Peter Sigal

Renault plans to move to a smaller leased building in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt as new rules on remote work by white-collar staff take effect.

The automaker told unions during contract negotiations that it will allocate nine new models to French sites and confirmed its intent to cut 2,000 jobs through voluntary measures, but will hire more workers in high-tech positions. 

The new version of the Movano, which also has a full-electric option, has lower running costs than the previous Renault-based model, Opel says.

The supplier has taken a stake in Oxbotica, a UK software startup, and announced partnership with German national transport provider DB Regio. ZF is positioning itself an an integrated provider of autonomous shuttles and associated services.

Analysts have dialed back their forecasts as the semiconductor shortage persists into the second half of 2021. Some are predicting a return to normal supply and demand only in the second half of 2022.

The minicar will be built on the same platform as the Yaris and Yaris Cross at Toyota's factory in Kolin, Czech Republic. A production version will be shown in early November.

Hopes for a strong recovery from 2020 are fading as factory stoppages expected to continue for the rest of the year. Hyundai, Kia and DS showed gains for the month but most brands' sales fell sharply.

Fedra Ribeiro joins Renault's new mobility brand as it focuses on business development to meet an ambitious 2030 revenue target.

The partnership also includes the hotel operator Accor and JCDecaux, the outdoor advertising and street furniture provider that also operates bike-sharing services.

The Townstar, a derivative of the Renault Kangoo, will be built in France. Nissan has also rebranded its medium and large vans as Primestar and Interstar in an effort to boost European market share.

Jean-Christophe Labarre, head of strategy and partnerships at Renault's new Mobilize unit, is helping to create a mobility ecosystem with an ambitious target of 20 percent of the group's automotive revenue by 2030.

Jana Striezel, who worked in legal and purchasing at VW Group, will also serve as head of Renault-Nissan Alliance purchasing for Europe. She will join the Renault management board.

ACC, with 120 planned Gigawatt hours of capacity, is now poised to become the European leader in cell production, in a challenge to Asian suppliers' dominance. 

The Ami will remain a left-hand-drive vehicle in the UK. First-year orders have totaled 9,000, mostly in France and Italy, Citroen said.