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Volkswagen begins pre-production of its ID.3 EV in China
Just days after Volkswagen showed off the first all-electric ID.3 produced at its Zwickau plant in Germany, the company announced that it has entered pre-production in China, too. Like the Zwickau factory, the new plant in Anti, Shanghai, will produce all-electric vehicles on Volkswagen's MEB platform, a modular design that's built for battery packs of varying sizes.
Panasonic's S1H is the first mirrorless camera approved by Netflix
Panasonic's latest full-frame S1H has become the first mirrorless camera certified for Netflix productions, as part of the streaming company's Post Technology Alliance. Production units are allowed to use it as a main camera shooting in either DCI 4K (4,096 x 2,160) or Ultra HD (3,840 x 2,160) resolutions. That gives Panasonic's fledgling full-frame S1 lineup a boost of prestige, and filmmakers a relatively inexpensive way to create Netflix shows.
Harley-Davidson resumes LiveWire electric motorcycle production
After a brief blip, Harley-Davidson says it has resumed manufacturing its LiveWire electric motorcycles. The company halted production and delivery of its first-ever electric bike last week after discovering an issue with the vehicle's charging equipment. The Verge reports Harley-Davidson now says that the problem was limited to a single motorcycle.
Harley-Davidson suspends LiveWire production over a charging glitch
Harley-Davidson has suspended the production and delivery of its LiveWire electric motorcycles. During final tests, the company discovered a problem related to the vehicle's charging equipment. The company told The Wall Street Journal that tests to pinpoint the issue are progressing well, but it did not say when production will resume.
A worldwide material shortage is delaying cassette production
Just when cassette tapes appeared to be making a comeback, a worldwide shortage of gamma ferric oxide has slowed production. National Audio Company (NAC), the largest cassette tape manufacturer in the US, sent a letter to its customers explaining that, due to the shortage, it is unable to fill orders on its usual 30-day schedule. Instead, it's working as fast as the raw material arrives.
Samsung is done building smartphones in China
Samsung has made phones in China for ages, but competitive realities are apparently forcing it out. The company has closed its last local phone factory, located in Huizhou, in an attempt to improve efficiency. It's still selling phones in the country, but they'll be made elsewhere in the world. While the company didn't elaborate on its reasoning, it didn't have much reason to stick around -- it was being squeezed out by rivals and economic challenges.
Arcimoto is finally shipping its three-wheeled EV to customers
After more than a decade of working on its "Fun Utility Vehicle," or FUV, Arcimoto is finally shipping the three-wheeled EVs to customers. The company announced today that it's entered production mode, which means you could see the FUV cruising around California, Oregon and Washington in the near future.
The uphill battle to build Honda’s first modern EV
Honda, like Toyota, has a troubled history with EVs. After pioneering them with the EV Plus in 1997 then releasing a very limited edition Fit EV, it's been radio silence from the company ever since. Now at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Honda has finally built a modern electric car that it plans to sell: the Honda E. This Europe-only EV won't be sold in the US, but it sure has attracted a lot of attention. Honda fans are eating up the retro-adorable styling, and the interior will be impressively high tech for a production vehicle. On the other hand, it's expensive and can't go nearly as far on a charge as rivals. These decisions might seem at odds with other automakers, but as the design team explained to me, Honda hopes that urbanites will love the technology and sportiness enough to forgive the lower range.
Honda reveals pricing for its lovable E electric car
Honda's E electric car is officially here and the production model has kept nearly all the charm and gadgets of the original concept. At the same time, Honda has unveiled pricing and specs for the urban EV, and that's where things get interesting.
Tesla workers say they used electrical tape in Model 3 production
Tesla may have broken its own records, manufacturing 72,531 Model 3 sedans in the three months that ended June 30th. But employees say in the push to ramp up Model 3 production, they were forced to cut corners and work in difficult, unsafe conditions. A handful of employees who work in Tesla's open-air GA4 production tent told CNBC that they used electrical tape to quickly repair cracks on plastic brackets and housings and worked through extreme heat, cold and wild-fire smoke.
