RENTON, Wash., Nov. 22, 2019 – Boeing [BA] marked a key milestone as thousands of employees gathered for the debut of the first 737 MAX 10 at the company’s Renton, Washington factory. During a ceremony, Boeing leaders highlighted the team’s accomplishments and recognized their efforts in completing production of the newest member of the 737 MAX family.
“Today is not just about a new airplane. It’s about the people who design, build and support it,” said Mark Jenks, vice president and general manager of the 737 program. “This team’s relentless focus on safety and quality shows the commitment we have to our airline customers and every person who flies on a Boeing airplane.”
The 737 MAX 10, the largest variant of the MAX family, can seat up to 230 passengers and offers the lowest seat-mile cost of any single-aisle airplane ever produced. The airplane will now undergo system checks and engine runs prior to first flight next year.
“I’m honored to take this airplane on its first flight and show the world what you’ve put your heart and soul into,” 737 Chief Pilot Jennifer Henderson told the employee crowd.
The 737 MAX 10 currently has more than 550 orders and commitments from more than 20 customers around the globe.
Most expensive version offers a range of more than 500 miles
Production expected to begin in late 2021 (Recasts and writes through)
Nov 21 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc on Thursday unveiled its first electric pickup truck that looked like a futuristic angular armored vehicle in gunmetal gray, as the California company took aim at the heart of Detroit automakers’ profits.
At a launch event in Los Angeles, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said the Cybertruck will have a starting price of $39,900 and production is expected to begin in late 2021.
Other versions will be priced at $49,900 and $69,900 with the most expensive offering a range of more than 500 miles.
“We need sustainable energy now. If we don’t have a pickup truck, we can’t solve it. The top 3 selling vehicles in America are pickup trucks. To solve sustainable energy, we have to have a pickup truck,” he said.
The truck, which Musk claimed “won’t scratch and dent”, was described as having windows made from armored glass. But the glass cracked like a spider web when hit with a metal ball during a demonstration. Musk appeared surprised but noted that the glass had not completely broken.
Reactions on Twitter ranged from love to hate of the sharply angled vehicle. “I just watched tesla release the #cybertruck and honestly? My life feels complete,” wrote @aidan_tenud, while @nateallensnyde wrote “Its nice to see Elon Musk make a cardboard box car he drew in kindergarten,”.
Musk earlier tweeted the design was partly influenced by the Lotus Esprit sportscar that doubled as a submarine in the 1970s 007 film “The Spy Who Loved Me”.
The truck marks the first foray by Tesla, whose Model 3 sedan is the world’s top-selling battery electric car, into pickup trucks, a market dominated by Ford Motor Co’s F-150, along with models by General Motors Co, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV .
The pickup shifts Tesla more toward trucks and SUVs. The automaker has so far sold mostly Model S and Model 3 sedans, but also offers the Model X SUV and starting next year the Model Y compact SUV.
A focus on the high-performance end of the market is only natural given the success of Ford’s 450-horsepower F-150 Raptor truck, which launched in 2009 and whose sales have since risen annually, according to Ford spokesman Mike Levine.
While Ford does not disclose Raptor sales, Levine said annual demand is well above 19,000 vehicles and the No. 2 U.S. automaker has never had to offer incentives on the model, which costs in the high $60,000 range. Ford also offers the more expensive F-150 Limited, its most powerful and luxurious pickup.
Ford and GM are also gearing up to challenge Tesla more directly with new offerings like the Ford Mustang Mach E electric SUV as well as electric pickups.
Electric pickups and SUVs could help Ford and GM generate the significant EV sales they will need to meet tougher emission standards and EV mandates in California and other states.
The Trump administration is moving to roll back those standards, but electric trucks are a hedge if California prevails.
Demand for full-size electric pickup trucks in the near term may not be huge, however.
Industry tracking firm IHS Markit estimates the electric truck segment – both full- and mid-sized models – will account for about 75,000 sales in 2026, compared with an expected 3 million light trucks overall. The Tesla truck is not part of that estimate.
Ford aims to sell an electric F-series in late 2021, sources familiar with the plans said. It also will offer the Mach E next year as part of its plan to invest $11.5 billion by 2022 to electrify its vehicles.
In April, Ford invested $500 million in startup Rivian, which plans to build its own electric pickup beginning in fall 2020.
GM plans to build a family of premium electric pickup trucks and SUVs, with the first pickup due to go on sale in the fall of 2021. It plans to invest $8 billion by 2023 to develop electric and self-driving vehicles.
