Trade News

Electric-vehicle startup Leapmotor Technology Co. has received the go-ahead from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to launch an initial public offering in Hong Kong.

It approved Leapmotor’s plan to raise up to 291 million yuan ($42.4 million) via an IPO on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, the Beijing-based market watchdog said this week. 

In China, companies seeking to go public in overseas stock markets must clear regulatory oversight at home. 

Leapmotor filed its IPO application to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in March. 

With the green light from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the company is on track to become the fifth Hong Kong-listed Chinese EV startup, following Nio, XPeng Motor and Li Auto.

Leapmotor, established in the east China city of Hangzhou in 2014, has launched sales of four products -- the C11 compact crossover, the C01 and S01 compact sedans, and the T03 subcompact sedan.

In Ju…

SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, General Motors’ light-vehicle partnership with SAIC Motor Corp., began sales of its first hybrid vehicle on Thursday as part of its effort to improve its product lineup’s fuel economy. 

The vehicle, the Xingchen, is a hybrid compact crossover marketed under the Wuling brand. It has a 99,800 yuan ($14,569) starting price, SAIC-GM-Wuling said. 

The vehicle is 180 inches long and 72 inches wide, roughly the same size as a Chevrolet Equinox. 

The Xingchen is fitted with two electric motors and a 2.0-liter gasoline engine. It can reach a speed of 60 kilometers per hour in 3.2 seconds. 

The hybrid crossover drives on batteries only at low speeds, and is powered by engines at high speeds.

Its overall fuel consumption is 5.7 liters per 100 km. On urban roads, the fuel consumption can be lowered to 4.6 liters per 100 km, according to SAIC-GM-Wuling.

SAIC-GM-Wuling, based in the southwest China ci…

GM Financial will replace its General Motors-branded finance-and-insurance product portfolio in the fourth quarter with a new lineup developed with Safe-Guard Products International.

Safe-Guard will replace the Amynta Group as GM Protection's white-label F&I product partner. Amynta did not respond to a request for comment.

"We're out talking to dealers right now," GM Financial Senior Vice President Matt St. Charles told Automotive News Tuesday. St. Charles, who leads the GM Protection arm of GM Financial, said the reception has been positive.

St. Charles said the switch in providers and product revamp followed General Motors' decision about 18 months ago to move F&I protection operations from its manufacturing business into GM Financial.

That change led to a re-examination of the protection business and a rethinking of "what the experience should look like for both our dealers and our customers," St. Charles said, adding Safe-Guard seemed …

Mercedes-Benz Group and Volkswagen Group on Tuesday signed deals with the Canadian government to secure access to Canada’s large stores of key battery materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite, as the German companies compete for scarce supplies of raw materials with other automakers shifting to electric vehicles.

Markus Schaefer, chief technology officer at Mercedes-Benz, and outgoing Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess each signed a memorandum of understanding with François-Philippe Champagne, federal Minister of innovation, science and industry, in Toronto Tuesday morning.

The signing of the pair of battery value chain collaboration agreements followed comments from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the need for greater Canadian-German collaboration as global unrest roils traditional supply chains.

“What we are experiencing right now is a perfect storm — a multitude of overlapping and mutually reinfo…

Mercedes and Nissan's vehicle and engine-sharing collaboration moves closer to ending. Some of Hyundai and Kia’s most popular models get hit with a stop sale. Ford discontinues the Transit Connect in the U.S. after next year. Plus, electrification advocate Ari Matusiak talks about what the Inflation Reduction Act means for electrifying cars, trucks, and just about everything else in our lives.

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WASHINGTON — Toyota Motor North America has agreed to recognize California's authority to set vehicle emission standards under the Clean Air Act, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday.

In a letter sent to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state's Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph, Toyota said it is "committed to emission reductions and vehicle introductions consistent with CARB's programs," including pending regulations that would accelerate a transition to zero-emission vehicles and strengthen standards for new light-duty cars and trucks sold in the state.

"Our success in helping to electrify transportation depends in large part on success here, and in working with you to ensure we can deliver affordable and compelling solutions for all Californians," Toyota wrote in the letter.

