* Tesla Inc. shares soared as much as 6.06% to $242.56 after CEO Elon Musk said it could make a record 100,000 deliveries during the quarter, Electrek reported, citing a leaked email. Tesla, which set a new delivery record at 95,200 vehicles during the second quarter, started offering discounts and free charging schemes to boost third-quarter deliveries.
* General Motors Co. said it agreed to reinstate health insurance benefits for its striking workers in a bid to reach a deal with the United Auto Workers union, Reuters reported. While the move sparked reports that the carmaker and UAW were nearing a tentative deal, Detroit Free Press reported that the strike could last two more weeks as there are "several key issues" GM and UAW are still far from agreeing on.
CARMAKERS
* Japanese brewer Suntory Holdings' CEO Takeshi Niinami said he was not interested in the Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. CEO post, saying his current duties at Suntory "would take a few more years," Reuters reported, citing an email. Niinami was responding to a report in The Wall Street Journal that said the Japanese carmaker is focusing on Niinami, as well as Nissan executive Jun Seki and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. COO and former Renault SA executive Ashwani Gupta in the search for a new CEO.
* Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC will cease production at its three U.K. factories for a week in November as it anticipates Brexit-related disruptions, Reuters reported, citing CEO Ralf Speth. Following the report, JLR's parent Tata Motors Ltd. saw shares fall 5.02% during the day to 118.25 Indian rupees.
* Volkswagen AG appointed Johan De Nysschen as COO of the company's North America unit, effective Oct. 1. Previously, De Nysschen was president of General Motors' Cadillac division.
* Jaguar Land Rover unveiled a product development and creation center at its Gaydon site in Warwickshire, U.K. The 4 million-square-meter site will host about 13,000 engineers and designers, who will work on products to reduce emissions and accidents. The site will also host vehicle design, engineering and purchasing functions.
* Ford and its Chinese partner Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Ltd. will expand their venture to introduce 18 more models through 2021, Gasgoo reported. Changan Ford will also build a research and development institute to help customize Ford models for Chinese customers, the report added.
* Volkswagen's namesake brand said productivity across all sites increased by more than 6% year over year, beating its 2019 target of 5%, cutting costs by about €500 million and reducing emissions by 22% compared to 2015 figures. The carmaker said it will continue with its production strategy through to 2025 in hopes of pushing total productivity up by 30%. VW also expects to save €2 billion by 2023 and cut emissions in half by 2025.
ELECTRIC AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
* Toyota Motor Corp. and its Japanese peer Subaru Corp. agreed to acquire shares in each other to expand their 14-year partnership in connected cars and autonomous driving. Under the deal, Toyota will acquire 24,289,500 Subaru shares, which would be equal to 3.17% of Subaru voting rights, for about ¥80 billion. Subaru will acquire the same amount of stake in Toyota. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, would raise Toyota's stake in the all-wheel-drive specialist to 20%, worth ¥476 billion as of Sept. 27.
* Tesla's Shanghai gigafactory rolled out its first Model 3 vehicle, eight months after construction on the site began, with full production capacity to begin on Oct. 14, Electrek reported, citing Tesla and Chinese officials.
* Toyota is set to launch hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with its Chinese partners, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd. and Faw Car Co. Ltd., Reuters reported, citing a Chinese-language stock exchange filing from GAC.
* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's luxury car brand Maserati said it will invest €1.6 billion to entirely develop and manufacture all its new models in Italy and equip them with either hybrid or battery electric propulsion systems. The American-Italian carmaker said the vehicles will be produced at its Modena, Cassino and Turin facilities.
MOBILITY SERVICES
* Uber Technologies Inc. and U.S.-based charging network EVgo signed a partnership to electrify the former's ride-hailing operations, Electrek reported, citing an announcement made at a Climate Week event in San Francisco.
* Volkswagen's ride-hailing app, Move, is set to expand to Ghana and Ethiopia after a successful trial in Rwanda, Reuters reported, citing VW's Africa regional head Thomas Schaefer. The executive said the initial trial, started in December 2018, cost $50 million and Move now has 23,000 registered users.
POLICY, REGULATIONS AND SAFETY
* Volkswagen said it will defend itself "vigorously" with all available legal means from the "unjustified" and "unfounded" charges against its CEO Herbert Diess and Chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch. The German carmaker said it did not know it could face financial consequences that would require a disclosure to be made to the capital markets right up until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a "Notice of Violation" on Sept. 18, 2015, over its use of software to manipulate diesel emissions. "The information available to the company was regarded as being not material."
* Bayerische Motoren Werke AG does not plan to settle with EU antitrust authorities investigating it for cartel activity and diesel-emissions cheating schemes, Reuters reported, citing German magazine WirtschaftsWoche. The carmaker said it will use all means necessary to contest the European Commission's allegations that the carmaker colluded with Volkswagen Group and Daimler AG to restrict the development of anti-pollution technologies.
* The director of the U.S. National Economic Council Larry Kudlow said the White House will not slap tariffs on Japan's auto exports if discussions continue, Reuters reported. "So long as the good will progress of this deal continues, auto tariffs are off the table," Kudlow said, just a day after Tokyo and Washington announced a partial trade deal that left out any details on auto tariffs.
AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL
* Japanese carmakers Toyota saw domestic vehicles sales rise 8.9% to 174,072, while Honda Motor Co. Ltd. reported a 20.3% jump in sales to 57,370 vehicles. Nissan saw domestic sales slip to 41,747 automobiles, down 2.4% year over year. The Japan Big 3 carmakers reported a decline in worldwide production.
* The U.K. manufactured 163,433 engines in August, up 7.6% year over year as the impact of summer shutdowns faded, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
* Hyundai Motor Group, which owns Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., said it will team up with truck- and engine-maker Cummins Inc. to develop electric powertrains, batteries and control technologies for the pair's North American commercial vehicle businesses. Hyundai will combine its fuel-cell technology with Cummins' electric expertise to create different powertrains, the release said.
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The day ahead
In Asia, the Hang Seng declined 0.33% to 25,954.81, and the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.77% to 21,878.90.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 1.12% to 7,433.37, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.38% to 1,093.52.
On the macro front
The durable goods orders report, the personal income and outlays report, the consumer sentiment report, the farm prices report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count report are due out today.
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