Tesla, Ford, Beijing, Lexus, Audi.

French Tesla facility? If France’s Energy Minister Segolene Royal gets her will, an old nuclear energy plant could become the first Tesla production plant in Europe. The Fessenheim nuclear plant in the Alsace region near the German border is due to close at the end of the year. Talks with Tesla management are to take place in a few days. That is what we call true energy turnaround.
reuters.com, theverge.com, jalopnik.com

Mexican Ford facility: The carmaker will build a plant for small cars in Mexico for 1.6bn dollars. Set to go into operation in 2018, the Ford facility will also produce a Focus-based hybrid described as “Prius-fighter,” according to Reuters‘ sources.
reuters.com

Crackdown continues: After Shenzhen, Beijing takes a tough approach to unregulated e-bike traffic, banning electric scooters from ten main roads because of safety reasons. There are about 4m e-bikes in China’s capita, most of which resemble electric motorcycles, but claim the freedom of bicycles.
shanghaidaily.com

800 hp hybrid? Lexus plans a LFA successor, which will debut at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, Japanese Response reports. However, so far these are only rumours and Lexus has not commented on the undertaking.
lexusenthusiast.com

A3 facelift: Audi updates its A3 this summer and reveals sharper and brighter lights, as well as new colours. The A3 e-tron will be continued, but the facelift does not concern the plug-in hybrid’s drivetrain.
carscoops.com, worldcarfans.com