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The electric vehicle revolution isn’t coming—it’s already here. Now’s a critical time for auto suppliers who need to adapt. The challenge? Maintaining utilization and profitability for their existing ICE plants at the same time. Our latest white paper outlines expert analysis and insights for navigating these competing aims, exploring key considerations such as: The speed and sequence of EV adoptionThe shift from powertrain components to EV technologiesThe lithium-ion battery supply chainThe crucial questions suppliers must ask themselves

Automotive supplier Magna Seating is planning a 300,000-square-foot plant and 500 new jobs in suburban Detroit near the Orion Assembly Plant of customer General Motors.

The $100 million just-in-time seating plant is expected to be built on 40 acres at 1700 Brown Road, according to an Auburn Hills, Mich., planning commission document.

Magna confirmed the project investment and size as well as the number of jobs spurred by new business from GM. The jobs will be UAW-represented.

"We are working with the city of Auburn Hills and the State of Michigan on a potential new facility that would ultimately supply GM's Lake Orion Assembly Plant and Factory Zero," spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst said in an email to Crain's Detroit Business, an affiliate of Automotive News.

The Canadian company, which has a large presence in metro Detroit, will operate the plant as the "exclusive supplier" to "all the electric SUVs and trucks" produced at Orion Assembly, the project…

Ford is again increasing the price of some models of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup, with the base model now starting at $61,869, including shipping— up about 50 percent over the initial starting price when the truck launched in April 2022.

The price hikes come as the automaker reopens retail order banks for current reservation holders, resumes vehicle shipments and returns to full production at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center following a February battery fire.

The automaker said the price for the Lariat standard range model will jump from $76,369 to $77,869, while the Platinum model will jump from $98,769 to $99,969. All prices include a $1,895 shipping charge.

The Lightning Pro remains sold out for retail customers, Ford said, and order banks for commercial buyers will open in mid-April.

Ford said the price changes are a result of "current material costs, market factors and supply chain constraints."

The company restarted Lightnin…

WASHINGTON — Ford Motor Co. has withdrawn its petition to deploy a limited number of self-driving vehicles without traditional driving controls or features on U.S. roads, an unpublished federal document shows.

In the notice, which is scheduled to be published Friday, NHTSA said Ford has withdrawn its July 2021 request for a temporary exemption from certain federal safety standards for a vehicle equipped with an automated driving system.

Ford sought an exemption from seven safety standards to deploy vehicles that would be used to support mobility services such as ride-sharing and package delivery, according to the petition.

Ford notified NHTSA in February of its decision to withdraw the petition.

If it had been approved, it would have allowed Ford to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving vehicles annually.

In a statement to Automotive News, Ford spokesman Alan Hall said it withdrew the petition as part of a strategic decision announced in late 202…

Jose Munoz joins the board of directors of Hyundai Motor Co. Operating losses widen at Shift Technologies, even as the company reports a net profit. Half of U.S. new-vehicle shoppers will have a viable EV option this year. Kia unveils its three-row EV9. Plus, how a dealer manages complex operations in Manhattan.

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American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. is considering a $460 million electric vehicle research and supplier park adjacent to its Detroit headquarters in a project that would create 1,110 jobs, according to city documents.

The plan, called Project Orb, involves the redevelopment of the 50-acre former manufacturing property near the automotive supplier's campus at Holbrook Avenue and St. Aubin Street, along the Hamtramck border.

The "office/research and supplier park" would support the "concentration of the company's EV investment in Detroit and Michigan rather than competing international and other domestic locations," according to a project synopsis included in a city document.

The axle and auto parts manufacturer, whose largest customer is General Motors, is seeking $100 million in statutory and discretionary incentives from the state's Critical Industry Program — part of the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund signed into law in la…

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating two Illinois automotive groups for potential unfair, deceptive or discriminatory behavior, demanding years of finance-and-insurance documents as part of the inquiry.

Neither Liberty Auto City nor Leader Automotive Group have formally been accused of anything by the agency, which has been looking into them both for potential FTC Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act violations since at least last year.

FTC commissioners in both cases said they were exploring the groups' "auto sales and lending practices" for unfair or deceptive practices or prohibited discrimination "resulting in higher vehicle sales prices, periodic payments, 'add-on' charges, or other harm to consumers."

