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Stellantis will enter joint venture with Samsung SDI for EV batteries

SEOUL — South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI Co Ltd and global automaker Stellantis NV have agreed to jointly produce electric vehicle (EV) batteries for the North American market, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Samsung SDI, an affiliate of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics, already has EV battery plants in South Korea, China and Hungary, which supply customers such as BMW and Ford. "The two companies (Samsung SDI and Stellantis) have struck a MOU (memorandum of understanding) to produce EV batteries for North America," the person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The source spoke of condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The person said the location of the battery joint venture is under review and will be announced later. In July, Reuters reported that Samsung SDI may build a battery plant in the United States, citing a company source. South Korea's Yonhap news agency earlier reported the two companies plan to build a factory in the United States, citing industry sources. Samsung SDI and Stellantis did not have immediate comment when reached by Reuters. Stellantis on Monday struck a preliminary deal with battery maker South Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES) to produce battery cells and modules for North America. Shares of Samsung SDI were up 2.6% as of 0300 GMT, versus a 0.6% rise in the KOSPI benchmark index. Related video: Green Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Lancia Opel Peugeot Vauxhall

Fiat Chrysler's next-generation Uconnect is faster, built on Android

If you're a regular reader of Autoblog, you know that for a long time we've liked Fiat Chrysler's Uconnect infotainment system for its bright, clear, responsive touchscreen interface. Now, according to the company, it will be better than ever with Uconnect 5, the latest iteration of the system. It has upgraded hardware and a revamped graphic user interface (the stuff on the screen). Looking at sample screens shown above, there are characteristics shared with the old system, such as the time, status and shortcuts at the top and the menu icons at the bottom. In the middle, the major change is the addition of home screens that can be customized with favorite menus and readouts that are always available. Each of these home screens can have up to four functions and you can have five pages to flip through. The graphics themselves feature more legible fonts and updated icons. Each car brand will get its own set of icons, colors and textures to help create unique experiences. And while each Fiat Chrysler product will be able to have Uconnect, including Alfa Romeo that has until now lacked Uconnect, each brand has the ability to make small tweaks including the screen orientation. The system will support displays in landscape, portrait or square, so different brands may choose different shapes. Powering Uconnect 5 is a processor Fiat Chrysler says is six times more powerful than what's in current systems. It features 6 gigabytes of RAM and 64 gigabytes of internal storage. The processor also supports screens as large as 12.3 inches with as many as 15 million pixels, or nearly twice that of a 4K resolution TV. The system can display information on up to four screens, too. Uconnect 5's firmware is built on Google's Android operating system, joining a few other automakers in using Android as a base for their infotainment systems. Uconnect 5 brings with it a number of new features. It brings full Alexa integration, so you can use it just like you do at home, provided you have a data plan for the car. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto continue to be standard, but now they can be used wirelessly. You can also now connect two phones via Bluetooth wirelessly so you can access content from both. Navigation gets real time information and updates from TomTom. Users can create five profiles with unique climate, radio and instrument settings, plus one for a valet.

UPDATE: 8 Ram 1500s stolen, 2 recovered in Warren factory heist

UPDATE: Police and FCA report that the correct number of stolen Ram trucks was eight. Two of them were later recovered — a red truck that apparently ran out of gas, and a white truck that was discovered behind an abandoned building in Detroit. Neither of those trucks showed damage from breaking through the factory gate. Police are now investigating the raid as a possible inside job by current or former employees. "We do believe there was a good possibility that there was inside information given to the persons responsible for the thefts," Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer told the Detroit Free Press. "That would include possibly a former or current employee. Obviously they knew where they were going, what they were looking for, what area to cut the fence and get into the lot where vehicles were parked. This was not a random, all-of-a-sudden thought or idea. It was well-planned for probably several weeks." Previous story appears below: Thursday morning, a group of thieves broke into the grounds of Fiat-Chrysler's truck assembly plant in Warren, Mich., where the Ram 1500 is built, and stole roughly 10 brand-new trucks, according to the Detroit Free Press. The newspaper reports that the thieves drove to up a fence in a pickup truck and cut through to get on the property. They then gathered up trucks and drove right out through the main gates. With a starting price of just over $33,000 for a base Ram 1500, the thieves got away with at least $300,000 worth of trucks. The trucks have yet to be found, and it might still be a while. Warren Police Department Commissioner Bill Dwyer told Detroit Free Press that they haven't received any tips on the vehicles. "We have absolutely nothing," said Dwyer. "Why aren't they calling me? We can't do an investigation if they're not working with us." They're still waiting on FCA to give them a list of the trucks' VINs and colors, as well as an exact number instead of the current estimate of 9 to 11. It's not clear if the keys were in the trucks, but an FCA spokesperson told the Free Press, "The company will be assessing security measures at the location and implementing any necessary changes to prevent future incidents." Dwyer said that the heist "was well-planned," and that the vehicles have probably been taken to a pre-arranged location such as a warehouse. It was likely part of an order for stolen trucks, but it's not clear if a crime ring or syndicate is involved.