US governors urge Biden to pressure semiconductor firms on global shortage of automotive chips February 26, 2021 A bipartisan group of eight governors from U.S. automotive states urged President Joe Biden today to do more to press semiconductor firms to address a global shortage of automotive chips that has cut some vehicle production. Governors of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Kansas, South Carolina, Alabama and Missouri co-wrote a letter to Biden asking him [...]
Fewest cars produced in January since 2009 February 26, 2021 Last month saw the weakest January for car production since the financial crisis as a combination of the pandemic and global supply issues knocked the industry. Just 86,052 cars were built last month, down 27.3 per cent year on year, and the lowest number since 2009. It also marked the 17th straight month of declining [...]
UK PMIs: UK firms fare less badly than expected February 19, 2021 UK firms had a more positive February than anticipated so far, with firms eyeing growth prospects later in the year as the vaccine roll-out continues. The IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers index (PMI) jumped to 49.8 in February from 41.2 in January, a far swifter improvement than what was originally feared. The index indicated some stabilisation [...]
What’s causing the current global shortage of semiconductor chips? February 18, 2021 The modern world runs on semiconductors; everything from mobile phones to washing machines depends on these tiny microchips. But few industries are so totally dependent on these microprocessors as the automotive sector, as has been proved time and again over the last couple of months. One by one, a roll-call of the world’s biggest carmakers [...]
Ford begins drive to electrify all European cars by 2030 February 17, 2021 Auto giant Ford has today announced that its European car lineup will be fully electrified by 2030. With a number of European countries set to ban diesel and petrol cars at the end of the decade, the US firm is the latest carmaker to commit to an all-electric future. By 2026, the firm said that [...]
Jaguar Land Rover commits to UK as luxury brand launches 2030 electrification push February 15, 2021 Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) today announced that its full range of vehicles would be electrified by 2030 as the luxury car brand seeks to shift away from fossil fuels. It also committed to keeping its UK factories open for the duration of the electrification process. The Tata-owned firm said that all vehicles in its Jaguar [...]
Car sales sink 40 per cent as 2021 gets off to worst start since 1970 February 4, 2021 Just 90,000 new cars were sold in January, the worst start to a year since 1970 for the UK auto industry. According to new figures from the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), registrations dropped 39.5 per cent last month, with 90,249 cars sold in total. That’s nearly 60,000 fewer registrations than in January [...]
Lookers shares boom as stock finally readmitted to trading January 29, 2021 Shares in long-troubled car dealership Lookers rose 90 per cent today as the firm’s stock was finally readmitted to trading. The FCA suspended shares in the auto firm back in July after failing to publish its full year results for 2019. The discovery of a £19m hole in its figures threw the firm into disarray [...]
Jaguar Land Rover roars to profit as Bolloré era kicks off in style January 29, 2021 Jaguar Land Rover today saw profit jump to £439m in its first full quarter under new boss Thierry Bolloré. The high-end carmaker said that profit was up £121m on the same period last year, while revenue increased £1.6bn to £6bn. JLR reported that it sold 128,469 vehicles in the quarter, up 13.1 per cent on [...]
Toyota overtakes Volkswagen to become world’s top carmaker January 28, 2021 Toyota has today overtaken Volkswagen to reclaim its crown as the world’s biggest car producer, the first time it has held the spot since 2015. The Japanese carmaker saw 9.5m cars roll off its assembly lines last year, despite an 11 per cent drop in production due to the pandemic. Volkwagen, on the other hand, [...]