A new study published by EnergySage and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners has found that just 12 percent of solar panel installers in the U.S. have Tesla Powerwall in-home batteries to install.READ MORE...

The European Union vowed prompt retaliation if the U.S. follows through on a threat to impose tariffs on imported vehicles, as trans-Atlantic trade tensions showed no signs of easing. Read more...

General Motors (GM) just unveiled its electric bicycle in a bid to arm itself against an uncertain future for cars. The largest U.S. automaker on Thursday released the name of its bike, Ariv, and said it will start taking orders in select countries in Europe. READ MORE...  

Following a crowd-sourcing campaign, American automaker giant General Motors has finalized the brand name for its newly produced electric bicycles: Ariv.Riders will need to charge their battery approximately once every 3.5 hours enabling 64km (40 miles) of ride time on a single charge.

The move could help Ford and VW save billions of dollars by sharing R&D efforts. But now it seems highly unlikely that both companies can find common ground when it comes to battery-electric vehicles.According to company officials, their programs are out of sync, and the timing just doesn’t seem to match. With the global business environment becoming more challenging every day, auto manufacturers across the globe are continuously looking for partners -- even if they are rivals.

The century-old multinational automaker, Ford Motor Company, in its recent media release revealed that the company plans to invest $1 billion to expand production of the redesigned Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator sport utility vehicles. The investment would be made in the assembly and stamping plants in Chicago and is expected to add at least 500 more jobs in the plant, but it comes as the automaker cut jobs overseas, particularly in the European region. The plan to expand certain productions is in response to a decline of sedans and sports cars in favor of SUVs, crossover-utility vehicles and trucks.It is also likely to spend $40 million to upgrade the facilities for employees, including new LED lighting and cafeteria updates, new break areas as well as parking lot security upgrades. Ford is not the only automaker to restructure its production in the face of changing demands.

The automaker expects total industry sales for North America to decline in 2019 to 17.2 million, down from 17.7 million in 2018. Chrysler attributes this downsized sale partly to its decision to not sell two generations of the Jeep Wrangler side-by-side, as it did in 2018.The company is also looking at retooling factories to gear up for the launch of the plug-in hybrid version of the iconic off-road machine in early 2020. Other challenges include higher-than-expected capital expenditures that could see the company shelling out nearly 500 million euros related to U.S diesel emissions cases.

Most of the strong profitability apparently came from the North American market. Tailwinds came in the form of solid market for pickup trucks whose average transaction prices reached a record of nearly $36,000 (as indicated by the company).Sales of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups and the midsize Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, increased +3% from the fourth quarter of 2017. GM is in the process of slashing 14,000 jobs, which that company expects would save about $6 billion in cash by 2020.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on Tuesday it would recall 882,000 pickup trucks worldwide in two new recalls to address steering and pedal issues. The Italian-American automaker said it was recalling about 660,000 heavy duty Ram 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks from the 2013 through 2017 model years, including 574,000 in the United States, as drivers could potentially experience steering loss. READ MORE...

If Volkswagen realizes its ambition of becoming the global leader in electric cars, it will be thanks to a radical and risky bet born out of the biggest calamity in its history. Read More...

In a proclaimed mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, Tesla plans to acquire energy technology company, Maxwell Technologies, for about $218 million.The move to acquire Maxwell’s shares may not come as a surprise, given Tesla’s CEO’s commitment to technology-driven electric cars (versus batteries) which he sees as a likely breakthrough. Further, Maxwell is reputed to build electric battery components that are significantly cost and energy efficient compared to those typically used in the industry. This cost reduction is consistent with Tesla’s mission of lowering electronic vehicle prices, in order to widen its addressable market while maintaining margins.

General Motors will begin involuntary layoffs on Monday, hoping to complete the latest round of cutbacks before releasing its fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Read More...

Tesla says it's getting close to making the most important vehicle in its lineup: the Model Y. Last week, CEO Elon Musk announced Tesla will begin preparing for 2020 production of the mass market SUV.He expects work to begin sometime this year, and he predicted the Model Y would become Tesla's best selling vehicle.

It’s been nearly a century since any automaker was in a more enviable position than Tesla. Despite relatively disappointing fourth-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates, Tesla finished 2018 with an astounding 83 percent share of the U.S. battery-electric vehicle market, CEO Elon Musk boasted on Wednesday.That hasn’t happened since the years following the start-up of Ford’s first moving assembly line. READ MORE...

Ford published its fourth quarter earnings and reported a loss of $116 million. But the news that caught everyone’s attention is that the company reported a 28% y-o-y drop in its operating income, excluding the pension charge and other one-time items, both for the quarter and for the year.In Europe, Ford lost $199 million in the fourth quarter, with a full year loss of $398 million.

Unfavorable moves in exchange rates and lower sales volume - especially in Europe and Asia -  were to blame.  What's more, Ford took a $1.18 billion charge for "special items" , mostly consisting of pension and layoff costs. The company’s fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share of 30 cents was below consensus forecast of 32 cents per share (estimates compiled by Refinitiv).It was also lower than the year-ago quarter’s 39 cents a share. Automotive segment revenue of $38.7 billion fell below estimate of $36.88 billion (based on Refinitiv data). On an unadjusted basis, Ford incurred losses of $116 million, during the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $2.52 billion a year earlier.

Tesla will cut staff by 7%. The electric carmaker's workforce entrenchment is apparently a way to deal with rising competition.Musk wrote in the letter that Tesla is "up against massive, entrenched competitors" and must work "much harder than other manufacturers to survive while building affordable, sustainable products."

Tesla is cutting its full-time staff headcount by approximately 7 percent, as it looks to ramp up production of its Model 3 sedans, CEO Elon Musk said Friday.Read More...

Tesla's customer referral program will come to an end on Feb. 1, chief executive Elon Musk said in a tweet Thursday.Read More...

Tesla has been working closely with white hat hackers for years in order to make its vehicle software safer and now it’s taking an unprecedented step: it’s going to be giving away a Model 3 to a hacker who can crack the vehicle. Over the past 4 years, Tesla has been running a bug bounty program and according to sources familiar with the effort, the company has given away hundreds of thousands in rewards to hackers who exposed vulnerabilities in its systems. READ MORE...