Trade News

The year-end earnings reports filed by major parts suppliers over the past several weeks show that for many companies, revenue has returned to — and in some cases even surpassed — levels seen in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic threw the global supply chain into a tailspin.

That's good news for a supply sector that has been ravaged by production shutdowns, high materials costs, a tight labor market, geopolitical uncertainty and other problems for more than three years.

But it doesn't tell the whole story.

While revenue figures are returning to pre-pandemic levels, profits at many suppliers remain well below where they were in 2019. Earnings continue to be weighed down by higher labor, logistics and energy costs, in addition to persistent factory interruptions due to the global microchip shortage and the massive costs of investing in electrification, software and advanced driver-assist systems.

"Even if a supplier has the same revenue or is gett…

Chris Walsh learned he would become president of Reynolds and Reynolds during his performance review. It was unexpected, to say the least.

"It came as quite a surprise. When my boss (CEO Tommy Barras) brought me in for my annual review and went through [it], the last page was 'Here's what I want [you] to do going forward,' " Walsh, 58, recalled.

The second-generation Reynolds employee became president of the retail automotive software giant Jan. 27, 2022. His mandate: To help the Dayton, Ohio, company continue efforts to simplify its dealership management system contracts and improve relationships with dealer customers who saw Reynolds as inflexible, particularly under the leadership of controversial longtime CEO Bob Brockman, Barras' predecessor.

Walsh, a 36-year veteran of the 157-year-old company, didn't hesitate to take on the challenge.

"It was the next step in our company's journey," Walsh told Automotive News. "…

TOKYO — Rebounding Mitsubishi Motors will pour more than $10 billion into electrified vehicles and battery production through 2030 as it expands its battery-powered lineup in advanced markets such as North America, partly by leaning on help from Nissan Motor Co. and Renault.

CEO Takao Kato unveiled the push Friday while announcing a new midterm plan.

The sweeping road map focused heavily on electrification but included a slew of business targets including a global sales goal of 1.1 million vehicles for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026.

That goal is up from an expected 866,000 units this fiscal year. But the target still doesn't quite build back to Mitsubishi Motor Corp.'s pre-pandemic worldwide volume of 1.127 million vehicles.

Kato's electrification plan calls for investing between 1.4 trillion and 1.8 trillion yen ($10.26 billion and $13.19 billion) in R&D and facilities for electrification through 2030.

That will partl…

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Marco Rubio on Thursday introduced legislation that takes aim at Ford Motor's deal to use technology from Chinese battery company CATL as part of the automaker's plan to spend $3.5 billion to build a battery plant in Michigan.

Rubio, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, introduced legislation that would block tax credits for electric vehicle batteries produced using Chinese technology, saying it would "significantly restrict the eligibility of IRA tax credits and prevent Chinese companies from benefiting."

Ford said in response to Rubio that "making those batteries here at home is much better than continuing to rely exclusively on foreign imports, like other auto companies do. A wholly owned Ford subsidiary alone will build, own and operate this plant. No other entity will get U.S. tax dollars for this project."

Last month, Rubio asked the Biden administration to review Ford's deal to use technology from CATL.

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TOKYO — Electric vehicles took center stage when incoming Toyota CEO Koji Sato outlined plans to introduce a new EV platform and "drastically change" the way the company does business.

But another overhaul is underway that's just as important to Toyota's bold electrified future — the development of the software needed to run those battery-powered automobiles.

Woven Planet Holdings, Toyota's critical software-first company tasked with programming its next-generation digital cars, is itself going through some reinvention.

Among changes Sato identified in last month's business road map were tweaks affecting the spinoff, founded in 2018 as Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development.

Woven CEO James Kuffner, the goateed American computer guru who has led the high-tech company since its beginning, will be taken off the board of directors at Toyota Motor Corp.

Kenta Kon, meanwhile, outgoing Toyota Motor CFO, will give up that role but keep hi…

In our most recent survey of both car shoppers and dealers we once again try to uncover what points in the car buying process were crucial to deliver a positive experience. Just as importantly, in our 2023 Friction Points study we discovered what needs improvement.

Car buyers spent more time at the dealer in 2022 than they did in 2021 — and what they had to wait on is surprising. And while these shoppers gave a slightly higher NPS score in 2022, we found specific actions that should boost that number.

