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Geely chairman is now the single biggest investor in Daimler

Li Shufu, the chairman and main owner of Chinese carmaker Geely, has built a stake of 9.69 percent in Daimler AG, the German carmaker said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The stake, worth nearly $9 billion at the current valuation for Daimler shares, makes Li the biggest single shareholder in the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, trucks and vans headquartered in the German city of Stuttgart. A Daimler spokesman called the stake purchase a private investment by Li. "We are delighted, with Li Shufu, to have won over another long-term investor who is convinced of Daimler's innovative prowess, strategy and future potential," the spokesman said in response to a request for comment. "Daimler knows and respects Li Shufu as a Chinese entrepreneur of particular competence and forward thinking." Li's stake purchase makes him the top shareholder in Daimler ahead of the Kuwait Investment Authority, which owned 6.8 percent as of Sept. 30, according to Thomson Reuters data. Earlier this month, the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported that the Chinese industry giant was seeking to become Daimler's biggest shareholder, likely exceeding the 6.8-percent stake of the Kuwait Investment Authority. The paper said Daimler had reportedly turned down Geely's $4.5 billion offer for a 5-percent stake via a discounted share placement, saying that Geely could buy shares in the open market. Institutional investors currently own 70.7 percent of Daimler, and the company already has strong ties to Chinese automakers BAIC and BYD. Bild am Sonntag said the move was intended as a strategic alliance against Apple, Google and Amazon on autonomous and connected cars. And Reuters reported that Daimler wants to have bespoke "robo taxis" on the road quicker than Google's Waymo, and views Geely as a strong partner for that. Geely conversely is interested in Daimler's electric car battery technology, and sources quoted by the German paper say there are plans to establish joint electric car manufacturing in Wuhan, China, to meet China's smog-reducing quotas. Geely is developing the Lynk & Co. brand of electric and hybrid cars. Geely owns Volvo, which has enjoyed a renaissance under the arrangement, as well as the maker of London's black cabs. In December, it bought a stake in AB Volvo, the maker of Volvo trucks.

Regulators consider adding more carmakers to Takata recall

Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal has been getting a lot of press recently, but the Takata airbag inflator affair could be grabbing headlines again soon. According to Bloomberg, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is contemplating an expansion to the campaign that could add seven automakers to the 12 already affected. They are Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Spartan Motors, Suzuki, Tesla, Volvo Trucks, and VW Group. To be clear, there's no recall for any of these automakers, yet. The government is simply asking for a full list of vehicles that each of them have with Takata-supplied inflators containing ammonium nitrate propellant. The agency is concerned this substance could play a roll in the ruptures. "NHTSA is considering not only whether to issue an administrative order that would coordinate the remedy programs associated with the current Takata recalls, but also whether such an order should include expansion of the current recalls," the letters say. All seven can be viewed, here. From a report supplied by Takata, the government already knows that the company supplied 887,055 inflators with ammonium-nitrate propellant to VW and 184,926 of them to Tesla. In an incident during the summer, a side airbag allegedly burst in a 2015 VW Tiguan. In early September, NHTSA put out a revised report that there were 23.4 million inflators to be replaced in 19.2 million vehicles in the US. An earlier accounting from the agency had about 34 million of the parts in 30 million cars. High humidity is still believed to be among the biggest risk factors for the ruptures. Although, if ammonium nitrate also gets the blame, some already recalled models might need to be repaired again. Related Video:

Volvo and Starbucks to put charging stations at coffee shops

Volvo and Starbucks are joining forces to give electric vehicle owners a more pleasant charging experience. The two companies have announced a plan to install EV charging stations at Starbucks coffee shops across several U.S. states as part of a pilot program to study the project's scalability. About 60 chargers will be installed at 15 Starbucks locations along a 1,350-mile route between Denver and Seattle, which is home to the coffee giant.  Volvo told Autoblog that the chargers will be a mix of ChargePoint DC chargers comprised of Express 250 units, capable of delivering 62.5 kW, and Express Plus units, capable of delivering up to 350 kW. All chargers will have both CHAdeMO and CCS plugs. Placed about 100 miles apart, the charger-equipped Starbucks fall within the range of most EVs, and their relative proximity should limit the amount of advanced planning one would have to do during an EV road trip. The companies plan to offer them to any drivers of electric cars. Charging fees will apply, but Volvo vehicles will get to use them either free of charge or at a discount. The locations of these chargers will show up in ChargePoint's smartphone app, or with an in-dash app on Google-equipped Volvo models. Jokes about latte-sipping Volvo drivers aside, the program opens a world of new opportunities for charging. A Volvo C40 Recharge takes about 40 minutes to replenish its batteries from 20% to 90%. Other electric cars are comparable. A coffee shop is a much more pleasant place to wait that out than a Kroger or Walmart, and as we discovered last week, EV chargers and businesses like Starbucks are banned from interstate rest areas by federal law. Add the availability of wifi and clean-ish bathrooms at most Starbucks locations, and it makes for an ideal pit stop opportunity. Besides, on a long road trip, drivers must replenish their caffeine just as cars must replenish their fuel tanks or batteries. The solution — chargers at coffee shops — is so glaringly obvious, it's a wonder why it's taken so long for a partnership like this to happen.