Trade News

As automakers rush to roll out electric vehicles faster than their rivals, they're also scrambling to build enough plants to make all the batteries needed to power them.

They might not be able to keep up, said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who last week revealed plans to open a battery plant in Kokomo, Ind., in 2025. It's one of more than a dozen North American battery plants that automakers are in the midst of planning or building.

Yet Tavares said he expects the industry to face a shortage of batteries and raw materials needed for EVs this decade.

At the same time, he's on alert for more disruption on the economic front, saying "the macroeconomic fundamentals that could trigger" a recession are "quite common" to all of the Western economies.

If a recession does emerge, Tavares said automakers simply will have to roll with it.

"We are in the Darwinian world," he told reporters last week. "The guys who survive are the guys that adapt, an…

Tesla Inc.'s Chinese operations are struggling to pump out cars because of coronavirus shutdowns, and its new plants in Austin, Texas, and Berlin face long production ramp-ups. The automaker is also under fresh regulatory scrutiny over its driver-assistance software, and its stock price has fallen far further than equities markets overall.

CEO Elon Musk, meanwhile, has been posting his thoughts about a variety of topics on Twitter while pushing to take control of the social media platform.

Among his tweets last week, he observed that "politics is a sadness generator," that "assault rifles should at minimum require a special permit" and that "Italy will have no people" if falling birthrates continue there.

While Musk has long used Twitter to talk about his multiple companies, the prospect of him becoming Twitter's interim CEO and injecting himself into thorny political and social issues has analysts worried about his auto company's f…

Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc. warned Friday it may run out of cash in June, at least one month sooner than previously projected, unless it can raise additional capital.

The latest projections reflect higher costs in a number of areas, including employee retention and payments to suppliers, the suburban Detroit EV startup said in a filing.

"The company expects that, without obtaining additional financing, it has sufficient cash to continue operations into June 2022," it said in the filing, adding that it was "actively pursuing potential sources of liquidity" to bolster its finances.

Electric Last Mile had said in March that it had enough cash on hand to fund operations through sometime between July and September. The company is under SEC investigation and has been without an auditor since February.

The stock has fallen 90 percent so far this year as the company faces several financial reporting challenges, including a long-past deadline to file…

For more than 20 years, Teton Motors, nestled in the scenic mountain city of Jackson, Wyo., has offered an unusual employee benefit that has become increasingly critical to retain and attract talent: housing.

The dealership group, which operates Chevrolet and Subaru stores, first began offering on-site housing to employees in 1998. Today, Teton Motors owns 12 housing units that it rents to workers at below-market rates in the pricey tourist town — a perk that has attracted new employees and helped the dealerships keep existing staffers.

"It definitely has helped with retention, because everybody knows what the market is like and they do appreciate what we offer them," said Dave Auge, Teton Motors president. "It's a win-win."

Back in 1998, the group was leasing a plot of land in Jackson as a used-vehicle lot to complement its Chevrolet store, Auge recalled. When the land's owner died, Teton Motors bought the parcel and made plans to build an office for t…

Tucked beneath the floor of most electric vehicles today is a nickel manganese cobalt battery, a type of lithium ion battery. The chemistry has had a dominant run as EVs have proliferated because of its ability to hold an ample charge.

But nickel manganese cobalt, called NMC, is being challenged, experts say, as lithium iron phosphate, known as LFP, batteries provide a cheaper alternative, although they trade some range.

"LFP, from a manufacturer standpoint, is a great compromise," said Conrad Layson, senior alternative propulsion analyst at AutoForecast Solutions, a global consultancy and forecasting firm.

"From a user standpoint, it might be too much of a compromise. We won't know that yet until it really propagates out here in the Western market."

LFP batteries, which also fall under the lithium ion umbrella, are already powering a substantial number of EVs in China. But they have not reached the U.S. in any appreciable volume, said Dan Blond…

Toyota is adding special editions and trim levels to its car and light-truck lineup for the 2023 model year, including two which mark significant anniversaries of vehicles in the U.S.

4Runner: The brand plans a run of 4,040 special editions of the midsize off-roader to mark the 4Runner's 40th anniversary in the U.S. The vehicles will be 4x4s equipped with bronze alloy wheels and will feature yellow/orange/red striping. The cabin will get special badging and floor mats.

