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California Senate passes 'gig workers' bill; China sales slump may last 3 years

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California Senate passes 'gig workers' bill; China sales slump may last 3 years

TOP NEWS

* The California State Senate voted late Sept. 10 to pass a bill that could force "gig economy" companies like Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc. and DoorDash to classify their workers as employees instead of independent contractors. The bill, called AB 5, now awaits approval of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has endorsed the bill, to become law. Advocates of the bill say that if implemented, the law will give independent contractors such as drivers for the U.S. ride-hailing giants more protections, like overtime, minimum wage and the right to unionize.

* Auto sales in China could see negative to low growth over the next three years, an official with the country's top industry group said, as sales fell for a 14th consecutive month in August, Reuters reported. Total auto sales fell 6.9% year over year in August to 1.96 million, with sales of new energy vehicles contracting the second month in a row, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

CARMAKERS

* Chinese maker of SUVs and pickup trucks Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd. could start building its vehicles in Europe if sales in the region surpass 50,000 per year, Reuters reported, citing Chairman Wei Jianjun.

* Renault SA CEO Thierry Bollore reiterated that the carmaker's merger talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV are not being revived, Reuters reported. "We are not talking to each other, this is the past, the offer was on the table, it's no longer on the table," Bollore said just a day after reports surfaced that Renault plans to rope alliance partner Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. into its merger talks with FCA.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

* Ford Motor Co. doubled down on its commitment to electrified vehicles at the Frankfurt Auto Show, aiming to sell 1 million electrified vehicles by 2022. The Dearborn, Mich.-based carmaker said that in three years, it expects sales of its electrified lineup to account for more than half of the company's passenger vehicle sales, surpassing its conventional petrol and diesel powertrains. Ford expects to launch 17 electrified vehicles in Europe by 2024, with eight to roll out in 2019.

* Volkswagen AG is "not scared" that its plan to electrify most of the group's 10 million car annual output over the next decade is overly ambitious, CEO Herbert Diess said. Volkswagen plans to spend €30 billion through 2023 to produce a range of electric vehicles that can compete with combustion engine-powered cars on affordability.

* Chinese battery-maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. could build a plant in North America, Reuters reported, citing CATL's Europe president Matthias Zentgraf. The battery giant is also gearing up to start construction of its €1.8 billion plant in Erfurt, Germany.

* The European Commission approved Toyota Motor Corp. and Panasonic's proposed joint venture aiming to develop prismatic batteries for automobiles.

* Bayerische Motoren Werke AG expects to sell 1 million electrified vehicles by 2021-end and will bump up its release of 25 electric models to 2023 instead of 2025, CEO Oliver Zipse said. The luxury-car maker forecasts that by 2030, over 50% of premium vehicle sales in China will be pure batter-electric vehicles, though Europe and the U.S. would only see half that demand.

* Honda Motor Co. Ltd. unveiled its upcoming electric vehicle, the Honda E, at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Electrek reported. The Honda E, which has reportedly bagged over 40,000 reservations, will feature a 100 kW battery and retail at €29,470 in Germany, with an "advanced" version featuring a 113 kW battery and retailing for €32,470.

* Honda will roll out charging and energy management products as part of its Electric Vision initiative. Honda is planning to launch a power charger, an urban charging partnership and a power manager prototype.

* Rivian Automotive LLC received an equity investment of $350 million from global automotive services company Cox Automotive Inc. The companies will also explore partnership opportunities in service operations, logistics and digital retailing.

* Tesla Inc. began equipping Model 3 vehicles with a sound warning system for pedestrians to comply with new U.S. and EU regulations, Electrek reported, citing an internal email.

AUTONOMOUS AND CONNECTED VEHICLES

* Japanese auto-parts maker DENSO Corp. teamed up with software company BlackBerry to launch an integrated Human Machine Interface cockpit. The connected-car technology collects data from the vehicle's different systems and will be introduced in Subaru Corp. Legacy and Outback models in the U.S. in 2020.

MOBILITY SERVICES

* Uber cut 435 positions in its engineering and product teams, including 170 people in the product team and 265 in the engineering team, TechCrunch reported. The report added that Uber Eats and Freight employees were not affected, but Uber did not immediately respond to S&P Global Market Intelligence's request for comment.

* Lyft Inc. added three new safety features to its Community Safety Program. The ride-hailing giant introduced Smart Trip Check-In, which can anticipate danger based on unexplained delays, and in-app emergency assistance, including a 911 button. Lyft also set mandatory safety courses for drivers in partnership with anti-sexual-violence group RAINN.

POLICY, REGULATIONS AND SAFETY

* Volkswagen Group and other automakers warned that trade tensions between the U.S. and China risk dragging the global economy into a recession. "We come now into a situation where this trade war is really influencing the mood of the customers, and it has the chance to really disrupt the world economy," Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess told Bloomberg TV. "What will happen in 2020 will very much depend on what happens with the U.S. and China in the coming weeks," BMW Group CFO Nicolas Peter said in an interview with Bloomberg TV at the Frankfurt show.

* The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said the EU needs a "major ramp-up of charging and refueling infrastructure" if the region wants it to meet its 2025 and 2030 CO2 and electric-vehicle sales targets.

AUTO PARTS AND EQUIPMENT

* German auto parts giant Continental AG will use renewable energy at all its sites by 2020 as part of its plans to be completely carbon-neutral by 2040.

* Continental CEO Elmar Degenhart said the company will probably not spin off its powertrain unit Vitesco in 2020 due to harsh market conditions, days after the company announced that it is considering a spin-off of the unit, Reuters reported. Degenhart said the automotive parts and technology company will come up with new measures to boost productivity by 2019-end.

* China's SVOLT plans to start producing battery cells in Europe from 2023, Reuters reported, citing an executive. The battery-maker, which spun out from SUV-maker Great Wall Motors, has narrowed down on five locations for the plant and is forming supply contracts with certain carmakers for the plant, which will produce 24 GWh by 2025, the executive said.

AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL

* China's vehicle sales fell 6.9% year over year in August to 1.96 million, marking its 14th month of consecutive decline, Gasgoo reported, citing the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Passenger vehicle sales dropped 7.7% year over year to 1.65 million, while commercial vehicles slumped 2.8% to 305,000 automobiles, the report said.

* Volkswagen's namesake brand sold 493,800 vehicles worldwide in August, down 3.8% year over year on weaker global demand.

* Tata Motors Ltd. said its brands sold 72,464 vehicles worldwide in August, down 32% year over year. Jaguar Land Rover sold 39,615 vehicles during the month.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

* Spartan Motors Inc., which manufactures trucks and specialty vehicles, said it acquired California-based Royal Truck Body Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Royal Truck will join Spartan's specialty chassis and vehicles unit.

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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 gained 1.78% to 27,159.06, and the Nikkei 225 increased 0.96% to 21,597.76.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 climbed 0.92% to 7,334.87, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.46% to 1,084.33.

On the macro front

The PPI-FD index, the Atlanta Fed business inflation expectations report, the wholesale trade report and the EIA Petroleum Status Report are due out today.

Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

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