Tesla Inc has flown six planes full of robots and equipment from Europe to California in an unusual, high-stakes effort to speed up battery production for its Model 3 electric sedan, people familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.

Transporting equipment for a production line by air is costly and hardly ever done in the automotive industry, and the move underscores Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk's urgency to get a grip on manufacturing problems that have hobbled the launch of the high-volume Model 3 and pushed Tesla's finances deep into the red.

"As usual with Tesla, everything is being done in a massive hurry and money seems to be no obstacle," said one of the two sources.
Tesla on Friday declined to comment on whether it has shipped in any new production equipment from Europe.


Investors are closely watching Tesla and its high-profile, often brash CEO to see if the upstart electric vehicle maker can pull off high-volume production of the Model 3, a car with the potential to catapult the niche automaker to a mass producer and assure its financial stability.
But manufacturing missteps have led Tesla to repeatedly miss production targets for the sedan, and raised doubts about Musk's promises that the company will stop burning cash by the third quarter of this year. Tesla had free cash flow of negative $1 billion in the first quarter, and earlier this month disclosed that it could offer its Fremont, California, vehicle assembly plant as collateral for debt.
Engineers from Tesla's German engineering arm, Grohmann, are now reworking the battery production line at the Gigafactory near Reno, Nevada, in a bid to free up bottlenecks, the person said. The line will become more automated gradually over time, added the source, who was not authorized to speak for attribution.

Musk first disclosed plans for this line on a conference call with analysts in November, after complaining of problems with an original line built by a subcontractor.
Musk has told investors the new battery production line will help the carmaker achieve a quantum leap in productivity. The company has noted, however, that it will still be able to reach its target of building 5,000 Model 3s per week by June without the addition of the new line.

But Tesla's lack of consistency in its factories has undercut Musk's production promises in the past.
Under time pressure to fix problems, Musk has now insisted the new production line should be a no-expenses-spared effort, the source said. That led to the decision to airlift the new production equipment to the United States from Europe, a step carmakers usually avoid by planning production equipment installations months or years ahead of a production launch.

The shipments of new equipment began arriving in Reno this week, the two sources told Reuters.
It is not clear when the new production system will be ready to start running. Robots frequently need to be recalibrated to adjust for minimal differences in the quality of raw materials they are working with or temperature and humidity differences. Steps to test the quality of materials and recalibrate robots have proven to be a bottleneck that Tesla managers had underestimated, the first source said.
Musk has repeatedly complained of "manufacturing hell" trying to ramp up the Model 3, which began production, albeit slowly, last July.

In February, Musk said the main bottleneck was still its battery module production, saying Tesla had become "a little overconfident, a little complacent" in its ability to execute.
The Gigafactory's battery production is divided into four zones, two of which have experienced problems. Responsibility for two of these zones was originally delegated to subcontractors specialised in integrating complex systems, Musk said.

"We were promised they would work, and it just didn't work," Musk said during a February conference call. A new design for an automated system for those zones was nearing completion, Musk said in November, adding that Grohmann was "working on the issue and making very rapid progress."
One of the problems, both at the Gigafactory and at Tesla's Fremont vehicle manufacturing factory, has been the interface between Tesla and the subcontractors it hires. Sources have told Reuters of communication problems and high managerial turnover, which complicate the execution of big projects.

Musk said in early May he planned to rid the company of "barnacles" – contractors and subcontractors – saying Tesla's reliance on them had become "out of control."

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Volkswagen has teased a new SUV concept badged the T-Cross, prior to its debut at the Geneva motor show 2016. The new SUV concept from the German automaker previews a Polo-based production SUV, which will be an entry-level model in the company’s SUV line-up.


A part of the company’s volume-segment SUV strategy reportedly fast tracked by VW chairman Matthias Müller, the T-Cross will join its larger Golf-based sibling, the T-Roc, which is expected to make its debut in production guise later this year.
“We will position production versions of the T-Cross and T-Roc underneath the Tiguan and Touareg in a part of the market that is currently experiencing large growth for SUV models, including Europe,” said a manager at VW.



Sitting on VW’s MQB platform, the T-Cross along with its larger sibling are planned to be offered with a range of powertrains which consist of petrol, diesel, or plug-in petrol-electric hybrid drivetrains, together with front-wheel drive and four-wheel-drive options.
The teaser images released by VW show a high-riding concept with LED elements in the headlamps and large square-shaped LED daytime running lamps surrounding the fog lamps. Other features noticed in the teaser images were that the model wore body cladding and featured a skid-plate on the front bumper.
VW had been planning an even smaller entry-level model, called the Taigun, with the concept being showcased at Auto Expo 2014. But the company has now abandoned plans for reasons that the Taigun small SUV felt “too small” and that the financial climate in key South American markets, where VW planned to manufacture the SUV, was unstable.

The Chicago auto show has traditionally been the venue for introductions of trucks and SUVs, and Hyundai will live up to that billing by showing the refreshed Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport crossovers. With updated styling inside and out, plus more active-safety options, the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe and 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport debut this week in Chicago.

Do you remember the Italdesign Parcour – a Giugiaro designed concept which amalgamated the goodness of Lamborghini internals with the ability to take on bad roads. Now the Italian designed Camal Ramusa takes it all a level ahead with an engine and chassis from the Bugatti EB110.

Delving into the details, the Camal Ramusa is powered by a combination of the EB110-sourced 3.5-litre V12 engine (that drives the rear wheels via a 6-speed gearbox) and a central electric motor (which powers the front wheels). The vehicle measures 4.32 metres in length and boasts a 250 mm ground clearance (just to remind, the Parcour managed 330 mm).