In the study you’ll find:

What dealers told us was their top focus for 2023, 5X more than managing inventory That the amount of time spent at the dealer dramatically impacts promoter and satisfaction scores The tasks in the purchase process that cause the most pain How staffing has changed and where dealers are placing bets on manpower

Two analytics companies are joining forces to try to provide a real-time look into electric vehicle battery behavior and increase production speed.

The partnership announced Thursday is between PDF Solutions and Voltaiq.

PDF Solutions is based in Santa Clara, Calif., and collects data during manufacturing, performs analytics and employs machine learning for semiconductor companies. Voltaiq is a Cupertino, Calif., company that makes software to analyze battery function.

The companies said in a news release that they're working on an "integrated solution" to examine battery quality earlier in the production process.

"Our partnership with PDF Solutions will help battery manufacturers adopt the agile mindset to better compete in the global transition to battery power," said Tal Sholklapper, Voltaiq's founder and CEO.

The companies say the partnership will correlate issues visible through data collection with root causes, giving battery manufact…

"If our group was known as anything it would be a leadership development company disguised as a car dealership. I believe if we teach people and lead people well, they become better leaders of themselves, and they will lead others well. If someone ends up leaving our organization, I hope we had some type of impact on how they lead themselves." — Christopher Vester, COO of the Hubert Vester Auto Group, on the "5 to Thrive with Dave Foy" podcast

Toyota Motor Corp. this week launched sales of the first full electric vehicle it has developed with BYD, China’s largest electrified-vehicle maker. 

The Toyota bZ3, a compact electric sedan, has a starting price of 169,800 yuan ($24,421), according to FAW-Toyota, Toyota’s joint venture with China FAW Group Corp.

The bZ3 was developed by BYD Toyota Electric Vehicle Technology Co., a partnership the Japanese automaker established with BYD in 2020. 

It is 4,725 mm long, 1,835 mm wide and 1,475 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,880 mm.

The EV is based on Toyota’s platform dedicated to EVs, the e-TNGA architecture, and is powered by iron phosphate batteries and an electric motor that BYD supplies.

It is available with a standard range of 517 kilometers or a long range of 616 km.

The bZ3 is the second bZ-series EV model Toyota is producing in China following the bZ4X crossover. 

The bZ4X, also assembled at FAW-Toyota, w…

Mercedes-Benz appointed Duan Jianjun, a Chinese national, president and CEO of its local sales company, Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Co.

The appointment will become effective on May 1, Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Co. said this week. 

Duan joined the sales company in 2013 as an executive vice president. He was promoted to COO in 2019.

After serving as president and CEO for nearly four years, Jan Madeja will return to Germany to take over a post at Mercedes-Benz’s headquarters, Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Co. added. 

China is Mercedes-Benz’s largest market worldwide. 

In 2022, the German luxury brand delivered 751,700 vehicles in China, a one-percent dip from a year earlier. 

A consortium of some of the world's biggest automakers is investing in a holographic head-up display technology startup.

Hyundai Mobis, the parts and service affiilate of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co., led a $50 million series C funding round valuing the United Kingdom's Envisics at $500 million.

Envisics develops augmented reality head-up displays or AR HUD, an advanced display technology that some automakers are planning to install in new models in the coming years.

The fresh funding will be used to speed up the product development and delivery of displays to automakers.

General Motors will be the first automaker to feature Envisics' second-generation AR-HUD technology in its electric Cadillac Lyriq 2024 model.

"Our collaboration with Envisics is moving into production this year, as we add AR-HUD technology to the all-electric 2024 Cadillac LYRIQ," Sandy Lipscomb, senior manager for Ultifi Design at General Motors, said in a ne…

Retail sales of new passenger vehicles such as sedans, crossovers, SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles rose 10 percent from a year earlier to some 1.39 million in February, the China Automobile Dealers Association said Wednesday. 

The main reason for the market expansion is the timing of the Chinese New Year holiday, which resulted in more working days in February as compared with the same month last year, the trade group noted. 

The week-long Chinese New Year holiday began on January 21. Last year, it started on January 31. 

In February, electrified passenger vehicles continued to penetrate the market at a fast pace: some 439,000 full electrified vehicles were delivered across China, a jump of 61 percent from a year earlier. 

In January, the market skidded 38 percent to 1.29 million due to the lingering pandemic, the termination of government incentives at the end of 2022 and fewer working days. 

At the end of December…