Automotive

Japanese auto parts maker Calsonic Kansei is to buy European auto parts maker Magneti Marelli from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for 6.2 billion euros ($7.15 billion), in an effort to gain the upper hand in the competition to develop electronic parts for next-generation automobiles developed by tech companies such as Google.

Suzuki Motor aims to halt European sales of diesel cars by the end of the year, while Mitsubishi Motors also plans to pull diesel passenger autos from key markets like the U.K. and Germany in response to stronger environmental regulations.

Toyota Motor is set to launch a pilot project testing a transportation system focusing on autonomous vehicles, in one of Japan's first such initiatives in a real-life setting over a wide area.

When Toyota Motor approached SoftBank Group about a potential tie-up earlier this year, Aichi Prefecture-based President Akio Toyoda offered to travel to Tokyo to meet the tech company's leader Masayoshi Son.

Honda Motor has pledged to invest a total of $2.75 billion in a partnership with General Motors for autonomous-driving technology, aiming to parlay the U.S. automaker's massive driving data into innovations that challenge Google and Apple.

Researchers from Toray Industries, Sumitomo Chemical and other organizations have unveiled an electric vehicle prototype that is about 40% lighter than comparable existing cars, in a potential breakthrough toward greater driving range.

When Honda Motor Co. launched the latest version of its N-Box a year ago, it promoted features on the pint-sized minicar such as error-detecting pedals, automatic emergency braking and moveable seats, part of a push to market the vehicle to young families.

The Tokyo Motor Fes 2018 kicked off in Tokyo’s Odaiba waterfront district on Saturday for a three-day run.

Honda Motor Co. has joined forces with General Motors Co.’s tech start-up Cruise to develop autonomous vehicles, as the race to market self-driving cars heats up, the companies announced Wednesday.