Trade News

Tesla Inc. received another subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about a subject that keeps coming up: CEO Elon Musk's tweeting in 2018 that he was considering taking the carmaker private.

The SEC issued the subpoena Nov. 16, seeking information about Tesla's governance processes and compliance with a settlement reached with the agency in September 2018, the company said in a regulatory filing. Tesla had agreed to put in place controls to oversee Musk's communications -- including his tweets -- after the SEC alleged Musk committed securities fraud by saying he had secured funding for the company to go private.

Musk and the SEC have been at loggerheads ever since. The agency sought to have a judge find the billionaire in contempt of the settlement early the following year when he tweeted about Tesla's production outlook without getting prior approval. The two sides agreed in April 2019 to amend their agreement, adding specific topics Musk ca…

Automotive News Reporter Larry P. Vellequette gives you the top headlines and talks about Toyota's U.S. sales success and razor thin inventory with Bob Carter, Toyota Motor North America executive vice president of sales, in the first of a two-part interview.

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PARIS -- After Faurecia's acquisition of a controlling stake in Hella, the combined company will be known as Forvia, the two suppliers said Monday.

Faurecia and Hella will continue to operate as two separate legal entities, and will sell products under each brand name, they said. They will communicate under the Forvia name, however.

The Forvia name combines the words "forward" and "via," the news release said, and "is about the movement and the necessary agility as well as the newly combined group's commitment, confidence and action."

"This new name reflects core elements of our Faurecia and Hella brands, as well giving a good translation of our shared purpose – inspiring mobility," Faurecia CEO Patrick Koller said.

Hella said Friday that CEO Rolf Breidenbach would leave his position by June 30 but would continue in an advisory role. 

Faurecia's 5.3 billion euro ($5.95 billion) acquisition of the stake in Hella was finalized at the e…

PARIS -- Frech auto supplier Faurecia said its new combination with Hella would result in it aiming for sales of above 33 billion euros ($37.72 billion) in 2025, and an increased annual cost savings target of 250 million euros.

Faurecia, which produces seating, electronics and other car interior components, issued those financial targets as it marked the completion of its previously announced takeover of German supplier Hella.

"Faurecia's acquisition of Hella is a unique opportunity for two advanced technology companies to accelerate their transformation, achieve critical size and leading positions in electronics and lifecycle Solutions," said Faurecia on Monday.

The new name of the combined group resulting from the 6.7-billion-euro acquisition will be announced later on Monday, Faurecia said.

The deal, sealed in August when its controlling family shareholder chose Faurecia among several bidders, marks the end of an era for the German lighting and…

Who will recognize us in the future?

You don't get to be the world's biggest auto parts supplier by sitting around and resisting change.

Witness Robert Bosch. The 135-year-old German goliath (2020 sales to automakers of $46.5 billion) is running full speed to overhaul its products and retrain its people around the world to embrace the new reality that's blowing up the car business: artificial intelligence, vehicle connectivity and oceans of usable data.

Automotive News Reporter John Irwin gives us a portrait this week of where Bosch is and where it wants to go in the future. Bosch wants to have every product it makes by 2025 either contain A.I., or to have been developed or assembled using A.I. In years past, Bosch's North American chief Mike Mansuetti told him, Bosch used to make a part and send it off to the customer and hope to never have to worry about it again.

But now, "We want to worry about it," Mansuetti told us. "We want all the data.…

A friend of mine who works in powertrain at Ford told me recently the company has just one more new engine coming. And that's it. Ford, like most other automakers, is shifting its powertrain lineup from gasoline and diesel engines to electric motors in the coming years. Ford has greatly reduced the number of engineers assigned to create new engines and improve existing ones.

"I'm the last man standing," my friend said with a semi-serious laugh.

But automakers' move away from further development of the internal combustion engine doesn't mean we can put an end date on the classic workhorse. There are some vehicles whose duty cycles are not — yet — compatible with battery-electric powertrains. Consider the heavy-duty versions of pickups used as work vehicles on farms and ranches and for hauling heavy loads long distances, such as delivering classic cars.

