Fast Lane: BYD, Inchcape, BMW Motorrad, Lotus, Porsche
The BYD Sealion 6 DM-i is said to have an operating range of 1,100km.
The BYD Sealion 6 DM-i will be officially launched on July 16. This is the first plug-in hybrid model from the Chinese brand for Singapore.
The sport utility vehicle (SUV) is slightly smaller than the fully electric Sealion 7 launched in January, but still bigger than popular mid-sized SUVs like the Toyota Harrier Hybrid.
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Straits Times
26 minutes ago
- Straits Times
India accuses EU, US of double standard over Russian trade
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox India has sharply criticised the US and the EU, saying it is being unfairly singled out by them over its Russian oil purchases. NEW DELHI - India has sharply criticised the United States and the European Union, saying it is being unfairly singled out by them over its Russian oil purchases when they both trade extensively with Moscow despite the war in Ukraine. India's criticism followed a renewed threat by US President Donald Trump on Aug 4 to raise tariffs on goods from India over its Russian oil purchases, deepening the trade rift between the two countries. In a rare show of unity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress on Aug 5 condemned Mr Trump's repeated criticism of New Delhi. India's Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued late on Aug 4 that 'it is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia'. 'It is unjustified to single out India,' the ministry said. It said the EU conducted 67.5 billion euros (S$100.34 billion) in trade with Russia in 2024, including record imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reaching 16.5 million metric tons. The United States, the statement said, continues to import Russian uranium hexafluoride for use in its nuclear power industry, palladium, fertilisers and chemicals. It did not give a source for the export information. The US embassy and the EU's delegation in New Delhi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both the United States and EU have sharply scaled back their trade ties with Russia since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In 2021, Russia was the EU's fifth-largest trading partner, with goods exchange worth 258 billion euros, according to the EU executive European Commission. Sudden rift The sudden rift between India and the US has been deepening since July 31, when Mr Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods being shipped to the US and for the first time threatened unspecified penalties for buying Russian oil. India is one of the biggest buyers of crude from Russia, importing about 1.75 million barrels per day from January to June 2025, up 1 per cent from a year ago. Indian refiner Nayara Energy, a major buyer of Russian oil which is majority owned by Russian entities including oil major Rosneft, was subjected to European Union sanctions targeting Russia's oil and energy industry in July. India has said it does not support 'unilateral sanctions' by the EU. Trade experts say Mr Trump's tariff could badly hurt India's economy. Mr Ajay Srivastava of the New Delhi-based Global Trade Research Initiative said he expected Indian goods exports to the US to fall 30 per cent in the current fiscal year ending March 31, to US$60.6 billion from US$86.5 billion in the 2025 fiscal year. India's equity benchmarks fell after Mr Trump's renewed threat of harsh tariffs on goods from India. Mr Manish Tewari, a member of parliament and Congress leader, said Trump's 'disparaging remarks hurt the dignity and self-respect of Indians'. 'The time has come to call out this constant bullying and hectoring,' he added. BJP Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda quoted Henry Kissinger - the most powerful US diplomat of the Cold War era - in a post on X: 'To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.' REUTERS
Straits Times
36 minutes ago
- Straits Times
With six months to go, 2026 Winter Games organisers say they'll be ready
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox ROME – Six months before the start of the Winter Olympics, Italian organisers say that, after years of ups and downs, they are on schedule. 'Preparations are progressing steadily and according to the timeline we have set,' Andrea Varnier, the chief executive officer of Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee, told AFP. The Olympic opening ceremony is on Feb 6, though curling kicks off the action two days earlier. The Paralympics open a month later on March 6, though curling again breaks the ice two days beforehand. 'We are currently in the core phase of operational implementation,' said Varnier. Simico, the public company responsible for delivering the Olympic facilities, last week promised that 'all the planned sports construction projects will be completed before the start of the Olympics'. Organisers have made a point of delivering a low-cost Winter Games after recent extravangances. Sochi, in Russia in 2014, cost at least US$40 billion (S$51.54 billion). Pyeongchang, in South Korea in 2018, came in at over US$12 billion. The Covid-hit Games in Beijing in 2022 officially cost $US4 billion, but financial analysts said that including infrastructure costs put the total at around US$38 billion. Milano-Cortina estimate their final bill will be €5.2 billion ($7.73 billion). Of that €3.5 billion is going on infrastructure and 1.7 billion on staging the Games. The Games are using a host of existing venues – emphasising the point by holding the closing ceremony in the almost 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre in Verona. Organisers say that avoiding new construction reduces not only costs but environmental impact. This approach also means the Games will stretch across northern Italy from Cortina in the Dolomites in the east 350 kilometres to the western suburbs of Milan, with other 'clusters' spread through the Alps. 'As with any complex global event, challenges are part of the process,' said Varnier. 