TOP NEWS
* South Korea's Ministry of Environment will slap fines and file criminal charges against Volkswagen AG's AUDI AG and Porsche brands after the carmakers allegedly installed emissions-cheating devices on 10,261 vehicles across eight models, The Korea Times reported. Fines could reach 7.9 billion won for Audi Volkswagen Korea and 4 billion won for Porsche Korea after they reportedly rigged AdBlue injection system for exhaust fluids on three Audi A6 models, two Audi A7 models, two Volkswagen Touaregs and a Porsche Cayenne. The government has barred sales of the models in the country.
* Electric-car makers Tesla Inc. and BYD Co. Ltd., along with battery-maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., are considering entering India as the country is planning to invest 500 billion rupees, or about $7 billion, to build lithium-ion battery factories, Mint reported.
CARMAKERS
* Ford Motor Co. plans to produce two midsize battery-electric crossovers for its Ford and Lincoln brands at its Flat Rock assembly plant near Detroit by late 2022 or early 2023, Automotive News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The new 2023 model vehicles reportedly were supposed to be manufactured in Cuautitlan, Mexico. In an emailed response to S&P Global Market Intelligence, a Ford spokesperson declined to comment on "speculation" around future vehicles.
* Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. opened its first assembly plant in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in partnership with Ideal Motors (Pvt) Ltd. The plant currently produces Mahindra's KUV100 and will produce more models over the next three years.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
* One of Tesla's Model S vehicles in Hangzhou, China, caught fire in a body shop, Electrek reported, citing local media. Tesla, which is under investigation in Moscow, China and the U.S. for several incidents of vehicle explosion and fire, said the shop's improper handling caused the fire.
* British carmaker Lotus Cars Ltd. said it received "strong double-figure orders" from North America for its all-electric hypercar Evija, which costs £1.7 million and features a 250-mile range and a 2,000-horsepower output.
* Chinese electric vehicle startup Aiways Automobile Co. Ltd. officially formed a joint venture with local carmakers Jiangling Motors Group Co. Ltd. and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Ltd. to produce vehicles for the Aiways and Jiangling's Landwind brand, China Daily reported. Aiways will hold 50% of the JV while Jiangling and Changan will each hold 25%. The two plants under the JV will allow the production of fuel vehicles, plug-in hybrids as well as fully electric cars.
* China FAW Group Corp. began selling the first electric model of its popular Hongqi brand to get a slice of the country's booming new energy vehicle market, China Daily reported. The Hongqi E-HS3 SUV's base model was priced at 225,800 yuan.
* Volkswagen's Porsche brand will integrate Apple Music into its all-electric Taycan vehicle, TechCrunch reported, citing Porsche North America CEO Klaus Zellmer.
* Tata Motors Ltd.-owned Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC said it is developing a new display that can show real-time safety information to drivers and movies and 3D videos to passengers, according to Automotive World.
MOBILITY SERVICES
* Didi Chuxing Technology Co. Ltd. rolled out its open ride-hailing platform in Guangzhou in the Guangdong Province as part of its efforts to become an "aggregation platform" that hosts third-party services, Gasgoo reported, citing local media. The platform will include local carmaker Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd.'s OnTime mobility platform.
* Beijing plans to have around 20,000 electric taxis by the end of 2020 as part of its efforts to fight air pollution, China Daily reported, citing Wang Jianhua, president of the Beijing Taxi Association. Beijing Electric Vehicle Co. Ltd. on Aug. 16 delivered 800 electric taxis to local taxi companies, according to the report.
POLICY, REGULATIONS AND SAFETY
* The U.S. accused Andrew Gabler, former president of National Independent Automobile Dealers Association, of defrauding General Motors Co., banks and credit unions of millions using fraudulent loans and fake sales figures, Automotive News reported, citing a statement by the Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Chad Bednarski, who was Gabler's finance manager, was also charged with conspiracy, bank fraud and wire fraud.
* United Auto Workers official Jeff Pietrzyk, who was deemed to be former UAW vice president and GM director Joe Ashton's right-hand man, allegedly was also involved in the union's bribery scandal and reportedly helped Ashton in orchestrating bribes and receiving kickbacks, The Detroit News reported, citing sources familiar with the ongoing FBI investigation.
AUTO PARTS AND EQUIPMENT
* S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on auto-parts maker Schaeffler AG to negative over weakening profitability and cash flow. The rating agency said the move reflects its view that the German company will likely not be able to recover its profitability to about 15% in 2020 and 2021 due to weaker automotive market conditions this year. For an outlook revision to stable, Schaeffler will have to strengthen its adjusted EBITDA margins in line with the historical performance of 15% to 16%.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a mixed opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, Hang Seng dropped 0.23% to 26,231.54, while the Nikkei 225 gained 0.55% to 20,677.22.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 climbed 0.43% to 7,220.27, and the Euronext 100 rose 0.07% to 1,045.99.
On the macro front
The Redbook Index for retail sales is due out today.
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