Trade News

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday said it will release guidance next week on sourcing requirements for electric vehicle battery tax subsidies under President Joe Biden's climate change law, the first in a string of highly anticipated rules to determine how broadly the credits can be used.

The auto, battery and clean energy industries have been awaiting guidance on complex questions governing eligibility for hundreds of billions of dollars of incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last year.

After outlining battery sourcing rules, officials said, Treasury will follow in the next couple of months with guidance on selling tax credits and making them refundable, which allows entities without tax liability to use them.

Treasury did not specify when the future guidance announcements would be made.

Many of the rules are aimed at weaning the United States off dependence on China, which dominates the global supply chains of pro…

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would amend U.S. patent law by reducing the time automakers can enforce design patents on collision repair parts to two and a half years from 14 years against aftermarket parts suppliers.

The bill — known as the Save Money on Auto Repair Transportation, or SMART, Act — would apply to automotive components, such as fenders, quarter panels and doors, and only affect aftermarket repair parts. It would not alter the 14-year period in which automakers can enforce design patents against other automakers.

The revived legislation is supported by Republican Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio and Democratic Reps. Zoe Lofgren of California, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington.

The bill was previously introduced in 2021 by Issa, who said it will expand consumer choice for collision repair parts, reduce costs for drivers and insurers and increase competition in th…

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U.S. labor unions are pushing back on White House efforts to allow European Union and Japanese firms mining and processing critical minerals to tap some of the lucrative subsidies available in the Biden administration's massive climate law, fearing the move will sap American jobs.

Unions, including the UAW, worry that providing concessions to other nations would undermine the goal of bringing jobs and investment to the U.S. and detract from the Inflation Reduction Act's intent of creating a domestic electric vehicle supply chain, according to people familiar with the matter.

The resistance from some of President Joe Biden's biggest political supporters threatens to further complicate his efforts to pursue the deals with allies. It also comes as lawmakers warn against any trade deal that side-steps Congress.

The tension comes at the intersection of two seemingly unrelated pursuits by the White House — boosting America's energy transition without relying …

WASHINGTON — Hyundai Motor America is recalling nearly 568,000 pickups and crossovers in the U.S. that are potentially equipped with trailer harness modules that could catch fire.

The recall covers 2019-23 Santa Fe midsize crossovers, including 2021-23 hybrids and 2022-23 plug-in hybrids, as well as 2022-23 Santa Cruz compact pickups.

Hyundai is advising owners to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until a repair is completed.

Those vehicles might be equipped with an accessory tow hitch assembly available for purchase through Hyundai or a dealership.

"Water accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire," according to a recall report made public Thursday.

The automaker told NHTSA it was aware of six incidents potentially related to the faulty component in the U.S., including one report of fire and five reports of thermal damage isolated to …

Kia Motors plans to launch six full electric vehicle in China this year through 2027 to shore up its presence in a market shifting decidedly to emissions-free cars and light trucks. 

The GT version of the EV6 crossover will be sold as an import in China beginning in August, according to information the Korean brand disclosed at an event held in Shanghai on Monday.

It will be followed by two locally produced EVs -- the EV5 crossover will arrive in November, followed by the EV9 crossover in 2024. 

Kia didn’t reveal the other three EV models it plans to market in China over the next five years. 

It expects EV products to generate sales of 180,000, or 40 percent of its annual China sales target, in 2030, the Korean brand said.

Kia currently sells only one EV model in China -- the battery version of the K3 sedan. Some analysts expect EVs to account for 35 percent – or 9 million units -- of China’s light-vehicle sales this year.&…

SHANGHAI – Vehicle price cuts initiated by Tesla Inc. in late 2022 have developed into a full-blown industry pricing battle that is engulfing nearly all automakers operating in China.

The heightened competition at home is now prompting Chinese automakers to step up the search for new growth opportunities overseas.

Just this month, several domestic automakers either started constructing assembly plants outside China or disclosed intentions to do so. 

BYD Co., China’s largest electrified-vehicle maker, broke ground on March 10 for a factory in Thailand. The plant, due to launch output sometime next year, will build up to 150,000 vehicles annually after reaching full capacity. 

On the same day, Hozon New Energy Vehicle Co., a Chinese EV startup, kicked off construction of a Thailand plant. Hozon expects the factory to start production in early 2024 witg initial annual capacity of 20,000 vehicles.

Both companies plan to build right-h…

Self-driving technology company Cruise is expanding its California ambitions beyond San Francisco.

Company executives asked California regulators Monday to amend their existing permit to allow for testing of autonomous vehicles throughout the state. Cruise's efforts have been restricted to specified areas of San Francisco.

Should the California Department of Motor Vehicles grant the company's request, General Motors-backed Cruise will be "ready to expand to essentially any city in the state," CEO Kyle Vogt told Automotive News.

While he declined to provide specifics on which California cities the company might target, he signaled Cruise would look southward.

"Warmer cities are, you know, on the table for us in the near term," Vogt said.

That might indicate Cruise is eyeing Los Angeles, a place where robotaxi competitors like Waymo and Motional are already testing self-driving vehicles and planning ride-hailing services. None of those comp…

SAN FRANCISCO — General Motors said it has enough reservations for the GMC Hummer EV SUV and pickup to exhaust its production capacity through next year.

And demand continues to grow, even after the automaker stopped taking reservations. GMC said about 200,000 people have expressed interest by signing up for email updates about the Hummer, including notifications of future reservation openings — on top of the 90,000 reservation holders already in line for the SUV or pickup. The brand will continue to stoke interest through exclusive in-person events while consumers wait for their chance to buy an electric Hummer.

Efforts to keep customers engaged will get a boost as more Hummer EVs show up on the road. Production of the SUV began in January at GM's Factory Zero plant in Detroit, while deliveries of the pickup began late in 2021.

"We had to pause those reservations because they're coming in so quickly that we simply couldn't keep u…

A picture is starting to develop of what Jaguar's U.S. dealership network might look like in 2025 when an all-electric and far more expensive three-vehicle lineup replaces today's models.

It will be smaller — perhaps dramatically so — and many sales could take place digitally as the storied brand looks to reinvent itself after a number of struggles dating back more than 50 years.

Since 1968, Jaguar has had four corporate owners. Its current owner, Tata Motors, bought the brand and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co. in 2008. In addition, Jaguar has dealt with labor issues and battled quality problems as well as suffered through product droughts, outdated plants, executive turmoil and other crises.

Jaguar Land Rover has started the process of reducing Jaguar stores by offering dealers extra allocations of hot-selling Land Rover nameplates, such as the redesigned Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender, if they give up their Jaguar franchises. It's unclear…

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, but indicated it was on the verge of pausing further increases in borrowing costs amid recent turmoil in financial markets spurred by the collapse of two U.S. banks.

The Federal Reserve’s actions raise the prospect of higher borrowing costs for new and used vehicles and other forms of credit, notably mortgages.

The average new-vehicle interest rate rose 2.6 percentage points to 7 percent between February 2022 and February 2023 as the Fed increased its benchmark target 4.5 percentage points during that time, according to Edmunds.

“The Fed's decision to hike rates by another quarter percentage point will have varying ramifications throughout the economy, but for car shoppers, this won’t be entirely unexpected given the significant climb that interest rates have made over the last year,” Edmunds senior director of insights Jessica Caldwell said in a state…