Talks continue over future of Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port February 25, 2021 Talks with the government over the future of Vauxhall’s plant at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire are still ongoing, parent company Stellantis said today. The company is reportedly considering building electric cars at the plant, but no agreement has yet been reached. The head of Stellantis’ Opel and Vauxhall unit Michael Lohscheller told Bloomberg: “At this [...]
Tesla temporarily freezes production at California assembly plant February 25, 2021 Tesla, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, has told workers it will temporarily freeze parts of production at its assembly plant in California. Workers on a Model 3 production line in the California-based Fremont factory were told their line would be down from Monday until 7 March, according to Bloomberg. Impacted staff expected to take holiday [...]
Channel Tunnel operator Getlink sees summer bookings jump after profit tumbles February 25, 2021 Channel Tunnel operator Getlink this morning said that its earnings fell two-fifths last year as a result of travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. But chief executive Yann Leriche said that Boris Johnson’s recent announcement of an end to travel restrictions on 17 May had prompted a 200 per cent surge in bookings. The firm [...]
British Airways owner IAG: What to expect from the airline group’s earnings February 24, 2021 At last, a crack of light. That was the response of most airlines to Boris Johnson’s suggestion that air travel could get going in earnest from 17 May after a full year of grounded planes and sweeping cuts to jobs and routes alike. Expect this future to be fully in focus on Friday, when airlines [...]
Easyjet set to raise up to €1.2bn from bond sale February 24, 2021 Easyjet is set to raise €1 – €1.2bn from a seven-year bond sale taking place today, according to a memo seen by Reuters. The issue comes within days of the UK laying out its roadmap for the return of international travel, which prompted a huge jump in ticket bookings for the carrier. According to the [...]
Hyundai rolls out costly electric vehicle recall amid fire risk February 24, 2021 Hyundai will replace battery systems in 82,000 electric vehicles due to fire risks in one of the first mass replacements conducted by a major automaker. The move will cost around $900m and mostly concerns the Kona EV, Hyundai’s biggest-selling electric car. The Kona EV was first recalled late last year for a software upgrade after [...]
Tesla rival Lucid Motors gears up for $24bn stock market float February 23, 2021 A luxury electric vehicle maker looking to challenge the dominance of Elon Musk’s Tesla is set to go public in a blank cheque deal that will value it at $24bn (£17bn). California-based Lucid Motors has agreed to merge with Churchill Capital IV, a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) set up by former Citigroup banker Michael [...]
What is the Global Travel Taskforce and what can we expect from its report? February 23, 2021 Possibly the most widely cheered of the announcements in yesterday’s roadmap out of lockdown was the suggestion that international travel could begin again on 17 May. Although Boris Johnson cautioned that this would be subject to a number of conditions, airlines, travel firms, and holidaymakers alike rejoiced at the prospect of a full summer holiday [...]
Cruise liner firm Carnival plans $1bn stock sale to stay afloat February 23, 2021 Cruise operator Carnival today announced that it would sell $1bn (£700m) worth of its stock through a public offering. The firm said that it would place 40.5m shares at $25.10 per share, a slight discount on yesterday’s closing price of $25.97. The offering, which is being run by Goldman Sachs, closes tomorrow. Carnival said that [...]
Ban on certain Boeing 777 jets in UK airspace after fiery United engine incident February 22, 2021 Ban on certain Boeing 777 jets in UK airspace after fiery United engine incident