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To grease the skids for Stellantis, PSA offers to boost Toyota's fortunes

BRUSSELS/MILAN — Peugeot maker PSA has offered to boost Japanese rival Toyota to try to address EU antitrust concerns about its plan to create the world's fourth-biggest carmaker, to be called Stellantis, by merging with Fiat Chrysler, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. PSA has offered to increase the production capacity for Toyota in their van joint venture, one of the sources said. Another source said the French company would sell the vans at close to cost. PSA makes vans for Toyota in its Sevelnord plant in northern France. The van collaboration started in 2012. PSA submitted its offer to the European Commission earlier on Friday, three months after the EU enforcer opened a full-scale investigation into the deal with FCA on concerns that it would hurt competition in small vans in 14 EU countries and Britain. "As of now, the transaction has obtained merger clearance in 14 jurisdictions. As previously stated, closing of the transaction is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2021," PSA and FCA said in a joint statement. The Commission, which temporarily halted its investigation into the deal in July while waiting for the companies to provide requested data, did not set a deadline for its decision. "The deadline is still suspended. This procedure in merger investigations is activated if the parties fail to provide, in a timely fashion, an important piece of information that the Commission has requested from them," the EU executive said. It is now expected to seek feedback from customers and rivals before deciding whether to demand more concessions, or either clear or block the deal. Government/Legal Chrysler Fiat Peugeot Stellantis

Fiat Chrysler to pay $800M in Jeep, Ram emissions cheating case

WASHINGTON — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has agreed to a settlement worth about $800 million to resolve claims from the U.S. Justice Department and state of California that it used illegal software that produced false results on diesel-emissions tests, but still faces an ongoing criminal probe. The hefty penalty is the latest fallout from the U.S. government's stepped-up enforcement of vehicle emissions rules after Volkswagen AG admitted in September 2015 to intentionally evading emissions rules. The Fiat Chrysler settlement includes $311 million in total civil penalties to U.S. and California regulators, up to $280 million to resolve claims from diesel owners, and extended warranties worth $105 million. It covers 104,000 Fiat Chrysler 2014-16 Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee diesels, the Justice Department said. Regulators said Fiat Chrysler used "defeat devices" to cheat emissions tests in real-world driving. Fiat Chrysler said in a statement that "the settlements do not change the Company's position that it did not engage in any deliberate scheme to install defeat devices to cheat emissions tests." The company did not admit liability. "You wouldn't pay $311 million total dollars to the federal government in civil penalties if there were not a serious problem," U.S. assistant attorney general Jeff Clark told a news conference. The settlement also includes $72.5 million for state civil penalties, and $33.5 million in payments to California to offset excess emissions and consumer claims. German auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH, which provided the emissions control software for the vehicles, also agreed to pay $27.5 million to resolve claims from diesel owners. Owners will receive an average of $2,800 to obtain software updates as part of the emissions recall, Fiat Chrysler said. Elizabeth Cabraser, a lawyer for the owners, said the "substantial cash compensation" will ensure that consumers get the recall fix. Bosch, which also provided diesel emissions software to Volkswagen, also agreed to pay $103.5 million to settle claims with 47 U.S. states that said the supplier "enabled" the cheating and should have known its customers would use the software improperly, the New York Attorney General's Office said.

Waymo’s autonomous vehicles are driving 25,000 miles every day

Waymo, the former Google self-driving project that spun out to become a business under Alphabet, has driven 8 million miles on public roads using its autonomous vehicles. Waymo CEO John Krafcik shared the company's milestone Friday while onstage with Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval at the National Governors Association conference in Santa Fe, N.M. The figure is notable when compared to where Waymo was less than a year ago. In November, the company announced it had reached 4 million miles, meaning the company has been able to double the number of autonomous miles driven on public roads in just eight months. Waymo's fleet of self-driving vehicles is now logging 25,000 miles every day on public roads, Krafcik said. He later tweeted out the stats along with a graphic. Waymo has 600 self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans on the road in 25 cities. It's also adding 20,000 Jaguar I-Pace crossovers and has plans for another 62,000 Pacificas. The company also relies on simulation as it works to build an AI-based self-driving system that performs better than a human. In the past nine years, Waymo has "driven" more than 5 billion miles in its simulation, according to the company. That's the equivalent to 25,000 virtual cars driving all day, everyday, the company says. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js This newly shared goal signals Waymo is getting closer to launching a commercial driverless transportation service later this year. More than 400 residents in Phoenix have been trialing Waymo's technology by using an app to hail self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans. The company says it plans to launch its service later this year. Waymo's driverless ride-hailing service has received the most attention. But the company is also working to apply its self-driving system to three other areas, including logistics (so trucking), making public transportation more accessible and, further off, plans to work with automakers to make personally owned vehicles. Waymo, and more specifically Krafcik, has never provided much detail about how its self-driving system would make public transportation more accessible. On Thursday, Krafcik teased a future announcement.