STUTTGART, Germany— Mercedes-Benz’s experimental electric car, the Vision EQXX, broke its own efficiency record in June, travelling 747 miles from Stuttgart, Germany, to Silverstone, UK, on a single battery charge.

WASHINGTON—Siemens will invest $54 million across several key U.S. manufacturing facilities that serve critical infrastructure markets.

KARLSRUHE, Germany—Chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste is both technically feasible and environmentally and financially promising, according to new research from Audi and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

DETROIT— UVeye, a provider of advanced vehicle diagnostic systems, has received an investment from the capital venture arm of General Motors, GM Ventures, to help fund the development and commercialization of the company’s vehicle inspection technology. 

MUNICH— Universal Robots has introduced a new collaborative robot with a 20-kilogram payload capacity.  The UR20 cobot has an entirely new joint design that will allow for faster cycle times as well as the ability to handle heavier loads. Its 1,750-millimeter reach has been designed to work to the full height of the standard Euro-pallet, while its small footprint will allow companies to achieve more within their existing production space.

BEIJING—China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology agency said last week that the country's automobile sector is back to normal, with both output and sales in May increasing more than 50 percent from April. Major suppliers SAIC Motor and SKF concur.

STERLING HEIGHTS, MI—On Monday, Stellantis began indefinite layoffs of workers at its Sterling Stamping Plant here. A spokeswoman did not disclose how many workers will be affected.

DEERFIELD, IL—Caterpillar Inc. recently announced it will move its global headquarters to the company’s existing office in Irving, TX, from its current location here.

LEETSDALE, PA—Pittsburgh-based steel fabricator BCI Steel CO. and solar-tracker manufacturer Nextracker will hold a dedication ceremony next week to reopen the historic Bethlehem steel factory, which is being repurposed to make tracker equipment for large solar power plants.

CAMBRIDGE, MA and STANFORD, CA—A team of MIT and Stanford University researchers have developed a machine-learning-based system that increases the feasibility of manufacturing perovskite solar cells, which have an energy conversion efficiency of 18.5 percent.