California plans to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and light trucks and achieve 100 percent ZEV sales by 2035.

The recognition allows Toyota to b…

Mercedes and Nissan's years-old vehicle and engine-sharing collaboration will move another step toward unraveling in March when production ends at a Tennessee engine plant built specifically to share.

Nissan will "suspend operations at the powertrain facility in Decherd pending future product announcements," Nissan North America spokesman Brian Brockman said of the East Tennessee plant that opened in 2014.

Its 400 employees will be reassigned.

Earlier this month, Mercedes told dealers it will ditch the Tennessee-made four-cylinder engine that powers the brand's GLE midsize crossover as well as its Sprinter and Metris commercial vans.

Known as the Infiniti Powertrain Plant and constructed for $319 million next to Nissan's Decherd engine and components plant, the facility produced a Mercedes-developed turbocharged 2-liter four-cylinder engine — designed by Mercedes, manufactured by Nissan, and installed in models carrying both Infiniti and Mercedes…

A unit of powertain supplier Dana Inc. plans to open a $54.2 million electric vehicle battery cooling plant in suburban Detroit that would create 200 new jobs.

Dana Thermal Products LLC plans to lease space in a 350,000-square-foot building in Auburn Hills, Mich., where it will manufacture battery cooling plates designed to extract heat from lithium-ion battery cells, according to a briefing memo from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

The company anticipates production beginning in 2023 with all 200 of the jobs to be created by the end of 2024 at the site.

The project is being supported by a $2.5 million business development grant from the state following approval Tuesday by the Michigan Strategic Fund.

The incentive is a "critical factor" in swaying the supplier to choose Michigan over alternative sites in the southeast U.S. and Canada, according to state officials.

"In addition to an experienced and strong local labor pool in the a…

WASHINGTON — Hyundai Motor America and Kia America are recalling more than 280,000 large crossovers because of an issue with the tow hitch harness that may lead to a fire while parked or driving.

The recall covers about 245,030 Hyundai Palisades in the U.S. and 39,280 Kia Tellurides in the U.S. and Canada, both from the 2020-22 model years.

A “stop sale” was issued Tuesday in accordance with federal regulations for affected unsold vehicles at dealers and vehicle processing centers, NHTSA said.

The two automakers are advising customers to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until repairs are complete.

In both cases, "debris and moisture accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire," according to safety recall reports filed with NHTSA this month.

Both vehicles emerged over the last few years as key part…

Even in a class of one, the new Ford Bronco Raptor is beating out the notion of competition, early reviews say.

Ford Motor Co.'s newest model under the Bronco nameplate is meant to cater to one demographic: the most extreme off-road racing enthusiasts.

The Raptor is not hiding its intentions. It's 9.8 inches wider than the base Bronco model, and it comes with a tougher steel frame, shock towers and axles. Its 37-inch tires are the largest on any current production SUV, according to Ford.

Under the hood, a twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6 engine and 10-speed automatic transmission combine to produce up to 418 hp — enough power to climb mountain rocks and speed through desert sand.

A notable feature included to help with high-speed desert runs is Baja mode, which aims to optimize throttle control and torque delivery.

The Raptor is cheaper than its closest competitors — Ford's F-150 Raptor and the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon …

NEW YORK - The U.S. Department of Labor on Monday accused a Korean-owned auto parts maker and supplier to Hyundai Motor Co of violating federal child labor laws at an Alabama factory, federal court filings reviewed by Reuters show.

The Department of Labor (DOL) said SL Alabama LLC, a subsidiary of South Korea's SL Corp, employed underage workers at its Alexander City, Alabama factory, according to filings on Monday with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.

Since last November, SL Alabama "repeatedly violated" labor regulations by "employing oppressive child labor" and "minors under the age of 16," the DOL said in a six-page complaint.

In a statement to Reuters, SL Alabama admitted children had worked at the plant, which makes headlights, rear lights and other components for companies including Hyundai and its Kia affiliate. SL said the minors had been hired by an outside labor recruitment firm, which it didn…