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Musk says stress, taking heavy toll

Electric car maker Tesla's CEO Elon Musk has admitted in a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times that stress is taking a heavy toll in what he calls an "excruciating year". Musk stood by his tweet last week saying he might take Tesla private. Reports say government regulators have subpoenaed Tesla as they dig deeper into his disclosure of the potential buyout.

Kroger tests driverless grocery deliveries

United States supermarket chain Kroger launched a robotic delivery vehicle pilot program on Thursday at its store in Scottsdale, Arizona. A store clerk loaded the back seat with grocery bags while a person in the driver's seat monitored its performance on route. Under the self-driving service, shoppers can order same-day or next-day delivery online or on a mobile app for a flat rate of about $6. After the order is placed, a driverless vehicle will deliver the groceries curbside, requiring customers to be present to fetch them.

MG forms joint venture with Egyptian dealer

British automotive brand MG Motors announced on Tuesday that it will form a joint venture with Egyptian auto dealer Mansour Group to promote its products in the Egyptian market. Mansour, with 60,000 employees worldwide, will become the exclusive distributor of MG's products in Egypt after the forming of the joint venture. The Egyptian dealer has been one of the largest dealers of General Motors, the United States-based multinational corporation in vehicle and vehicle parts.

Geely, Proton to set up joint venture

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Malaysian car manufacturer Proton on Saturday agreed to establish a joint venture to deepen their cooperation in new energy vehicles and promote Proton cars in global market Geely and Proton will each hold a 50 percent stake in the joint venture. The new company will have a comprehensive system for motor vehicle developing, purchasing and producing.

Honda Accord put through its paces

The 10th generation of the Honda Accord was tested early this month in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. It is equipped with standard Honda Sensing on all models, and a base 1.5-liter turbo-charged engine, mated to a 6-speed manual or continuously variable transmission. The optional 2.0-liter turbo-charged engine, which replaced the V6 engine option, was available from December 2017.

Jaguar debuts SUV range in China

British premium marque Jaguar made the China debut of its SUV family in Beijing last week, showcasing the look and capabilities of its first SUV F-PACE, the electric I-PACE and its first localized model, the E-PACE. SUVs have been a major driving force of the new car market in China, the world's largest vehicle market. Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that 5.6 million SUVs were delivered to customers in the past seven months of the year, accounting for 42 percent of all passenger car sales in that period.

Motoring - Agencies

(China Daily 08/20/2018 page18)