(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu in Tokyo and Peter Henderson in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Miyoung Kim in Singapore and Joseph White in Detroit; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
General Motors filed a racketeering lawsuit Wednesday against Fiat Chrysler.
GM accused its smaller rival of making bribes over many years to corrupt the bargaining process with the United Auto Workers.
GM said it will seek “substantial damages” as part of the remedy. Although it did not specify an amount, it said the bribes cost it billions of dollars.
In the lawsuit, America’s biggest automaker accused Fiat Chrysler, under the leadership of now deceased CEO Sergio Marchionne, of bribing UAW officials into allowing it to pay lower wages than GM, use more temporary workers than GM and employ more lower-paid second-tier workers than GM.
Fiat Chrysler said in a statement it is “astonished by this filing, both its content and its timing” and said it assumes the lawsuit was intended to disrupt the labor negotiations tied to merger talks between it and Peugeot owner PSA.
Union officials from the UAW fired back in a separate statement, saying the fact these issues can cause doubts about the contract is “regrettable” and it stands by the terms previously negotiated with Fiat Chrysler.
The UAW has been the focus of a spreading federal corruption probe that recently forced its president to seek a leave of absence.
The lawsuit comes at a precarious time for Fiat Chrysler, not only is it in aforementioned merger talks – it is also in the midst of negotiating a four-year contract with the UAW.
GM said the lawsuit has nothing to do with the merger or the union and is solely focused on Fiat Chrysler.
Airline prioritises passenger experience and connectivity with fleet upgrade
Toulouse, 19 November, 2019 – World number one regional aircraft manufacturer ATR, just delivered the first of three ATR 72-600 aircraft to Tunisair Express. The Tunisian airline will use these aircraft to renew its regional fleet providing passengers with essential connectivity both domestically and internationally. The latest generation ATR 72-600 burns 40% less fuel and emits 40% less CO2 compared to a similarly sized regional jet.
By upgrading to the ATR -600 series, the airline has also chosen to prioritise the comfort of its passengers, introducing the latest generation 18” wide seats and the Cabinstream In-Flight Experience, allowing passengers to access a variety of content on their personal electronic devices.
Tunisair Express Director General, Yosr Chouari, said: “We are looking forward to introducing this new ATR aircraft with the latest comfort and technology to our passengers, with this first delivery marking an important step in our fleet renewal. Regional aviation provides essential connectivity for Tunisia and the unbeatable economics of the ATR 72-600, together with the best cabin, make it perfect for both our domestic and international operations.”
ATR Chief Executive Officer, Stefano Bortoli, commented: “As the leading regional aviation manufacturer, we understand how tough it can be for regional airlines. That is why we do everything that we can to support our clients and operators, ensuring that each innovation we introduce adds value in either the cockpit or the cabin and their bottom line. It is a clear recognition that when an airline wants to put its passengers first, the ATR is selected as the best aircraft for the job.”
ATR’s Market Forecast sees a demand for 350 new turboprops over the next 20 years for the Africa and Middle-East region. Regional aviation provides essential connectivity around the world. A 10% increase in regional flights generates additional increases of 5% in tourism, 6% in regional GDP and 8% foreign direct investment. Turboprops are key in connecting communities around the world: 36% of all commercial airports rely exclusively on turboprops and 50% rely, also exclusively, on regional aircraft.
NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) – A former British Airways executive who oversaw the carrier’s operations at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport has been indicted for accepting bribes to help a ground handling company win contracts, New York’s attorney general said on Tuesday.
The charges announced by Attorney General Letitia James against Steven Clark, who she said directed British Airways operations at JFK Terminal 7, arose from “Operation Greased Runway,” a probe into contracting and procurement at JFK.
John Kinsella, a former chief executive of Ground Services International (GSI) accused of making improper payments to Clark, was also charged in the case.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty, according to their respective lawyers. British Airways, part of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, was not charged.
James said Clark received more than $5 million and a secret 5% stake in GSI over several years from Kinsella, in exchange for promoting that company’s services.
According to court papers, payments were concealed from Britain’s flag carrier with fake invoices, and sometimes laundered through companies that Clark or Kinsella created.
James said Clark also received improper sums from another vendor, while Kinsella paid an executive who helped run JFK Terminal 1, which houses several airlines, to win his support.
Clark, 61, of New York, and Kinsella, 59, of Naples, Florida, were each charged with several counts, including bribery and money laundering, and arraigned before a New York state judge in Queens.