The Ramusa is made as a homage to Bertone where Camal’s founder Alessandro Camaroli spent his early days. It is created with a limited production run in mind, but no further details on when and how it realises are out.

But what’s worth noting is that with an 800 hp powertrain, it ideally has what it takes to beat the Bentley Bentayga in terms of speed. Utility is obviously not a priority here anyway.

It’s called the KUV100, pronounced as K-U-V one double o, just like the XUV500 and TUV300. The K stands for cool with a K, UV stands for utility vehicle. The KUV100 will be launched on 15th January 2016, and is based on a brand new monocoque platform.

It also gets a brand new engine range, both in petrol and diesel. The engines are 1.2 liter-3 cylinder units, and are known as mPigeon. The mPigeon is a modular engine platform, which will spawn many more motors. The petrol motor is a light weight, all-aluminum motor with 82 Bhp of peak power and 114 Nm of peak torque.


The diesel is the lightest motor in its class, and gets outputs of 77 Bhp (@ 3,750 rpm) and 190 Nm (between 1,750-2,250 rpm). Both the petrol and diesel engines meet BS4 emission norms, and can be tuned to meet BS5 and BS6 norms of the future.

Notably, ABS will be standard across the KUV100 range, and Mahindra seems to have built the vehicle to meet Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program (BVNSAP) right from the outset. The KUV100 will initially be available only with a 5 speed manual gearbox. An AMT option could be offered in the future.

The Micro SUV is expected to be very aggressively priced, to target younger buyers, many of whom are expected to be first time car buyers. Bookings start tomorrow. Prices are likely to start from under 4 lakh rupees as Mahindra has been quite vocal about taking on B-Segment hatchbacks with the KUV100.

Overview

The ever increasing demand for entry level cars is on its top gear now, with every car manufacturer chasing down to fulfill the need with its product. Tata has given their new Nano for the fight recently and Renault is ready with a much premium looking offering for the segment. KWID, as the car has been named looks more than what it is said to cost. The car can be a fortune maker for Renault as its hatchback has never been a popular car for the country. Even the sales of larger vehicles have gone done considerably, forcing the automaker for some beautiful and fully utilizable change.
 

Exterior

The KWID comes with an unbelievable crossover like design, which seems to differentiate the car from all the segment competitors. The car looks much expensive from its front look, but the expected price is said to be truly satisfactory for the buyers. The best part of the KWID is at the front. The car looks premium from the front, with an all new grill and aggressive looking headlights. The hood seems next to perfection and the net structure below the front grill has been beautifully integrated into the bumper. The cars in the segment are rather simple but Renault has ignited the fire in the entry level hatchback segment. The tyres have some sort of cladding which follows unevenly through the body, being present at the front and rear only.
 

Dimesions & Ground Clearance

The length of Renault KWID is 3679mm, width is 1579mm, height is 1478mm and the ground clearance is quite impressive at 180mm. The wheelbase of the car is 2422mm and the boot space is largest in its class at 300 litres.

Interior

The interior of the KWID is the best one which can be offered in the segment. It comes with a touchscreen which also supports navigation and Bluetooth. The interior looks premium from the first look and the placing of buttons on the dash increases the beauty of the car. The air vents are practically designed, with a large glove box, for easy storage of important things in the car. The gear lever has been beautifully designed and the center console looks very gentle and clean. Everything seems perfect for an entry level hatchback.

Instrument Console

The instrument console on the new KWID is fully digital and is enclosed in a very elegant setup. The center houses the digital speedometer, with the odometer also in the same segment. The right has the digital fuel gauge, whereas the left of the console houses lights for seat belt, battery and all other indications. This will be the first ever digital display in the entry level segment, which clearly shows Renault’s plan of being a class apart from other manufacturers.

Engine, Gearbox & Mileage

The Renault KWID comes with a 3-cylinder, 799 cc petrol motor, which is said to be the most economical motor in the segment by Renault. It generates maximum power of 53.2 BHP @ 5678 rpm with maximum torque of 72 NM @ @ 4386 rpm. The gearbox used is 5-speed manual and the talks for an AMT has been kept for some other time. The car seems large from its visuals only, the engine factor makes it very competitive in the Indian market as no other brand is offering aggressive looking mini beast with all such advanced features.

Safety & Comfort

The braking at the front is handled by disc brakes, whereas the rear gets drum brakes for the KWID. ABS is missing which seems to be a normal skipping point for the manufacturers in the entry level cars in India. The suspension at the front is the McPherson's whereas the rear gets a multi-arm type suspension. The car looks pretty good with its visuals but the tyres seems to be small when compared to its body size. The car seems to be spacious, with many of the comfort features being missed on the other cars in the segment. The top variant of KWID is expected to come with optional driver side airbag.

Expected Variants

Initially Renault KWID 800 is expected to be available in 4 variants - Standard, RxE, RxL & top-of-the-line RxT. It is also expected that the company may launch automatic AMT verision next year plus there are also rumours doing rounds that they are also planning to launch 1000cc version of KWID to compete with Alto K10 & Eon 1.0.

Expected Ex-showroom Price

The new Renault KWID is expected to be around INR 3.0 to INR 4.0 lakh, which makes it a really fair deal for such a feature packed vehicle.

Mega Gallery of Mahindra TUV300 Compact SUV with 45 Images, TUV300 is now on-sale in India with a starting price tag of Rs. 6.98 lakh for the base T4 model and the top-of-the-line T8 AMT is available for Rs. 9.20 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Click here for complete specs, features, variant-wise price-list of Mahindra TUV300

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Mahindra TUV300 Exterior Photos

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Mahindra TUV300 Interior Photos

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