* Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. named Makoto Uchida, senior vice president and head of its China unit, its next CEO. Nissan also appointed Ashwani Gupta, the COO of the carmaker's Japanese alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp., as its COO. Nissan Senior Vice President Jun Seki has been appointed vice COO, reporting to Gupta.
* General Motors Co. idled part of its propulsion plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, because of parts shortage amid United Auto Workers strike in the U.S. The strike has now entered its fourth week. The plant's V8 engine line and CVT transmission line are not operating as approximately 415 of the plant's 2,100 workers were temporarily laid off, a GM spokesperson confirmed in an email.
CARMAKERS
* The United Auto Workers and Detroit-based carmakers Ford Motor Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and General Motors are using wage contract talks to restructure their joint training centers, which are being investigated as part of the federal corruption probe, The Detroit News reported, citing sources. The carmakers and the union want to change how the centers operate, the sources said, as the sites received large amounts of money that corrupt officials allegedly used for meals, parties, tickets, cigars and liquor.
* Volkswagen AG's India unit said local authorities approved the merger of its passenger car units, including Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd., Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd. and ŠKODA AUTO India Pvt. Ltd. The merged company, which is part of the carmaker's India 2.0 project, will be led by Gurpratap Boparai and headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra.
* Toyota Motor Corp. will unveil a new diesel wagon model called the Granace at the Tokyo Motor Show. The wagon will be available in three-row six-seater and four-row eight-seater versions.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
* Peugeot SA's Opel brand said it will start production of its electric Corsa-e in early 2020, Electrek reported, citing Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller. The Corsa-e is an electrified version of Opel's Corsa and marks the first vehicle to be electrified in the carmaker's lineup.
* Tesla's Chinese rival NIO Inc. said it delivered 4,799 vehicles in the third quarter, up 35.1% from the prior quarter, when a forced recall dented its sales and profits. The electric-car maker sold 2,019 vehicles in September.
* Electric utilities company Vattenfall signed a deal to install 200 electric vehicle charging points at Norwegian dairy producer Tine's plants before summer 2020. The charging points will be connected to Vattenfall's InCharge network and is part of a five-year agreement between the two companies.
* Japan's Nissan Motor said it will pilot a local charging project called Charging + in partnership with local retailers. Owners of Nissan's Leaf electric vehicle can receive discounts and coupons for charging from retailers at 60 stations and 25 Ministop stores in the Kanto area.
MOBILITY SERVICES
* U.K.-based Skyports said it began building a "vertiport" for an electric air taxi service in Singapore, Automotive News reported, citing Skyports Managing Director Duncan Walker. Skyports will showcase the site from Oct. 21-25 and will use an electric plane provided by Germany's Volocopter GmbH for demo flights.
POLICY, REGULATIONS AND SAFETY
* Peugeot's namesake brand said all its vehicles are compliant with the EU's 2020 emissions standards and that it does not need to pay any fines for high-emitting models, brand CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato told Automotive News. Other carmakers, including Fiat Chrysler, plan to purchase billions of euros in electric-vehicle credits from electric-car makers to avoid fines.
* German auto-parts maker Bosch will invest €1 billion in a local site in Dresden to start manufacturing silicon carbide automotive chips, which can increase an electric vehicle's range by 6%, Reuters reported, citing board member Harald Kröger. Bosch will also produce the chips at a local plant in Reutlingen.
* German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp will cut nearly 300 administrative jobs from its car parts and plant engineering divisions as part of a cost-cutting drive aiming to save €2 billion, Reuters reported, citing sources.
AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL
* British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover said it sold 128,953 vehicles worldwide in its second fiscal quarter, down 0.7% year over year. China sales surged 24.3% during the quarter while European sales grew 0.9%, though sales in the U.S. and the U.K. declined 1% and 5.1%, respectively, while other overseas sales dropping 19.2%. In September, Jaguar Land Rover sold 56,832 vehicles worldwide, down 0.5% year over year. Parent company Tata Motors Ltd.'s shares were down 3% after the announcement.
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The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 0.28% to 25,893.40, and the Nikkei 225 lifted 0.99% to 21,587.78.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 fell 0.31% to 7,175.52, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.96% to 1,062.34.
On the macro front
The Producer Price Index - Final Demand and the Redbook Index for retail sales are due out today.
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