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The former Ford engineer, now CEO of the recreational boating leader, describes how the marine industry is adopting connected, autonomous, shared and electrified transportation tech to help navigate situations such as docking, anchoring and classifying objects in the water. He also talks about moving quickly from an in-person booth at CES to a virtual one.

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Despite its compact size, the compute architecture that will enable General Motors' Ultra Cruise driver-assist technology will have the processing power of several hundred personal computers, allowing the system to make quick decisions on city streets, the automaker said Thursday.

"It will take qualities that have distinguished GM's advanced driver assist systems since 2017 to the next level with door-to-door hands-free driving," Ken Morris, GM vice president of electric, autonomous and fuel cell vehicle programs, said in a statement.

The compute, which is about the size of two stacked laptops, was developed with Qualcomm Technologies. GM will be the first company to use Qualcomm's Snapdragon Ride Platform for advanced driver-assistance technology, the automaker said.

Ultra Cruise will be available in 2023, debuting on the ultraluxury Cadillac Celestiq electric sedan. The technology will help Ultra Cruise enable hands-free driving in 95 percent of drivin…

Sales of electrified passenger vehicles including all-electric cars and light trucks, and plug-in hybrids will range from 5.5 million to 6 million vehicles in 2022, the China Automobile Dealers Association said this week.

The forecast is significantly higher than the dealer group’s previous outlook of 4.8 million. 

It raised the forecast in view of the Chinese government’s less-than-expected cut in subsidies for electrified vehicles this year, CADA said.

China’s Ministry of Finance, in a note posted on its website in late December, said subsidies for electrified vehicles will be cut 30 percent on average in 2022 and the subsidy program will be terminated at the end of the year.

After the reduction in subsidies, electric passenger vehicles qualify for 9,100 yuan ($1,427) if they have a range of 300 kilometers to 400 km on one charge, or 12,600 yuan if the range tops 400 km. 

Subsidies for plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles have been…

Geely Automobile Holdings plans to tap Intel’s Mobileye unit to develop a vehicle with L4 autonomy for Zeekr, its smart electric-vehicle brand.

The EV, slated to hit the Chinese market in 2024, is expected to become the world’s first vehicle with L4 autonomous capability delivered to private customers, the two companies said this week. 

The vehicle will be based on Geely’s latest platform known as the Sustainable Experience Architecture. It will integrate Zeekr’s proprietary software technologies and Mobileye’s sensing, safety and road mapping technologies, according to Geely.

Zeekr was unveiled in early 2021. Its first product, the 001 sporty sedan, went on sale in October, with a 281,000 yuan ($44,113) starting price.

In December, Geely said Zeekr would build EVs for Waymo, Alphabet Inc.'s self-driving unit. The vehicles, to be fitted with Waymo's self-driving technology, will be used as fully autonomous ride-hailing vehicles in the United …

The sales gap between China’s two largest private light-vehicle makers narrowed in 2021.

Great Wall Motor Co.’s 2021 deliveries jumped 15 percent to top 1.28 million, while volume at Geely Automobile Holdings edged up one percent to just under 1.33 million, according to data the two companies released Thursday.

In 2020, Geely’s sales tallied 1.32 million while Great Wall sold 1.11 million.

Great Wall’s 2021 sales growth was led by Ora-brand electric vehicles and the new off-the-road vehicle brand Tank.

Ora sales spiked 140 percent to 135,028 last year. Tank generated 84,588 deliveries after launching sales of its first product at the beginning of 2021.

Great Wall remained China’s largest pickup maker in 2021, with pickup volume rising 5.6 percent to 233,006.

Geely’s sales were mainly propped up by the premium Lynk & CO brand. The brand delivered 220,516 vehicles in 2021, an advance of 26 percent from a year earlier.

Geely …

While General Motors and Ford have been making waves with electric pickups, Stellantis has been sitting back and taking notes as it preps its first electric Ram 1500 for 2024.

The competitive juices are flowing.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said Wednesday that the electric pickup race is stoking the imaginations and expertise of the company's engineers.

