TOP NEWS
* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV CEO Sergio Marchionne would unveil June 1 a strategic shift in the Italian-American company's operations, including a plan to stop selling Fiat cars in North America and China in the near future, Bloomberg News reported, citing anonymous sources. Marchionne, who is set to retire in 2019, reportedly will seek to restrict sales of the Chrysler brand only to the U.S. while aiming to double Jeep sales by 2022, with a focus on Asia, Brazil and Europe. FCA reportedly also could combine its Alfa Romeo and Maserati luxury brands into a single financial reporting unit ahead of a possible spinoff.
* Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company's relationship with Alphabet Inc.'s self-driving car unit Waymo LLC was "getting better" and the two companies are in talks to use Waymo's technology on the Uber platform, Reuters reported. He added that the ride-hailing app is "on track" for a public offering, possibly around the second half of 2019, CNBC reported.
CARMAKERS
* U.S. President Donald Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron in April that he wants to shut out German automakers like Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG completely from the country, Reuters reported, citing an article in the German magazine Wirtschaftswoche. The German carmakers own 90% of the U.S. premium car market share. Daimler, BMW and VW-owned Audi declined to comment, while Reuters could not independently verify Wirtschaftswoche's sources.
* U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to enforce auto import duties could hurt domestic carmakers General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. as GM's Chevrolet and Ford are among the top-five brands containing imported parts, Bloomberg News reported, citing information from automotive research firm LMC Automotive. About 40% of a Chevrolet car consists of parts assembled outside the country, while 20% of a Ford vehicle contains imported parts, Bloomberg News reported.
* General Motors' South Korean unit closed its Gunsan plant as part of its restructuring process, KBS World Radio reported. The plant's utilization rate reportedly had dipped to 20% from 2016 levels on rising labor costs. Some 38 GM Korea workers will stay on to look after the facility, the report added.
* French carmaker Peugeot SA said it will ramp up SUV production at all its facilities in Europe and move production of the Opel Grandland X SUV to Eisenach, Germany. The increase in its SUV manufacturing will follow once production in Sochaux plant in France reaches its full capacity due to the addition of Peugeot 5008 production in March 2019. Appropriate investments will be put into each of Peugeot's plant to support production levels, the company said.
* Kenyan carmaker Simba Corp. is in talks with four automakers, including Renault SA and India's Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., to assemble their vehicles in the country, Bloomberg News reported, citing Simba CEO Adil Popat. Production of vehicles in Kenya is forecast to grow over 14% annually through the next four years, Bloomberg News reported, citing a Fitch Group report.
ELECTRIC AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
* U.S. consumer-focused magazine Consumer Reports endorsed the Tesla Inc. Model 3 performance variant after the electric car maker cut short the stopping distance by almost 20 feet with a firmware update. The magazine, which initially refused to recommend the Model 3 version due to braking issues, said the type of over-the-air upgrade of a car's basic functionality was previously "unheard of."
* Electric vehicle maker SF Motors Inc. is planning to open a $160 million plant in northern Indiana by the end of 2020, Automotive News reported, citing an announcement by the U.S. state's officials. The plant reportedly will be used for North American EV production. SF Motors is a unit of Chinese carmaker Chongqing Sokon Industry Group Stock Co. Ltd.
* Japan's Panasonic Corp. aims to move away completely from cobalt used in automotive batteries due to soaring prices of the metal, Reuters reported, quoting the company's in-charge of automotive battery business Kenji Tamura. The company is the exclusive battery cell supplier for Tesla Inc.'s Model 3 sedan, Reuters added.
* Swedish safety systems provider Autoliv Inc. said it received a record $1.1 billion worth of orders over the last 12 months, up 48% from previous year, for its autonomous systems business unit Veoneer, which Autoliv plans to spin off and list July 2. Autoliv added that its top three shareholders, Cevian Capital, Alecta and AMF, have each agreed to remain as major owners of Veoneer for a period of nine months after the spin-off, which is planned to be completed June 29.
* Grammer AG's second-largest shareholder Cascade International Investment GmbH rejected the €60-per-share offer to buy out the German auto parts maker by Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts Co. Ltd., Grammer's largest shareholder, Bloomberg News reported. Calling the offer "unsatisfactory," Cascade said in a release that a valuation of €100 per share is "more realistic," adding that it could consider an increase of its 19% stake in the company.
AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL
* Chinese used car e-commerce platform Uxin Ltd. filed for a $500 million IPO with the U.S. SEC and plans to list on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the ticker UXIN. The company generated sales of $298.6 million in 2017, up 136.7% from 2016.
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* Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. saw its total car sales in April grow 1.8% year over year to 168,146 vehicles and exports jump 20.7% to 183,975 vehicles. The worldwide production grew 3.3% to 846,120 units, due to a 6.2% rise in production outside Japan. Compatriot Suzuki Motor Corp. reported a 9.2% growth in local sales, but exports declined 12.7% due to a decrease in demand in Europe. Its worldwide production jumped 10.7% to 291,299 units. Mazda Motor Corp. recorded domestic sales of 13,871 units in April, up 15.6% year over year, and exports grew 4.6% to 70,693 units.
In Asia, the Hang Seng was up 1.37% to 30,468.56, while the Nikkei 225 rose 0.83% to 22,201.82.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 rose 0.13% to 7,699.53, and the Euronext 100 gained 0.27% to 1,056.77.
On the macro front
The jobless claims report, the Bureau of Economic Analysis' personal income and outlays report, the Chicago PMI, the pending home sales index, the EIA natural gas report, the EIA petroleum status report, the fed balance sheet and the money supply report are due out today.
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