Early consignments to the RM Sotheby’s Paris auction in Retromobile week will include this 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, which is expected to bring up to $1.74 million. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ The United Auto Workers won a union certification vote among skilled-trades workers at Volkswagen’s U.S. assembly plant in Tennessee. More at The Detroit News.
+ Renault remains at odds with the French government, its largest shareholder, in a dispute that erupted in April when Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron secured double voting rights. More at Reuters.
+ Porsche will add 1,000 jobs and spend $1 billion on production facilities at its main plant in Zuffenhausen to build the Mission E all-electric sports car. More at the Wall Street Journal.
+ Buick confirmed that it will begin selling the Chinese-made Envision crossover in the U.S. next summer and will show it at next month’s North American International Auto Show. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ The Red Bull Formula 1 team will run Renault engines next year with branding from Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer replacing the Infiniti badge. More at ESPN.
+ Sawakami Asset Management, Takata’s largest stockholder, has divested its shares in the troubled Japanese airbag maker, calling its management “not trustworthy.” More at Bloomberg.com.
+ Infiniti has begun production of its Q30 crossover at the Nissan Sunderland UK plant, which underwent a $377 million expansion for the project. More at Automotive Business Review.
+ Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has invested $40 million to convert 179 trucks in its corporate logistics fleet in Detroit from diesel to natural gas. More at Crain’s Detroit Business.
+ According to the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, the BMW i8 Spyder may finally go into production three years after it appeared as a concept. More at Autoblog.
+ Forbes magazine has named International Speedway Corporation (ISC) CEO Lesa France Kennedy, daughter of Bill France Jr., the Most Powerful Woman in Sports for 2015. More at Racer.
Read the previous Executive Briefing from December 4 here.
Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.