'We are moving forward with confidence.' One of the few new venues will be briefly the Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena, before assuming its intended role as the multi-purpose Eventim Arena after the Games. While organisers have managed to avoid being lumbered with a little-used speed-skating track by temporarily converting two exhibition halls at the Milan fair grounds, another group of sports with few participants created a political and construction headache. Because Italy did not have a track for the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events, organisers considered using existing sites in Austria or Switzerland. Matteo Salvini, the second-in-command and Minister of Transport in Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government, insisted in late 2023 that the events be held in Italy. That meant a breakneck race to build a track in Cortina. It was completed just in time for pre-approval in March. Accommodation, which often poses a logistical and financial problem for Olympic organisers, seems to be locked up. The Milan Village, six seven-storey buildings to be converted into university dorms after the Games, will be delivered in 'early October' despite the recent legal troubles of its developer, the Coima group. In Cortina, 377 prefabricated modules will be installed by the end of October. While it is not clear if Italy's ski star Federica Brignone, who won the overall World Cup and a world title last season but smashed her left leg, will be fit to compete, the organisers revealed in July the design of the medals she would be chasing. They will weigh 420 grams in bronze and 500 grams in gold and in silver. The designer promised the medals will endure better than a few of those from the 2024 Paris Games. Some 220 medals, which contained a small piece of scrap metal from the Eiffel Tower, had to be replaced because they quickly turned black or rusted. 'We cannot allow what happened in Paris to happen again,' said their designer Raffaella Panie. That leaves just one unknown. The Italian meteorological service, contacted by AFP, said it was unable to predict whether there would be enough snow next February. The organisers said they were not worried. 'We'll be ready,' they said. AFP
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Singapore retail sales up by 2.3%, spurred by sales of motor vehicles
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox This was above the median estimate of 2 per cent growth from private-sector economists polled by Bloomberg. SINGAPORE - Retail sales grew 2.3 per cent year on year in June, driven by the sales of motor vehicles, data from the Department of Statistics released on Aug 5. This was above the median estimate of 2 per cent growth from private-sector economists polled by Bloomberg. June's growth extends the 1.3 per cent growth in May 2025. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales increased 0.4 per cent in June, compared to the flat growth in May 2025. The estimated total retail sales value in June 2025 was $4 billion. Of this, an estimated 13.6 per cent were from online retail sales, higher than the 12.3 per cent recorded in the previous month. Excluding motor vehicles, the total retail sales value was about $3.3 billion, of which 16.2 per cent were from online retail sales. Online retail sales made up 56.2 per cent of the total sales of computer and telecommunications equipment, 32.8 per cent of the furniture and household equipment and 12.3 per cent of the supermarkets and hypermarkets industries. Within the retail trade sector, more than half of the industries recorded year-on-year growth in sales in June 2025. The motor vehicle industry saw a 14.6 per cent increase, which corresponded to a higher certificate of entitlement quota. Sales of computer and telecommunications equipment increased by 7.3 per cent, optical goods and books rose by 5.9 per cent and recreational goods increased by 5.6 per cent. In contrast, petrol service stations recorded year-on-year declines in sales of 5.9 per cent while retailers of food and alcohol recorded a decline of 5.2 per cent in June 2025. A muted outlook for Singapore's retail sales is anticipated over the coming months, said DBS Bank senior economist Chua Han Teng. 'The domestic labour market will face challenges from external headwinds impacting the global and Singapore economies, induced by high US tariffs and associated business uncertainties,' he said. With businesses remaining cautious about hiring intentions and wage increases in the coming months due to elevated economic uncertainty, consumers are also likely to be mindful and selective with their spending in these uncertain times, he said. OCBC Bank chief economist Selena Ling said that with the strength of the Singdollar, it is not unexpected that more Singaporean households headed overseas to take advantage of improved purchasing power. Sales of food and beverage services increased by 0.1 per cent in June 2025 on a year-on-year basis, following a 1 per cent growth in May 2025. On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales of food and beverage services fell 1.5 per cent in June 2025, compared to the previous month. The total sales value of food and beverage services in June 2025 was estimated at $962 million. Of this, an estimated 26.7 per cent were from online sales, compared to the 26.6 per cent recorded in May 2025. Within the food and beverage services sector, food caterers registered growth in sales of 18.5 per cent while fast-food outlets' sales rose 2.3 per cent in June . In contrast, turnover of restaurants fell by 5.6 per cent while cafes, foodcourts and other eating places fell by 0.1 per cent during this period. The latest business expectations survey for the services sector showed that a net 8 per cent of food and beverage services were optimistic about the outlook for the second half of 2025, possibly attributable to upcoming concerts and sporting events like F1 as well as the year-end festive season, said Ms Ling.
