Trade News

TOKYO -- The Nissan Z car, a 400-hp, twin-turbo symbol of the struggling Japanese automaker's revival, is the latest product launch to be derailed by global supply chain woes.

The Z was expected to land in the home market in June, but Nissan Motor Co. confirmed April 27 that the Japan-market launch “will be changed to this summer.” The company declined to be more specific.

The Nikkei reported the launch would be pushed to between July and September.

Nissan blamed the delay on the "ongoing semiconductor shortages and supply chain disruptions from the spread of COVID-19."

The U.S. launch was originally planned for this spring. Nissan declined to comment on the launch timing for other markets. The overhauled Z car targets mainly the U.S. and Japanese markets.

Nissan announced separately on April 27 that production in Japan plunged 44 percent in the month of March, compared with a year earlier, as the global supply chain crisis dragged on.

The redesigned Mercedes-Benz AMG C-Class sedan boasts a new engine featuring Formula One technology that delivers more power with greater efficiency.

The 2023 Mercedes-AMG C 43 will arrive at U.S. dealers in late 2022. Pricing was not disclosed.

The AMG 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine pumps out 402 hp and, in certain driving situations, can deliver a brief additional boost of 13 hp from the electric motor.

The all-wheel-drive sedan can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds.

The C-Class is the workhorse of Mercedes' sedan lineup and was the brand's third bestselling model last year. Mercedes delivered 30,815 vehicles in 2021, up 17 percent from the prior year.

AMG models are a showcase for high-level technology still available on internal combustion engines, said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions.

IMG01"Pulling every available ounce of power from these engines is a proper display of the capability of these enginee…

The U.S. saw a record number of light-vehicle recall campaigns in 2021, but a smaller number of vehicles were affected, according to data from investment bank and advisory firm Stout.

Individual recall campaigns reached a record high of 406 in 2021 compared with 317 in 2020, while the total number of vehicles affected dropped to 21.6 million from 28.9 million over the same period, Stout's data showed.

Two campaigns in 2021 each affected more than 1 million vehicles: a Ford recall of 2.6 million older-model vehicles for potentially defective airbags and a Mercedes-Benz recall of 1.3 million newer vehicles up to 5 years old for a software error.

Stout's data excludes certain Takata airbag recalls and General Motors' ignition switch recalls.

"Having only two recalls over a million units is a significant decline compared to 2019 and 2020 where we have six such campaigns," Anson Smuts, a manager in the disputes, compliance and investigations group at …

DETROIT — General Motors on Tuesday reported first-quarter net income of $2.9 billion, a 2.7 percent decrease from a year earlier despite a double-digit revenue increase.

GM's global earnings before interest and taxes declined 8.4 percent to $4 billion, while its North American profit equaled the $3.1 billion it earned in the first quarter of 2021. Global revenue rose 11 percent to nearly $36 billion.

CEO Mary Barra, in a letter to shareholders, reaffirmed the company's 2022 adjusted earnings guidance of $13 billion to $15 billion. GM expects net income of $9.6 billion to $11.2 billion for the year.

“Our confidence is strong as we accelerate our transformation, even in the face of a challenging macro environment,” Barra said in the letter. “Our biggest growth opportunity in North America is in electric trucks. We’ve led the full-size pickup segment for two consecutive years, and we will lead the EV truck market as well.”

Chevrolet has logged abou…

DETROIT -- Ford CEO Jim Farley on Tuesday said the vehicle that the automaker intends to build at its upcoming Blue Oval City campus in Tennessee will be an additional electric pickup and not a next-generation F-150 Lightning.

Speaking to reporters following the launch of the Lightning, Farley said the product will be an "all-new" vehicle.

"It's another truck," he said. "This is not our only truck. We said very clearly we want to be the leader in electric pickup trucks."

In a release last year announcing Blue Oval City, Ford said it would build "next-generation electric F-Series pickups." The plant is expected to come online in 2024.

The automaker plans to sell 600,000 electric vehicles globally over the next two years to become the No. 2 EV maker behind only Tesla. After that, Farley says Ford plans to challenge Tesla to be the top producer of EVs.

Farley said Ford has built about 2,000 Lightnings since production began about two weeks a…

Tesla Inc. wiped off $126 billion from its valuation in a single session Tuesday with the stock down 12.2 percent to $876.42 on investors’ concern that Elon Musk may sell shares to complete his $44 billion takeover of Twitter Inc.

Before the session, the EV maker’s market capitalization was already down nearly $250 billion since April 4, when Musk disclosed that he increased his Twitter stake. That’s a drop of roughly 23 percent. The dollar value of Musk’s 17 percent stake in Tesla has shrunk by about $42 billion, almost double the equity portion he pledged in the Twitter transaction.

Tesla’s stock price is sinking amid a broader selloff in equity markets around the world due to a slower economic expansion and persistent inflation. In addition, investors have fled high-growth companies as the Federal Reserve prepares to embark on a series of significant rate hikes.

But Musk isn’t doing Tesla any favors by providing scant details on how he will cover the …

The North American International Auto Show will return to Detroit with a focus on electric vehicles and emerging technology as well as activations including street course ride-alongs on the Grand Prix's future downtown circuit.

There will also be five active tracks inside Huntington Place, whose main show floor is sold out for the reimagined auto show, scheduled for Sept. 14-25 throughout various indoor and outdoor venues downtown.

Organizers provided updates on the show's planning Tuesday, along with a new logo reflecting the "global flavor" of the show.

"This year's auto show plays a vitally important role in promoting emerging technologies particularly in the EV space," NAIAS Executive Director Rod Alberts said in a statement. "With the show's exciting transformation, it was the ideal time to introduce fresh branding for what will be a Detroit auto show experience unlike any other before."

Alberts said the show is expected to be a "pivotal pl…

WASHINGTON — Toyota Motor Corp. is once again being targeted by a political action committee after resuming donations to certain federal lawmakers.

In a statement Monday, Toyota said it has resumed contributions to some members of Congress after a six-month pause and "extensive discussions with internal and external stakeholders."

"We will not support those who, by their words and actions, create an atmosphere that incites violence," the Japanese automaker said. "Toyota's employee PAC will continue its long history of giving equally to Democrats and Republicans based on the best interests of our company, work force and the U.S. automotive industry."

In its statement, Toyota pointed to others in the auto industry as well as "nearly 800 companies and industry groups nationwide" that also have resumed contributions.

A Toyota spokesman said its employee PAC "supports candidates who promote issues important to our business, regardless of political par…