Trade News

Magna International Inc. said it launched new advanced driver-assistance functions on the 2022 Toyota Tundra pickup, a key development for the supplier giant as it looks to establish its position as vehicle automation grows.

In a Wednesday news release, Magna said the Tundra is equipped with a "complete surround view system" that includes five cameras that "provide a high-resolution view around the vehicle and assist the driver in various situations." It can provide a 3D image of the truck and its surroundings, giving the driver "greater reassurance when maneuvering the vehicle," Magna said.

Other functions provided by Magna include "semi-automated" trailer guidance, which Magna said can help the driver back a trailer into a desired location and a "see-through hood" feature that it said can allow drivers to look at what is under the hood of the truck to avoid dangerous obstacles in off-road settings.

The premiere of the new features on the Tundra comes a…

Auto supplier BorgWarner Inc. saw its net income more than triple to $200 million in the first quarter of 2022, while its revenue decreased because of shaky foreign currencies and decreased production.

BorgWarner's net income of $200 million represents more than a 200 percent increase from last year's $65 million. But last year, net income fell by nearly half as a result of a one-time $272 million loss on equity securities.

The supplier said net sales fell 3 percent from a year earlier to $3.87 billion. In a press release, BorgWarner said "excluding the impact of foreign currencies and the impact of divestitures, organic sales were up 1 percent compared with first quarter 2021."

Most of the company's business units reported declines in revenue through the quarter. First-quarter revenue from BorgWarner's air management unit fell about 4 percent to $1.9 billion, e-Propulsion & Drivetrain fell nearly 6 percent to $1.4 billion and fuel injection fell 0.6…

GM Financial posted higher net income during the first quarter, despite low vehicle supply and slightly lower used-vehicle prices.

Net income rose 9.6 percent from a year earlier to $962 million. Adjusted pretax profit rose 8.6 percent to $1.3 billion. Revenue fell 7.4 percent to $3.2 billion, the captive reported in an earnings statement last week.

General Motors' captive did not expect used-vehicle values to negatively impact its financial performance unless prices decreased 10 to 15 percent further, GM Financial CEO Dan Berce told Automotive News.

"Used-car pricing is still relatively firm. It dipped in the first 10 weeks of 2022, and it has firmed a bit since," he said.

GM Financial sold 99 percent of its vehicles to off-lease customers and dealers at contract residual prices in the quarter. The contract residual value is typically about 10 to 15 percent lower than market prices, Berce said.

"We would consider that 10 to 15 percent a b…

AutoNation CEO Mike Manley says the public retailer would rather create a captive finance company out of an institution it acquires.

"If there is the right target in the marketplace, that would be by far my preferred route to do it," Manley said during an April 21 earnings call.

But he said that while "interesting" opportunities existed, AutoNation wouldn't rush a decision.

"You will absolutely hear more on this subject as the year develops," he said.

Manley described his thoughts as "certainly solidified" regarding launching a captive, a topic he had mentioned in the previous earnings call in February.

"I view it as an important piece of the business for us going forward for our AutoNation USA stores," he said.

Manley, the former Stellantis Americas head, said AutoNation's franchised dealerships had "vitally important" relationships with automakers. But he said the growing used vehicle-only AutoNation USA needed the flexibility of a…

Uber Technologies Inc. delivered a positive outlook for earnings in the current period, signaling the company plans to capitalize on robust ride demand without compromising profits by focusing on product changes, rather than incentives, to address the driver shortage.

The ride-sharing and delivery company projected gross bookings of $28.5 billion to $29.5 billion in the second quarter and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $240 million to $270 million.

Uber’s rosy results contrasted with rival Lyft Inc., which delivered a disappointing outlook on Tuesday and signaled the shortage of drivers that has plagued both ride-hailing companies for the past year would spill over into the second quarter.

Shares plummeted as much as 27 percent in extended trading after Lyft said it would ramp up spending on driver incentives to bring the number of drivers on its marketplace back into balance with resurgent rider demand. Uber sh…

Automotive finance company Credit Acceptance Corp. enjoyed a good day in the markets on Tuesday after it said first-quarter net income rose 6 percent.

