Trade News

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. cut its global production plan for June for the second time this week and signaled its full-year output estimate could be lowered, highlighting the pain from the supply-chain crunch and China lockdown.

Global automakers' production has been hit by the microchip shortage and also by China's COVID-19 lockdowns.

The reduction by Toyota -- broadly seen as a bellwether for Japan's auto industry -- comes a day after data showed that passenger car sales in China, Europe and the United States remained weak.

The automaker said it now expected to produce about 50,000 fewer vehicles in June, for a total of about 800,000, due to the lockdown in Shanghai. It had already cut its plan for the same month by 100,000 vehicles on Tuesday, citing the chip shortage.

Toyota said there was "a possibility" that it could lower its full-year production plan of 9.7 million vehicles.

"It is very difficult to estimate the current…

Lucid Group CEO Peter Rawlinson reveals some key engineering secrets that allow its midsize Air sedan to compete with full-size rivals for interior space — while housing enough battery modules to travel more than 500 miles on a single charge — in a new video presentation.

Silicon Valley-based Lucid, which is ramping up production of the Air EV at its Arizona factory, released the "Lucid Space Concept" presentation Thursday on YouTube. In it, Rawlinson walks through the development of the body structure to accommodate the EV's 1,000-horsepower mechanicals while providing seating for five full-size adults.

Lucid, which has highlighted its proprietary technology and in-house manufacturing in promotional material, has achieved a series of industry firsts. They include the longest-range EV ever tested in the U.S. and the biggest front-trunk, or "frunk."

The latest video is the second in a 10-part series led by Lucid executives and experts. In the debut March…

Two quickly expanding dealership groups added to their store counts in the first and second quarters, while two other groups made single-store acquisitions in March and May.

Here's a look at deals involving domestic, luxury and import dealerships and stores in Illinois, Nevada, New York and West Virginia.

Lou Fusz Automotive Network acquired its second Ford dealership with a purchase this month.

Lou Fusz Automotive Network, of St. Louis, on May 10 bought Tri Ford Inc. in Highland, Ill., from Monica Rehkemper.

The dealership was renamed Lou Fusz Ford of Highland. Highland is northeast of St. Louis.

Randy Fusz, the group's CEO, said the Ford acquisition follows the group buying a powersports store, also in Illinois, about six months ago.

It had been more than 20 years since the group's last new-vehicle dealership acquisition, Fusz estimated. But the group, which Fusz runs with his four siblings, is looking to expand.

The group…

BERLIN – Tesla Inc. has submitted an application to build on a further 247 acres east of its plant in Germany, expanding the site's area by a third, a local media outlet reported, citing the local mayor.

The automaker, which already has 740 acres of land for its auto factory and battery plant under construction, planned to build a freight station, logistics areas and parking spaces on the additional space, Gruenheide mayor Arne Christiani told RBB.

The municipality's main committee will discuss the matter on June 2. If it makes a recommendation, the municipal council could decide on it on June 23, Automobilwoche, a sibling publication of Automotive News, also reported.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Gruenheide plant, which at full capacity will produce 500,000 electric cars a year, began production in March 2022 after a series of licensing delays that CEO Elon Musk said ran counter to the urgency needed to tackle…

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Cities explore potential benefits of micromobility

DENVER — On Earth Day, Denver city officials commenced a $9 million program which offered residents rebates for purchasing e-bikes. Less than three weeks later, on May 11, the program crossed an improbable threshold.

"The funding has been exhausted already," Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said this week at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit. The city received 3,250 applications in 20 days.

At first glance, e-bikes were perhaps a curious topic at a technology showcase centered on moving transformational energy technology from laboratories into the market. But Hancock provided a reminder that not all efforts to reduce fossil-fuel emissions and reach climate goals need an advanced-technology solution.

Whether Denver's appetite for e-bikes can be explained by the city's 300-plus days of sunshine in addition to climbing gasoline prices, it is an example at a time when cities w…

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed by voice vote President Joe Biden's nominee to serve as the top auto safety regulator, the first to win approval since January 2017.

Steven Cliff has been serving as deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since 2021 and was nominated by President Joe Biden for the top job last year. His approval by the Senate comes amid soaring U.S. traffic deaths.

