Short Torque

Two billion people hit the nation's highways

China has seen some 2.31 billion passenger trips during this year's Spring Festival travel rush, transport authorities estimated on Saturday. About 2.18 billion trips, or 94.5 percent of the total, would be made on highways during the eight-day holiday that ended on Saturday. The Chinese New Year holiday, which ran from Feb 10 this year, is a peak time when people travel for family reunions, or sightseeing and recreation. On Friday, about 308.46 million passenger trips were made nationwide, up 34 percent from a year ago, data shows. With the long holiday ending, authorities have stepped up transport capacity to meet the travel demand and ensure safe and convenient trips.

VW pumps $1b into Mexico venture

Volkswagen's Mexican unit announced on Friday an investment of around $1 billion, in a second installment of spending by the German automaker. It is aimed at boosting its electric vehicle business in central Mexico. Volkswagen's latest investment in its Mexican operations follows a $763.5 million plan announced in late 2022. The earlier investment plan for Volkswagen's Puebla facilities, among Volkswagen's largest globally, was aimed at building a new paint plant as well as to start a new production line. The company has made its Jetta, Taos and Tiguan models at its Puebla complex. Since 2016, Volkswagen unit Audi has also made the Audi Q5, a compact SUV, at the same complex, and later added a hybrid version.

Italy doesn't plan to buy Stellantis stake

The Italian government buying a stake in Fiat-parent Stellantis is not on the cards but could be if the automaker requested it, industry minister Adolfo Urso said on Friday. "Today (...) it is obvious that this is off the agenda," the minister said in an interview with RAI public radio. "It is clear that if the company were to say 'we absolutely need an Italian public shareholding' then a debate, a confrontation, would take place, but it is not on today's agenda," Urso added. Stellantis Chairman John Elkann said in June that the company did not need the Italian state as a shareholder. Created in 2021 by the merger of France's Peugeot-maker PSA and Italian-American Fiat Chrysler, Stellantis accounts for virtually all of Italy's car production.

Hardware chief resigns from GM's Cruise

The head of hardware at General Motors' Cruise self-driving unit, Carl Jenkins, said on Thursday that he has resigned from the company. It is the latest in a series of departures since the company suspended US operations in October. Jenkins said his team was responsible for developing Cruise's self-driving hardware, including microchips, sensors and computers and worked with GM on product development. On Oct 2, a pedestrian in San Francisco hit by another vehicle was thrown into the path of a self-driving Cruise car and dragged 6 meters. In the aftermath, California suspended the company's permit for driverless vehicles and Cruise pulled all its US self-driving vehicles from testing.

Fisker warned as stock price stays below $1

Electric vehicle startup Fisker said on Friday it had received a non-compliance notice from the New York Stock Exchange as its stock had closed below $1 on average for 30 consecutive trading days. Fisker, which makes the Ocean electric SUV, said the notice would not lead to an immediate delisting from the stock exchange, adding it has six months to regain compliance. The non-compliance notice is the latest in a long line of troubles for the California-based company, which is struggling to deliver EVs to customers. Though the company made more than 10,000 vehicles in 2023 — less than a quarter of its initial forecast — it delivered only about 4,700.

Motoring - Agencies