa – the continent’s most developed economy – which accounts

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