Trade News

A Chinese electric vehicle battery maker wants to build a multibillion-dollar plant in West Michigan, state officials confirmed Wednesday, saying an announcement is expected within days.

The yet-to-be-constructed factory would be located near Big Rapids, about 50 miles north of Grand Rapids. The Detroit News first reported the plan late Tuesday. It cited anonymous sources who said Gotion Inc. could spend up to $3.6 billion while adding 500 jobs initially and possibly 2,000 within 10 years.

Local and state officials are expected to designate the land as a Renaissance Zone, exempting the company from property taxes for decades. It was not immediately clear if the state would provide other incentives like a grant from the new Michigan Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund.

Green Township Supervisor Jim Chapman confirmed there is a special meeting scheduled Monday when the applicant — which he would not confirm as Gotion but said is a Chinese batt…

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will consider adopting more stringent greenhouse gas emissions rules for heavy trucks after Congress passed new incentives to speed the adoption of zero-emission vehicles, the agency told Reuters.

In March, the EPA proposed new rules to cut smog-forming and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from heavy duty vehicles. The agency said it will reopen the proposed GHG rules after passage in August of the climate and spending Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association, representing which companies such as Daimler Trucks, Caterpillar and Cummins, previously raised concerns the EPA proposal could boost costs and result in customers keeping "their higher emitting trucks longer."

EPA will be issuing a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to consider more stringent GHG standards for model years 2027 through 2029 in December.

EPA Office of Air and Radiation off…

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for all new vehicles to be equipped with passive alcohol-detection systems that can limit or prevent the operation of vehicles by impaired drivers, according to recommendations released Tuesday.

The agency's recommendations follow an investigation into a 2021 crash in Avenal, Calif., that killed nine people, including seven children. The crash was caused by an impaired driver who was speeding, the NTSB found.

"Technology could've prevented this heartbreaking crash — just as it can prevent the tens of thousands of fatalities from impaired-driving and speeding-related crashes we see in the U.S. annually," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a statement. "We need to implement the technologies we have right here, right now, to save lives."

The NTSB is recommending that NHTSA require passive alcohol-detection systems, advanced driver-monitoring systems, or a combination of the two, on all new ve…

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Chipmaker Nvidia showcased a high-performance automotive computer designed to advance processing of in-vehicle entertainment and automated driving functions.

The technology was unveiled Tuesday at the company's GTC event in San Jose, Calif. Analysts say the computer is designed to keep Nvidia ahead of rival Intel and its Mobileye automotive chip subsidiary.

Nvidia's latest tech, called Drive Thor, can control automated driving, driver-assist systems, infotainment, digital instrument clusters, occupant-monitoring and more from a single computer. This permits multiple vehicle functions on a single system-on-chip instead of spreading them across several electronic control units, lowering costs and streamlining development.

Drive Thor follows other Nvidia tech advances that debuted this year, including a graphics processing unit called Hopper and a central processing unit called Grace.

"What they've done with Thor is taken Grace and Hopper and put th…

Ford expects higher costs to mean lower earnings this quarter. GM backs tough emissions targets. Tesla’s upcoming ‘Optimus’ robot faces plenty of skeptics. Plus, a conversation with Bloomberg News Detroit Bureau Chief David Welch about his new book “Charging Ahead: GM, Mary Barra, and the Reinvention of an American Icon.”

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Dodge Charger and Challenger production at Ontario’s Brampton Assembly Plant is scheduled to end in 2024, but according to forecasting firm AutoForecast Solutions, both muscle car programs will stay in the province, while an electrified product from Jeep will take over their floorspace at Brampton.

The next Chargers and Challengers will be built at Stellantis’ assembly plant in Windsor, Ont., said Sam Fiorani, vice-president of global vehicle forecasting at U.S.-based AFS.

“They’re going to share the same platform with the next-generation minivan when it rolls around,” he told Automotive News Canada.

Stellantis confirmed in May that Charger, Challenger and Chrysler 300 production would end in Brampton in 2024 when the plant pauses for a retool. It also said the Windsor Assembly Plant would host STLA Large, a new vehicle platform catering mainly to battery-electric vehicles.

But the company has not disclosed any future product mandates for Brampton…

Rental car company Hertz Global Holdings plans to order up to 175,000 General Motors electric vehicles over the next five years, the latest move by the rental car firm to add zero-emission models.

Hertz and GM on Tuesday announced a joint agreement in which the rental car firm will order Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop EVs through 2027. Hertz expects to begin taking delivery of Chevrolet Bolt EVs and Bolt EUVs in early 2023.

The multi-billion dollar, multi-year deal could be the first of many GM agreements to supply EVs to rental car companies, said Steve Carlisle, the automaker's North American operations chief, on a conference call.

"It's an enormous first step," Carlisle said, adding that GM is in talks about similar deals with other rental car companies.

GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement the automaker's work "with Hertz is a huge step forward for emissions reduction and EV adoption that will help create thousands of new EV …

Auto supplier BorgWarner Inc. said it plans to acquire the vehicle electrification business of Hubei Surpass Sun Electric Co., expanding its electrification foothold to China.

BorgWarner on Tuesday said it will take on SSE's EV solution, Smart Grid and Smart Energy businesses. Based in the Hubei province of China, SSE supplies EV charging services to Chinese consumers, as well as those in more than 70 other countries, according to BorgWarner's statement.

Terms of the transaction value the business at 410 million yuan, or $58.4 million at current exchange rates. About 267 million yuan, or $38 million of that, will be paid upon closing, BorgWarner said.

The latest acquisition follows BorgWarner's August purchase of Rhombus Energy Solutions, which supplies patented technology to EV makers and charging and grid service providers.

Acquiring SSE "makes good business sense" as BorgWarner expands its fast-charging capabilities, CEO Frédéric Lissalde said …

Ford Motor Co., citing inflationary pressures throughout the supply chain, said Monday it expects to end the third quarter with adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of between $1.4 billion and $1.7 billion, down from the $3 billion in adjusted earnings it posted over the same period a year ago.

The company's latest third-quarter guidance is also below the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $2.98 billion.

The automaker, however, reaffirmed its full-year guidance of $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion in adjusted EBIT, which would be 15 to 25 percent more than it earned in 2021.

The automaker said that inflation-related supplier costs during the third-quarter will run about $1 billion higher than it originally expected.

It expects to finish the period with between 40,000 to 45,000 unfinished vehicles waiting on parts. Most of those vehicles, it said, will be high-margin trucks and utility vehicles.

Ford…

Uber Technologies Inc. said Monday a hacker affiliated with the Lapsus$ hacking group was responsible for a cyber attack that last week forced the ride-hailing company to temporarily shut several internal communications.

Uber said the attacker had not accessed any user accounts or the databases that store sensitive user information such as credit card numbers, bank account or trip details.

"The attacker accessed several internal systems, and our investigation has focused on determining whether there was any material impact," Uber said, adding that investigation was still ongoing.

The company said it was in close coordination with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice on the matter.

Friday's cybersecurity incident had brought down Uber's internal communication system for a while and employees were restricted to use Salesforce-owned office messaging app Slack.

Uber said the attacker logged in to a contract…