
BYD names former Stellantis executive Zampese as Europe head of commercial vehicle business
MILAN, June 9 (Reuters) - BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab has appointed Gianluca Zampese, a former Stellantis industry veteran, to a new position as head of its light commercial vehicle business in Europe, the Chinese EV giant said on Monday, as it seeks to expand in the region.
BYD also named the 56-year-old Italian, who has over 20 years of experience in Europe's light commercial vehicle industry, as its LCV country manager for Italy.
The world's largest EV seller in 2024, BYD has in the past year been overhauling its European operations under its special adviser Alfredo Altavilla, including by appointing a string of high-profile managers, especially from French-Italian-American rival Stellantis (STLAM.MI), opens new tab.
Zampese's appointment is aimed at "developing the brand's presence in the light commercial vehicle segment in Europe and particularly in the Italian market," BYD said in a statement.
Zampese joined Fiat, now part of Stellantis, in 2005, covering different positions, especially in Europe, but also in Africa and the Middle East. After leaving Stellantis in August last year, he worked as Italy's country manager for Maxus, an LCV-focused brand owned by China's SAIC Motor (600104.SS), opens new tab.
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The Independent
22 minutes ago
- The Independent
FTSE 100 dips while markets watch for US-China talks progress
Stocks in London closed mixed on Monday amid a fresh burst of mid-and-small cap M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activity, while the wider market watched as US- China trade talks resumed. The FTSE 100 index fell 5.63 points, 0.1%, at 8,832.28. The FTSE 250 ended up 128.63 points, 0.6%, at 21,285.91, and the AIM All-Share climbed 7.01 points, 0.9%, at 763.89. In Paris, the Cac 40 fell 0.2%, while Frankfurt's Dax 40 ended 0.5% lower. The pound was quoted at 1.36 dollars late on Monday afternoon in London, higher compared to 1.35 at the close on Friday. The euro stood at 1.142 dollars, higher against 1.139 on Friday. On London's FTSE 250, Spectris leapt 64% after receiving a more than £3.7 billion cash and shares bid from private equity firm Advent International LP. Should a firm offer be made, 'the board has carefully considered the proposal together with its advisers and concluded that the proposal is at a value that the board would be minded to recommend unanimously to Spectris shareholders', said Spectris. Meanwhile, Alphawave IP soared 19% as it agreed to a 2.4 billion dollars takeover from US semiconductor firm Qualcomm. The cash deal values the London-listed high-speed connectivity solutions firm's shares at 2.48 dollars each, or around 183 pence. 'Qualcomm's acquisition of Alphawave represents a significant milestone for us and an opportunity for our business to join forces with a respected industry leader and drive value to our customers,' said Alphawave chief executive Officer Tony Pialis. Charles Hall at Peel Hunt noted there have been 30 bids for UK companies at more than £100 million market value year-to-date, with a total value of £25 billion. At the same time there has been just one initial public offer offer year-to-date of more than £100 million, he pointed out. 'Companies in the UK seem to be far more attractive to acquirers than investors. The root cause is the consistent outflow of capital from domestic markets. If we want the UK equity market to thrive, an urgent rethink is required to ensure that UK capital backs UK companies,' Mr Hall said. 'The scale of M&A and lack of IPOs is resulting in a material reduction in the number of UK listed growth companies. It is essential that action is taken to ensure the health of the ecosystem and enable companies to grow, scale and stay in the UK. We believe this can be done through reform of pension funds, ISAs, and stamp duty,' Mr Hall added. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite sat 0.3% higher at the time of the closing bell in London. After a round of talks in Geneva last month, the US and China will sit down at the negotiating table in London on Monday to attempt to preserve a fragile truce on trade, despite simmering tensions. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and trade representative Jamieson Greer will lead the US delegation, President Donald Trump announced Friday. Chinese vice premier He Lifeng – who led Beijing's negotiating team in Geneva – will also lead the team in London, the foreign ministry announced at the weekend. On the FTSE 100, M&G rose 3.2% as UBS upgraded to 'buy', but WPP fell 2.8% after it said Mark Read will step down as chief executive officer at the end of 2025 after seven years leading the company. Mr Read has spent more than 30 years at the company and took on the role of CEO in September 2018, following the abrupt departure of founder Martin Sorrell. In London, shares in Cordel plunged 12% after it warned full-year revenue will be lower than forecast. 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Auto Express
30 minutes ago
- Auto Express
Car Deal of the Day: A Volkswagen Golf R Estate for less than a GTI
