TOP NEWS
* São Paulo-based Grupo CAOA agreed to buy Ford Motor Co.'s São Bernardo do Campo plant, but the Brazilian carmaker could let go of 1,300 staff at the facility, Reuters reported, citing a news conference held in Brazil.
* The United Auto Workers union said it will try to secure a wage deal with General Motors Co. first, in the hope of reaching a model deal to use in negotiations with Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, The Wall Street Journal reported. UAW began talks with the big three Detroit-based automakers in July. The current labor deal is set to expire Sept. 14.
CARMAKERS
* Volkswagen AG said it will invest 7 billion Brazilian reais, or about €1.5 billion, in Brazil through 2020 to boost product development and technological innovation. In the same release, Volkswagen do Brasil unveiled the "New Urban Coupé," a locally designed vehicle to be launched in the international market by spring 2020, with European production to begin in 2021.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
* A 2014 Tesla Inc. Model S that crashed into an unoccupied fire truck along Interstate-405 in Culver City, Calif., in January 2018 had its autopilot engaged, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. When the crash occurred, Autopilot was active and had been engaged for 13 minutes and 48 seconds, the NTSB said, adding that the driver had his hands off the steering wheel for the majority of the trip.
* Volkswagen's name brand said it received over 30,000 preorders for its ID.3 electric car, with the bulk of which from Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.K. The carmaker will unveil the ID.3 at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt and begin production by 2019-end.
* Several Tesla customers in China are demanding refunds after the government exempted the carmaker from a 10% purchase tax, CNBC reported, citing The Global Times.
* Struggling electric vehicle startup Faraday&Future Inc. named former Bayerische Motoren Werke AG Vice President Carsten Breitfeld as CEO as part of its restructuring. The announcement confirms reports that founder and current CEO Jia Yueting would step down from his post, though Faraday added that Jia would stay on as chief product and user officer and continue to pay off his debts to the company.
AUTONOMOUS AND CONNECTED VEHICLES
* Toyota Motor Corp., Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and German auto parts maker Continental AG are joining an autonomous driving venture with Israeli artificial intelligence business Cortica Inc. and will invest undisclosed amounts in the tech company, Reuters reported.
MOBILITY SERVICES
* BMW will lease 200 of its electrified i3 vehicles to car-sharing company Share Now in Munich. In the same release, BMW said the city's public works department will install 550 charging posts with 1,100 charging points on public land by 2020.
* Peugeot SA's Opel brand launched OpelConnect, which provides drivers access to online traffic information, live navigation and agents to assist with emergencies and breakdowns, for seven models. Eligible owners can equip their vehicles with the service for €300 and connect the service to the carmaker's smartphone app.
* Volkswagen's Škoda brand said it is piloting its electric scooter sharing service BeRider in Prague. The e-scooters, which are powered by lithium-ion batteries, have a range of 70 kilometers and a top speed of 66 km/h.
* Electric-vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. said it will form a joint venture with its Guangdong Brunp Recycling subsidiary focused on consolidating and improving its supply of cathode materials, Gasgoo reported. CATL and its subsidiary will invest a total of 3.6 billion yuan and register the venture in Ningbo in the Zhejiang Province.
AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL
* Japanese carmakers saw sales in South Korea plummet 57% year over year to 1,398 vehicles in August as friction between the two countries continued, Reuters reported. Toyota saw sales drop 59% to 542 vehicles sold, though its Lexus brand was the best-selling Japanese carmaker in South Korea with 603 vehicles sold, up 7.7% year over year.
* European registrations of alternatively powered vehicles surged 28.5% year over year in the second quarter, bringing the segment's market share to 9.2%, according to data by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. About 60% of new car registrations were petrol vehicles, while the number of diesel registrations fell 16.4% to account for 31.3% of the market. Electric vehicle sales jumped 35.6% year over year during the quarter, pushing its market share to 2.4% of all registrations.
* Spain saw new vehicle sales drop to 74,490 in August, down 31% year over year, Automotive News reported, citing industry body ANFAC. The decline was attributed to heavy discounting in the comparable period sparked by the introduction of Europe's new emissions-testing procedure WLTP.
* Tata Motors Ltd. sold 32,343 vehicles worldwide in August, down 48.41% year over year as domestic sales dropped 49% to 29,140 automobiles sold. The Jaguar Land Rover parent attributed the decline to weak demand.
* Chinese carmaker Chery Holding sold 65,200 vehicles in August, up 5.4% year over year, Gasgoo reported. Passenger and commercial vehicles recorded 4.4% and 4.8% year-over-year growth respectively.
COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
* Agricultural equipment manufacturer CNH Industrial NV said it will spin off its commercial vehicles and powertrain segments division as part of a five-year plan to achieve higher profitability and greater efficiency. The separation and listing of the division, which includes the Heuliez Bus and Iveco brands and generates revenue of about $13.1 billion, is expected to be completed by 2021 subject to shareholder approval.
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The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng surged 3.90% to 26,523.23, and the Nikkei 225 ticked 0.12% higher to 20,649.14.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 gained 0.30% to 7,290.21, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.86% to 1,071.42.
On the macro front
The international trade report, the Redbook and the Beige Book are due out today.
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