Trade News

Shares in Rivian Automotive Inc. fell nearly 10 percent in premarket trading after a media report that Ford Motor Co. is selling 8 million of its shares in the EV producer at a discount.

Ford’s sale is being handled by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., CNBC’s David Faber said in a tweet.  

The U.S. manufacturer owns about 12 percent of the EV startup, or just under 102 million shares after taking a stake prior to Rivian going public last year. An insider lockup period expired Sunday after the November share sale that saw the company’s market value briefly top $100 billion making the developer more valuable at the time than Ford and General Motors.

Rivian shares have since plunged after its pickup launch was slower than investors expected.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is also selling a block of 13 million to 15 million shares in the manufacturer for an unknown seller, Faber reported, citing unidentified people. Both blocks are priced at $26.90 -- a disc…

The past two years of pandemic and supply chain disruptions as competition from startup rivals grew have forced traditional dealership groups to take a closer look at the convenience and customer experience they offer.

That has led to a shift from a linear, store-driven sales process to more of a hybrid one — in which a consumer can start or finish a car deal online and jump in and out of the digital or in-store environments as often as necessary. That approach is often referred to as omnichannel retailing.

I wrote this week about the digital retailing initiatives by the nation's public dealership groups. Several are investing in — and targeting greater revenue from — their own branded online tools. They generally aim to leverage their brick-and-mortar stores and digital platforms to create a flexible, omnichannel experience that gives them the scale to reach a wide swath of consumers.

That hybrid approach may be an advantage for the public groups over …

Police recovered five just-built Chevrolet Camaros that were stolen from outside a General Motors plant in Lansing, Mich., last week after a high-speed chase that ended more than 50 miles away with the help of a helicopter and tire-puncturing "stop sticks."

Authorities from three counties chased the Camaros — mostly high-powered ZL1 models — at speeds reportedly topping 100 mph along Interstate 96 toward Detroit.

After the cars separated into two groups, several of them crashed and the occupants were arrested as they tried to get away on foot, Michigan State Police said.

Police said the cars were valued at about $375,000 and that no one was injured during the pursuit.

GM said it was working with police and would be increasing security at the plant, which has been targeted by thieves multiple times in recent years.

Vehicles were reported stolen from the plant in March and last August.

The nine peo…

DETROIT — Two of the largest automotive seating suppliers are building out new plants here and looking for new opportunities to capture more business from automakers increasingly conscious of their spending with minority-owned companies.

Magna International Inc. formed a joint venture with LAN Manufacturing Group called LM Manufacturing, which plans to open a plant in southwest Detroit next year to make seats for Ford Motor Co. light trucks.

On the city's east side, Lear Corp. is expected to open its plant at the former Cadillac Stamping site this year to make seats for General Motors and is exploring a joint venture.

"It's competition, in one word," said Michelle Sourie Robinson, CEO of the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council, which certifies minority companies and joint ventures. "They're all trying to prove that they have the greatest competitive advantage and can do that work and provide the most value to the customer…

Dealers learned fairly early in the pandemic how to sell cars they didn't have.

What's proving tougher, though — judging from April's U.S. auto sales, at least — is trying to sell vehicles they might never get.

Lack of inventory remained the driving issue behind April's double-digit sales declines for five of the seven reporting automakers, including a drop of more than 40 percent for American Honda. Mazda North America had the smallest decline, at 3.3 percent.

Collectively, reporting automakers' U.S. sales fell more than 21 percent from a year earlier, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center. Analysts from LMC Automotive estimated that industry volume plunged 17 percent overall.

The losses might look worse because they are measured against April 2021 — a month when the seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of sales crested at 18.5 million as widespread vaccine distributions and relatively stable inventories attracted shoppers …

Lawmakers in Washington have a decision to make: Expand consumer subsidies on battery-electric vehicles, or let the current law run its course and allow the technology and hundreds of billions of dollars of investments to live — or die — unassisted by taxpayers.

We believe that while electric vehicles must ultimately stand on their own, battery technology and charging infrastructure are not yet sufficiently developed to support a widespread transition of the U.S. fleet. And while previously enacted tax subsidies helped to spawn the technology and give it legitimacy in the eyes of U.S. consumers, any subsequent taxpayer assistance must be better directed to assist those of lesser means to make the leap to EVs, instead of underwriting the second or third vehicles of the wealthy.

The existing subsidies were established in 2008 and expanded in 2009 to their current levels: a tax credit of up to $7,500 on qualifying vehicles. In 2009, the program — initially limite…

The 2023 Polestar 2 fastback is getting an 11-mile range increase because of software changes to the dual-motor variant, with a preliminary estimated EPA range of 260 miles. Polestar is also adding an upgraded heat pump for better cold-weather performance, an advanced air quality sensor and new design options across the interior and exterior.

The 2023 Polestar 2 single-motor model remains EPA rated at 270 miles of range.

With the software upgrade, the Performance Pack, available on the dual-motor variant only, adds 68 hp and 15 pound-feet of torque.

Mr. October plans to be actively involved in the dealership's operation — so much so that he intends to buy a home nearby and live there part time.

"I'll have a place here probably within 12 months," Jackson, 75, told The News & Observer at the grand opening of Reggie Jackson Airport Honda in Raleigh at the end of April. "I'll purchase a condo or get an apartment or something. Rick had a conversation with me and said, 'Reggie, you can do what you want ... but you should consider sticking to it. Stay in the deal.' I said, 'I'm going to take your advice. You can count on me to stick to it and to be a person that'll be part of the community.' "

Jackson, a five-time World Series champion with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees, has owned a stake in a Hendrick Chevrolet dealership in Naples, Fla., since 2015. He now plans to make a full leap into auto retailing with the 75,000-square-foot Honda store that bears his name.

"I think Rick and I talk…

The partner in McKinsey & Co.’s Center for Future Mobility explores the opportunity and risks for automakers in an EV-dominant future and the urgency needed in accelerating that transition.

How do I subscribe?

Apple Podcasts: “Shift: A podcast about mobility” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe.

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Just as Swedish electric vehicle maker Polestar prepares to go public, the financial market is looking uncertain.

When Polestar revealed plans last fall to go public, interest in EV stocks was hot as investors hoped to get in early on the next Tesla.

The exuberance sent some company valuations into overdrive, creating what some see as a stock market bubble. Luxury EV maker Lucid Group commanded a $42 billion valuation after it went public in July, and in November, electric utility-vehicle maker Rivian Automotive's initial public offering had a $66.5 billion valuation.

"Everyone's trying to invest in the next Tesla," Morningstar equities analyst David Whiston said. "But there's only one Elon Musk and he's already spoken for."

But now that Polestar prepares to begin trading on the Nasdaq next month, the EV stock bubble is at risk of popping under the twin threats of rising interest rates and looming economic recession.<…

The first place many consumers encounter self-driving vehicles will not necessarily be in their driveways.

They might instead see autonomy at work in vehicles that haul away their trash or deliver their mail.

That's the premise of a new collaboration between Oshkosh Corp. and Robotic Research Inc., two companies that intend to focus on automating garbage trucks, fire engines and other specialty vehicles.

Competitors are pursuing deployment of robotaxis and long-haul autonomous trucks, but Oshkosh and Robotic Research believe vehicles operating at low speeds on repeatable routes in limited areas make for ideal first applications of autonomy.

Human safety operators may be considered constraints in those other operations, but in these work trucks, they're a key asset: They can monitor automated systems while performing other jobs.

"We're going to have the safety driver for quite a while, so let's just face t…