Environmental concerns halt German Tesla Gigafactory
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Tesla’s plan to build a ‘gigafactory’ near Berlin have been put on hold by order of a German court injunction.
As reported by the BBC, local environmentalists Green League filed for the injunction against the plant’s construction, which could see close to 300 hectares of the Brandenburg region cleared.
The proposal has seen resistance in Germany since its announcement, amid concerns of deforestation and excessive water-usage.
How Holden's demise could be the making of Great Wall in Australia
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The General Motors (GM) decision to pull out of right-hand drive markets could kickstart Great Wall's aggressive push into the Australian market.
Having yesterday officially withdrawn from the Australian and Thai markets, GM announced Chinese brand Great Wall Motors has committed to buying the Thai plant currently supplying the Holden Colorado dual-cab ute and seven-seat Trailblazer SUV.
Holden to announce massive discounts to clear stock, showrooms may shut within 'weeks or months'
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Holden dealers will know within the next 24 to 48 hours just how far they can discount to clear remaining stock – and showrooms may shut by the middle of the year rather than make it all the way to the end of 2020.
Several Holden dealers – speaking on condition of anonymity – have told CarAdvice that General Motors will release by the middle of the week a discount plan to clear all remaining showroom models.
COMMENT
Like all major disasters, the demise of Holden after 72 years in Australia is the result of a vast number of factors – some of which were out of its control.
The problems go way beyond the use of the Commodore name on the imported model after local manufacturing ended in 2017 (the name probably helped not hindered sales), or the series of misguided TV advertisements and billboards that tried to radically change Holden’s image to appeal to a more cosmopolitan audience.
Tesla Model S, Model X Long Range Plus get range boost
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Tesla has liberated more range from the Model S and Model X, thanks to "many small hardware improvements".
Elon Musk took to his preferred medium (Twitter) to reveal the Model S Long Range Plus now has a claimed EPA range of 628km, up from 596km.
The Model X SUV has seen its range jump from 528km to 565km – at least, Tesla says it has. The claimed ranges are yet to be certified, so they're just estimates for now.
