Add to the drinking game - 2 January 2024

Follow Up: RULES OF ORIGIN DELAY AGREEDLeaving it until almost the last moment, the EU and UK have agreed to delay implementing the rules of origin legislation, which would’ve hit car makers in both Europe and Blighty. This was expected to happen and there was an almost audible sigh of relief from the car industry. You can find out more on this, by clicking the link here from Autocar. MCLAREN SHARE RESTRUCTURE DEALThe Bahrain sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, has effectively become the sole owner of the McLaren Group after the complicated share structure was reorganised. This has prompted many to believe (or hope) that means future model development and the move to EVs can occur with some confidence. If you wish to read more on this, click here for Sky New’s version of the story. VW DETAILS COST CUTS AS IT AIMS FOR $11B GAINSFollowing extensive discussions with the works council, Volkswagen has announced its plans for saving that will net gains of $11 billion by 2026. Steps include speeding up development, a more efficient purchasing strategy and reducing staff costs. There will be no redundancies but vacancies may not be filled. To find out more on the latest strategy from VW, click this Reuters link here. BYD TO BUILD CARS IN EUROPEBYD has announced it will build cars in Hungary, where it will hope this is a work around for any potential tariffs for Chinese built cars. No date has been announced when the works will be completed and car will start coming off the production line. Click this Autocar article link for more. NIO RECEIVES INVESTMENT FROM ABU DHABINIO, the battery swap EV company, has received $2.2 billion investment from a fund backed by CYVN Holdings. The company has been struggling and made a net loss of $2.03 billion in 2022. They announced they would be delaying entering the UK market, last year, with no date being given where that would change. To read more, click this Nikkei Asia article link here. KIA ANNOUNCE NEW CEO OF EUROPE OPERATIONSMarc Hedrich, the former Ford VW Group and Toyota executive, has been revealed as the new President and CEO of Kia Europe. He started his role on 1 January 2024. If you wish to find out more, click this link to a JustAuto article. CAZOO NEEDS URGENT ADDITIONAL FUNDINGCazoo, the online retailer, has declared that it needs urgent funding before the second half of 2024 to remain in business. You can read more, by clicking this link to an AMOnline article. DAIHATSU PRODUCTION STOPPED AT JAPANESE PLANTSDaihatsu has stopped all car production in its four Japanese plants, following revelations of falsifying safety and testing data. Toyota, the parent company, has declared that “fundamental reform” is needed at the company. This problem effects not just Daihatsu and Toyota but also Mazda, and Subaru models...