Trade News

Hoping to attract more drivers, Uber Technologies Inc. is testing a new earnings algorithm in 24 U.S. cities, allowing drivers to see pay and destinations before accepting a trip. The algorithm also raises the incentives for drivers to take short rides.

The changes, now in pilot programs, mark the most wide-ranging updates to Uber's driver pay algorithm in years and come at a time when the company is still trying to win back drivers who left when the pandemic began. Passenger fares won't change.

Drivers have long demanded the ability to see the fare and destination before accepting a trip, but Uber has resisted, saying it could open the door to drivers cherry-picking trips or discriminating against riders in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Uber already has a similar program in California, launched in the wake of a 2020 state battle over gig worker rights to prove its drivers are independent contractors.

Uber says the U.S. …

DETROIT -- The recent multibillion-dollar takeovers of Meritor Inc. and Tenneco Inc. came about at the same time for different reasons, but both are likely to have a big impact in metro Detroit where the automotive suppliers have a major presence and long history.

Meritor's pending sale to Cummins Inc. is a $3.7 billion bet on the electrification of heavy-duty trucks and the role of the Troy-based company's e-axle in that theoretical future.

New York City-based Apollo Global Management Inc.'s purchase of Tenneco Inc., based in Lake Forest, Ill., with thousands of employees in Michigan, is the result of the struggling supplier's need for a capital infusion and the private equity firm's bid to cash in on a turnaround.

In both cases, some trimming and consolidation is the likely aftermath, followed by the chance for growth and investment depending on the priorities of new leadership and how successfully operations are integrated, according to company execu…

A fatal Pennsylvania bus crash has brought renewed calls for salvaging a safety technology that once held the promise of saving thousands of lives on U.S. roads.

On the night of Jan. 5, 2020, five people were killed when a speeding bus overturned on a wet highway near Mount Pleasant, Pa. Three trucks and a passenger vehicle subsequently collided with the bus or each other in the immediate aftermath.

Had the vehicles been equipped with connected technology that enabled them to exchange messages about deteriorating road conditions or the imminent hazard presented by the overturned bus, the crashes may have been avoided or their severity diminished.

That's one conclusion from a National Transportation Safety Board report issued this month. In recommendations stemming from the crash, the board pushed federal regulators to develop performance standards for connected-vehicle technology and mandate its inclusion in new vehicles.

That, of course, is noth…

BRIMLEY, Mich. — Magna International Inc. seeks to maintain its position as the industry electrifies and becomes more connected.

The supplier says its ability to offer complete systems to automakers, not just individual components, will be a key differentiator as it looks to do so."Having different systems come together and how well they interact with each other is going to be the significant value that Magna brings to the table," CEO Swamy Kotagiri said at a media event this month.

As the small but growing share of electric vehicles in the global new-vehicle marketplace continues to expand, much of what Magna is developing is now tied in one way or another to EVs. According to the company, about 70 percent of its engineering projects are related to EVs, and Magna expects about 145 million EVs on global roadways by 2030.

Magna, of course, is far from alone in devoting significant resources to electrification. Automakers are pouring…

For luxury-brand dealerships already limited in volume, finding ways to fill emptied lots amid an ongoing chip shortage can require a bit of courage, curiosity and risk.

At least that was the case for Alfa Romeo and Maserati of Ontario in California, which, like many U.S. dealerships, has been grappling with lower-than-normal levels of new-vehicle inventory as the chip shortage continues to disrupt global auto production.

"Just being … the limited-volume brands that they are, you don't really have a whole lot of access to used cars," said Brandon Goodermont, the store's director of operations. "The used cars have been really, really minimal."

In 2021, the dealership — part of Oremor Automotive Group — sold 158 new and 42 used vehicles.

Although it took a bit longer for the inventory shortage to affect the store, Goodermont said it was around June or July when he realized the two luxury brands' inventories were going to become a feast-or-famine ty…

Two groups expanded with fourth-quarter and first-quarter dealership acquisitions, while a father-and-son duo bought a single store in the fourth quarter.

Here's a look at the deals involving domestic and import brands and dealerships in Florida, Texas and Massachusetts.

Butler Automotive Group of Macon, Ga., bought a Toyota dealership in Jacksonville, Fla., in late 2021, as the group expanded to northern Florida.

The group bought Ernie Palmer Toyota on Dec. 6 from seller Ernie Palmer Inc., said Nicole Beck, Butler Automotive's marketing director.

"We are excited to add another Toyota dealership and expand into the north Florida market," Marsh Butler Jr., co-president of Butler Automotive, said in a statement. "We look forward to integrating into the Jacksonville community and showing our customers how special it is to do business with a family-owned and operated dealership."

