Trade News

Luxury electric vehicle startups Rivian Automotive and Lucid Motors are rushing to help reservation holders qualify for the current $7,500 federal tax credit before the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act replaces it with a more restrictive incentive that includes price and income caps.

With President Joe Biden expected to sign the climate and tax bill into law this week, the EV startups are telling buyers with vehicle preorders that the new law could eliminate their eligibility for the EV credit unless they sign a binding sales contract in the coming days.

"Once signed into law, the Inflation Reduction Act will add new restrictions to U.S. buyers' eligibility," Rivian said in a blog post. "Under these new restrictions, an electric pickup truck or SUV must be priced below $80,000 and the buyer must fall below certain income thresholds."

Tesla, the EV leader by sales, is no longer eligible for current EV credits, which began in 2010.

Before the…

Aston Martin is rolling out a concept car this week in California as Monterey Car Week gets underway.

The DBR22 is a nod to race-winning Aston open cockpit sports cars built specifically for racing.

It's possible that the V-12-powered DBR22 could be built in extremely limited numbers. Aston's Q division has made small runs of sports cars such as the Vulcan and Vantage V600, of which just 38 units were made.

Aston says the DBR22 pioneers new production techniques for the iconic ultraluxury British brand. The vehicle uses a rear subframe that has been 3D-printed. Such a construction method would likely save millions in design and tooling costs. The bodywork is made of carbon-fiber panels.

The DBR22 is meant to evoke the Aston Martin DBR1 and the DB3S, an aluminum-bodied 1950s race car that ran at Le Mans. The DBR1, driven by Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori, won Le Mans in 1959.

The DBR22's twin-turbo V-12 cranks out 705 hp and can propel the…

FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group and Mahindra and Mahindra will expand their cooperation and have signed a Term Sheet agreement, under which VW will supply electric components from its MEB platform to the Indian automaker, VW said in a statement.

The cooperation will help Mahindra’s plan to build five full-electric utility vehicles based on its new INGLO electric platform.

The INGLO platform will offer power options ranging from 60–80-kilowatt hour battery capacity and fast-charging of up to 80 percent in less than 30 minutes, Mahindra said, without specifying the range of the EVs.

Mahindra has said it expects electric models to make up between 20 percent and 30 percent of its total utility vehicle sales by March 2027.

The company sells some of India's most popular combustion-engine utility vehicles, including the Scorpio and Thar.

"The MEB electric platform and its components are key to affordable sustainable mobility around the globe," VW Gr…

When the U.S. Open begins on Aug. 29, the grand slam tennis tournament will have a new automotive sponsor.

Cadillac has inked a multiyear deal with the U.S. Tennis Association, with plans to use the New York City event to plug its electric vehicle ambitions, including its Lyriq EV model.

The General Motors brand replaces Mercedes, which had backed the tourney beginning in 2010, when it replaced Lexus. The financial terms of Cadillac's deal were not disclosed.

Cadillac begins its tenure as the 2022 Open gets heightened attention with Serena Williams likely playing in her last event. Ticket sales have soared since the tennis legend announced plans to retire on Aug. 9.

But don’t look for Williams to do any Cadillac ads — she has a deal with Ford’s Lincoln brand.

Cadillac’s on-site plans include erecting a 3,000-square-foot showroom and experiential space that will house the “Cadillac ELECTRIQ Theater” that the brand says will showcase its vis…

News coverage continues to focus on the dramatic changes that have buffeted the automotive industry over the past few years. Inventory shortages, supply chain fragility and technology disruptions ranging from increasing electrification to the digitization of the retail experience are combining to substantially reshape consumer expectations.

In the face of these changes, one ongoing priority has become even more crucial for manufacturers (OEMs), dealers and other industry players: the need to establish solid, long term relationships with consumers that build trust. This generates increased brand loyalty to OEMs and dealers and delivers benefits to both the consumer and the business alike.

Establishing such relationships requires consistent delivery of all the hallmarks of superior customer service, from friendliness and respect to accessibility and transparency. Maintaining them requires accurate data. And that involves access to the kind of detailed identity i…

From D.C.'s lawmakers: A solution and a new challenge

In one week, two pieces of federal legislation with profound implications for automotive manufacturers, suppliers and retailers passed major milestones. One promises to alleviate one headache for the industry in the long term, while the other will create a new headache, at least for now.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law — though it took a year and a half of wrangling between both sides of the aisle in Congress to get there. Some $2 billion of the $52 in federal government subsidies is designated for the production of chips used by automakers and parts suppliers. Major players such as Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing are committing to invest billions in new U.S. plants.

