Tag Archives: Automobiles

Bloomberg: Musk Holds Talks in Norway on Bigger Fix to Tesla’s Service Woes

Tesla Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk visited Norway to accelerate a fix to service capacity in a key market for the carmaker after delays and bottlenecks angered customers in Scandinavia’s richest nation.

Musk’s stay in Norway was part of a broader trip through Europe that the CEO advertised on Twitter on Saturday as the company is deploying its new Model 3 on the continent after a tumultuous year in 2018.

Read entire article HERE.

Toyota and Uber Announces Collaboration

Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, and Uber announced Thursday that they are entering a strategic collaboration.

As part of today’s partnership, the companies will create new leasing options in which car purchasers can lease their vehicles from Toyota Financial Services and cover their payments through earnings generated as Uber drivers. The leasing period will be flexible and based on driver needs. This initiative builds on Uber’s current Vehicle Solutions program.

“Ridesharing has huge potential in terms of shaping the future of mobility. Through this collaboration with Uber, we would like to explore new ways of delivering secure, convenient and attractive mobility services to customers,” said Shigeki Tomoyama, senior managing officer of Toyota Motor Corporation and president of the Connected Company, one of Toyota Motor Corporation’s recently created in-house companies.

“We’re excited that Toyota, the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, is making a strategic investment in Uber as part of a broader global partnership. Toyota vehicles are among the most popular cars on the Uber platform worldwide and we look forward to collaborating with Toyota in multiple ways going forward, starting with the expansion of our vehicle financing efforts,” said Emil Michael, chief business officer of Uber.

Toyota and Uber also will explore collaboration in a variety of other areas, such as developing in-car apps that support Uber drivers, sharing knowledge and accelerating their respective research efforts, and establishing a special fleet program to sell Toyota and Lexus vehicles to Uber drivers.

The deal comes in the same month as Apple announced that they are investing one billion dollars in Uber’s Chinese competitors Didi Chuxing. While Google recently entered a partnership with Chrysler.