Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars, says it lost 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in the second quarter as the company booked 4.2 billion euros in one-time charges for troubles with diesel vehicles and air bag recalls. The quarterly loss reported Wednesday was the company's first since 2009 and a bumpy start for new CEO Ola Kallenius, who took over from Dieter Zetsche on May 22 and since then has had to issue two profit warnings.
Faced with a slumping stock price and questions about demand for its vehicles, Tesla has lowered the U.S. base prices of its two most expensive models. The company on Monday cut $3,000 from the price of the Model S sedan and $2,000 from the Model X SUV. Tesla said in a statement that it periodically adjusts prices and available options like other car companies. The decreases offset price increases from a month ago when Tesla offered longer battery range and added a new drive system and suspension. The statement didn't say if slowing sales influenced the decision.
A silent revolution has transformed driving in Norway. Eerily quiet vehicles are ubiquitous on the ford-side roads and mountain passes of this wealthy European nation of 5.3 million. Some 30 percent of all new cars sport plug-in cables rather than gasoline tanks, compared with 2 percent across Europe overall and 1-2 percent in the U.S. As countries around the world - including China, the world's biggest auto market - try to encourage more people to buy electric cars to fight climate change, Norway's success has one key driver: the government. It offered big subsidies and perks that it is now due to phase out, but only so long as electric cars remain attractive to buy compared with traditional ones.
The agency said would evaluate the Hyundai-Kia problems and will investigate whether any other vehicle manufacturers used the same or similar ZF-TRW air bag computers.
The infotainment technology that automakers are cramming into the dashboard of new vehicles is making drivers take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel for dangerously long periods of time, an AAA study says.
Small SUVs for families and powerful sports cars for the rich are the big things this year at the Geneva International Motor Show this year.
Automakers are cramming cars with wireless technology, but they have failed to adequately protect those features against the real possibility that hackers could take control of vehicles or steal personal data.
Another Chinese automaker is showing vehicles this year at the auto show in Detroit, raising the perennial question about when these companies might start selling in the international markets.
