Short Torque

Tesla's tariff relief request rejected

Trade officials from the United States rejected Tesla Inc's bid for relief from President Donald Trump's 25 percent tariffs on the Chinese-made Autopilot "brain" of its Model 3 and other electric vehicles, one of more than 1,000 product denials linked to China's industrial development plans. According to documents filed by the US Trade Representative's office and reviewed by Reuters, exclusion requests from Tesla and others for Chinese-made products from aircraft parts to biotechnology instruments were denied because they were deemed "strategically important" to the "Made in China 2025" program.

Volvo's global car orders up in April

Volvo Cars global sales grew by 7.4 percent in April, compared with the same period last year, according to a company news release on Friday. Total sales in April reached 56,535 cars within all regions of China, the United States and Europe, reporting growth in volumes compared with the same month last year. Meanwhile, sales in the January-April period stood at 217,855 cars, up 8.9 percent compared with the same period last year. The volume growth in April was led by continued strong demand for Volvo's award-winning SUV range led by the XC60, and followed by the XC40 and XC90. Volvo's latest models, the V60 estate and the US-built S60 sedan, also contributed to the increased volumes, the company said.

Shares soar despite sales dip for Fiat

Fiat Chrysler reported falling profits on Friday, but its share price soared after its CEO indicated that the Italian-US group would play an "active and constructive role" in consolidating the automotive sector. The world's seventh-largest carmaker reported that its first-quarter net earnings were chopped nearly in half in the first three months of 2019 as sales slid, but maintained it would still meet its annual target of a stable operating profit. The group's share price briefly fell before surging by more than 5 percent to 14.26 euros ($16.10).

German registrations falter on new EU tests

New car registrations in Germany fell back in April, official data showed on Friday, in a sign the vital industry is still grappling with tougher emissions tests and a broader economic slowdown. The KBA transport authority said it registered 310,715 new cars last month, 1.1 percent less than a year before. Sales between January and April were flat compared with the same period in 2018, at almost 1.2 million. Carmakers have struggled with new European Union emissions tests that came into force from September, which created a bottleneck for some manufacturers.

Zotye to stake claim in US with crossover T600

Zotye USA, the United States sales branch of Chinese automaker Zotye Automobile, announced Thursday that its mid-size crossover T600 will be the first vehicle for the US market, released late 2020 or early 2021. "This T600 is a perfect vehicle for the US market and I'm very excited to announce it will be the first Zotye product to go on sale here," Duke Hale, chairman and chief executive officer of Zotye USA, said in a statement. Zotye is anticipated to be the first Chinese automaker to sell vehicles in the US under its own brand name. The T600 debuted at the Shanghai auto show on April 16 this year and is anticipated to go on sale in China next year. The US model is expected to use a turbocharged 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder engine and a six-speed automatic transmission.

Motoring - Agencies

(China Daily 05/06/2019 page19)