The subprime auto lender saw its stock rally about 20 percent Tuesday after it beat analysts' estimates on adjusted earnings per share and overall revenue upon announcing its first quarter earnings Monday evening. The stock closed at more than $621.88 per share Tuesday.

Credit Acceptance's stock is up nearly 50 percent from this time last year, but down slightly year-to-date.

All told, the company reported $214.3 million in profit last quarter off $455.7 million in revenue. That's despite a decrease in loan volume in the early part of the year, both in terms of unit and dollar volumes, which declined 22 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively, when compared against the first quarter of last year.

Much of that is due to added "noise" so far this year, according to Credit Acceptance's Chief Treasury …

General Motors and Inrix Inc. have partnered to provide safety solutions and data to U.S. transportation officials at various levels, the companies said Wednesday.

The product, Safety View by GM Future Roads & Inrix, is a cloud-based application that provides transportation officials — such as local and tribal governments, metropolitan planning organizations and other road authorities — with safety insights. The product uses crash, vehicle and vulnerable-road-user information, along with data from the U.S. Census, to prioritize and measure the effectiveness of roadway safety projects and their impact on communities, the companies said in a joint statement.

GM teased the project during its investor day in October, saying it would provide anonymized vehicle data to various government agencies to create safer and better-maintained roads.

"General Motors has outlined a vision for a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, and each day…

The U.S. Department of Energy said it will launch the Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living program with $45 million to support domestic production of advanced EV batteries.

The funding will attempt to address consumer concerns regarding the reliability of EVs. The developments include investments to create batteries with faster charging times, longer lives and more energy efficiency, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

DOE spokesperson Molly Morrissey said the program's intention was to expedite the private sector's transition to cleaner energy technologies.

"DOE is committed to our continued work within the public and private sectors to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technology that will benefit families and communities in all pockets of the country," Morrissey wrote in an email. "Ensuring widespread adoption of electric vehicles will require technical innovations in materials, processes, and our abilit…

Wholesale auction and digital services company KAR Global expects to finalize the sale of its ADESA U.S. physical auction business to Carvana "within the next week."

KAR Global CEO Peter Kelly confirmed the timeframe in the company's first-quarter earnings release, which it published Tuesday. KAR also reported a net loss of $8.4 million in the quarter, though its total revenue for the quarter, $369.4 million, was down less than 1 percent from the year-earlier period.

KAR previously said it wanted to sell off the auction arm — which includes 56 physical sites across the nation — in order to reduce its debt and focus on becoming an online-centric auction company.

"Going forward, KAR will be the premier digital marketplace for wholesale used vehicles, with a meaningful finance company enabling our customer base," Kelly said in the Tuesday earnings release. "Our business will become asset-light with an enhanced financial profile — inclu…

Toyota Motor Corp., whose production system is widely emulated around the auto industry, will soon begin installing technology in its plants that holds the promise of the holy grail of efficiency: automated kaizen.

Or at least almost automated.

The automaker has partnered with an Austin, Texas, startup to install thousands of units across its network of North American factories that will inconspicuously track workers' joint and eye motions as they move through their daily assembly processes.

The tablet-sized units made up of a camera, processor and data storage in a single box will analyze those movements — without the need for supervisors watching or team members wearing tracking sensors — and then use artificial intelligence to suss out improvements in efficiency and safety. They will also notify the worker in real time when they've completed the task correctly.

The system, developed by Invisible AI — a startup with 17 full-time employees — wil…

Porsche AG, planning for rapid electric-vehicle sales growth in this decade, said it has taken the lead on a $400 million funding round for Group14 Technologies, a provider of silicon-carbon materials for EV batteries.

Porsche led the Series C round and was joined by other financial and strategic investors including Canada's OMERS Capital Markets and BlackRock-backed Decarbonization Partners, according to a Wednesday statement.

Group14 said it has plans to open a second commercial-scale factory in the U.S. to keep up with demand from customers such as Cellforce Group, a Porsche-backed joint venture.

Group14 provides advanced materials for lithium-silicon batteries, which the startup claims can provide 50 percent higher performance and longer range than typical lithium-ion batteries.

"The battery cells are the combustion chamber of the future," Porsche Deputy Chairman Lutz Meschke said in a statement. "We are investing in the development of new hig…