On Monday, GM chairman and CEO Mary Barra revealed during a conference in Detroit that the auto maker is planning to end production at the Oshawa assembly plant, along with two other facilities in Detroit and Warren, Ohio. The company apparently is looking to focus more on autonomous and electric vehicles. According to  Barra, GM's restructuring of its product manufacturing process will result in cost savings of an estimated $6 billion for the company by 2020, and might include slashing its global salaried and salaried contract staff by 15 per cent.But it is not yet fully clear exactly how many of the 2,500 jobs at Oshawa will be lost. Unifor, which represents 315,000 unionized workers in Canada, said late Sunday that while it does not have the complete details yet, it knows that no GM product has been allocated to the Oshawa Assembly Plant past December 2019.

He said Tesla “came within single-digit” weeks of death, but was eventually able to make good on its production target for Model 3. Tesla seems to have bounced back strong, as it posted in late October solidly positive third quarter earnings surprise coupled with higher-than expected car sales .Its adjusted earnings was $2.90 a share - versus an expected loss of 19 cents per share according to analysts polled by Refinitiv. Earlier this month, Musk said Tesla was not “staring death in the face anymore”.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is considering a potential sale of its robotics arm Comau at 1.5 billion euros to 2 billion euros ($1.7 billion to $2.3 billion), according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named.The anonymous sources said that the matter is still private and talks are in very early stages, while hinting that there is a possibility that a sale process  could start early next year (reported by Bloomberg). The report comes close on the heels of Fiat’s decision in August to sell its car-parts unit Magneti Marelli for 6.2 billion euros.

On Thursday, the electric car maker announced that it will be slashing prices of its Model S sedan and Model X SUV by between 12% and 26% in China – even as the ongoing trade war/tariff slapping battle between the U.S. and China makes it potentially costlier to import cars from the U.S. In May, Tesla slashed prices following China's announcement to reduce import tariff rate from 25% to 15% on U.S.-made cars.But in July, Tesla had to raise prices, after China slapped a higher, 25% tariff rate on cars imported from the U.S. as a retaliation to U.S. tariffs. As of the latest price cut in China, Model S basic version will come at 782,900 yuan ($113,000) — down from 849,900 yuan ($122,525).

Tesla is apparently signing contracts and/or making acquisitions to mitigate bottlenecks in its car deliveries. On Thursday, the company’s CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Model 3s ordered by the end of month would be delivered by the year’s end in the U.S., and that the auto maker is relying more on trucks (versus rail) as it is relatively time-efficient in the delivery process. He also indicated that the company is making some acquisitions in trucking firms – without elaborating any further.In September, Musk expressed that the company might be building its own car carriers to supply cars to customers, aiming to improve the delivery processes.  

Ford Motors, Walmart and delivery service Postmates are collaborating to develop driverless delivery services for Walmart customers.The project seems to be a part of Ford’s efforts to get a piece of the autonomous vehicle market - one that is is widely touted to shift the landscape of transportation and business logistics. The project for delivering Walmart groceries and other goods will be tested out initially with human drivers to simulate how autonomous vehicles would deliver goods to customers, as indicated by Ford. Earlier this year, Ford had announced about its plan to build the Ford Autonomous Vehicles unit which would focus on driverless vehicle operations, and that the company will invest $4 billion in this unit through 2023.

Now you can order food and beverages while driving a General Motors (GM) car. GM has installed an app called Marketplace, available on the cars’ central touchscreen, which allows people to order takeouts from Applebees, coffee from Starbucks or breakfast from Dunkin’ Donuts.  Christine Sitek, who heads GM's various "connected car" initiatives said that they are yet to make substantial money off Marketplace, but the feature does add to customer experience in the cars.  Also, the app is providing data and insights into consumer preferences – something that could potentially generate immense value for the business in terms of understanding customer demand and therefore possibly helping the company in planning its future offerings/technology development or strategies.

A great way to understand the future priorities for a company is to see where they invest resources.When you look at where Toyota, the Japanese industry giant, has recently invested, it’s clear the company is preparing to remain relevant and competitive in the 4th industrial revolution as a result of its investments and innovation in artificial intelligence, big data and robots. READ MORE...

Luxury car company Porsche, founded in 1948, made more than 4.22 billion euros in profit before taxes in 2017, according to its annual report.Based on the Nov. 8 exchange rate, that's more than $4.82 billion. READ MORE...

