TOP NEWS
* Tesla Inc. produced 96,155 vehicles and delivered 97,000 in the third quarter, beating its delivery record of 95,200 vehicles during the second quarter. Despite record sales, Tesla saw its shares drop nearly 6% in aftermarket trading as the figures missed Wall Street expectations of 97,477 vehicles, Reuters reported. CEO Elon Musk earlier reportedly told employees that it could make a record 100,000 deliveries this quarter.
* The Detroit Big 3 saw strong pick-up truck sales in the third quarter in the U.S. even as they reported mixed sales overall. Ford Motor Co. reported a 4.9% decline in U.S. sales to 580,251 vehicles, with 8.8% increase in truck sales offset by a 29.5% drop in car sales and a 10.5% fall in SUV sales. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV posted a marginal increase in sales even though it recorded a 15% jump in pick-up truck brand Ram, while General Motors Co.'s sales rose 6.3%, led by GMC trucks, to 738,638 vehicles.
CARMAKERS
* Renault SA Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard is conducting interviews for Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s top three CEO candidates, including interim CEO Yasuhiro Yamauchi, former Nissan China chief Jun Seki and former Renault executive Ashwani Gupta, Automotive News reported, citing sources. The sources added that older executives prefer Yamauchi, while younger executives and employees back Seki.
* General Motors Co.'s rejected offer to the United Auto Workers on Sept. 30 included annual wage increases or lump-sum payments in its proposed four-year contract. The UAW contended that the deal "took money from other places to fund profit-sharing" and did not provide clear regularization policies for temporary workers, The Associated Press reported, citing sources. A source added that most of what the union objected to "has been removed or is being bargained" as the strike moves closer to week four.
ELECTRIC AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
* Tesla's Chinese arm secured a 5 billion yuan loan from China Merchants Bank, Beijing Branch, to fund vehicles in-transit to China, the electric-car maker said in a filing to the SEC.
* Indian automaker Tata Motors Ltd. said it will launch its Nexon electric vehicle, which features a 300-km range, fast-charging capabilities and a Ziptron powertrain, between January and March 2020, the Times of India reported.
* Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD Co. Ltd. said brewer Anheuser-Busch will add 21 BYD battery-electric trucks to its California fleet. The companies will also team up with the Center for Transportation and the Environment and ENGIE Services U.S. to install charging stations at four Anheuser-Busch distribution facilities.
* Uber Technologies Inc. unveiled Uber Works, a mobile application that connects gig workers to potential jobs. The app shows job openings and provides information on payment plans, shift schedules and company requirements. Uber Works will launch in Chicago on Oct. 4 in partnership with staffing agencies including TrueBlue, the ride-hailing app said. The launch comes about two weeks after California signed a bill requiring gig economy companies, including Uber and Lyft Inc., to reclassify their drivers as employees.
* The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will probe Tesla's new Smart Summon feature following reports of parking lot crashes, Reuters reported, citing the regulator. The report comes less than a week after the Silicon Valley-based electric-car maker rolled out its Software Version 10.0, which includes the Smart Summon feature that allows Tesla car owners to hail their car from its parked location and let it navigate to where the driver is.
* Ford is recalling a total of 32,968 Ford F-Series Super Duty vehicles and 10,655 Ford Explorer vehicles over a number of safety issues.
* Moody's expects EBITA for the North American auto parts suppliers to fall about 9.7% in 2019, more than double the decline the rating agency predicted in early 2019. "This downward revision is consistent with our revised forecast for a contraction in global light vehicle sales this year and through 2020," lead author Timothy Harrod said in a report, adding that Moody's expects global auto sales to fall 3.8% in 2019 and 0.9% in 2020 amid softening demand in China and Europe.
* Auto-parts makers Valeo SA and Dana Inc. will team up to develop end-to-end hybrid and electric-vehicle systems. Valeo said the systems will provide all necessary components to electrify three- and four-wheeled urban vehicles and hybridize vehicles of up to 2.5 tons using an electric motor and inverter.
* Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner said it does not expect car production to report any growth through 2025 and expects it to decline 5% in 2019, Automotive News reported. Worsening auto markets in India and China could push the auto-parts maker to cut jobs, but Denner did not comment on reports that it will eliminate 1,000 jobs. In 2018, the German company axed 600 positions due to declining European sales.
AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL
* Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd.-owned Volvo Cars said it sold 64,536 vehicles worldwide in September, up 6.5% year over year.
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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 jumped 0.26% to 26,110.31, while the Nikkei 225 dropped 2.01% to 21,341.74.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.56% to 7,082.38, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.31% to 1,056.09.
On the macro front
The challenger job-cut report, the jobless claims report, PMI services index, the factory orders report, ISM non-manufacturing index, the EIA natural gas report, the Fed balance sheet and the money supply report are due out today.
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