Bold new (Amp)era: inside the new generation of range-extender engines
'We involve ourselves as much as we can in regulatory discussions. In China, to keep the status of a 'new-energy vehicle' [EVs and plug-in hybrids], you must not connect the internal combustion engine to the wheels.
The EU has not finally decided what to do with range-extenders, but I think they realise that this is an interesting opportunity to offer a product which is less dependent on rare materials and cell chemistry because you need a significantly smaller battery.
'They want to understand what the pros and cons are. The whole mobility community is ready for these discussions, because we need them. The past regulation of BEVs has shown that we cannot push things into the market against the customers' will.
The easier a solution is, the higher its chance of surviving a long time. And this is quite an easy solution. I personally expect that we will see it beyond the next five to 10 years. I think there will be plenty of applications which really excite people.'
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Reuters
2 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump, EU's von der Leyen meet to clinch trade deal, rating chances 50-50
TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 27 (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday to clinch a trade deal that would likely result in a 15% tariff on most EU goods, but end months of uncertainty for European Union companies. U.S. and EU negotiators huddled in final talks on tariffs facing crucial sectors like cars, steel, aluminium and pharmaceuticals before the meeting began at Trump's golf course in Turnberry, western Scotland. Trump, who had earlier played a round with his son, told reporters as he met von der Leyen that he wanted to correct a trading arrangement he said was "very unfair to the United States" and repeated his comments from Friday that the chances of a U.S-EU deal were 50-50, a view echoed by von der Leyen. "We have three or four sticking points I'd rather not get into. The main sticking point is fairness," he said insisting the EU had to open up to American products. Von der Leyen acknowledged there was a need for "rebalancing" EU-U.S. trade. "We have a surplus, the United States has a deficit and we have to rebalance it... we will make it more sustainable," she said. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who flew to Scotland on Saturday, told "Fox News Sunday" that the EU needed to open its markets for more U.S. exports to convince Trump to reduce a threatened 30% tariff rate that is due to kick in on August 1. "The question is, do they offer President Trump a good enough deal that is worth it for him to step off of the 30% tariffs that he set," Lutnick said, adding that the EU clearly wanted - and needed - to reach an agreement. A separate U.S. administration official was upbeat that a deal was possible. "We're cautiously optimistic that there will be a deal reached," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "But it's not over till it's over." The EU deal would be a huge prize, given that the U.S. and EU are each other's largest trading partners by far and account for a third of global trade in goods and services. Ambassadors of EU governments, on a weekend trip to Greenland organised by the Danish presidency of the EU, held a teleconference with EU Commission officials on Sunday to agree on the amount of leeway von der Leyen would have. In case there is no deal and the U.S. imposes 30% tariffs from August 1, the EU has prepared counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods. EU diplomats have said a deal would likely include a broad 15% tariff on EU goods imported into the U.S., mirroring the U.S.-Japan trade deal, along with a 50% tariff on European steel and aluminium for which there could be export quotas. EU officials are hopeful that a 15% baseline tariff would also apply to cars, replacing the current 27.5% auto tariff. Some expect the 27-nation bloc may be able to secure exemptions from the 15% baseline tariff for its aerospace industry and for spirits, though probably not for wine. The EU could also pledge to buy more liquefied natural gas from the U.S., a long-standing offer, and boost investment in the United States. Trump told reporters there was "not a lot" of wiggle room on the 50% tariffs that the U.S. has on steel and aluminium imports, adding, "because if I do it for one, I have to do it for all." The U.S. president, in Scotland for a few days of golfing and bilateral meetings, said a deal with the EU should draw to a close discussions on tariffs, but also said pharmaceuticals, for which the United States is looking into new tariffs, would not be part of a deal. The EU now faces U.S. tariffs on more than 70% of its exports, with 50% on steel and aluminium, an extra 25% on cars and car parts on top of the existing 2.5% and a 10% levy on most other EU goods. EU officials have said a "no-deal" tariff rate of 30% would wipe out whole chunks of transatlantic commerce. A 15% tariff on most EU goods would remove uncertainty but would be seen by many in Europe as a poor outcome compared to the initial European ambition of a zero-for-zero tariff deal on all industrial goods. Seeking to learn from Japan, which secured a 15% baseline tariff with the U.S. in a deal almost a week ago, EU negotiators spoke to their Japanese counterparts in preparation for Sunday's meeting. For Trump, aiming to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old U.S. trade deficits, a deal with the EU would be the biggest trade agreement, surpassing the $550 billion deal with Japan. So far, he has reeled in agreements with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has failed to deliver on a promise of "90 deals in 90 days."
