TOP NEWS
* Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd. said the U.S.-China trade war continue to hurt consumer confidence as it posted a 59% drop in first half profit due to an increase in vehicle discounts and development spending to cope with falling sales in the world's largest car market. The largest Chinese SUV maker reported a net profit of 1.52 billion Chinese yuan, or 17 fen per share, in the six months ended June 30, compared with 40 fen a year ago. Total operating revenue dropped 15% to 41.38 billion yen as domestic sales of SUVs fell 11% to 341,920 vehicles.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said he would not impose new tariffs on autos imported from Japan "at this moment," Reuters reported. As a result, the U.S. will maintain its current auto tariffs of 2.5% on passenger vehicles and 25% on pickup trucks instead of raising them as Trump has threatened to do.
CARMAKERS
* Former Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. chairman Carlos Ghosn reportedly invested in Silicon Valley using funds from a Nissan distributor in Oman, The Wall Street Journal reported. Ghosn allegedly made Nissan pay the distributor $10 million, of which $5 million was kicked back to him through a Lebanese company. It was also reported that under Ghosn's leadership, Nissan made inappropriate deals with his friends in several Middle Eastern countries and India. Ghosn denied wrongdoing and his spokesman accused Nissan of stepping up their disinformation campaign.
* Ferdinand Piëch, former Volkswagen AG chairman and CEO and the grandson of Porsche founder Ferdinand Porsche, has died. Piëch transformed a loss-making Volkswagen into a global powerhouse. He was 82.
* Ford Motor Co. and China's Zotye Automobile Co. Ltd. are re-evaluating their partnership as the two carmakers have made little progress in almost two years since signing a deal to produce electric cars, China Daily reported, citing two people close to the matter. The people cited dramatic changes in China's automotive market and related industry policies as the main reasons for the stalled partnership, according to the report.
ELECTRIC AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
* Toyota Motor Corp. is partnering with Pony.ai Inc. to co-develop autonomous driving systems for the Japanese carmaker. Pony.ai is testing robotaxis on public roads in China and also obtained a robotaxi operation permit in California, where it hopes to take on Alphabet-owned self-driving company Waymo.
MOBILITY SERVICES
* Hyundai Motor Co.'s parent group unveiled a new electric scooter with a 10.5 Ah lithium battery, around 20-kilometer range, and a top speed of 20 kph.
POLICY, REGULATIONS AND SAFETY
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* VinFast, the carmaker owned by conglomerate Vingroup JSC, is in talks with the Vietnamese government to replace part of its fleet of 39,400 vehicles with VinFast models, the Nikkei Asian Review reported. The country's first national carmaker is also offering incentives to ride-hailing drivers to purchase new cars and is looking to export vehicles.
* Peugeot SA said all its passenger cars will be approved under the Euro 6 emissions standard, effective Sept. 1. The French carmaker said about 80% of its cars are already compliant with the regulatory change to be implemented in January 2020.
AUTO PARTS AND EQUIPMENT
* U.S.-based automotive motors and gearboxes maker Dana Inc. completed its acquisition of Canada's Nordresa Inc., which designs and produces electric drivetrains for commercial and institutional vehicles, in a bid to boost the company's electrification capabilities. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL
* The resale value of electric vehicles in China is less than their gasoline counterparts, China Daily reported, citing a report by China Automobile Finance and Residual Value Research Committee. A 3-year-old Tesla Model X SUV, which has the highest residual value among electric vehicles in China, can be sold at 49.55% of its original price, while a similarly aged Toyota Camry sedan or Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s CR-V SUV is usually priced at 65% of its original price tag, according to the report.
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 0.06% to 25,664.07, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.96% to 20,456.08.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was down 0.19% to 7,081.68, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.20% to 1,039.93.
On the macro front
The Redbook Index for retail sales, S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index, the Federal Housing Finance Agency house price index, the consumer confidence index and the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index are due out today.
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