INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

In the past year, the number of public EV charging points in Germany has increased by 25%. In spite of the increase, the charging point business has yet to be profitable.

Rapid advancement in battery technologies could lead to many newer battery technologies becoming obsolete.

Additive manufacturer Betatype has streamlined production of automotive headlight heatsinks through the use of metal powder bed fusion. The per-part cost was brought down from over $34 to just over $3 and build time as reduced from around 444 hours to around 30.

LITIGATION

A Tesla investor has filed a lawsuit against the automaker and its CEO Elon Musk saying that they defrauded shareholders.

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

US-based electric vehicle maker Faraday Future has moved their headquarters to China. Despite not having released any vehicles as of yet, the company is planning to reach a production capacity of 5 million vehicles per year by 2028.

China-based Tesla competitor NIO has filed for a $1.8b IPO in the US. The automaker is looking to go public on the NYSE under the symbol "NIO".

PLANT CLOSING

After operating for more than a century, the Pittsburgh Glass Works plant in East Deer, Pennsylvania is closing for good this week. The closure will affect 240 workers.

PLANT EXPANSION

ArcelorMittal is resuming a $330m expansion at its plant in Vega, Brazil. The expansion will bring new continuous annealing and galvanization lines to the plant and will increase its yearly steel producing capacity by 700,000 metric tons.

PLANT OPENING

International Automotive Components has opened a new 60,000sf manufacturing plant in Manesar, India. The plant will employ around 200 people and will make vehicle headliners, center console systems, and instrument panel components.

Lear has opened a new $33m seating plant in Flint, Michigan. It is the first automotive supplier plant to be built in Flint in over 30 years.

As part of a joint venture with Synergies Castings, Sohar Aluminum is building a new $100m alloy wheel manufacturing plant in Muscat, Oman. The plant is planned to open in 2020 and at full capacity will produce more than 24,000 tons of aluminum per year.

RAW MATERIALS

Automotive News Canada: Steel tariffs hitting suppliers 'on all sides'

REGULATION

Following a recent spate of engine fires, the South Korean government is banning around 20,000 BMWs from its roads. Local mayors are being asked to inform drivers that must send their cars to BMW for a safety check or stop driving them.

Switzerland is banning several Mercedes and Porsche models with diesel engines found to have violated emissions rules. The ban covers the Mercedes Vito can and the Porsche Macan and Cayenne.

Germany's federal motor vehicle authority is warning some Volkswagen owners that failing to have their manipulated diesel-emissions software fixed could lead to de-registration of their vehicles.

Spain's government is working on expanding rules for self-driving cars and aiming to offer an overall legal framework for autonomous driving. The plan will be proposed by 2020 at the latest.

SUPPLY CHAIN

As a result of uncertainty in connection with expected price increases, GM has suspended the sale of cars in Uzbekistan.