TOP NEWS
* The United Auto Workers Vice President Terry Dittes said the union submitted a counterproposal after rejecting General Motors Co. proposed wage deal, which "fell short" of expectations. On Oct. 1, as the UAW strike approached the halfway point of week three, GM was forced to shut down a plant in Silao, Mexico, that makes its highest-selling vehicles, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, resulting in 6,000 temporary layoffs, The Wall Street Journal reported. JP Morgan analyst Ryan Brinkman reportedly pegged GM's losses to more than $1 billion in the third quarter as a result of the impasse.
* Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. will reconsider its decision to manufacture the Qashqai SUV at its Sunderland plant in case of a no-deal Brexit, the Financial Times (London) reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. Nissan reportedly said its production plans for the U.K. have not changed but warned that a sudden shift of trade rules between the U.K. and EU to the rules of the World Trade Organization "will have serious implications for the British industry."
CARMAKERS
* Volkswagen AG formed a Turkish subsidiary, Volkswagen Turkey Otomotiv Sanayi ve Ticaret AS, in Manisa city, Bloomberg News reported, citing Turkey's trade registry gazette. The company has a capital of 943.5 million lira and the move seemingly confirms plans that VW is planning to build a €1 billion assembly plant in the country.
* German carmaker Opel will cancel the late shift and implement short-time work shifts in its home plant in Ruesselsheim for the next six months, affecting 2,600 employees, a spokesman told Automotive News. The shift schedule is part of cost-cutting attempts in response to dwindling sales, according to the Peugeot SA-owned carmaker.
* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV named Xavier Peugeot its senior vice president in charge of its light commercial vehicles unit, effective immediately. The executive, who will replace Philippe Narbeburu, will oversee efforts to drive European growth by refreshing and extending the automaker's vehicle lineup.
* Nissan said it started using specialized robots that can make car parts out of sheet steel and that it plans to commercialize the technology. The robots could also produce service and replacement parts for discontinued models, the carmaker said.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
* Tesla Inc.'s gigafactory in Shanghai plans to start production within the month and aims to roll out at least 1,000 Model 3 vehicles per week by 2019-end, Reuters reported, citing sources. A source reportedly said the site, Tesla's first factory outside the U.S., plans to start mass production once supply chain and order arrangements are finalized. The facility rolled out its first Model 3 vehicle in September.
* Tesla opened a construction company in Shanghai, China with a registered capital of $1 million, Reuters reported, citing China's National Enterprise Information Publicity System.
* Volkswagen-owned Porsche said it ramped up production of its Taycan all-electric sports car and added 500 jobs at its plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany, to meet "the great worldwide demand" for the vehicle. The Taycan went into production in September.
AUTONOMOUS AND CONNECTED VEHICLES
* Tesla is buying computer vision startup DeepScale, CNBC reported. Auto companies use DeepScale's low-wattage processors to power accurate computer vision, which could help Tesla develop fully autonomous vehicles, according to CNBC.
* Audi, Deutsche Telekom and German city Ingolstadt entered a partnership to set up a 5G network in the city, which allows traffic signals to exchange data on road movements and creates a communication network for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
MOBILITY SERVICES
* French carmaker Renault SA launched Mobility Consulting, a consultancy for businesses aiming to electrify their vehicle fleets and reduce emissions. Mobility Consulting can also provide a specialized package of internal combustion, electric and hybrid technologies.
POLICY, REGULATIONS AND SAFETY
* South Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. have sued four U.S. railroad companies over alleged price fixing in 2003. BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Union Pacific Railroad were all named in the complaint filed at the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Reuters reported.
* Tata Motors Ltd. CEO Guenter Butschek said the Indian government's decision to cut the corporate tax rate to 25% from 35% does "nothing which is going to help us get out of the current situation," the Financial Times (London) reported. India's auto sector crisis has seen about 350,000 auto workers laid off by August, sources said. The Indian automaker posted 50% year over year drop in domestic sales in September to 32,376 vehicles. In all, its worldwide sales dropped 48.03% to 36,376 vehicles.
AUTO PARTS AND EQUIPMENT
* Auto-parts maker Lear Corp. named Jason Cardew CFO, effective Nov. 1. Cardew replaces Jeffrey Vanneste, who will retire after 20 years at Lear.
* Schaeffler AG named Uwe Wagner its chief technology officer, effective immediately. Wagner replaces Peter Gutzmer, who will also retire as deputy CEO.
* Aptiv PLC agreed to acquire Germany's gabo Systemtechnik GmbH, or gabocom, for $310 million. Gabocom provides cable management and protection solutions and will complement Aptiv's HellermannTyton business, the auto-parts maker said.
AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL
* Japanese carmakers reported a steep decline in U.S. auto sales in September. Toyota Motor Corp. sales fell 16.5% year over year to 169,656 vehicles, Nissan saw a 17.6% drop in sales to 101,244, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. U.S. sales dropped 14.1% to 113,925 and Subaru Corp.'s U.S. arm sold 51,659 vehicles, down 9.4%, during the month.
* All major luxury car brands saw strong growth in the U.S. sales in September. BMW AG sold 27,467 vehicles in the country, up 6% year over year and narrowly beating Daimler AG-owned Mercedes-Benz, which sold 27,433 vehicles, up 4.8%, in the U.S. Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC sold 9,490 vehicles in the U.S. in September, up 5%, while Nissan-owned Infiniti sold 7,031 vehicles in September, down 43.9% year over year.
* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV sold 60,928 vehicles in Canada in the third quarter, up 19% year over year. FCA's Ram brand saw the highest sales increase at 29,618 vehicles, up 43% year over year, while its Chrysler brand saw the largest drop at 983 vehicles, down 27% year over year.
* Germany's new-car sales jumped to 245,000 vehicles in September, up 20% year over year, Reuters reported, citing sources.
* France saw vehicle sales jump 17% year over year to 173,444 vehicles, though the surge was attributed to a 13% drop in sales in the prior-year period caused by the WLTP's introduction, Automotive News reported, citing industry body Comité des Constructeurs Français d'Automobiles.
COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
* Volkswagen's truck unit Traton SE will invest over €1 billion in research and development through 2024 in a bid to digitize its operations and cut costs. Traton, which went public in June, plans to develop a self-driving platform and increase its network of connected vehicles to 1 million vehicles by 2025. Separately, Traton's logistics subsidiary RIO will provide a cloud-based logistics platform and other logistics services for Traton parent Volkswagen and the group's other brands.
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The day ahead
in Asia, the Hang Seng declined 0.19% to 26,042.69, and the Nikkei 225 was down 0.49% to 21,778.61.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 fell 2.01% to 7,211.84, and the Euronext 100 slid 1.56% to 1,067.79.
On the macro front
The U.S. ADP employment report and the U.S. EIA petroleum status report are due out today.
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