The dust is yet to settle following an oddly worded media statement issued by the company on 16 June. It’s therefore still too early to speculate on any possible major changes of direction for Nissan and its associated brands, Venucia and Infiniti. The chief operating officer will leave the company on 26 June, with the Board also set to name his replacement that day. But will the plans he and his teams have been putting in place these last years be greatly affected? Nissan Motor’s next moves will likely include the potential debut of a 2-3 (‘ni’ and ‘san’ in Japanese) logo, not to mention mult ..read more

Renault launched a second new D-segment vehicle at the Paris air show – after the Espace reboot this one was the Rafale SUV. Rafale is a French word that evokes wind, and is also an aeronautical reference. Aviation has played an important part in Renault’s history: the Caudron-Renault Rafale, which flew at a record-breaking 445 km/h in 1934, is an example. The automaker said the Rafale was the first production vehicle designed according to the new visual language Gilles Vidal brought in as head of design. Features include full connectivity and a 200hp E-Tech full hybrid powertrain. A new E-Tec ..read more

EU exports of electric cars to the UK worth EUR30bn a year will be put at risk unless the Brexit trade deal is tweaked, representatives of the sector in Brussels reportedly said. According to The Guardian, three of the world’s biggest car manufacturers have already called on the British government to open talks over new rules that will see 10% tariffs put on exports to the EU if 45% of an electric vehicle by value does not originate in the EU or the UK. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has now quantified the risk to manufacturers who ship in the other direction, saying ..read more

Chinese OEM claims EV build time within two hours Chinese automaker Guizhou Changjiang Automobile Co., Ltd has claimed the use of ‘intelligent technology’ has enabled it to assemble its EVs in under two hours. The company says the entire process of making a new energy vehicle (EV), from plugging wire harness, installing chassis, to alignment and testing, takes less than two hours. Based in Gui’an New District, the automaker’s site is designed to produce 210,000 EVs annually. It has four production lines and has made its first delivery of electric light trucks. Chairwoman Zhou Hong said that th ..read more

JLR announced a new collaboration with Everstream Analytics, a supply chain mapping and risk analytics specialist, which will embed AI into JLR’s supply chain management. With this new technology, JLR can monitor its supply chain in real time in order to help avert any future global supply issues. The technology analyses data using a combination of AI, predictive analytics, machine learning and human intuition to plot emerging incidents such as natural disasters, strikes, data breaches and export issues on a global map, alerting JLR to any potential impact on its supply chain. This capability ..read more

VW Group brand SEAT has appointed Marc Riera as its new executive VP for purchasing, effective from July 1. Riera has more than twenty years of international experience within the Volkswagen Group in Purchasing and R&D. In his new position, Riera will oversee and manage the company’s purchasing strategies, supply ecosystem and ‘continuous enhancement of the procurement process’. He will report directly to SEAT CEO Wayne Griffiths. Riera is replacing Alfonso Sancha, who takes over new responsibilities at Volkswagen Group China. SEAT said Riera brings comprehensive knowledge and expertise to ..read more

Kia Corporation has begun deliveries of its new EV9 battery powered flagship SUV, the second model built on Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP dedicated EV platform following the launch last year of the EV6. The EV9 has a 99.8 kWh battery allowing it to travel 500km (300 miles) on a single charge, the longest range within Kia’s current EV lineup. The SUV has three rows of seats and comes with a choice of 2WD and 4WD. When the EV9 was unveiled last March, Kia said its long wheelbase, low belt line and flat electric vehicle platform had “allowed the creation of generous space for all occupants to conne ..read more

South Korean electrolyte producer Enchem Company plans to build a KRW600bn (US$468m) lithium salt processing plant in Saemangeum, on the country’s south west coastline. Electrolytes, derived from lithium salts, are a key material used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries and are directly linked with battery life and charging efficiency. China is the leading global producer of lithium salt but other key countries are expected to make up ground driven by the introduction last year of the US Inflation Reduction Act and Europe’s Critical Raw Materials Act which also favour South Korean producers. En ..read more

Indonesian new vehicle sales surged by 66% to 82,097 units in May 2023 from weak year earlier volume of 49,453, according to member wholesale data from automotive industry association Gaikindo. The market last month rebounded after a 29% drop in April when sales were held back by the annual Eid holidays. The country’s economy has remained reasonably buoyant so far despite multiple interest rate hikes over the last two years, from 3.5% to 5.75%, and slowing global growth. First quarter GDP growth came in at just over 5%, with domestic consumption buoyed by a tourism recovery and higher exports ..read more

NIO has launched its EL6 model in Europe. In other regions the new electric SUV is called the ES6 (second generation launched in China in May), but reports suggest it has been called EL6 in Europe because of naming copyright issues involving Audi (which has an S6 model variant). The electric SUV EL6 features a standard dual-motor four-wheel drive system comprising of a 150 kW front induction motor and a 210 kW rear permanent magnet motor, with a total power output of 360 kW and a peak torque of 700 Nm. NIO says the double-layer dashboard design takes inspiration from nature, benefitting from s ..read more