Trade News

Vishnu Sundaram is leaving his job as Stellantis' senior vice president of cockpit and connected services at the end of August, the automaker confirmed Friday.

Sundaram, a key figure in the automaker's quest to develop the cockpit of the future, is leaving "to pursue his own entrepreneurial passion," a Stellantis spokesman said.

He said at a company software event in December 2021 that Stellantis' SmartCockpit platform aims to "transform your vehicle into a personalized living space. It is a more natural way to interact with your vehicle based on a combination of several sensors — touch, voice, glance, gesture."

Sundaram's LinkedIn profile describes his role as advancing Stellantis to be an industry leader in the connected cabin experience. He wrote of using artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality, immersive gaming and cloud services to offer content and services in vehicles.

He joined Stellantis in August 2021 from Harman I…

The UAW wants to get 40 percent wage gains and a four-day work week from Detroit 3 automakers. Experts raise doubts about NHTSA’s fuel economy proposal. Plus, Dealer Safeguard Solutions CEO Doug Fusco talks about how things have been going with the updated Safeguards Rule about two months after it took effect.

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Canada's Magna International Inc. on Friday raised its full-year profit and sales outlook after it generated second-quarter net income of $339 million compared with a loss of $156 million during the same quarter last year.

Revenue during the quarter grew 17 percent to $11 billion.

The world's fourth-largest auto supplier said there was strong demand for auto parts as supply chain constraints eased. Demand for parts has remained strong from automakers as they boost production to cater to consumers looking to snap up pickups, crossovers and SUVs.

Labor concerns, however, have remained a worry for the North American auto industry as the UAW and Canada's Unifor unions both negotiate new contracts with the Detroit 3 automakers. Suppliers also are navigating higher costs of raw materials and other inflationary headwinds.

Magna expects 2023 revenue between $41.90 billion and $43.50 billion, compared with its previous forecast of $40.20 billion to $41.8…

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Hydrogen will happen — if it can come clean

Long touted as the fuel of the future, the age of hydrogen may be about to start.

Billions of dollars in federal subsidies are part of a massive industrial policy pushing the energy source. The U.S. Department of Energy is pouring $7 billion into regional hydrogen production hubs to make sure the fuel is available for transportation and heavy industry. It also plans to subsidize the cost of hydrogen when produced with green technologies.

Automotive News' technology and innovation reporting team identifies the challenges and opportunities for hydrogen fuel adoption in autos and adjacent industries. The industry's vision for a zero-emission future is clear, and there are multiple paths to get there. Policymakers are ensuring that hydrogen will be one of them.

See our report:

—Hydrogen hubs form backbone of 'once in a generation' clean energy effort

—On green hydroge…

Digital technology is quickly changing the communications and payments landscape in the auto industry.

A text message revolution is gaining widespread acceptance because customers seek quick responses, detailed feedback and payment convenience. Customers do not want to wait hours, or sometimes days, to get a phone call about the next steps for their vehicle or to receive an estimate for costly repairs that isn't in writing. Text messaging is vital and benefits businesses ranging from large corporate dealerships to independent small shop mechanics. It is a staple for fast, efficient and safe communications as well as payments.

The exchange of information in real time is what customers expect, and two-way texting leads the way. Timely customer engagement is a driving force for change, setting the standard for a better customer experience. An instant update on repairs or a text reminder of an upcoming appointment is critical to repeat business.…

The UAW is seeking from the Detroit 3 automakers a more than 40 percent pay raise for its work force, according to people with knowledge of the union's demands.

The gains would include a 20 percent raise upon ratification, followed by 5 percent raises each year of the four-year deal, according to the people, who requested anonymity discussing the negotiations. Reuters reported the wage gain demands earlier Thursday.

The raises would be significantly more than what the UAW negotiated in 2019: two 3 percent raises plus two 4 percent lump-sum payments over the course of the current four-year deal, which expires Sept. 14.

UAW President Shawn Fain, speaking to Automotive News earlier Thursday, did not specify how much the union was seeking aside from the "double-digit" figure he quoted earlier in the week, but he did say the double-digit gain would come over the course of the contract, not each year of it.

"The companies talk about being competitive …

Nikola Corp. took a step toward stabilizing its finances Thursday after winning approval to issue new shares to raise capital.

The ability to issue new shares added to Nikola's momentum in recent weeks, including winning critical grants to build out its hydrogen fueling network and booking new orders, including one from a large trucking company.

The approval was "critical for continued growth and success as we move forward with our strategic priorities, including autonomous technologies and software, our HYLA hydrogen ecosystem and the recent launch of the Nikola hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle," said Michael Lohscheller, Nikola's CEO.

The Phoenix commercial fuel cell and electric truck maker has tried twice to get shareholders to approve issuing new stock only to fail to reach the required majority of all shareholders to move forward. But a change in Delaware corporate regulations on Tuesday allowed it to move forward.

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A General Motors LG Energy Solution battery joint venture Wednesday said it does not see any path for workers at its Ohio plant to be covered under a national labor agreement, rejecting a push by Democratic U.S. senators.

Ultium Cells LLC said on Wednesday it "does not see a viable legal or practical path to place Ultium Cells-Ohio into the General Motors National Agreement." The United Auto Workers union declined immediate comment.

Last week, a group of 28 senators including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urged GM, Chrysler-parent Stellantis and Ford Motor to recognize joint venture battery workers under national labor agreements before the current contracts expire on Sept. 14.

If battery workers were covered under the national agreement, they would likely be eligible for better pay and benefits.

Senators and the union have heavily criticized Ultium for paying low wages at the Ohio plant and noted some make just half as much as workers di…

Online wholesale auction marketplaces provider Openlane Inc. reported a wider net loss in the second quarter but said it made progress in executing a rebrand strategy and associated consolidation of its auction platforms.

The company — which announced in May it would rebrand from KAR Global to Openlane — reported a net loss from continuing operations of $193.8 million in the quarter ended June 30. That is wider than the $5.4 million loss from continuing operations it listed for the year-earlier period. It reported revenue from continuing operations of $416.9 million, up 9 percent.

The net loss was driven by "non-cash goodwill and intangibles impairment charges of $221.4 million, net of tax impacts," Openlane said in a news release. One of those, a non-cash impairment charge of $26 million before tax, came from Openlane assessing the value of its ADESA trade name as a "direct result" of its rebranding and one marketplace strategy, Openlane CFO Brad Lakhia said …

Cars.com saw further dealership churn in its digital marketplace during the second quarter, though web traffic grew, the dealership technology company said.

Net income reached $94.1 million for the quarter ending June 30, up from $5.5 million in the period a year earlier. The company attributed the gain primarily to a one-time release of a "significant portion" of its valuation allowance — a reserve typically used to offset a deferred tax asset.

Price hikes, product expansion and more marketing helped boost average revenue per dealer and overall revenue numbers, the company said. Second-quarter revenue grew 3 percent to $168.2 million, while monthly average revenue per dealer jumped 6 percent to $2,472.

"Consumer demand remains strong," CEO Alex Vetter said in a statement.

The company reported 18,785 dealer marketplace customers as of June 30, down from 19,186 in the first quarter and 19,517 from the second quarter of 2022. The downward change was…

Chevrolet has decided not to build an entry-level 1LT trim on the new 2024 Blazer EV. Tesla now faces a class action lawsuit over its driving range claims. Plus, Automotive News reporter Michael Martinez digs into the UAW’s big demands of Detroit 3 automakers.

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