The Illinois Secretary of State's office on Thursday implemented a stay on its May 10 order that Carvana Co. suspend vehicle sales in the state.

The stay will allow Carvana to sell vehicles in Illinois as long as it follows "strict guidelines."

But the online used-vehicle giant still has limitations. Carvana won't be allowed to issue temporary registration permits or license plates, according to an email from Henry Haupt, spokesman for the Illinois Secretary of State's office.

Carvana is now required to register titles through Illinois remitters — third-party entities licensed in the state to process title transactions. The retailer also must post a $250,000 bond "to guarantee payment of any fines or fees incurred by customers that resulted from Carvana's failure to follow the law," Haupt said in the email.

"My top commitment is protecting the interests and well-being of Illinois consumers," Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White said in a state…

Kellen Walker gives you the top headlines and dealers associations weigh in on VW’s Scout brand, another manager leaves Apple Car, and Elon Musk drops his plan to use a Tesla margin loan to buy Twitter. Plus, GM Fleet VP Ed Peper talks with Automotive News GM reporter Hannah Lutz.

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BMW's $1 billion Mexico assembly plant could become the automaker's first dedicated electric vehicle production center.

A source familiar with BMW's product plans said the automaker is set to begin manufacturing the next-generation 3 Series electric sedan and iX3 electric crossover starting in 2027 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

The source said that production of the crossover will begin in the first half of 2027, followed by sedan output in the second half of the year.

A BMW spokesman declined to comment on future production plans.

In April, Automotive News reported on BMW's plans to move some X3 production to Mexico.

The X3 crossover is BMW's bestseller in the U.S. The company sold 204,658 X-badged utility vehicles in the U.S. last year, up 55 percent from five years earlier. In comparison, the overall luxury light-truck segment grew about 24 percent during that period, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center.

BMW…

German supplier Robert Bosch signed a partnership deal with WeRide, a Guangzhou-based autonomous driving technology provider, to develop software enabling autonomous driving functions for passenger vehicle makers in China. 

Vehicles equipped with the software can deliver SAE Level 2-3 advanced intelligent driving experiences on urban, highway, and elevated roads in China, Bosch said this week.

It has also received a strategic investment from Bosch, WeRide said, without divulging the amount of the stake. 

WeRide previously signed partnership deals with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, and Chinese automakers Yutong Group and GAC Motor Co. to develop autonomous driving vehicles. 

WeRide was established in 2017. It became the first domestic autonomous driving technology approved to test driverless vehicles in China in 2019. 

Last year, it received a permit from the California’s Department of Motor Vehicles to conduct …

ECARX Holdings Inc. said on Thursday it would go public through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal that values the automobile technology company at $3.82 billion.

The deal with COVA Acquisition Corp. includes a $45 million investment from mobility tech company Geely Holding Group, lidar sensor maker Luminar Technologies Inc. and automotive company Lotus Technology.

It is also supported by $300 million raised by COVA Acquisition in its initial public offering (IPO) in February last year.

With facilities in China and Europe, ECARX was founded by Ziyu Shen, its CEO, and Li Shufu, Geely's chairman, in 2017.

Digital cockpits

ECARX develops software and hardware such as digital cockpit and infotainment systems for cars. It serves both combustion-powered vehicles as well as automated and electric cars. Its clients include 12 car brands such as Geely, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz and Smart.

“We are getting bigger and we want to be an intern…

Elon Musk is dropping plans to partially fund his purchase of Twitter Inc. with a margin loan tied to his Tesla Inc. stake and increasing the size of the deal’s equity component to $33.5 billion.

Musk will provide an additional $6.25 billion in equity financing for the $44 billion buyout, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. That’s enough to eliminate the margin loan of the same size, which had already been reduced earlier this month.

The new structure could reduce the risk of the deal for both Musk and his lenders, particularly given the recent slide in Tesla’s stock price. Shares in the EV maker has sunk about 40 percent since Musk first announced his stake in Twitter in early April. An extended slump raised the prospect that he wouldn’t have enough unpledged shares to cover the margin loan.

Musk, Tesla’s co-founder, is still on the hook for coming up with the full $33.5 billion equity component. But he can turn to others for help.

Musk …