Times
29 minutes ago
- Times
Oscar Piastri profits to extend title lead as Lando Norris blows pole
Oscar Piastri had watched Max Verstappen breeze past him on the Kemmel Straight in the sprint race and had feared the worst would happen again in the main event on Sunday. Instead, it was his team-mate who had that same helpless feeling, Lando Norris losing the lead in the first proper racing lap of the grand prix — after an 80-minute rain delay — Piastri nursing his medium tyres to the end of a dull race in a gloomy Spa. Piastri extended his championship lead to 16 points, so won't mind the lack of activity, barely even given a fright by his team-mate on the harder compound who again made mistakes running wide, in his eagerness to close the gap. The new normal for Red Bull without Christian Horner, their long-serving former team principal and CEO, was rather similar to the old one; Verstappen did not have the pace to challenge the McLarens and was stuck behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc eventually finishing fourth. The most notable difference was perhaps on the grid, with Jos Verstappen, who had been openly critical of Horner, relaxed and stood alongside new team principal Laurent Mekies. Horner was watching from home, the first grand prix in 405 events (and Red Bull's entire race history) that he had not attended. Lewis Hamilton produced an excellent recovery drive to finish seventh, having started in 18th. Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli and Fernando Alonso started from the pitlane having opted for new power unit elements which were not permitted within their allocation. This meant they were able to make set-up changes with view of the conditions, whereas the rest of the grid were left with the decision they made ahead of qualifying. Carlos Sainz joined them at the back of the field, having also made setup changes. Yet, as the cars lined up on the grid, teams were erecting gazebos as a sudden shower hit the track. Drivers reported poor visibility on the formation lap behind the safety car, so the race start was delayed. It is the spray from the cars which is the main issue, rather than the standing water or grip itself from the intermediate or wet tyres. Nonetheless, frustration remains at the idea of wet tyres essentially being made redundant because of the spray. There is hope that next year's new regulations could mean slightly less spray is produced from the back of the cars. It was not an afternoon which produced great interest for the television fan, or those that had braved the weather in Belgium. Drivers spent an hour and 20 minutes twiddling their thumbs in the garage, as a heavier rain shower on the radar prevented the FIA starting the race in a brief dry period. Eventually it stopped by 4.20pm local time with the race resuming behind the safety car. On lap five, racing began in earnest with a rolling start after pole sitter Norris was one of those to report on the radio that one side of the grid was drier than the other, suggesting a standing start would not be fair. It did him little favour though — as having used much of his battery pack on the restart, he was easily passed by his team-mate on the Kemmel Straight. Hamilton had very little to lose after what he described a 'weekend to forget', after spinning in sprint qualifying, finishing 15th in that short format race, and then exiting in 16th of main qualifying after exceeding track limits at Raidillon. He called it an 'unacceptable' individual error. He carved through the field to reach 13th by lap ten, and then was the first driver to make the crucial decision to pit for slick tyres on the drying track. That dropped him to 17th, but as soon as he navigated the first corners, it was evident it was the correct decision. He moved up to seventh, while the rest of the grid came into the pits. He still apologised to his team at the end of the race, for his error on Saturday. The leaders, apart from Norris, pitted for mediums on lap 13. Norris was asked by his engineer Will Joseph whether he would prefer the hard tyre, which could last until the end of the race — and having already lost time to his team-mate, the British driver took the risk. That began a slow and steady race to close the gap to Piastri, which gave the race a slight sense of jeopardy — in the end, the gap was simply too large to bridge.