Electric motors can easily deliver more torque than the powerful diesel V-8s in the Duramax, Power Stro…

The Arizona State University professor and director of the Risk Innovation Lab discusses the ideas of risk and safety in driving, the advent of new technology like Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” beta system, and the role of regulation in a software age.

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DETROIT -- Michigan "desperately" needs more software developers to compete in a fast-changing auto industry racing to develop self-driving vehicles and new mobility innovations, Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said.

"We need to lean into the software development as a state if we're going to be the leader," Ford said in an interview Friday with Crain's Detroit Business, a sister publication of Automotive News.

Ford said a greater focus on teaching software development and computer coding is needed in the state's public universities. The comments came the same day tech giant Google announced it will base a computer coding training program for high school students out of Ford's Michigan Central Innovation District in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood.

"That's why this Google announcement is also so cool because it kind of puts an exclamation point on that," Ford said.

Responding to a Crain's Forum report on Michigan's knowledge econom…

Toyota Motor North America is working to help its retailers become more competitive with aftermarket parts suppliers on collision repairs.

In December, Toyota became the latest automaker to join CollisionLink, a tool offered by Richfield, Ohio-based vendor OEConnection. The tool gives participating dealerships electronic visibility into an entire body shop estimate — not just the parts the shop planned to buy from the dealership. Participating automakers also can discount prices on specific parts.

The program is intended to help give dealerships more opportunities to sell original manufacturer parts. CollisionLink works with more than 15 automakers, including General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, the company said.

Toyota will reduce prices on more than 3,600 specific parts, said Rod Amezcua, senior parts analyst at Toyota Motor North America. He declined to quantify the discounts Toyota will offer but said pricing is set based on the automaker's analysi…

The RV industry is starting to join the race toward zero emissions.

Thor Industries Inc. and Winnebago Industries Inc. each revealed concepts for electric RVs at the Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa last month. The companies identify electrification as a priority for the next generation of motor homes and towable trailers.

Thor told Shift that it plans to have an all-electric motor home for sale next year, with an electric towable trailer to follow. Thor did not reveal pricing estimates.

For Winnebago, "it could be up to two years before a vehicle like this [e-RV] rolls down the road in sizeable numbers," company spokesman Chad Reece said. "But some of its technologies could be seen prior to that. [Electrification] is a natural progression in the RV segment. We hear from consumers they have interest."

Thor's Vision Vehicle concept was designed to operate using a high-voltage battery and an integrated fuel cell-based range extender. The Elkhart, Ind…

SAN FRANCISCO — Ford Motor Co. plans to suspend or cut production at eight assembly plants in the U.S., Mexico and Canada throughout next week because of microchip supply constraints, a spokeswoman said.

The plants produce some of Ford's biggest sellers and most popular vehicles, including the Ford-150, Ranger, Bronco, Explorer and Mustang Mach-E.

The changes come a day after the automaker warned the ongoing chip shortage would lead to a decline in first-quarter vehicle production.

Output at factories in Michigan, Chicago and Cuautitlan, Mexico, will be suspended. In Kansas City, production of the F-150 pickup truck will be idled while one shift will run to build the Transit van.

The company will also operate a single shift or a reduced schedule at factories in Dearborn, Kentucky and Louisville, while eliminating overtime at an Oakville factory in Ontario, Canada.

All of the production changes will be in place during the week beginni…

How do you get people to think about their next car in a pandemic, when showrooms are closed and motor shows are canceled? Volvo's agency in Belgium has come up with a plan.

The Brussels Motor Show 2022 was due to take place in January but was postponed for a whole year due to COVID. So Volvo's agency FamousGrey developed an app, "Volvo Street Congifurator," that's aimed to "turn the streets into one giant showroom."

Users can take a photo of any Volvo car they spot, then upload it, and the tool uses AI to provide every detail about the model, color, trim level and wheels. It will then redirect the user to Volvo’s website to finalize the configuration and refer them either to a nearby retailer or to buy the car online.

Building it was quite the challenge. We're told the agency collected more than 100,000 images of models, colors and trims, information collected by a combination of Google and 3D-models. These were placed in a real-life simu…