“Mr. Clark is innocent of the charges to which he pleaded not guilty, and expects to be vindicated,” Clark’s lawyer Kevin O’Brien said in a phone interview.
Kinsella’s lawyer Brian Legghio said his client was also innocent, looked forward to clearing his name, and had been awarded his JFK contacts on merit and based on his reputation. He said Kinsella sold GSI three years ago.
GSI agreed with James’ predecessor Barbara Underwood last December to a $12.3 million settlement related to the probe.
“Today’s indictment sends a clear massage to airline companies and airport vendors: pay-to-play schemes will not fly in New York,” James said in a statement.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York Editing by Tom Brown)
FILE PHOTO: Frankfurt hosts the international Motor Show (IAA)
DETROIT (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers union said on Friday that rank-and-file members at Ford Motor Co <F> have voted in favor of a new four-year labor contract with the No. 2 U.S. automaker.
The UAW will now focus on Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) <FCAU>, the sole remaining Detroit automaker without a new labor contract. Talks with FCA are expected to begin on Monday, a UAW spokesman said.
The union said 56.3% of Ford’s hourly workers voted to approve the deal, which allowed the company to avoid a strike like the one that cost its larger rival General Motors Co <GM> about $3 billion (£2.3 billion).
UAW leaders said earlier this month that Ford under the deal agreed to invest more than $6 billion in its U.S. plants, and to create or retain more than 8,500 UAW jobs.
The deal also includes pay raises and lump-sum payments over the life of the contract, a pathway to full-time employment for temporary employees and unchanged healthcare coverage.
Workers at GM approved a deal in late October that ended a contentious 40-day U.S. strike, the longest automotive labor stoppage since 1970.
Detailed terms of the Ford deal – released just a week after GM workers approved their new contract – echoed those agreed to with GM, as the union typically uses the first deal as a template for those that follow.
UAW leaders managed contract negotiations with Ford and GM, including the lengthy strike, while struggling with an ongoing federal corruption probe.
To date, 10 people have pleaded guilty in connection with the criminal investigation into illegal payoffs. Just last week former UAW vice president and former GM board member Joseph Ashton was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.
Earlier this month the UAW said that its president, Gary Jones, who had been linked to the ongoing corruption probe, was taking a leave of absence.
Rory Gamble, the union’s acting head, said last week he will examine every department of the union in response to the spreading federal corruption probe to prevent future misuse of members’ dues.
(Reporting by Nick Carey and Ben Klayman in DetroitEditing by Matthew Lewis and Cynthia Osterman)
(Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA are in talks to combine in a deal that could create a $50 billion (£38.88 billion) automaker, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Fiat Chrysler shares rose sharply after news of the talks and ended up more than 7.5% in U.S. trading. The companies and the French government had no comment.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the discussions. PSA’s supervisory board was due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the potential merger, another source close to the matter said.
If a combination of Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler succeeded in overcoming political, financial and governance hurdles, the new enterprise would still face substantial challenges. Global automakers face the prospect of a slowdown in global demand coinciding with the most dramatic technology changes in a century.
Peugeot Chief Executive Carlos Tavares has predicted “ten years of chaos” for global automakers as regulators demand a switch to electric vehicles to reduce emissions linked to climate change.
Investors have speculated for several years that Fiat Chrysler was hunting for a merger partner, encouraged by the rhetoric of the company’s late chief executive, Sergio Marchionne.
In 2015, Marchionne outlined the case for consolidation of the auto industry and tried unsuccessfully to interest General Motors Co in a deal. Fiat Chrysler earlier this year broached a merger with French automaker Renault SA that ultimately collapsed.
Created when Fiat, under Marchionne’s leadership, bought control of Chrysler out of a U.S. government-backed bankruptcy in 2009, Fiat Chrysler has one of the global auto industry’s most profitable franchises in the Jeep sport utility vehicle brand and a money-spinning North American pickup and commercial van operation in Ram. Both would boost Peugeot, which does not sell vehicles in the U.S. market.
Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler could over time share engines and vehicle architectures, reducing capital spending and freeing up cash to invest in electric vehicles and emissions reduction technology required in Europe, China and other global markets.
Fiat Chrysler is under increasing pressure to invest in clean car technology. The company disclosed earlier this month that it faces a $79 million fine for falling short of U.S. fuel efficiency standards. Fiat Chrysler agreed to pay U.S. electric car maker Tesla Inc for credits to help it comply with European emissions standards until 2022.
