Short Torque
National center for new energy vehicles created
China established a national center for new energy vehicles on Thursday to coordinate the development of the industry. The National New Energy Vehicle Technology Innovation Center was unveiled in Beijing by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Beijing municipal government. Partnering the center are 21 of China's leading new energy vehicle manufacturers and research and development institutions, including Beijing's BAIC Group, Geely, BYD, Baidu and Tsinghua University. China has only two national technology innovation centers, one for new energy vehicles and another for high-speed rail. The center will receive funding from the ministry and the Beijing municipal government.
Infineon, SAIC set up electric car joint venture
German computer chipmaker Infineon said on Friday it is teaming up with China's biggest carmaker, SAIC Motor, to produce power modules for the Chinese electric car market. Infineon said it will hold a 49 percent stake in the new Shanghai-based company, SAIC Infineon Automotive Power Modules, which will make inverters, vital parts that convert power from the battery for the car's engine. SAIC will hold the remaining 51 percent. The joint venture has already received the necessary regulatory approval and will begin large-scale production in the second half of this year.
PSA Peugeot Citroen drives to record profits
French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen said on Thursday that its profits raced to new records in 2017. The company notched up "outstanding results, making significant progress for the fourth year in a row", CEO Carlos Tavares said. Over the past four years, "the group has turned around", he told an annual earnings news conference. The group's net profit rose by 11.5 percent to a record 1.93 billion euros ($2.37 billion) in 2017. Tavares also pledged to improve in China, where sales slumped to 387,000 vehicles last year from 618,000 in 2016. "All the SUVs we have recently launched in China are a commercial success," he said.
GM, rivals chase luxury pickups' fat margins
General Motors unveiled a revamped luxury pickup truck on Thursday, intensifying the battle among Detroit's Big Three automakers for fat profits at the top end of a highly lucrative segment, even as overall US new vehicle sales declined. That battle will be fought in truck-heavy states like Texas, where consumers aspire to luxury pickup trucks more than luxury car brands such as Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Unlike some past GM vehicles, the new 2019 Sierra Denali pickup, a premium version of the standard Sierra, has been designed in-house from scratch. GM has been criticized previously for simply selling glorified Chevrolet models at higher prices, a common industry practice.
United States auto sales fall 2% in February
US sales of new cars and trucks tailed off in February as automakers eased up on discounts. Sales fell 2 percent from last February to 1.3 million, according to Autodata Corp. Among major automakers, only Toyota, Subaru and Volkswagen reported sales gains over last February. Ford's US sales chief Mark LaNeve said automakers spent an average of $65 less per vehicle on incentives in February compared to the same month last year. That's a stark contrast from 2017, when incentive spending often climbed $300 or $400 per month.
Daimler acquires Car2Go, platform merger touted
Daimler has become the sole owner of the European car-sharing platform Car2Go after acquiring the remaining 25 percent share from car rental company Europcar, the Stuttgart-based carmaker announced on Thursday. Outside of Europe, Car2Go is also active in North America and China. The now-complete acquisition of Car2Go was widely seen by German media as paving the way to a potential fusion of Car2Go with rival car-sharing platform DriveNow, which is owned by BMW. DriveNow has 1 million customers in Europe while Car2Go has reported 3 million users of its regional services.
Motoring - Agencies
(China Daily 03/05/2018 page19)