Foxconn's Wisconsin plant opens next May with fewer jobs than promised
Foxconn's long-promised factory in Wisconsin will finally begin production in May 2020, but to start, it's only creating 1,500 jobs. That's far fewer than the 13,000 jobs it once said it would add. At this rate, Foxconn will likely lose out on hundreds of millions of dollars in state subsidies, many of which were meant to reward job creation.
Tesla delivered a record 95,000 cars this spring
Tesla didn't have the greatest start to 2019, but it's looking rosier toward the middle of the year. The company set records for both production and deliveries in the second quarter, having made 87,048 electric cars and delivered 95,200 of them during the three-month span. Those are large strides compared to both the last quarter (77,100 made and 63,000 delivered) and a year earlier (53,339 made and 40,740 delivered), and leave Tesla with a nicer problem than it has had in recent times: a growing production backlog.
Apple will reportedly manufacture its $6,000 Mac Pro in China
Apple will manufacture its new $6,000 Mac Pro in China, The Wall Street Journal reports. That's not entirely surprising given that most of Apple's products are made there, but the Mac Pro was Apple's last major product manufactured in the US. The decision is an about-face from 2013, when Apple bragged about its plans to keep Mac Pro production domestic.
Apple can make US-bound iPhones outside of China if necessary
If the trade war between the US and China spirals out of control and leads to Chinese retaliation against American tech production, is Apple hosed? Not necessarily. Senior Foxconn exec Young Liu told investors that his manufacturing company has "enough capacity" to make US-bound iPhones outside of China if necessary. About a quarter of that capacity is elsewhere, Liu said, including growing Indian production. While Apple hasn't made any moves on that front, Foxconn can shift its lines elsewhere if things go south.
Huawei reportedly scales back phone production following US ban
Huawei may be expecting to live with a US ban for a long time. South China Morning Post sources claim Foxconn has stopped Huawei phone production on "several" lines in response to reduced orders. It wasn't certain if this was a short- or long-term cut, but it came just months after Huawei's growing demand reportedly prompted Foxconn to go on a hiring spree.
Faraday Future's EV dreams live on with (another) bailout
Now that Faraday Future has parted ways with its last partner, Chinese real estate firm Evergrande, money seems to be flowing in again. After getting a $600 million injection from mobile gaming company The9 Limited, Faraday announced that it has scored another $225 million in bridge financing via a funding round led by Birch Lake Associates. The cash will be used to bring the company flagship FF91 EV to market and reassure jittery suppliers that the company is still on sound footing.
Samsung invests in logic chip R&D to take on Qualcomm and TSMC
Samsung's chip division is its most lucrative, but memory chip prices are falling and the company's overall operating profits are slipping. In response, Samsung just announced a $116 billion investment in non-memory chip R&D and production infrastructure. Some see that as a move to sell chips to other companies and take on competitors like Qualcomm, Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC).
Ford is investing $850 million to build EVs in Michigan
To boost its electric vehicle (EV) production, Ford is investing $850 million in its Flat Rock, Michigan, assembly plant. It hopes to make the plant the home of its EV production. To do so, the company will also hire 900 employees incrementally through 2023. This investment is part of Ford's $11.1 billion commitment to electric vehicles, and it includes funding to build Ford's next-generation Mustang in Michigan.
Apple's rumored AR headset might require an iPhone
More than a year after rumors circulated that Apple would produce an AR headset by 2020, the company seems to be on track to meet that goal. Full production could start as soon as the fourth quarter of 2019, well-sourced Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said this week. But as we get closer, it looks like Apple is scrapping plans for a standalone device and will rely, instead, on the iPhone.
VW and Ford may work together on EVs and autonomous vehicles
In the latest instance of major automakers teaming up, Volkswagen and Ford will work together on commercial vans and pickups, and they could start selling such vehicles by 2022. The companies are also exploring potential collaboration on electric vehicles, self-driving cars and transportation services.