A microchip-starved auto industry is unlikely to get immediate relief, but in the years ahead, the addition of chip output inside U.S. shores — which is expected to help offset reli…

Parts shortages and higher commodity prices are putting a financial squeeze on Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers, in some cases forcing them to go to their Tier 1 customers to renegotiate pricing or ask for a cash infusion.

The third option: Go bankrupt.

Pat D'Eramo, CEO of Canadian Tier 1 supplier Martinrea International, has had a number of lower-tier suppliers ask his company to renegotiate their contracts, he says.

That maneuver, occurring around the industry, is putting even more financial pressure on Tier 1 companies as they deal with pricing pressures of their own, he said.

"We negotiate and we're paying the difference," D'Eramo said. "Most of the supply base is doing the same thing. We're trying to work with our customers to make adjustments that are in line with the adjustments that we make with Tier 2s. That's the fair way to do it."

D'Eramo told an audience at an industry conference this month that s…

The co-founder and CEO of Israeli startup Upstream Security explains how EV chargers are a prime attack vector, discusses supply-chain vulnerabilities and the financial-minded motivations of car hackers.

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Tesla's U.S. new-vehicle registrations grew 61 percent in the first half of the year, easily beating BMW for the top spot among luxury automakers, regardless of fuel type.

All major luxury brands except Tesla and Genesis posted lower first-half registrations, according to new data from Experian.

But there was a bright spot for legacy automakers and EV startups in the data: New registrations of full-electric vehicles rose sharply among non-Tesla brands.

"Tesla's growth is expected, but what's more exciting to see is the fiery jump in sales for legacy automakers that have introduced new EVs onto the scene only recently," said Robby DeGraff, industry analyst at AutoPacific.

Tesla new-vehicle registrations in the January-June period rose to 228,989 from 142,543 in the year-ago period. Registrations for luxury competitor BMW fell by 13 percent to 157,838 vehicles. Lexus saw a 19 percent drop to 133,616 and Mercedes was down 14 percent to 133,520, acc…

Maybe there was a time when the auto industry had all the engineers it needed. But if so, that was a while ago.

The industry has been bemoaning the shortage of engineers at least since the dawn of this century.

And the situation is heating up now.

Automakers are remaking product portfolios to load them up with battery-powered electric vehicles that need new components and materials. Suppliers are perfecting catalogs of new technologies for advanced safety, automated driving and connectivity. And to do all that, they need engineers in disciplines that didn't used to be critical, including mechatronics, electrical and software — lots of software engineers.

In Traverse City, Mich., this month, at the Center for Automotive Research's annual Management Briefing Seminars, it didn't take much prompting to get executives to tell us that they've got unmet engineer needs. It's a source of stress across the industry.

The big French supplier Faurecia …

The auto industry is looking to the capability known as Plug & Charge to level the playing field with Tesla's Supercharger DC fast charging network.

It could be a crucial tool in helping drivers charge quickly and more easily as the industry moves to sell more electric vehicles.

Tesla has a huge head start with its Supercharger network, which launched in 2012. It permits Tesla drivers to reach almost any destination in the continental U.S. Although the network is dedicated to Tesla drivers, the automaker says it plans to open it to other makes.

Plug & Charge is the response from other automakers. It's a complex set of software and security protocols that make on-road DC fast charging quicker and simpler.

The system has software operating in the background that authorizes an EV at a charging station to identify itself to the network and provide a valid payment mechanism, which lives within the automaker app. No…

Late-night comedian and Ford F-150 owner Jimmy Fallon surprised employees who make the F-150 Lightning pickup during a stop in Detroit this month.

Fallon joined Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley at a track to test drive the battery-powered pickup and at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center to see it being built and pose for photos with workers.

"I just drove it 100 miles an hour," the host of "The Tonight Show" said in an interview with Detroit's NBC affiliate, WDIV-TV. "Honestly, it was in three seconds. I just floored it, and you like fly back in your chair. Thing's got some kick, man."

Fallon — a former "Saturday Night Live" star like Farley's late cousin, Chris Farley — has talked up the F-150 Lightning multiple times on his show. In May, he created a music video called "Junk in My Frunk" about the truck's spacious storage area under the hood.

"You are so smart, fun and a badass," Fallon, who also drove a Bronco and several Mustangs…