Trade News

Volkswagen Group plans to revive the long dormant Scout off-road nameplate to capture a greater share of the giant U.S. light-truck market, one of the industry's most loyal customer bases.

VW, one of the biggest global automakers, but with a relatively small U.S. sales footprint that has tilted toward an expanded light-truck lineup in recent years, plans to introduce a new Scout electric SUV and electric pickup, The Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday.

VW's management board is expected to meet and approve the plan on Wednesday, the paper said, citing people familiar with the meeting. Scout will operate as a separate unit of VW Group in the U.S. alongside the company's other brands, the paper said.

A Volkswagen spokesperson in the U.S. confirmed the Scout program is on Wednesday's meeting agenda, Reuters reported.

VW is prepared to initially invest $1 billion in the Scout project, the Journal said, and would later seek other investors.

Vehicle listings company TrueCar is considering acquisitions that could boost its digital offerings, executives said Tuesday.

TrueCar CEO Mike Darrow said during the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company's first-quarter earnings call that "M&A has always been part of the consideration set" when it comes to its capital allocation strategy. He did not disclose specific details about acquisition talks or the types of technology that TrueCar could look to add but said company leaders are "out in the market actively looking" at potential deals.

"For us," Darrow said, "it's about smart, tuck-in opportunities with innovative technology and talented know-how and capabilities that accelerate the product road map for TrueCar+ as we look to bring world-class, digital e-commerce capabilities to our dealers and consumers and bring more and more of the car-buying and -selling experience online."

TrueCar+ is the company's new digital retailing tool that was introduced…

Bespoke luxury automaker Bentley has stretched the rear of its top-selling Bentayga crossover and significantly upgraded its seating and cabin to deliver a more opulent extended-wheelbase version that seems aimed squarely at the chauffeured market.

The 2023 Bentayga Extended Wheelbase adds more than seven inches to the two-row crossover — all of it behind the front row of seats — giving it what the brand says is the "best rear-cabin experience since the Mulsanne."

But it is not just about the additional space: The larger Bentayga will be outfitted with new 22-way adjustable seats that feature "postural adjustment technology" as well as defined modes for relaxing and business. In relax mode, for instance, the rear seat reclines up to 40 degrees, and a footrest emerges from the rear of the front passenger seat. The seats, Bentley says, "can apply 177 individual pressure changes across six fully independent pressure zones over a three-hour period…

KAR Global said Tuesday it has completed the sale of its ADESA U.S. auction unit to Carvana Co.

The deal will allow KAR to focus on its online dealer-to-dealer businesses and enable Carvana to gradually boost the number of cars and trucks it can get ready for sale each year.

Carvana purchased ADESA U.S. from KAR Global for $2.2 billion. KAR, a Carmel, Ind.-based wholesale auctions provider, agreed to sell the physical auction unit in late February.

The deal hands Carvana the keys to 56 ADESA sites across the U.S., totaling about 6.5 million square feet of buildings on more than 4,000 acres. It also gives Carvana all staff and operations at the 56 locations, plus sole use of the ADESA.com marketplace in the U.S.

"We aim to use this ADESA U.S. alignment to both improve the experiences of the ADESA U.S. physical auction customers and to focus on significant and sustainable efficiencies, and unit economic improvements, for Carvana to catapult back in…

Electric-car maker Lucid plans to launch luxury sedans in Europe later this year, as the Tesla rival aims to expand its footprint outside the U.S. amid strong global demand for EVs.

The company will launch its Lucid Air Dream Edition P and R sedans in limited numbers for customers in Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Norway later this year, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Lucid added it would price its Air Dream Edition P/R at about $230,208 in Germany.

Last week, the company said it would raise prices for most models from June as it deals with rising raw materials costs but said it would honor current reservations.

Lucid said on Tuesday it also plans to open its first European retail location in Munich on May 13, adding it aims to open additional studio and service center locations in Europe this year.

The California-headquartered company, which makes its vehicles at an Arizona plant, last week reiterated its 2022 production volu…

SHANGHAI — Aptiv stopped shipping over the weekend some parts from a Shanghai plant that supplies Tesla Inc. and General Motors Co. after COVID-19 infections were found among workers, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The suspension of shipments from Aptiv could represent a setback for Tesla, which had planned to bring output in Shanghai back to the levels before the city locked down to control a wave of infections and forced a shutdown through much of April.

Aptiv, in a statement to Reuters, did not comment on the status of the Shanghai plant or whether there had been infections among workers.

"The safety of our employees is our first priority," Aptiv said. "We have been in touch with our customers and are working closely with them."

Tesla and GM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Tesla restarted production at its Shanghai plant on April 19, with the help of the city government after a 22-day c…

Online used-vehicle retailer Vroom Inc. said Monday that its COO, Tom Shortt, will join its board of directors and succeed Paul Hennessy as the company's CEO.

The change is effective immediately, as Hennessy has "stepped down to pursue other opportunities," Vroom said. The company also released its first-quarter earnings on Monday, reporting ecommerce revenue of $675.4 million, up 60 percent from the year-earlier period, and a net loss of $310.5 million.

Shortt's appointment as CEO is the culmination of a planning process by the board to "ensure continuity of leadership" as it works toward several growth goals, said Robert Mylod, chairperson of Vroom's board.

"During his time as CEO, Paul oversaw Vroom's transition from a start-up to one of the largest auto retailers in the U.S.," said Mylod, who will become independent executive chair of Vroom's board. "While doing so, he recruited and cultivated an outstanding management team — including Tom Shortt — t…

Inflation and production volatility are squeezing the revenue, income and margins of major automotive suppliers that had been hoping for some relief by now from the financial headwinds of the past two years.

Quarterly earnings reports from many of those companies out this week show that those pressures have continued — and in some cases worsened.

For example, Southfield-based Lear Corp. said it has cut global headcount by 7,700 in the past year and is looking to restructure its footprint as its first-quarter adjusted net income was sliced in half from last year. Plymouth-based Adient plc took an $81 million loss, Auburn Hills-based BorgWarner Inc.'s adjusted operating income dropped 16 percent and Southfield-based Superior Industries Inc. saw net income slip by 23 percent.

All of them pointed to the same challenges.

"I've been in the industry 20 years now, and it's worse than I've seen and it is sustaining," Nik Endrud, executive vice president …