TOP NEWS
* The California Senate is set to pass a landmark employment legislation this week that would force companies that rely on "gig workers" to reclassify them as employees, dealing a potential blow to the business model of ride-sharing giants Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported. The bill has already passed the State Assembly 59-15. The ride-hailing giants have opposed the bill.
* Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and Renault SA plan to overhaul the rules that govern their alliance amid growing dissatisfaction on both sides, the Nikkei Asian Review reported, citing French-language newspaper Les Echos. The carmakers reportedly want to scrap the agreement known as RAMA altogether and create a new one that will hopefully satisfy both companies.
CARMAKERS
* Moody's Investors Service lowered Ford Motor Co.'s senior unsecured rating to Ba1 from Baa3 amid "considerable" operating and market challenges facing the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker.
* Bayerische Motoren Werke AG CFO Nicolas Peter said the carmaker's Oxford, U.K., plant will suspend production on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 and could remove a shift in case of a no-deal Brexit, Reuters reported. Separately, Peugeot SA's Opel brand will halt all investments into its plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton until the Brexit scenario becomes clear, Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller said.
* Daimler AG CEO Ola Kaellenius said its Mercedes-Benz brand will struggle to meet the EU's 2021 emissions targets, Reuters reported. The luxury-car maker said meeting targets will be "a significant challenge" as customers are buying more SUVs, which make up a third of its sales.
* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV began contacting over 9,000 qualified Detroit residents to invite them to apply for jobs at its new plant, The Detroit News reported. FCA said the converted Mack Avenue Engine Complex will produce SUVs by 2020-end and will employ 3,850 people.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
* Volkswagen AG unveiled its all-electric compact, ID.3, its rival offering to Tesla's Model 3, and has refreshed the company logo. The basic ID.3 model will retail for under €30,000 and has a range of 330 kilometers and 45 kWh of power, while the most powerful ID.3 variant claims a range of 550 km for a 77 kWh capacity. The midrange variant is powered by a 58 kW battery for a 420 km range.
* Tesla Inc. expanded to Iceland after opening preorders for its Model S, Model X, and Model 3 vehicles.
* Tesla could add another assembly line at its facility in Fremont, Calif., Bloomberg News reported, citing a city application. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based electric-car maker's reported application for a "GA5 demo and rough grading" project is reportedly pointing at a new assembly line as GA refers to general assembly.
* Volkswagen's Porsche said it began producing its all-electric Taycan sports car in Zuffenhausen, Germany, creating 1,500 jobs.
* BMW Thailand opened a high-voltage battery production plant in partnership with auto supplier DRÄXLMAIER.
* Daimler's Mercedes-Benz brand agreed to source its batteries from China's Farasis Energy, which uses a carbon-free production process for its batteries.
AUTONOMOUS AND CONNECTED VEHICLES
* Aurora Innovation Inc. wrote a letter to the U.S. Congress saying that a self-driving car bill should allow the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to maintain its status as the primary safety authority and companies should be given better opportunities and incentives to develop better self-driving systems.
* General Motors Co. said its study showed that automatic emergency brakes, lane-keeping and changing assistance, and assistance for parking and crossing from the rear are the most important safety features in self-driving vehicles. The study, conducted with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, showed that emergency brakes cut crashes by 46%, lane-keeping and changing by 20% and 26%, and rear-parking and crossing by 38% and 52%, respectively.
MOBILITY SERVICES
* U.S. analytics firm INRIX said micromobility services, including bike and scooter sharing services, could replace about 48% of all car trips in metro areas.
* Uber Technologies Inc. said it will discontinue its restaurant delivery business Uber Eats in South Korea from Oct. 14, Reuters reported. Uber Eats did not disclose a reason for the exit but said Uber will continue its ride-hailing operations in the country.
POLICY, REGULATIONS AND SAFETY
* The U.S. House Judiciary Committee said it will look into the Justice Department's decision to probe four major automakers that struck a deal with California on vehicle emissions instead of committing to President Donald Trump's plan, Reuters reported. House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler and Representative David Cicilline said the probe into Ford, BMW, Honda and Volkswagen is part of "a profoundly troubling pattern of abuse of power that has flourished under the Trump presidency."
* The British government announced a £500 million investment into green technologies, with £400 million set aside for electric-vehicle charging infrastructure as it gears up to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, Reuters reported. Britain will also invest £143 million into green projects that respond to air pollution, the report said.
* Fiat Chrysler's North American arm is expanding its recall of Ram pickup trucks to about 693,128 vehicles, in addition to 1.1 million Ram trucks recalled in August 2018 over potential issues with the tailgate locking mechanisms, which could cause the tailgate to open unexpectedly. Fiat Chrysler told S&P Global Market Intelligence that it is not aware of any related accidents or injuries.
* A group of environmental advocacy organizations, including Greenpeace and Deutsche Umwelthilfe, called for a global ban on SUVs to help cut down on pollution, Reuters reported. As long as SUVs are preferred to smaller electric vehicles, "cars will remain the problem child for us climate activists," the group said, adding that hybrids could also help cut CO2 emissions.
* Japanese tire and rubber manufacturer Bridgestone Corp. will rename TomTom Telematics as Webfleet Solutions, effective Oct. 1, six months after Bridgestone's European arm acquired the business from TomTom NV for €910 million. Webfleet Solutions will remain as a digital fleet management business that serves over 1.2 million vehicles in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
* Maker of self-driving and safety software Veoneer Inc. said it entered a deal to supply its Mono Vision System to an unidentified carmaker in Europe. The Swedish company said the system combines camera and sensor data for features like emergency braking, traffic jam assist, cruise control and other functions.
AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL
* China's SAIC Motor Corporation Ltd. sold 486,858 vehicles in August, down 7.87% year over year and marking the 12th consecutive month of decline on weaker sales across all its joint ventures, including those with General Motors and Volkswagen, Gasgoo reported.
* Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd. sold 161,774 vehicles in August, down 6.78% year over year, Gasgoo reported.
* Chinese SUV-maker Great Wall Motor Company Ltd. said sales jumped 9.52% year over yeat to 70,199 vehicles in August, Gasgoo reported.
* Australian motor vehicle dealer AP Eagers Ltd. agreed to sell PPT Investments Pty Ltd, which does business as Kloster Motor Group, and related freehold properties to Tony White Group for total proceeds of A$106.9 million.
COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
* Daimler Trucks North America started testing automated trucks on public highways in southwest Virginia in partnership with Torc Robotics. The Daimler AG-owned companies are developing and testing automated trucks with SAE Level 4 intent technology.
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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 0.01% to 26,683.68, and the Nikkei 225 gained 0.35% to 21,392.10.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.26% to 7,217.27, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.64% to 1,073.50.
On the macro front
The Redbook Index for retail sales and the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey are due out today.
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