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Recharge Wrap-up: Toyota Prius airbag recall, Peugeot launches eU01s e-bike

Toyota is recalling 7,600 Prius vehicles for an airbag issue. Certain examples of the 2016 Prius could have malfunctioning inflators that could cause the passenger side airbags to deploy accidentally. There are no known injuries from the faulty airbags, but Toyota says, "This has been observed when the vehicle is parked and unoccupied for a period of time." Toyota also says this issue is unrelated to the massive recall of airbags supplied by Takata. The automaker will contact affected owners to arrange free repairs. Read more at Automotive News. Peugeot is adding another e-bike to its portfolio with the eU01s. What sets this electrically assisted bicycle apart from both regular bikes and other pedelecs is its ability to propel the bike to 28 mph under electric power. It comes with either a 400- or 500-Wh lithium-ion battery, providing 47 or 59 miles of range, respectively. It also offers an optional on-board computer with its 4.3-inch screen, through which riders can customize the electric assistance, get directions, receive sports coaching, and connect their smartphone. Earlier this year, Peugeot also launched its e-Kick scooter and folding eF01 e-bike. Read more at Green Car Congress. BYD is expanding its manufacturing facility in the US. In the second of three phases for the plant, BYD is adding onto its factory in Lancaster, California, where it currently builds electric buses. The Chinese company plans to triple the number of employees, up from the current 400, as it expands the facility by 40,000 square feet. BYD plans to build medium- and heavy-duty trucks at the plant, but declined to comment on whether it has plans to build light-duty vehicles there. Read more at Automotive News. The German states of Hesse and Baden-Wuerttemberg are suing Volkswagen over the Dieselgate scandal. The states are joining other investors seeking damages over losses incurred because of the automaker's emissions cheat device. Hesse Finance Minister Thomas Schaefer said the scandal cost the state about $4.4 million in stock losses, while Baden-Wuerttemberg likely lost closer to $450,000. Bavaria said earlier that it would sue Volkswagen on behalf of its pension fund for civil servants, which lost around $780,000. Read more from Automotive News Europe.

Suzuki and VW finalize their divorce

The rocky divorce between Suzuki and Volkswagen is finally over after working its way through the International Court of Arbitration since 2011, according to the Japan Times. In the final settlement to end the companies' disputes, Suzuki agreed to pay VW an undisclosed amount for not living up to the agreement to use the German automaker's diesel engines. While they won't disclose the exact sum, Suzuki said in a statement that the money "will not have any significant impact" on its 2015 fiscal year results, which will end in March. The arbitration court took the biggest step to end this transcontinental partnership in August 2015 when the body ruled VW needed sell its 19.9-percent stake in Suzuki. However, the Japanese company wasn't entirely off the hook because VW was still allowed to sue for damages over the diesel engine issue. This latest decision finally clears up that dispute. Like most marriages, the union between VW and Suzuki began with stars in both parties' eyes. The Germans paid $2.8 billion to buy 19.9 percent of the Japanese company in December 2009. VW was supposed to get greater access to the auto market in India, and Suzuki hoped to capitalize on access to its partner's advanced technology. By 2011, rumors started percolating that things were contentious behind closed doors. VW allegedly tried to assert control over Suzuki's operations, and the Japanese company reportedly wasn't happy with its access to the German tech. Suzuki even bought diesel engines from Fiat, rather than VW. Later that year, company CEO Osamu Suzuki announced he would end the alliance, and they started working through arbitration. Notification Concerning Resolution of Arbitration by Settlement As Suzuki has reached a settlement regarding the arbitration that Suzuki filed with the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce on 24 November 2011, Suzuki informs you of the following: 1. History from the Request for Arbitration to the Settlement As announced in the "Notification Concerning Arbitration Award" dated 30 August 2015, the Tribunal indicated that it would address the issue of alleged damages arising from Suzuki's breach of the agreement claimed by Volkswagen AG ("VW") in a further stage of the arbitration proceedings. Suzuki reached a settlement with VW in regard to such arbitration proceedings on 10 February 2016. Accordingly, the arbitration proceedings have been concluded. 2.

The mood at this year’s Paris Motor Show: Quiet

The Paris Motor Show, held every other year in the early fall, typically kicks off the annual cavalcade of automotive conclaves, one that traverses the globe between autumn and spring, introducing projective, conceptual and production-ready vehicle models to the international automotive press, automotive aficionados and a public hungry for news of our increasingly futuristic mobility enterprise. But this year, at the press preview days for the show, the grounds of the Porte de Versailles convention center felt a bit more sparsely populated than usual. This was not simply a subjective sensation, or one influenced by the center's atypically dispersed assemblage of seven discrete buildings, which tends to spread out the cars and the crowds. There were not only fewer new vehicles being premiered in Paris this year, there were fewer manufacturers there to display them. Major mainstream European OEM stalwarts such as Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Nissan and Volkswagen chose to sit out Paris this year, as did boutique manufacturers like Bentley, Aston Martin and Lamborghini. This is not simply based in some antipathy on the part of the German, British and Italian manufacturers toward the French market — though for a variety of historical and societal reasons that market may be more dominated by vehicles produced domestically than others. Rather, it is part of a larger trend in the industry. Last year, Mercedes-Benz announced that it would not be participating in the flagship North American International Auto Show in 2019 — and that it might not return. Other brands including Jaguar/Land Rover, Audi, Porsche, Mazda and nearly every exotic carmaker have also departed the Detroit show. Some of these brands will still appear in the city in which the show is taking place, and host an event offsite, to capitalize on the presence of a large number of reporters in attendance. And even brands that do have a presence at the show have shifted their vehicle introductions to the days before the official press opening in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. In many ways, this makes sense. With an expanding number of automakers, with diversification and niche-ification of models and with wholesale shifts that necessitate the introduction of EV or autonomous sub-brands, there is a growing sense that, with everyone shouting at the same time, no one can be heard.