Trade News

Both on the ground and in the air, autonomous taxis remain an enticing prospect for financial investment.

Two autonomous-vehicle companies revealed substantial funding last week, with Toyota-backed May Mobility raising $83 million in a series C round that keeps the startup on pace to begin "driver-out" operations in 2023.

It will take a little longer for Wisk to launch autonomous flights, but the air taxi startup took a significant step toward that goal last week, securing $450 million in funding from Boeing.

The electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, startup, in which both Boeing and Larry Page's Kitty Hawk own stakes, said further, undisclosed funds were raised.

While May Mobility ostensibly has competitors in the passenger-carrying robotaxi realm, Wisk remains unlike many of its eVTOL competitors. Joby Aviation (also backed by Toyota), Lilium and Archer Aviation and Mercedes-Benz-backed Volocopter, for ex…

Lamborghini Philadelphia is putting the "I" into in its "F&I" to make sure customers get what they want.

About a year ago the Devon, Pa., dealership began offering auto and homeowners insurance policies to its white-shoe clientele. The move is generating additional revenue for the dealership and fostering goodwill from customers.

When selling a new vehicle, Lamborghini Philadelphia offers to reevaluate customers' auto and homeowners insurance policies to see whether they have adequate coverage.

The dealership then offers them a new policy that is either less expensive or has more comprehensive coverage, said Frank Tucci, general manager at Lamborghini Philadelphia.

"We give them a free look under the hood," Tucci said. "It's analyzing whether they have the proper coverage so they can protect their new asset. It's giving them a value."

For most customers, the new policy is not about saving a few bucks, but rather making sure they have …

RUTHERFORD, Calif. — Gasoline-powered vehicles are banned inside Inglenook Winery's vast Infinity Caves, which can be good for the quality of its most popular varietals but problematic for workers trying to move heavy equipment, like the massive stainless-steel fermenting tanks.

Among the estate's 235 acres of grapevines, employees often lug cumbersome generators to keep saws and other tools running during the busy harvest season, when they collect 400 to 500 tons of grapes over roughly three months.

Associate winemaker Chris Phelps says the zero-emission Ford F-150 Lightning Pro and E-Transit van, with on-board generators, can solve both of those issues and relieve other pressures of managing the 1,700-acre property with about 100 workers.

"There's applications all over the place for these vehicles," he said. "It will be a fight to see who will get to use them."

Ford Motor Co. expects vintners such as Phelps — alon…

WASHINGTON — As automakers electrify more of their portfolios to meet the EPA's new and increasingly stringent rules on vehicle emissions, the industry will be looking for additional support to grow the EV market in the U.S.

But the uncertain future of the Build Back Better Act — a roughly $2 trillion reconciliation package that includes an expanded electric vehicle tax credit for consumers — could hinder momentum.

"The near-term problem is really finding some congressional fix for the upfront cost for consumers, and I think if that happens in the next few months, then we're on a path where those measures combined with this rule could make a real difference on what our auto market looks like in a year or two," said Amanda Shafer Berman, a partner at Crowell & Moring's Washington, D.C., office.

If that doesn't happen, she said, "it's going to be much, much tougher to get the consumer adoption levels that are needed."

President Joe Biden this …

How much information should self-driving technology companies be required to divulge about the safe operation of their vehicles? That question lies at the heart of a lawsuit Waymo filed last week against the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Waymo, the commercial descendant of Google's self-driving car project, said in court filings that the DMV may soon make information it considers trade secrets and confidential business data available to the public.

Among other items, the information includes details on how Waymo's vehicles might respond in emergency situations and how they could react should they find themselves operating outside their intended geographic realms.

The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court in Sacramento, arises from specific information contained in Waymo's application for a permit allowing the company to deploy autonomous vehicles. That permit was granted in January 2021.

In October, an unknown person or entity req…

Automotive mirror supplier Gentex Corp. said shortages in electronic components put a significant drag on its fourth-quarter financial performance compared with a year earlier.

The producer of dimming rearview mirrors and camera-based driver-assistance systems said Friday that fourth-quarter net income plunged 41 percent to $84.2 million. Revenue fell 21 percent to $419.8 million.

Gentex avoided major supply shortage issues before the latest quarter because of its "conservative inventory," but the shortage finally caused the company to fall short of customers' demands, CEO Steve Downing said in a statement.

Gentex shares slipped 5.3 percent to $29.61 in late morning trading.

Gentex is typically one of the first major auto suppliers to report its quarterly results, and its performance is often viewed as a bellwether for the rest of the industry's supply chain.

