Europe’s relationship with the U.S. has been stretched to the limit by President Donald Trump’s “America First’’ foreign policy. But disputes about aircraft subsidies and auto tariffs coming to a head over the next two months could put the allies in a trade war.

The milkman went missing thanks to the rise of refrigerators. Switchboard operators were done in by the dawn of direct dialing. And in the car industry, auto workers are deathly afraid the engine assembler will give way to battery builders.

General Motors Co. workers called their first strike in 12 years, halting work at dozens of facilities across the U.S. in a clash over jobs, pay and benefits.

Put together the best solar panels money can buy, super-efficient batteries and decades of car-making know-how and, theoretically, a vehicle might run forever.

Geopolitical volatility adds another layer of uncertainty to an industry in the midst of a radical overhaul as the end of combustion-engine era looms.

Battery packs clamber up a conveyor belt before dropping into a flame-proof chamber, where they are crushed into gray metallic mush, a cocktail containing the car fuel of the future.

A new technology is on the cusp of going mainstream, thanks to a secretive Japanese company that’s mastered the skill of manipulating light for applications from squid fishing to cinema projection.

The industry is preparing a unified stance on electrification to present to the government by the end of the year.

Just as the American love for meat has caught on around the globe, so too has the abandonment of leather, from clothing to car seats.

The world’s biggest miners are firm believers in the electric vehicle battery revolution. What they don’t agree on is which metals will deliver the best long-term exposure to the developing global market.