Leader Automotive attorney Ira Levin of Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella said in a statement Friday the company "does not typically comment on pending legal matters; however, we can share that we are working with th…

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares on Wednesday said climate change policies should not be used to influence global investment decisions and to put countries in competition with each other.

"Policies on climate change should not be a weapon to rebuild competitiveness in a global trade approach," Tavares said during Stellantis' Freedom of Mobility Forum.

Congress last year announced $369 billion in subsidies to support clean technologies and electric vehicles under the Inflation Reduction Act, while China has been giving local automakers incentives for domestic production of battery electric vehicles. 

The European Union responded last month with its proposed Green Deal Industrial Plan, concerned that the U.S. law could put companies based in Europe at a disadvantage and drive investments out of the region.

Sticks with electrification

The final decision by EU countries on Tuesday to allow sales of new combustion engine cars t…

Starting this summer, Cadillac will allow buyers of the brand's upcoming Celestiq ultraluxury electric sedan to personalize their vehicles through a concierge service at its Global Technical Center campus.

General Motors will convert a building on the campus in Warren, Mich., into Cadillac House at Vanderbilt, named for designer Suzanne Vanderbilt, who worked on Cadillac vehicles after joining GM Design in 1955, including a 1958 Eldorado Seville coupe dubbed Baroness and the Saxony convertible.

Cadillac will select buyers for the Celestiq beginning this spring, and the first personalization concierge visits at Cadillac House will begin in late summer, the brand said.

"Every Celestiq is personally commissioned and working on-site with our Cadillac designers provides clients an elevated experience," Bryan Nesbitt, executive director of global Cadillac design, said in a statement. "It's a unique opportunity to collaborate with our design team, enabling cli…

Online used-vehicle retailer Shift Technologies Inc. said it reduced headcount by about 30 percent and reported a wider loss from operations and shrunken revenue in the fourth quarter.

On a Tuesday earnings call, Shift Technologies CEO Jeff Clementz said the majority of reductions stemmed from the company's move to a "decentralized sales organization" in February. Corporate roles also were reduced, he said, though the exact number was not immediately clear.

The retailer reported a $60.7 million fourth-quarter loss from operations, wider than a $53.2 million loss in the year-earlier period. Revenue during the quarter plunged 67 percent to $65.6 million.

The company posted net income of $13 million compared with a net loss of $75.8 million during the same quarter last year. But the most recent quarterly results included a one-time gain of $76.7 million from the acquisition of used-vehicle consignment company CarLotz Inc.

The retailer closed on that …

BYD Co. doesn't have any current plans to enter the U.S. passenger car market, founder Wang Chuanfu said, throwing cold water on the prospect of the Chinese electric-vehicle maker challenging Tesla Inc. in its home market — for now.

The auto titan, which reported that net income more than quintupled last year after it sold a record number of EVs, said at a post-earnings briefing on Wednesday that its home market of China has already entered a "full-expansion phase" for new-energy vehicles.The US is the next biggest EV market after China, where a price war has erupted between BYD, Tesla and other EV makers. Backed by Warren Buffett, BYD has been expanding its footprint overseas, including into Norway, Denmark, the UK, Thailand and Australia. Wang predicted that the development of clean-energy vehicles will lead to a reshuffling within the global auto industry.

Given that BYD isn't entering the U.S. passenger EV market for now, Wang doesn't foresee any impact fro…

SHANGHAI - Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc. began trial operation on Tuesday of faster, more efficient battery swapping stations in China in its push to make battery swapping a viable alternative to rival EV makers' rapid-charging technology.

With capacity to store up to 21 battery packs each, Nio's Power Swap Station 3.0 can speed up battery swapping to less than five minutes and lower the service cost per swap, Shen Fei, Nio senior vice president for power management, told reporters at an event in Shanghai last Thursday. The comments were embargoed for release on Tuesday.

Tesla's rapid-charging Supercharger allows EV users to top up vehicles to a range of 200 miles in 15 minutes.

Battery swapping allows drivers to replace depleted packs quickly with fully charged packs, rather than plugging the vehicle in to a charging point. Swapping could help to ease the strain on power grids at peak times when drivers recharge, but industry analysts and exec…