Denholm is currently the chief financial officer of Australian telecommunications company Telstra, and also a member of Tesla’s board. This year, Tesla has been through a roller-coaster mostly in terms of headline-grabbing declarations from its CEO Musk and the consequent clashes with regulators.Although Musk can remain a board member and CEO of Tesla, he is not permitted to seek reelection as chairman for three years, per the settlement’s terms. Denholm will start her new position at Tesla after completing her six-month notice period with Telstra.

Automobile giant, General Motors, reported better than expected third-quarter earnings on the back of solid sales of highly profitable crew-cab trucks. The company recorded earnings per share of $1.87, compared to expectations of $1.25, with total revenue of $35.79 billion versus the expected $34.85 billion. GM’s CFO Dhivya Suryadevara on Wednesday’s conference call said that GM actually sold fewer vehicles during the third quarter -- but sold them at higher prices.But an average price increase of about $800 per vehicle (to more than $36,000) set a record for transaction prices.

Ford is having a bad year in 2018.Now, the company is announcing layoffs. READ MORE...

Federal investigators are probing whether Tesla misstated information about production of its Model 3 electric sedans and misled investors about the company’s business, according to The Wall Street Journal. READ MORE...

You no longer need to pay extra for upgraded  features while buying a Tesla Model 3 Performance. Previously, one had to shell out an additional $5,000 for an upgrade package which included 20-inch wheels with sportier tires, better brakes, lower suspension, and a higher top speed – now, these features would be available to buyers at the base price itself (which starts at $64,000 for the Model 3 Performance) . A statement from Tesla suggests that  it periodically tweaks available options and packages to try to ensure the ‘smoothest ride’ for customers." For the existing owners of  Model 3 Performance cars who might feel they missed out on the upgrade perk, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that early buyers still got access to Tesla's Supercharging stations for free – something the the new purchases wouldn’t.

After claiming that President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel imports hurt its profits by $1 billion, Ford Motor has reiterated its displeasure with the levies. Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of global operations, said Monday at an event, “U.S.With U.S. steel currently costlier than China-made steel by $150 per metric ton, Ford seems to be concerned about the impact on price of its cars and therefore the demand for them.  

Japan's Calsonic Kansei has agreed to buy Fiat Chrysler’s auto parts business Magneti Marelli for more than $7 billion. Fiat Chrysler's CEO Mike Manley said that the automaker considered "a range of options" for Magneti Marelli before deciding to sell it to U.S. private equity firm KKR-owned automotive company Calsonic Kansei. The deal between the two auto parts manufacturers is expected to rake in total annual revenues of €15.2 billion ($17.5 billion) and have nearly 200 facilities and research centers  globally for the combined business, as suggested by Fiat Chrysler. The deal could close in the first half of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals. The announcement comes amidst  rapid evolution in the auto industry landscape, with electric cars and self-driving vehicles among major technologies at the forefront of the shift.Maybe, selling off its auto parts unit would allow Fiat to focus more on leveraging the new trends in the vehicles market.  

With a starting price of $45,000, the new version of the electric car is less expensive than the previously cheapest Model 3 whose starting price was $49,000.The long range battery can last 310 miles, but are priced at $54,000 or more. The standard battery model of Tesla car, which is expected to go about 200 miles on a charge (starting price $35,000), won't be available for four to six more months.

Elon Musk, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Tesla Inc. have have submitted a joint filing in support of a settlement to recent problems, after Musk tweeted negatively about the initial settlement proposal. Musk and the company will pay $20 million to regulators, and Musk has agreed to step down as Chairman but remain Chief Executive Officer.The SEC said Musk misled investors with tweets this past summer by saying he was considering taking Tesla private and had secured funding. The SEC charges against Musk last week knocked about $7 billion off the company's market cap, bringing down its market value to $45.2 billion, below General Motors' (GM) $47.5 billion. 

A Tuesday filing revealed that one of Tesla’s biggest investors has made a big bet on it. On Nio’s first day on the NYSE, September 12, the stock closed a little lower than it was initially priced.After peaking the next day with 75% gains, the car-maker’s stock shifted into neutral and gradually rolled downhill before finding a parking spot below it’s original closing price, at about $6.20. Now, just hours after the new disclosure, and hours after market close, the stock price is feeling out a new support level which may keep it over $7.80, which would be up 25% from it’s recent moving average.

Tesla Inc.’s stock extended losses for a fifth straight session on Monday.The stock closed at its lowest level since March 2017, and lost more than $10 billion in market capitalization in one week. Even as the electric carmaker's  sales of Model 3 sedan are performing well in the U.S. and third quarter projections for it look healthy, the company's CEO Elon Musk’s tweets mocking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by calling it the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission” might have diluted the positives and therefore potentially added to investor concerns.