While Gentex's results suffered during the quarter, the entire industry continues …

The former CFO of Price Simms Holdings, which manages several California dealerships, will be sentenced March 29 after pleading guilty last year to embezzling more than $1.6 million from the company — money in part spent on luxury items from Chanel and Hermes.

Christopher Firle was originally scheduled to be sentenced this past Tuesday in federal court in California on one count of wire fraud before the date was moved back. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Firle was charged in February 2021, and he pleaded guilty in July. As part of his plea, he agreed to pay more than $1.9 million in restitution to his former employer and to forfeit nearly $1.7 million to the U.S. government, according to a release from the Department of Justice.

The release refers to the company where Firle worked only as "a holding company that managed several vehicle dealerships." A filing in a separate civil suit related to the embezzlement identified Price Simms a…

The proliferation of electric vehicles and charging stations in the coming years could alter the relationship between drivers and where they park.

Paul Vosper, CEO of EV charger manufacturer JuiceBar, said that as the vehicle charging network becomes more robust, it creates the potential for a new "vehicle-to-building" system, meaning that while an electric vehicle is sitting idle, its battery can be used to help power a building.

"I suspect that what we're going to see in the future is buildings competing for EV drivers, saying if you park with me today, I'll pay you $14 or whatever the number is," Vosper said. "If they look at the weather forecast and see it's going to be a hot day tomorrow, paying them to park in my building and making their battery available to me is going to help me on my electric bill."

Vosper, 55, spoke with Reporter John Irwin about the future of EV charging and how the network might be built up in the coming years. Here are edi…

DETROIT — Electric pickup production coming to General Motors' Orion Assembly plant in Michigan could spell the end of the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV by 2024.

Orion currently builds the Bolt EV hatchback and the larger EUV crossover. The hatchback has been in production since 2016, and crossover production began last year. Both are powered by GM's previous-generation batteries, rather than the Ultium batteries used in the GMC Hummer and upcoming Cadillac Lyriq.

GM plans to build the Ultium-powered Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups at Orion starting in 2024. GM President Mark Reuss said Orion will have capacity to build 360,000 pickups annually when fully ramped up.

Bolt output will continue as the automaker converts Orion for electric pickup production, but Reuss said GM had nothing to announce related to the Bolt's future beyond that.

AutoForecast Solutions expects GM to discontinue the Bolt EV in 2023 and the Bolt EUV in 2024, ju…

Automakers are turning to software to unlock functionality long after a new vehicle has been driven off the dealership lot.

Premium brands from Audi to Tesla are tapping into a rich — and recurring — revenue model. They are building cars and light trucks with the necessary hardware and allowing customers to add features post-sale for a one-time or monthly fee.

Auto industry executives argue the subscription model offers consumers peace of mind and a lower entry point to use or acquire expensive technology and features.

Rather than paying $12,000 upfront for Tesla's Full Self-Driving capability software suite, customers can access the technology for a more affordable $199 a month.

Porsche last year introduced a Functions On Demand feature. Porsche Taycan customers can buy enhanced adaptive cruise control and range optimization features for a monthly or one-time fee.

But with mushrooming bills for streaming services, consumers may be growing…

Three Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealerships and a Buick-GMC dealership sold in November and December transactions that included a private equity firm, two expanding dealership groups and first-time owners as buyers.

Here's a look at the transactions involving domestic brand dealerships.

Private equity firm adds Stellantis store

Dobbs Equity Partners in Memphis, Tenn., expanded its automotive portfolio with the fourth-quarter purchase of a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealership in Connecticut.

The private equity investment firm on Nov. 4 purchased Papa's Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in New Britain from Dom Papa, said Rick Greene, COO of Dobbs Equity Partners.

"The dealership has a great reputation," Greene said in an email to Automotive News. "It has been a pillar of the community for more than 70 years."

The dealership's name was retained.

The Dobbs family name has a long history in auto retail, going back to the 1920s. Dobbs Automotive…

Porsche wants you to get dirty with its flagship sports car.

The German automaker is testing a high-riding version of the Porsche 911 that's a modern riff on the rally cars of the 1970s.

Spy shots from the Arctic show a prototype with a raised suspension, an exhaust layout similar to that of the 911 GTS, flared wheel arches found on the Taycan Cross Turismo and an old-school whale tail from the 930.

Special 911 trims are typically geared toward on-track use, said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions. "Creating a production variant of an off-road 911 is just looking for a niche within a niche," he said.

Porsche teased the idea of a rally-ready 911 about a decade ago, when it revealed the 911 Vision Safari prototype.

"We believe that there is hardly any other car brand that can combine sports car and off-road characteristics as credibly as Porsche," design boss Michael Mauer said at the time.

Based on the 991-generat…