Toyota Motor intends to start mass-producing electric vehicles by 2020, hoping to expand its lineup of green automobiles beyond hybrid and fuel-cell cars. Toyota will seek cooperation from group companies to start production quickly. Source: Nikkei Asian Review
- U.S. industrial production fell in April, dragged by a big drop in factory output as production of autos and auto parts continued to slide.
- The Federal Reserve says industrial output — reflecting total production at factories, utilities and mines — dropped 0.5% in April.
- Industrial production also fell 0.5% in February.
British Steel Ltd.’s three-year run as a company ended on Wednesday, putting 5,000 jobs at risk and piling fresh misery on the U.K.’s manufacturing base. Source: Bloomberg
Japan’s goods trade surplus plunged 90.3 percent in April from a year earlier to 60.4 billion yen ($546 million), hit by weak exports to China amid U.S.-China trade tensions. Source: Mainichi
