From our friends over at the : Irishexaminer.com
You can see the Full Story: Click Here
From our friends over at the : Irishexaminer.com
You can see the Full Story: Click Here
Indian car maker Tata Motors posted its biggest quarterly loss, hurt by an impairment charge for its Jaguar Land Rover business.
Troubles at the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) unit, which has been hit hard by US-China trade tensions, low demand for diesel cars in Europe and Brexit worries, had tipped Tata Motors into its first loss in three years, for the quarter ended June 2018.
Tata Motors has announced plans to turn around JLR but the slide in the unit’s sales has continued for now.
The company took a non-cash charge of 278.38 billion rupees (€3.43bn) to cover the impairment at JLR in the three months to the end of December.
Changes in market conditions, especially in China, technology disruptions and increased cost of debt resulted in the charge.
It said that its performance “continued to be impacted by challenging market conditions in China”.
“We continue to work closely with Chinese retailers to respond to current market conditions with a ‘pull’-based approach to vehicle sales,” JLR chief executive Ralf Speth said.
JLR said last month it would cut 10% of its workforce, mostly in its home market, as the carmaker which is the biggest car producer in Britain responded to lower Chinese demand and a slump in European diesel sales.
Tata Motors’ loss came at 269.93bn rupees for the quarter, compared with a profit of 11.99bn rupees in the year-ago period.
Revenue rose 5.8% to 762.65bn rupees.
Tata Motors has been facing a decline in sales in India as well.
From our friends over at the : Irishexaminer.com
You can see the Full Story: Click Here
The board of French carmaker Renault has named two new leaders to replace industry veteran Carlos Ghosn, who resigned after weeks of detention in Japan.
The board chose Jean-Dominique Senard, of Michelin, to be chairman and Renault executive Thierry Bollore as chief executive.
Ghosn previously held both posts.
In a statement, the board expressed "its confidence in the new leadership" and wished it "every success in its mission".
France's finance minister Bruno le Maire had confirmed earlier that Ghosn formally handed in his resignation from his roles at Renault on Wednesday evening.
Ghosn has been detained for more than two months in Japan, keeping him from fulfilling his duties at Renault.
The French government owns about 15% of Renault SA, making it an influential voice in its handling.
And while Renault initially stood by Ghosn after his November 19 arrest, the French government has pressed for him to be replaced.
Mr Le Maire said:
"Our goal from the beginning of this case has always been to preserve Renault's interests and consolidate the alliance between Renault and Nissan"
"The necessary decisions have been made."
Mr Le Maire said Renault's new chairman will work to consolidate the Renault-Nissan alliance, which had long been driven by Ghosn and now faces questions over its future.
Mr Senard had been at the helm of French tyre giant Michelin for almost seven years.
He was recently described by Mr Le Maire as "a great industrialist" with a "social vision" of business.
Mr Bollore, who joined Renault in 2012, was appointed deputy chief executive officer of the group last November as part of the transitional leadership after Ghosn's arrest in Japan.
Mr Senard said he had two major priorities: to "propose new governance for the group" in the coming weeks and to ensure that the link between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi "remains strong".
Ghosn denies Japanese allegations that he under-reported income as chairman of Nissan and falsified financial reports.
The 64-year-old star executive led Nissan for two decades and was simultaneously chairman and chief executive of Renault since 2009.
Nissan's chief executive Hiroto Saikawa welcomed Renault's new leadership.
He told reporters at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama, south west of Tokyo: "This is a first step as we turn a page in the alliance."
Mr Saikawa said Nissan plans an extraordinary general shareholders' meeting, likely to be some time in mid-April, to dismiss Ghosn and director Greg Kelly as board members.
The company will also be taking steps in April and May to beef up governance at Nissan, he said.
Mr Saikawa has denounced Ghosn as behind various financial wrongdoing and using company assets and money for personal gain, and has said governance must be fixed.
-Press Association
From our friends over at the : Irishexaminer.com
You can see the Full Story: Click Here
Car giant Jaguar Land Rover is to cut 4,500 jobs under plans to make £2.5bn of cost savings, the company has announced.
Most of the cuts are expected to be in the UK, with a voluntary programme being launched.
The savings and “cashflow improvements” will be made over the next 18 months.
The new job losses are in addition to the 1,500 workers who left the company last year.
Chief Executive, Ralf Speth, said: “We are taking decisive action to help deliver long-term growth, in the face of multiple geopolitical and regulatory disruptions as well as technology challenges facing the automotive industry.”
The company also announced further investment in electrification, with electric drive units to be built at its factory in Wolverhampton and a new battery assembly centre in Birmingham.
Jaguar Land Rover employs 44,000 workers in the UK at sites.
.
In October last year, the car giant unveiled a £2.5bn turnaround plan that included cost-cutting after Brexit uncertainty and slowing demand in China left it nursing a hefty second-quarter loss.
The firm, owned by Indian conglomerate Tata, booked a £90m pre-tax loss in the three months to September 30, which compared with a £385m profit in the same period in 2017.
In China, demand was adversely impacted by consumer uncertainty following import duty changes and escalating trade tensions with the US.
In the UK, “continuing uncertainty related to Brexit” was blamed.
- Press Association
From our friends over at the : Irishexaminer.com
You can see the Full Story: Click Here
Tesco Ireland will review a new in-store electric vehicle charging network, being rolled out by the supermarket in Britain, before expanding such services here.
Tesco has teamed up with Volkswagen to roll-out more than 2,400 electric vehicle charging bays across 600 of its UK stores in the next three years.
Tesco Ireland already has a small number of electric vehicle charge points - in partnership with the ESB - at stores in Naas, Bray, Wicklow town, Maynooth, Swords and Swinford.
A spokesperson said Tesco Ireland will be keeping the UK rollout "under review" before deciding to expand its Irish network.
It said the Tesco/Volkswagen deal would increase the number of electric vehicle charging points available to the public in the UK by 14%.
Tesco said the programme is part of its commitment to use 100% renewable energy by 2030.
Alternative fuels - for use in electric cars and other vehicles - accounts for 6% of fuel sales in the UK and is the fastest growing area of the fuel market.
Sales have risen by 22% to date this year.
From our friends over at the : Irishexaminer.com
You can see the Full Story: Click Here