Europe

Sales of AvtoVAZ’s Lada cars rose sharply in August as the industry continues to grapple with the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The brand said it sold 18,087 passenger cars during the month – up 75 percent on July. While sales were down 7 percent compared with August 2021, it was the best monthly

PARIS — Citroen and Polestar have settled a trademark dispute over logos that prevented the Swedish electric car brand from selling vehicles in France since 2020. Citroen had argued successfully in a French court that Polestar’s logo resembled its historic “double chevron” design that it has used since 1919 as well as the logo of

Porsche is planning a big new hire in the lead up to its probable initial public offering. The Volkswagen Group-owned sports-car maker intends to appoint Sajjad Khan to its executive board, according to an emailed statement. Khan was chief technology officer at rival Mercedes-Benz until a year ago, when he left to start a venture

BMW has started producing the fuel-cell systems for its hydrogen-powered iX5 crossover, moving forward with a climate-friendly alternative fuel that its German rivals don’t expect to be viable in passenger cars. “Hydrogen will become more relevant in individual mobility due to its advantages,” CEO Oliver Zipse said Wednesday at an opening event for the production

HAMBURG — Volkswagen Group’s supervisory board agreed on Tuesday evening to remove two seats from the automaker’s 12-person management board, sources familiar with the matter said. The news comes as Porsche CEO Oliver Blume takes over as VW Group CEO from Herbert Diess on Sept. 1. The move signals a sharper focus under Blume’s leadership

PRAGUE — Skoda’s Vision 7S concept previews the biggest of three all-electric cars the brand plans to launch by 2026. The seven-seat crossover features a fresh design language and a new brand identity that Skoda said will better help differentiate it from rivals and other Volkswagen Group brands. Unveiling the Vision 7S here on Tuesday, Skoda

SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla has filed a lawsuit to challenge Louisiana’s refusal to allow the company to sell vehicles directly to consumers, calling the U.S. state’s move protectionist and anti-competitive. The case is the latest battle to reverse direct sales bans in some states against the electric car maker, which bypassed traditional car dealerships. In

STAVANGER, Norway — Tesla CEO Elon Musk aims to get the automaker’s self-driving technology ready by year-end and hopes it could be in wide release in the United States and possibly in Europe, depending on regulatory approval. Musk said his attention was currently focused on his SpaceX Starship spacecraft and self-driving Tesla cars. “The two

STAVANGER, Norway — Tesla CEO Elon Musk aims to get the automaker’s self-driving technology ready by year-end and hopes it could be in wide release in the U.S. and possibly in Europe, depending on regulatory approval. Speaking at an energy conference in Norway on Monday, Musk said his attention was currently focused on his SpaceX

California moved to require all new vehicles sold in the state by 2035 to be either all-electric or plug-in electric hybrids, a landmark move that could speed the end of gasoline-powered vehicles. The California Air Resources Board voted unanimously on Thursday to adopt Advanced Clean Cars II, a statewide plan that mandates 100 percent zero-emission

MADRID — Stellantis has halted its Opel car factory in Zaragoza in northern Spain for five shifts due to a shortage of semiconductors, labor union CCOO said. The plant announced it would suspend production from Thursday evening and resume output on Monday, a union representative told Reuters. Opel declined to comment. A chip shortage has

Audi will join Formula One starting in 2026 as the Volkswagen Group brand bets it can bolster its business by competing in the popular racing circuit. F1 racing intends to switch to cars running on synthetic fuel from 2026 as part of a plan to become carbon neutral by the end of the decade. The

THE HAGUE — The Chinese automaker BYD, the world’s biggest seller of full-electric cars, will expand in Europe starting this year with three models: the Atto 3 compact crossover, the Tang large SUV and the Han large sedan, executives said. BYD began selling the Tang on a pilot basis in Norway in August 2021. In

Porsche has lined up investor interest for its initial public offering at a valuation of as much as $85 billion, signaling one of Europe’s biggest-ever listings is poised to go ahead despite market headwinds, according to people familiar with the matter. Volkswagen Group’s sports-car brand has secured pre-orders that exceed the shares on offer at

Japan’s three biggest automakers are facing the greatest risk from climate change among global auto companies because much of their manufacturing remains concentrated in the island nation, according to a study by Greenpeace. Toyota, Honda and Nissan will face major challenges ranging from hurricanes and flooding to high temperatures and water shortages, in the coming

Mercedes-Benz has started production of the EQS SUV as it expands its all-electric lineup in its attempt to catch up to EV front-runner Tesla. The EQS SUV will be the brand’s flagship full-electric SUV and is being built for global markets including Europe at Mercedes’s U.S. plant in Vance, Alabama. It’s the third model based

TOKYO — Honda will slash production plans by up to 40 percent in Japan early in September due to persistent supply chain and logistical issues. The news comes even Japanese automakers have been cautiously optimistic that chips shortage that caused repeated production cutback is easing. Honda‘s assembly plant in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo, will

BARCELONA — Ford said it is delaying its production investments in Spain, citing a “revised outlook for Europe” but said it remained committed to its plant in Valencia. The automaker will not ask for a share of Spain’s EU pandemic relief funds to invest in the roll out of EVs by June 2025, Ford said