Times
29 minutes ago
- Times
Meet Charles Emond, the Canadian backing Sizewell C with £1.7bn
'There's always risk in a transaction,' says Charles Emond. The chief executive of La Caisse is keen to stress that he and the other equity investors named last week in the financing of the Sizewell C nuclear power station project are not getting a completely free ride from British taxpayers and electricity billpayers. Billpayers will have £1 a month added to their electricity bills from this autumn to help finance the gigantic project. UK taxpayers will stand ready to foot the bill if the construction costs rise above a certain point. But the equity investors putting in £8.5 billion aren't entirely free of exposure if things go wrong, he says. Even so, analysts believe that La Caisse and other investors, which include the British Gas owner Centrica and the French energy group EDF, have got a bit of a steal as a result of the way the deal has been structured. Even Emond admits the terms have been 'de-risked to an acceptable level'. La Caisse may be a new name to British readers, but it is a gigantic institution, one of the biggest pension fund groups in Canada with $473 billion to invest. It has just changed its name from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, an institution responsible for paying pensions to six million Canadians. When Rachel Reeves visited North America last autumn to bang the drum for the UK, Emond was one of the people she went to see. La Caisse for years was a shareholder in Heathrow, while it has also bought into the London Array, the forest of 175 wind turbines in the outer Thames Estuary. La Caisse, which has not invested in nuclear power before, has committed £1.7 billion to Sizewell C in return for a 20 per cent stake. It will be the biggest single equity investor in the project, which when built will produce enough reliable electricity to power the equivalent of six million homes. Emond, a former banker with Scotiabank, likes the way the financing of the Suffolk-based project has been structured, which means investors are more protected than they were in the case of its sister station, Hinkley Point C, which has already gone hugely over budget. Sizewell, he says, is 'trailblazing' because 'it institutionalises nuclear from an investor perspective'. That will make it much easier for other future nuclear projects to raise private-sector cash. • Why a Canadian pension fund has put wind in my sails The structuring of the deal has 'shed a different light on nuclear' as well as chiming with La Caisse's push towards net zero. It puts nuclear into 'the zipcode of reasons it is attractive to capital providers like me'. Big, long-running infrastructure projects such as Sizewell C are perfect for pension funds which have to invest to produce income to meet defined benefit pension promises stretching decades into the future. If all goes well, Sizewell will produce inflation-protected returns for 60 years. It also fits in well with La Caisse's plan to make the UK 'our biggest overseas investment destination outside North America,' says Emond. He's a big fan of the UK, saying 'it checks all the boxes,' especially in an era of high geopolitical risk. La Caisse already has £17.8 billion of UK assets. Emond aims to lift that by £8 billion over five years, which means that after Sizewell C, he has another £6.3 billion of net investments to make. He gives a long list of Britain's attributes, naming rule of law, a business-friendly government and a big local financial centre as some of the factors important for foreign investors. 'There are all these things that, even before you look at a transaction, you say we like that sandbox.' • Welcome to Britain's biggest building site. There's a 'fish disco' Wasn't he put off at all by Britain's sluggish economy, low productivity growth and shaky public finances? No. 'It's not the growth in the economy that's the only criterion [for investing],' he says. The government's emphasis on infrastructure has made Britain especially attractive. La Caisse is by one measure the second biggest infrastructure investor in the world with $64 billion allocated to the asset class. La Caisse opened an office in London in 2016, from which it manages all its European operations. Emond recently hired Dame Sharon White, the former chairwoman of John Lewis Partnership, as head of Europe, to spearhead the investment drive. 'She's been great, providing exceptional leadership,' he says, adding that her experience of running a regulator, Ofcom, was helpful because of the many regulated industries La Caisse tends to invest in. Which sectors in the UK is La Caisse now looking at? He mentions information technology, telecoms, renewable energy, transportation, insurance, private credit and real estate. 'For us there's a pretty good set of opportunities. Our London office has teams for all asset classes.' Insurance and real estate have been rich seams already. La Caisse has been a long-time backer of Howden Group, the privately owned insurance broker recently valued at well over £10 billion, and is a backer of Inigo Insurance. Property ventures include PLP and Greystar, and, on the debt side, a £525 million credit line to Blackstone-owned St Modwen. • Centrica really can't lose at Sizewell It is also a big investor in renewable energy through last year, buying a 25 per cent stake in First Hydro, the group that operates two pumped storage projects in Snowdonia, as well as the 25 per cent holding in the London Array. Other investments include a 19.3 per cent stake in Eurostar, the cross-channel train operator. Another is FNZ, a private company that provides software to wealth managers and was valued in a past fundraising at $20 billion. It hasn't been plain sailing for Emond in his first five years. In Montreal, the company has come under heavy criticism for delays and overruns on a mass transit project Réseau express métropolitain or REM. 'We took a lot of flak,' Emond admits, but says it was funding the project at much lower cost per kilometre of track than other projects. 'Every time they [Quebecers] take the train, it helps fill their pension,' he adds. Another potential blow is the charging by the US Justice Department of executives from La Caisse and other companies with conspiring to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian state government officials to secure solar power contracts. The Securities and Exchange Commission is also pressing civil charges in connection with the same alleged scheme. La Caisse has said it is co-operating with the US authorities. As one of the so-called Maple Eight big Canadian pension funds, La Caisse is a role model for policymakers in the UK trying to encourage consolidation of UK funds to build scale and in-house investment expertise that is then confident about putting money into private equity and infrastructure. Reeves is introducing measures to encourage smaller schemes to merge. Emond says that is the right direction of travel, but cautions that it took decades for La Caisse to build scale and expert teams. 'It doesn't get done over a long weekend,' he says.