Sienna: Toyota will mark the 25th anniversary of its minivan with a run of 2,525 Silver Anniversary editions in Celestial Silver or Wind Chill Pearl. Based on the XSE trim, these will have special badging along with features normally requiring a higher Limited trim level, including heated and vented seats trimmed in black leather.

Tundra SX: This new trim level slotted between the SR5 and Limited features dark gray 18-inch alloy wheels and black instead of body-co…

Call this a reality check: At less than a month old, Volkswagen's nascent Scout brand doesn't have employees, offices, executives, a factory or even a publicly disclosed product plan.

What it does have is a purchased semi-famous name, a rough sideview sketch of a planned battery-electric SUV and pickup, and a commitment from the head of the world's second-largest automaker to make it all happen in the United States at lightning speed.

That commitment, from Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess and unaccompanied by deeper details, has been enough to roil hundreds of U.S. dealers of the automaker's eponymous brand over the last few weeks like nothing since the German automaker's costly diesel emissions scandal.

Diess this week was in Davos, Switzerland, committing to have a site chosen by the end of this year for a multibillion-dollar U.S. assembly plant and likely an accompanying battery plant. At the same time, his VW dealers in the U.S. and their allies …

Bob Brockman's continuation at the top of dealership management system giant Reynolds and Reynolds Co. after his lawyers raised concerns about cognitive impairment contributed to a federal judge's ruling that the former auto software titan is competent to stand trial on tax evasion charges.

The way that Brockman, who turns 81 this month, presented himself in professional settings was at odds with how he presented to his doctors and on cognitive testing, U.S. District Judge George Hanks Jr. wrote in a 42-page ruling this week. The opinion sided with prosecutors who contended that Brockman was faking his symptoms to avoid prosecution.

Hanks said those prosecutors met the burden of proof necessary to find Brockman competent.

Evidence showed "Brockman is also an extremely intelligent person with both a high cognitive reserve and history of malingering for secondary gain," Hanks wrote in his opinion.

The ruling, which came six months after an eight-d…

Kellen Walker gives you the top headlines and Rivian parts ways with its manufacturing chief, Carvana gets another chance in Illinois, and VW is shopping for sites to build Scout EVs in the U.S. And a look at whether F&I offices are shifting away from digital services.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

DETROIT-- General Motors' next vice president of global workplace safety will rejoin the automaker after 18 months at Amazon.

Marcos Purty will take on the role, effective June 1, replacing Jim Glynn, who will retire after more than 40 years with GM, effective Sept. 1, GM said in a statement Friday.

For the past 18 months, Purty has been vice president of North America Fulfillment for Amazon Robotics Sortable Operations. He spent the first 25 years of his career with GM.

In his last post with GM, from January to October 2020, Purty was executive director of global manufacturing strategy and planning. Purty "directed GM Manufacturing's footprint in cost and profitability, spearheaded new product allocation to increase manufacturing utilization, built a total utilization plan and footprint for GM's all-electric future, and implemented environmentally sustainable choices for the future," GM said in the statement.

Purty will report directly to GM CEO…

A federal judge has determined that former Reynolds and Reynolds Co. CEO Bob Brockman is competent to stand trial on multiple criminal charges related to allegations of tax evasion.

Brockman, 80, was charged in October 2020 with 39 counts, including tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and evidence tampering in what federal prosecutors say was a complex scheme to evade taxes on $2 billion in income.

His lawyers sought a competency hearing, which was held over eight days in November 2021 in a Houston courtroom, to determine whether Brockman could assist in his defense. Brockman's lawyers said he had been diagnosed with symptoms indicative of Parkinson's disease or Lewy body dementia that made it difficult for him to process or retain information. Prosecutors, however, argued that Brockman had faked his symptoms to avoid prosecution.

To help readers follow the developments in the case, we've compiled our ongoing coverage of the proceedings in one orga…

State-owned automaker China FAW Group Co. is considering acquiring a significant stake in the troubled ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

The Chinese carmaker has reached out to Didi’s top executives and expressed interest in becoming a major shareholder in the firm, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. FAW pledged to help Didi resolve issues related to data security, paving the way for a Hong Kong listing, the people said.

Discussions are at an early stage and might not lead to any transaction, the people said. Representatives for Didi and FAW didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Didi became a symbol of China’s crackdown on technology companies after the ride-hailing firm proceeded with its $4.4 billion U.S. IPO despite Beijing’s objections, erasing more than $70 billion in market value since China placed it under a cybersecurity probe.

FAW is…