Evercore analyst Arndt Ellinghorst in a note on Tuesday said a combination of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot “should ignite more rational industry behavior around allocation of capital and this particular merger makes materially more sense than a potential FCA-Renault merger.”
Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler had discussed a combination earlier this year, before Fiat Chrysler proposed a $35 billion merger with Renault. At that time, Fiat Chrysler said a deal with Renault offered more advantages than a combination with Peugeot.
Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann broke off talks with Renault in June after French government officials intervened and pushed for Renault first to resolve tensions with its Japanese alliance partner, Nissan Motor Co.
Following the collapse of the Renault merger plan, Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley left the door open for talks with would-be partners. But he said the Italian-American automaker could go it alone despite mounting costs to develop electric vehicles and comply with tougher emissions rules in Europe, the United States and China.
Along with Jeep and Ram would come Fiat’s Italian operations, which have struggled in recent years. Fiat’s Mirafiori assembly complex in its home city of Turin has run below 50% capacity, with thousands of workers on temporary layoffs.
Overall, Fiat has 58,000 workers in Italy, where the government has long resisted mass lay-offs by large employers.
Peugeot’s Tavares dismissed the idea of a combination with Fiat Chrysler during a discussion with reporters at the Frankfurt auto show last month. “We don’t need it,” he said when asked whether he was still interested in a deal with Fiat Chrysler.
Tavares has moved aggressively to expand Peugeot, acquiring German auto brand Opel from General Motors Co for $2.6 billion in 2017. Since then, he has overseen a turnaround at Opel.
Fiat Chrysler already has a commercial vehicle partnership with Peugeot.
(Reporting by Dominic Roshan K.L. in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel, Richard Chang and Dan Grebler)
WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp. has won the Pentagon’s $10 billion cloud computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, beating out favorite Amazon.com Inc.
The contracting process had long been mired in conflict of interest allegations, even drawing the attention of President Donald Trump, who has publicly taken swipes at Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos. Trump in August said his administration was reviewing Amazon’s bid after complaints from other companies.
The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract is part of a broader digital modernization of the Pentagon meant to make it more technologically agile. Specifically, a goal of JEDI is to give the military better access to data and the cloud from battlefields and other remote locations.
Oracle Corp had expressed concerns about the award process for the contract, including the role of a former Amazon employee who worked on the project at the Defense Department but recused himself, then later left the Defense Department and returned to Amazon Web Services.
In a statement, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) spokesman said the company was “surprised about this conclusion.”
The company said that a “detailed assessment purely on the comparative offerings” would “clearly lead to a different conclusion,” according to the statement.
AWS is considering options for protesting the award, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Although the Pentagon boasts the world’s most potent fighting force, its information technology remains woefully inadequate, according to many officials.
Officials have complained of having outdated computer systems and being unable to access files or share information as quickly as they might be able to in the private sector.
“If I am a warfighter, I want as much data as you could possibly give me,” Lieutenant General Jack Shanahan, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, told reporters in August describing the importance of the contract.
Some companies were concerned that a single award would give the winner an unfair advantage in follow-on work. The Pentagon has said it planned to award future cloud deals to multiple contractors.
This week, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper removed himself from reviewing the deal due to his adult son’s employment with one of the original contract applicants, IBM Corp. IBM had previously bid for the contract but had already been eliminated from the competition.
Microsoft said it was working on a comment. IBM and Oracle did not immediately return requests for comment.
In a book slated for publication Oct. 29, retired Navy commander Guy Snodgrass, who served as a speech writer to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, said Trump called Mattis and directed him to “screw Amazon” by preventing it from bidding on the JEDI contract, according to an excerpt of the book seen by Reuters ahead of its release.
“We’re not going to do that,” Mattis later told other Pentagon officials, according to the excerpt. “This will be done by the book, both legally and ethically.”
Snodgrass declined to comment pending the release of his book.
In a statement announcing Microsoft as the winner, the Pentagon underscored its view that the competition was conducted fairly and legally.
“All (offers) were treated fairly and evaluated consistently with the solicitation’s stated evaluation criteria. Prior to the award, the department conferred with the DOD Inspector General, which informed the decision to proceed,” it said.
Microsoft shares were up 3% to $144.98 in after-hours trading after the news. Amazon shares were down 0.92% to $1,745.12.
The Pentagon said it had awarded more than $11 billion across 10 separate cloud contracts over the past two years.
