All articles tagged with #autos and transportation
Uber says it will invest more than $100 million to build autonomous-vehicle charging hubs, deploying DC fast chargers at its depots and along routes in Bay Area, Los Angeles and Dallas, with utilization-guarantee deals with ChargePoint operators (EVgo, Electra, Hubber, Ionity) to roll out hundreds of chargers and accelerate its robotaxi expansion with partners like Waymo and WeRide.
BYD’s January vehicle sales fell 30.1% year-on-year to 210,051 vehicles, the fifth consecutive monthly decline, with export NEV volume at 100,482 and production down 29.1%. Domestic demand weakened as plug-in hybrid sales dropped 28.5% despite upgraded hybrids, while the company targets about 1.3 million overseas shipments in 2026 and plans new plants in Hungary, Brazil and Thailand plus potential sites in Indonesia and Turkey. A strong overseas performance helped BYD briefly outsell Tesla last year, but competition at home from Geely and Leapmotor remains fierce, and the 2026 global sales target has not been announced.
Ford and Xiaomi reportedly discussed forming a U.S.-based EV joint venture, per the Financial Times, but both Ford and Xiaomi denied the report. The piece notes U.S. concerns about Chinese automakers and battery suppliers entering the United States (including BYD), mentions Ford's scrutiny over partnerships (and a proposed CATL battery-related data center), and points to Ford’s ongoing EV restructuring and recent $19.5 billion writedown.
Toyota is recalling about 162,000 U.S. vehicles from 2024–2025 model years (Tundra and Tundra Hybrid) because of a faulty multimedia display that can freeze on a camera view or show a black image, potentially failing federal safety standards. Customers will be notified by late March.
Tesla will make its Full Self-Driving software available only as a monthly subscription after February 14, dropping the $8,000 one-time purchase option; FSD remains an assisted system requiring driver attention. The move comes as U.S. regulators, including the NHTSA, investigate safety concerns around Teslas equipped with FSD.
The United Auto Workers union, led by President Shawn Fain, is emphasizing its demands for wage increases and job security in negotiations with carmakers, regardless of the costly transition to electric vehicles. The union's stance highlights a growing divide between labor and the auto industry as companies face the challenge of converting gas cars into EVs.