Trade News

Queen Elizabeth II, who died September 8, was a keen consumer of the more specialist output of the British car industry and would today be described as a key influencer for brands such as Land Rover and Jaguar. She was often pictured at the wheel of their products.

However, she didn't always oblige them by driving their latest model.

The queen was Britain's longest-reigning monarch and the first to reach seven decades on the throne before her death at age 96. She learned to drive in the way many women did during World War II. She joined the female division of the British army, the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

There, she was also taught how to service vehicles and undoubtedly developed a taste for driving herself that would continue throughout her long life.

A story that probably best illustrates her driving enthusiasm as well as her sometimes impish humor puts her at the wheel of the Land Rover Defender, the vehicle that would probably become m…

Honda dropped out of the top five brands ranked in the latest National Automobile Dealers Association Dealer Attitude Survey after struggling with low vehicle supplies. This marks the first time Honda is out of the top five since 2015.

Honda had moved around between the No. 5 and No. 3 slots over the six previous years before slipping to the No. 6 slot in NADA's 2022 winter survey. It ranked No. 3 in the 2021 summer survey.

NADA surveys its dealer members twice a year on how they're feeling about the brands they represent to produce a scorecard of sorts on the relationship between brands and their respective dealer bodies. It typically asks dealers to rate their satisfaction with overall automaker performance, as well as with a brand's willingness to consider and incorporate their feedback into business decisions.

In the 2022 winter survey, traditionally conducted in January and February, Lexus and Toyota came in at No. 1 and No. 2, continuing the sibli…

Nissan North America is recalling 203,223 trucks after the discovery of a pair of potentially faulty parts in the transmission that could lead to vehicles slipping out of "park."

NHTSA said the recalls affect the following models:

2020-23 Nissan Titan full-size pickups produced Dec. 13, 2019, to Aug. 25, 2022. 2020-21 Nissan Frontier midsize pickups produced June 10, 2020, to June 25, 2021. 2022-23 Frontiers produced July 13, 2021, to Aug. 25, 2022.

*The resistance between the parking rod and wedge inside the transmission could allow for the shifter to move, in turn allowing the vehicle to slip out of "park" and potentially roll away.

A remedy plan has not been released, with Nissan saying one is under development.

Nissan also is recalling vehicles in Canada and Mexico in relation to the defect.

No accidents have been reported to Nissan, a spokesperson told Automotive News. There have been four allegations of minor injuries, the company sai…

In the automotive industry, ECAD-MCAD co-design has long been recognized as a potential enabler to increasing productivity and ensuring a robust design. With modern CAD tools, designers can directly synchronize their data. This ensures data integrity and more efficient, effective collaboration on critical designs between domains. The Challenge: first pass success ECAD MCAD co design XML limitations Change management Looking ahead: all electric vehicles and autonomous drive

General Motors said on Thursday it would invest $491 million at its Marion, Ind., metal stamping operations to prepare the facility to produce steel and aluminum stamped parts for future products, including electric vehicles, built at multiple GM assembly plants.

The investment will be used to purchase and install two new press lines, complete press and die upgrades, renovations and construct a 6,000-square-foot addition, GM said in a statement.

The automaker said that work on the facility will begin later this year.

GM's Marion Metal Center, which started in 1956, produces sheet metal parts for multiple GM assembly plants to support production of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles. The center currently employs more than 750 workers.

From the floor of the North American International Detroit Auto Show, Jamie Butters and Kellen Walker talk about the event's return, President Joe Biden's EV charging announcement, and more news from around the automotive industry. Plus, Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds and Automotive News reporter Michael Martinez discuss the auto show and Ford's new dealership EV certification requirements.

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DETROIT — Carlos Tavares on Wednesday said Stellantis has "zero problems with unions" as the company prepares to build several electric vehicle battery plants in North America.

Even if disagreements may arise at times, the CEO said, discussions with unions are necessary.

"Good dialogue with unions is part of the competitiveness of any company," Tavares said during a virtual media roundtable at the 2022 Detroit auto show.

Mark Stewart, Stellantis' North America COO, said having unionized battery plants would just be business as usual for the automaker.

"It's up to the people in the plant," Stewart told Automotive News. "All of our other facilities that we wholly own are unionized. We've got a great relationship with the union, and if those wind up being union, then that's great and wonderful, just like it is today. If it's not, then that's those folks' decision as well."

This positive view of organizers could be welcome news to the UAW as …

President Joe Biden, a self-titled "car guy," pushed his vision for an electric vehicle future that positions the U.S. as a leader, creates American jobs and transitions the country to a clean energy economy in remarks delivered Wednesday at the Detroit auto show.

"I believe we can own the future of the automobile market. I believe we can own the future of manufacturing," Biden said. "American manufacturing is back. Detroit is back."

Biden's presence at the event marks his first visit to the Detroit auto show since he was vice president during the Obama administration.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, UAW President Ray Curry, EPA chief Michael Regan, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Michigan Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell and Sen. Debbie Stabenow also delivered remarks.

Biden touted his administration's efforts to boost domestic EV manufacturing, investment and jobs to position the U.S. as a leader and reduc…

Tesla Inc. was sued on Wednesday in a proposed class action accusing Elon Musk's electric car company of misleading the public by falsely advertising its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features.

The complaint accused Tesla and Musk of having since 2016 deceptively advertised the technology as fully functioning or "just around the corner" despite knowing that the technology did not work or was nonexistent, and made vehicles unsafe.

Briggs Matsko, the named plaintiff, said Tesla did this to "generate excitement" about its vehicles, attract investments, boost sales, avoid bankruptcy, drive up its stock price and become a "dominant player" in electric vehicles.

"Tesla has yet to produce anything even remotely approaching a fully self-driving car," Matsko said.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco seeks unspecified damages for people who since 2016 bought or leased Tesla vehicles with Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving…

DETROIT — Magna International Inc. said Wednesday it is testing a last-mile autonomous delivery robot for use on public roads as the supplier giant looks to develop new businesses in the mobility space.

"The plan is to prove the technology — prove it has significantly lower costs than other use cases and other applications being offered — then scale it up into production," said Matteo Del Sorbo, global lead for Magna's new mobility unit, in an interview with Automotive News at the Detroit auto show.

The all-electric delivery robot was developed and built in Michigan and launched on a pilot basis in March 2022, according to Magna, the largest North American auto supplier. Since then, the robot has delivered hundreds of pizzas from a Detroit-area restaurant to residents and businesses.

It drives on public roads at speeds of up to 20 mph, according to the supplier. The robot utilizes an autonomous driving system developed by Magna that employs sensors, incl…

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday said it has approved more than two-thirds of electric vehicle charging infrastructure plans submitted by states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico ahead of schedule.

Thirty-five of the 52 EV infrastructure deployment plans submitted by states are now approved as part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program. NEVI was created and funded by the $1 trillion infrastructure law signed by President Joe Biden in November.

The program makes $5 billion available over the next five years to help states achieve Biden's goal of 500,000 EV charging stations across the U.S. by 2030.

States with plans now approved can gain access to more than $900 million in funding in 2022-23 to build EV chargers across roughly 53,000 miles of U.S. highway, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

"With the first set of approvals we are announcing today, 35 states across the country — wit…

Floor space at the Detroit auto show used to be at a premium. Declining participation by automakers in this show and others around the globe, exacerbated by the lingering pandemic that canceled the Detroit event in 2020 and 2021, has left organizers searching for creative ways to fill vast swaths of space. The new reality is evident in changes that the show floor has undergone since 2014.

» Move the slider to see the auto show change over time.