The store was renamed Butler T…

Join Automotive News at noon EST Tuesday, March 1 for a live discussion on our LinkedIn and Facebook pages about industry innovation and how to apply for our annual PACE and PACEpilot Awards.

For 28 years the Automotive News PACE program has honored superior innovation, technology and business performance among auto suppliers. Executive Editor Jamie Butters will talk with Kevin Chronicle from Bosch, a past PACE winner, and Douglas Ober, our interim director of judging.

They’ll give advice on what makes a good PACE and PACEpilot application and the state of innovation in the auto industry. Also joining them will be Leslie J. Allen, news editor for mobility coverage, and Lindsay Chappell, news editor overseeing auto suppliers.

Allen and Chappell bring decades of experience covering innovation and new technology emerging in the auto industry and personal transportation.

You may send questions in advance of the event to [email protected]

T…

Ford Motor Co. said on Friday it will halt production at its Kansas city assembly plant that makes F-150 pickup vehicles for a week due to global semiconductor shortages.

Ford's F-150 plant in Dearborn, Mich., will continue to function, the automaker said.

F-150 is Ford's top selling vehicle and, along with other large utility vehicles and vans, generates the bulk of the company's global profit.

Earlier this month, Ford said it would continue to idle some of its assembly plants in the week of Feb. 14 due to semiconductor bottlenecks.

In another cutback, Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, which builds Super Duty, Expedition and Navigator, will operate on just one shift next week, per a memo to employees

A shortage of semiconductors that are used for everything from computer management of engines to driver-assistance features has hit several automakers across the globe forcing some to produce vehicles without certain features.

Michael Martin…

Volkswagen Group says the many of the 4,000 cars from its multiple brands aboard the Felicity Ace are a total loss because of a fire on board that forced the crew to abandon the container ship in the Atlantic Ocean last week.

“We fear that the fire on the ship has damaged a large number of the nearly 4,000 Group-brand vehicles to such an extent that they can no longer be delivered to customers,” the company said in release sent to Automotive News Europe Friday. “More detailed information is not yet available.”

The ship was carrying 3,965 vehicles from the VW, Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley brands destined for the U.S. market.

The fire could cost VW Group $155 million, according to one consultant's estimate

VW Group brands and dealers have already begun informing their customers to find solutions. The damage to the vehicles is covered by insurance, VW said.

The Panama-registered Felicity Ace caught fire on February 16 and was reporte…

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. were sued Friday by drivers who claimed a defect in their vehicles' anti-lock brake systems could trigger fires.

The proposed class action filed in the federal court in Santa Ana, California, followed the South Korean automakers' Feb. 8 recall of nearly 485,000 Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Tucson, Kia K900 and Kia Sportage vehicles from model years 2014 through 2019.

Hyundai and Kia said malfunctioning hydraulic electronic control units could cause electrical shorts, increasing the risk of fire in engine compartments while vehicles were being driven or even parked.

The automakers recommended vehicles be parked outside and away from others, and said dealers would install new fuses. The recall followed 11 reports of fire incidents.

In their complaint, vehicle owners and renters called the fix "only a Band-Aid" that did not adequately address the defect, or reimburse them for out-of-pocket expenses and the loss of their v…

Volvo Cars declared last year that it will be an all-electric brand by 2030. And last week in Miami, the automaker told its dealers how it plans to get there.

The way forward? For starters, seven new and redesigned electrified models over the next few years, including five battery-electric vehicles and two plug-in hybrids.

The new-vehicle onslaught will begin rolling out as early as next year, the Swedish automaker told a closed-door audience of about 800 retailers from across North and South America, according to people who attended the event and asked not to be identified.

To pull it off, Volvo will begin ramping up plans to build more vehicles at its U.S. plant in Ridgeville, S.C., hiring more workers and introducing new models there.

"Volvo is one of the most exciting manufacturers," a dealer said after the meeting. It is "nailing" the product mix with a focus on crossovers, electrification and technology, the source said.

A Volvo spo…

The world is going wild for electric vehicles, but not the U.S. Postal Service.

The agency said earlier this week it is moving forward with a plan to replace its current mail trucks with a new fleet powered almost entirely by internal combustion engines. The $6 billion contract with defense contractor Oshkosh calls for up to 165,000 mail trucks to be delivered over the next 10 years. The vehicles get between 8.6 and 14.7 mpg.

The decision has been met with frustration by many, including the EPA, which has repeatedly spoken out about the effects a gasoline-based fleet could  have on the environment.

But however obvious the EPA and President Joe Biden’s administration believe the detrimental effects of such trucks are, the outcome of any debate over what to purchase was pretty much guaranteed to be the outcome we now have.

The Postal Service’s process to consider such a large purchase began in 2015, at a time when EVs were still considered a ni…