“As we continue to execute the DOD Cloud Strategy, additional contracts are planned for both cloud services and complementary migration and integration solutions necessary to achieve effective cloud adoption,” the Pentagon said.
(Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco Reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Sonya Hepinstall and Lincoln Feast)
MEXICO CITY, Oct 25 (Reuters) – General Motors Co will gradually restart operations at several idled plants in Mexico beginning this weekend, after unionized workers for the U.S. automaker ratified a new labor contract, the company’s Mexican unit said on Friday.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union announced earlier on Friday that its members had formally approved a new four-year labor contract with General Motors, ending a 40-day strike with the top American automaker.
GM said that by the end of next week all of its Mexican operations should be operating normally with all employees back to work.
In a statement, GM’s Mexican unit said its Ramos Arizpe motors plant will resume operating on Saturday, while its transmissions plant and Chevrolet Blazer assembly line located at the same facility will start back up on Monday. The Ramos Arizpe facility is located in the Mexican border state of Coahuila, just south of Texas.
All of the plants located at GM’s Silao facility, in central Guanajuato state, will restart on Monday.
Thousands of Silao workers had been furloughed as anxiety grew earlier this month among residents who viewed the facility as the city’s economic anchor.
Tensions over the future of manufacturing in North America were at the heart of the striking GM workers. The debate pitted U.S. labor advocates eager to reduce Mexico’s cost advantage against Mexican trade unions fighting to protect local jobs.
The strike began in September with UAW negotiators demanding higher pay for workers, greater job security as well as a bigger share of profits and the protection of healthcare benefits.
(Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)
DETROIT, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive LLC got a big boost from one of its investors on Thursday when Amazon.com announced it was ordering 100,000 electric delivery vans.
Before Rivian has even begun commercial production at its factory in Normal, Illinois, the Amazon order rocketed it to the forefront of electric vehicle makers.
Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in Washington that as part of the online retailer’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2040 it would order the electric vans from Rivian, with deliveries starting in 2021. The goal is to deploy all the vehicles by 2024.
Rivian, a potential rival to Silicon Valley’s Tesla Inc, unveiled its electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV last November, but had piqued Amazon’s interest earlier. Bezos personally reached out to Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe last summer to express interest in an investment, sources previously said.
Plymouth, Michigan-based Rivian, founded in 2009, has raised close to $1.9 billion from investors, including a $700 million February round led by Amazon.
The deal solidifies Rivian’s place among EV builders, said Sam Fiorani, a vice president with Auto Forecast Solutions. “It helps boost the image of the (Rivian) brand,” he said.
Rivian aspires to be the first to produce a mass market electric pickup. It intends to begin selling its R1T by the end of 2020, a target that has not changed with the Amazon deal in place, said Rivian spokeswoman Amy Mast said.
Traditional U.S. automakers Ford Motor Co, a Rivian investor, and General Motors Co, as well as Tesla, are pushing to develop their own electric pickups.
The Amazon vans, under the exclusive deal, will be built at Rivian’s plant, a former Mitsubishi factory in Normal, Illinois, Mast said. The first vehicles will be delivered in 2021 and 10,000 should be on the road by late 2022, she said. The vehicles will be serviced by Rivian.
Scaringe has described the Rivian vehicle’s platform as a skateboard that packages the drive units, battery pack, suspension system, brakes and cooling system all below wheel height to allow for more storage space and greater stability due to a lower center of gravity.
Amazon is looking to speed packages to shoppers’ doorsteps regardless of spikes in consumer demand or shortages of delivery personnel. Last year, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz said Amazon had become the biggest customer of its Sprinter vans, securing 20,000 vehicles for delivery contractors.
Ford invested $500 million in Rivian in April with plans to use the Rivian EV platform to build a new vehicle in North America. Details of that vehicle were not disclosed. Ford is not involved in the Rivian deal, Mast said.
Cox Automotive Inc, the owner of the Autotrader online automobile market and the Kelley Blue Book car valuation service, invested $350 million in Rivian this month. The companies will explore partnerships in digital retailing, service operations and logistics.
Other backers include Saudi auto distributor Abdul Latif Jameel Co, Sumitomo Corp of Americas and Standard Chartered Bank.
Amazon’s reputation and the contract size would raise Rivian’s status with potential customers and investors, Fiorani said. It also offers the advantage of not having to chase buyers or ship vehicles all over the country.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by David Gregorio)