328bhp, 155mph top speed Practical interior, high-quality cabin Only £270.41 a month If you've got your heart set on a fast estate car for not much cash, then you better load up on this deal, because this Volkswagen Golf R Estate won't be around for long at this price. Select Car Leasing is offering the scintillating Volkswagen Golf R Estate for a simply unbelievable £270.41 a month right now. That's more than 300bhp for much less than £300 a month, which is not just an incredible power-per-pound ratio, it also means that this range-topping performance Golf is cheaper per month than the lesser potent (and practical) Golf GTI five-door hatch. This two-year deal requires £3,598.92 to be put down as an initial payment, and mileage is limited to 5,000 miles a year. This offer is better suited to lower-mileage drivers, because two-year, 8,000 miles per annum deals are all around £400 a month from every broker on the Auto Express Find a Car service, including from Select Car Leasing. Advertisement - Article continues below Despite that, you're getting one of the finest fast estates around. The 328bhp 2.0-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder engine fires the load-lugger from zero to 62mph in just 4.8 seconds, before topping out at 155mph. The car's seven-speed dual-clutch auto box also ensures gear changes are ruthlessly efficient. Beneath the practical body lies a trick four-wheel-drive system, which uses torque vectoring and electronic differential locks to send power to both front-to-rear and left-to-right. And the latest Golf R comes with DCC3 (Dynamic Chassis Control) as standard, allowing you to tweak the dampers and suspension to suit your mood. Of course, this being an estate car, space is important – rear legroom is pretty good and the 611-litre boot is enormous. Up front, the latest Golf features an improved cabin with an easier-to-use infotainment system and better-quality fixtures and fittings. The Car Deal of the Day selections we make are taken from our own Auto Express Find A Car deals service, which includes the best current offers from car dealers and leasing companies around the UK. Terms and conditions apply, while prices and offers are subject to change and limited availability. If this deal expires, you can find more top Volkswagen Golf R Estate leasing offers from leading providers on our Volkswagen Golf R Estate hub page. Check out the Volkswagen Golf R Estate deal or take a look at our previous Car Deal of the Day selection here… Find a car with the experts Avoid using car finance claim firms, says financial watchdog Avoid using car finance claim firms, says financial watchdog FCA warns that using a claim firm could see consumers lose up to 30 per cent of their winnings if car finance redress scheme is implemented Omoda 9 review Omoda 9 review Chinese brand's flagship aims to offer premium-SUV kit and comfort, for the price of mainstream rivals. Can it deliver? In-depth reviews 6 Jun 2025 Best mid-size SUVs to buy 2025 - our expert pick of the top options Best mid-size SUVs to buy 2025 - our expert pick of the top options Mid-size SUVs are hugely popular in the UK, and these are the very best of the current crop Best cars & vans 4 Jun 2025


Reuters
32 minutes ago
- Reuters
Qualcomm bypasses logic gate with $2 bln UK deal
LONDON, June 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Artificial intelligence is so fast-moving and potentially all-encompassing that it makes sense for technology giants to pay up just to stay relevant. Look at all the money Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and (AMZN.O), opens new tab have poured into large language model developers OpenAI and Anthropic. That helps to explain why $162 billion semiconductor behemoth Qualcomm (QCOM.O), opens new tabagreed, opens new tab to buy $2.4 billion UK-based Alphawave (AWE.L), opens new tab on Monday. Overpaying to have a chance at cracking the massive AI data centre market is worthwhile for CEO Cristiano Amon. The deal has been a while in the making. Reuters reported in April that $140 billion chip architecture licenser Arm had considered buying Alphawave, which has a range of intellectual property related to semiconductors, with the aim of developing AI processors. That deal didn't happen, but Qualcomm's now has. The two sides agreed a price that implies a 96% premium to Alphawave's March 31 undisturbed level. Amon is giving the target's investors the option of receiving cash, shares or a special new security that will eventually turn into Qualcomm stock. The latter consideration seems designed to allow Alphawave's founders, who own a special type of share, to participate on the same economic terms as everyone else. On the surface, the price looks punchy. The offered enterprise value is $2.4 billion, according to a joint statement. With analysts pencilling in just $46 million of EBITDA this year for Alphawave, based on estimates gathered by LSEG, the implied multiple exceeds 50, compared with about 35 on average for peers Marvell Technology (MRVL.O), opens new tab, Credo Technology (CRDO.O), opens new tab, InterDigital (IDCC.O), opens new tab and Astera Labs (ALAB.O), opens new tab. Still, Amon isn't buying Alphawave for near-term earnings. The deal gives Qualcomm a shot at growing into the massive data-centre market, which is all the more important because the company needs to diversify away from smartphones. Key customer Apple is seeking to reduce its reliance on Qualcomm kit for iPhones. The market for AI data centre central processing units – or CPUs, which are like the brain of a computing system – is growing at a handy 10% compound annual rate, according to figures cited by JPMorgan analysts. Marvell, Broadcom (AVGO.O), opens new tab and others are already making moves and laying claim to turf that Qualcomm might like to own. Alphawave's high-speed intellectual property helps connect chips and move data around quickly, which could boost Amon's product offering as he seeks to build on the recent success of signing up a major Saudi Arabian data-centre customer. The good news is that this is a manageable bet relative to Qualcomm's size. The outlay is equivalent to less than one quarter's free cash flow, according to forecasts gathered by Visible Alpha. Given that, and the chance to unlock the next leg of growth, Amon arguably can't afford not to try. Follow Karen Kwok on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab.