Trade News

Revised electric vehicle incentives are pushing buyers to models made in North America, boosting EVs from Tesla, Chevrolet and Volkswagen to the detriment of Korean imports from Hyundai and Kia, Experian data for new-vehicle registrations shows.

The top eight EVs in January were all made in North America, including three models from Tesla, two from Ford and the newly surging VW ID4 crossover that began production in Chattanooga last year.

Hyundai's imported Ioniq 5 crossover fell to ninth place from seventh place for full-year 2022. Kia's Korean-made EV6 was no longer among the top 10 EVs in January, after coming in eighth for 2022, according to Experian.

The shift in the EV landscape comes after passage of the Inflation Reduction Act last year, which changed eligibility for the U.S. federal tax credit of up to $7,500. Starting in August 2022, the incentive for the first time required that EVs be assembled in North America.

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WASHINGTON — The Biden administration opened applications Tuesday for a $2.5 billion funding program to expand access to electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities across the U.S.

The discretionary grant program was created by the bipartisan infrastructure law signed in 2021 and provides the multibillion-dollar funding over five years to eligible applicants including states, cities, local agencies and tribes.

The first round of funding makes up to $700 million available from fiscal years 2022-23 to strategically deploy publicly accessible EV chargers and hydrogen, propane or natural gas fueling infrastructure along designated highways, interstates and major roadways as well as in downtown areas and neighborhoods, particularly in underserved and disadvantaged communities.

The grant funding is divided into two categories:

— A $1.25 billion community program for EV charging and alternative fueling…

General Motors Global Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl is leaving the automaker. 

A GM representative confirmed the news, saying Wahl “elected to retire” and “will be transitioning through March 31, 2023,” adding: “We appreciate Deborah’s contributions since joining GM in 2018 and wish her well in her next chapter. We will conduct an external search for a new Global Chief Marketing Officer.”

Wahl, 60, joined GM in March 2018 as CMO of its Cadillac brand and was promoted to global GM CMO in 2019. She had previously served as CMO of McDonald’s USA.

She has been named to the Automotive News 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry list in 2000, 2005 and 2020.

Wahl’s career included brand strategy, communications and marketing roles with automakers including Ford, Toyota, Mazda and Chrysler. She told Automotive News in 2020 that her first automotive assignment was with Ford Motor Co. in Brazil, following a six-month post w…

FLINT, Mich. — There's a taped black line on the carpet at the entrance to the Algonac High School FIRST Robotics team's pit area at the recreational center at Kettering University. That's where about five students are working feverishly to fabricate a bracket that will keep their robot's arm from retracting too far when it competes in the Michigan State Regional robotics competition against 39 other schools.

Just a few tense minutes remain before the next match, and the sense of urgency is real as a drill whirs and a hammer knocks a fastener into place. The Full Metal Muskrats — the name of the Algonac High School team — have to get it right. Mechanical issues cost points and can derail a school's goal of making it to the state finals next month.

Sebastien Cournoyer, a plant manager at Cargill Corp. and one of the team's mentors, stands behind that black line a few feet away and watches as students secure the bracket. "I know it's not going to work," he said …

Subaru is sticking to a successful playbook in redesigning the third-generation Crosstrek for 2024. The subcompact crossover has been a bona fide success since its 2012 debut, racking up U.S. sales of more than 1 million.

The recipe is largely the same: All-wheel drive, plenty of ground clearance, a roof rack and storage packed into a tidy utility body. But there are plenty of new features and ingredients sprinkled throughout to make mountain getaways more comfortable and connected.

Base and Premium Crosstreks are powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder direct-injection engine that produces 152 hp and 145 pound-feet of torque. Sport and Limited models are equipped with a 2.5-liter engine with 182 hp and 178 pound-feet of torque. Both are paired with a continuously variable transmission, On Premium, Sport and Limited models, a manual mode with steering wheel paddle shifters allows drivers to control the transmission via eight preset ratios.

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DETROIT — General Motors will stop building a $1,500 OnStar subscription into the price of all Buick and GMC vehicles, instead making the safety and connectivity service standard only on high-end trims but optional on most other models.

For the 2024 model year, three years of OnStar Premium will be included on all GMC Denali trims and Buick Avenir trims and all versions of the GMC Hummer EV. Lower trims instead will come with three years of OnStar Remote Access, which links the vehicle to a mobile app. The change largely reverses a decision by the automaker in mid-2022 to package OnStar Premium with every Buick and GMC vehicle, giving buyers no ability to have the $1,500 cost removed.

A GM spokeswoman said the switch is meant to pair premium OnStar features with premium vehicle trims.

GM began including a three-year OnStar premium subscription with both connectivity and safety features in the middle of the 2023 model year as a way to add value for consu…

The late Cal Worthington's iconic Ford dealership sold, a store part owned by a race-car driver changed hands, a dealer shed her only dealership and a group entered its second state, all in transactions that closed in the fourth quarter and first quarter.

Here's a look at the deals involving import and domestic brands and stores in Wisconsin, Indiana, Virginia and California.

Nouri/Shaver Automotive expands with purchase of iconic Worthington Ford

A Southern California dealership with a long family legacy has new owners for the first time since 1963.

Bob Nouri and Pete Shaver of Nouri/Shaver Automotive Group on Feb. 28 purchased Worthington Ford from Nick Worthington and Dave Karalis, Nouri confirmed to Automotive News.

The Long Beach dealership became the last bearing the name of Cal Worthington, who died in 2013 at 92. Cal Worthington at one point owned 29 dealerships across the country. He bought Worthington Ford in 1963.

Cal Wor…

HONG KONG -- CATL's plan to raise at least $5 billion in Swiss global depository receipts (GDR) has been delayed as Beijing regulators raise concerns over the large scale of the offering, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The world's largest battery maker, formally known as Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL), had expected to receive a green light for the listing in Zurich from the Chinese securities regulator by the end of January, said one of the sources. But the process is taking longer than expected, all three sources told Reuters.

The delay has come to light a week after Chinese President Xi Jinping told CATL that he had mixed feelings about its status as the biggest player in a soaring business tracking the rise of electric vehicles around the world.

Xi's comments came in a rare public intervention about one of China's most globally competitive sectors.

In a response to a presentation by CATL's Chairman Robin Zeng…

A federal judge in Florida last week ruled that Hyundai Motor America was within its rights to terminate two Napleton Automotive Group dealerships.

Hyundai served the dealerships notices of termination because it alleged that reputational harm was suffered after Napleton executive Edward Napleton Jr. was charged with sexual battery of an employee. Napleton Jr. is the son of company president Ed Napleton. Napleton Jr. was sentenced to five years probation under a "best interest" plea that does not admit guilt.

The wrongful termination suit was brought against Hyundai by North Palm Hyundai and West Palm Beach Hyundai — both owned by Napleton Automotive Group — claiming that Hyundai violated Florida law when it tried to end their franchise agreements.

"The order issued by Judge Aileen Cannon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida confirmed the propriety of Hyundai's decision to terminate these two dealerships," Mitch Widom, an atto…

General Motors has agreed to hike salaries by 10 percent this year at its largest Mexico factory, the local union said on Monday, making for one of the biggest recent raises in the sector in Mexico.

The increase, at GM's pickup truck plant in the central city of Silao, will go into effect for one year as of March 25 and tops last year's deal for 8.5 percent pay raises, said the Silao union, SINTTIA.

"This overcomes the two-digit barrier that has not been reached in the automotive industry in many years," SINTTIA said in a statement.

It added that the above inflation increase, as well as other benefits, will help workers recover purchasing power.

GM did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Workers at GM's Silao plant elected SINTTIA in February 2022 after ousting their long-time labor representatives, hoping the new union would fight for better pay and conditions.

In other recent salary deals in Mexico, automakers agreed to…