Latest news with #OADA
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla but no Rivian? Electric vehicle maker sues Ohio over ban on direct car sales
A California-based electric vehicle maker is suing the state's Registrar of Motor Vehicles, saying Ohio law prevents it from selling cars in the state while letting Tesla do precisely that. Rivian, a manufacturer of electric vehicles, filed the lawsuit on Aug. 4 in U.S. District Court in Columbus, asking the court to determine that the provision of Ohio's law violates the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection rights of Ohio consumers. According to the lawsuit, a 2014 Ohio law allows the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to deny a license for a motor vehicle dealer to "a manufacturer, or a parent company, subsidiary or affiliated entity of a manufacturer." "Shortly thereafter, and to cut-off future competition, OADA (the Ohio Automobile Dealerships Association) lobbied the Ohio General Assembly to enact a law that would prohibit the direct-sales-only business model for every manufacturer but Tesla," the lawsuit says. At the time the law was enacted in 2014, Tesla had two dealerships in Ohio and has since opened a third. Like Tesla, Rivian does not use franchised dealerships but operates its own dealerships in 16 states. "Ohio law permits manufacturers like Rivian to do practically anything other than sell vehicles in the state directly to consumers," the lawsuit says. This includes performing service on vehicles, renting vehicles, delivering vehicles to Ohioans who have purchased them in other states, and assisting with financing, titling, and registration of the vehicles. "If Rivian, LLC obtains the relief sought in this lawsuit, it will take every step necessary to obtain an Ohio dealership license and sell its vehicles in Ohio directly to consumers," the lawsuit says. "There is nothing unfair about Rivian selling its own vehicles to consumers in Ohio without using any middlemen, as Ohio already permits certain manufacturers to do." The lawsuit requests that a federal judge allow Rivian to operate in Ohio, allowing for increased competition and consumer choice in the electric vehicle market. In January, the Department of Energy under President Joe Biden's administration approved a $6.5 billion loan to Rivianfor assistance in building a second manufacturing plant in Georgia. The company currently has a manufacturing plant in Illinois. No court date has been set, according to federal court records. Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@ or on Bluesky at @ This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: EV maker Rivian sues Ohio, citing Tesla's presence Solve the daily Crossword
Ya Biladi
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
Algerian army completes airbase 70 km from Morocco
The Algerian army has completed the construction of a new military airbase in Oum El Assel, located in the Tindouf province, approximately 70 km from the Moroccan border, south of Mhamid El Ghizlane. The information was reported by the Atlantic Defense and Armament Observatory (OADA) on X. Satellite images show the presence of two Russian-made MIG-29M2 fighter jets equipped with air-to-air missiles. According to the Observatory, the base also features ammunition depots and other ground infrastructure. «This project was launched toward the end of 2021 by the Algerian Ministry of Defense. In addition to the MIGs, the base is capable of accommodating Sukhoi aircraft, also of Russian manufacture. To make this possible, the runway had to be widened», a Moroccan security source told Yabiladi. «Several tanks have been deployed at the base, some of which were transferred a few months ago from the Tindouf camps», the source added. They also noted that «the base lacks sufficient natural defenses to ensure its security, even though the Algerian army has stationed missiles there». The Oum El Assel base falls under the command of Algeria's 3rd Military Region.
Ya Biladi
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
Algeria builds strategic military airstrips near Moroccan border
DR Algeria has begun constructing temporary airstrips near its border with Morocco, designed to accommodate tactical transport aircraft such as the C-130, reports the Atlantic Observatory of Defense and Armament (OADA) on X. «These airstrips (located between Béchar and Boudnib, north of Meridja, ed.) could be used in wartime to ensure rapid logistical support, transport troops to the front lines, or evacuate the wounded and dead», OADA noted. A Moroccan security source told Yabiladi that «the construction of these airstrips is only the first step in Algeria's plan to establish a new military base facing the kingdom, despite already having several in the area — including an operational base in Tindouf, just 75 kilometers from the Moroccan border». In fact, in 2021, the Algerian army launched an expansion of the Tindouf base to accommodate Sukhoi fighter jets ordered from Russia. Algiers recently received the first batch of these aircraft, although one of them has already crashed during a training exercise. This Algerian project dates back to the spring of 2020 and was revealed by Algerian media shortly after Morocco officially announced, in the Official Bulletin published on May 21, 2020, its intention to build a military barracks in Jerada, just 38 kilometers from the Algerian border. «At the highest level, Algerian authorities decided — in accordance with the principle of reciprocity — to build a strategic military base near the Moroccan one (Jerada) to protect the country's borders and national security from the direct threat this presence represents», wrote Echoroukonline. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune neither confirmed nor denied the project during an interview with France 24 on July 4, 2020. Two years later, in February 2022, an African media outlet reported on Algeria's plan to build a new base in the Béchar region, which falls under the country's 3rd military region. A month earlier, Morocco's Royal Armed Forces (FAR) had established the Eastern Military Zone — the third of its kind in the kingdom. «This race between Morocco and Algeria to build bases, barracks, acquire weapons, or conduct military exercises will continue», said a Moroccan security source in a statement to Yabiladi. «It's part of each country's broader strategy to secure its borders and prepare for any potential threat from its neighbor».