Coming out later than its rivals, Tavares said, gives the automaker a chance to gauge the capabilities of the other electric pickups and make tweaks.

Deliveries already have begun for the GMC Hummer EV pickup, while production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV that was introduced Wednesday begins next year. The Ford F-150 Lightning goes on sale this spring.

Tavares said the electric Ram is being "adjusted every month" to improve its capabilities after taking what the other companies are doing into consideration.

"We are preparing the EV pickup trucks for 2024, and we are doing it by adju…

SAN FRANCISCO -- Vietnamese EV maker VinFast plans to build EV battery cells and packs in its planned U.S. manufacturing complex, its global chief executive told Reuters on Wednesday.

VinFast, part of Vingroup JSC, the largest conglomerate in the Communist-ruled country, had previously said it planned to start producing electric vehicles in the United States in the second half of 2024.

VinFast is betting on the U.S. market, where it plans to debut affordable electric crossover vehicles late this year with its battery leasing models.

"We will build our gigafactory in the U.S. as well," said Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup vice chair and VinFast Global CEO. The company will continue to source batteries from its suppliers, she added.

It will initially assemble battery packs with cells sourced from its supplier at its U.S. complex before starting its own production there, she said.

"We have narrowed down from I think, over 50 sites to about three s…

Three auto retail groups added dealerships in December to expand in New York, Pennsylvania and New Mexico.

Here's a look at the transactions involving import brands.

East Hills Auto Group expanded last month on Long Island with the purchase of a Volkswagen-Subaru dealership.

The group on Dec. 13 bought Donaldsons Volkswagen-Subaru in Sayville, N.Y., from David Donaldson and Bill Donaldson, said Phil Wolhar, chief marketing officer for the East Hills group.

The store was renamed East Hills Volkswagen of Sayville-East Hills Subaru of Sayville.

The East Hills group, owned by the Brodlieb family, got its start in 1975 with a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership in Greenvale, N.Y., and now has six rooftops that sell Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Subaru, Chevrolet and Volkswagen vehicles, according to its website.

Wolhar told Automotive News that East Hills saw the Volkswagen-Subaru dealership acquisition as…

Despite challenges related to the supply chain issue, auto dealerships had a highly profitable 2021. For the short term, dealers have figured out a profit model that works: high margins on new and used vehicles; increased F&I per vehicle retail profit; and higher F&I product penetration rates.

In fact, more than half of a dealership's combined sales and F&I profit is now generated by finance and insurance sales, according to data from APCO Holdings. What is driving the F&I department to new levels of success?

Three trends contributed to a banner year and will continue to drive higher F&I profits in 2022.

The last two years have ushered in a new era of uncertainty. Consumers are concerned about the pandemic, inflation, empty shelves and a host of other issues. In uncertain times, consumers are more willing to purchase insurance and similar types of products that provide them with a sense of financial security…

Volvo Cars will make what it calls "unsupervised autonomous driving" available first to customers in California before rolling it out in other markets.

The official launch of the automaker's so-called Ride Pilot is pending Volvo's internal verification that it is safe as well as approvals for use from local authorities in the different markets, the company said Wednesday.

Testing of the technology in California is scheduled to start by the middle of this year, with densely populated areas such as Los Angeles or San Francisco being top candidates, Volvo Chief Product Officer Henrik Green told Automotive News Europe.

Volvo is already road testing autonomous driving features in Sweden as well as collecting for its future system across Europe and the U.S. 

Subscriptions sought

Ride Pilot will be available as an add-on subscription on the automaker's forthcoming full-electric flagship crossover, that will go into production later this yea…

General Motors plans to launch three Chevrolet electric vehicles next year, priced from $30,000 to more than $100,000.

GM CEO Mary Barra shared the automaker's plans as she unveiled the launch edition of the Chevy Silverado electric pickup during her CES keynote Wednesday. Barra also said the automaker intends to launch its first personal autonomous vehicle by mid-decade, roll out more iterations of GM's Super Cruise hands-free driver-assist technology and expand its electric delivery van brand, BrightDrop.

“GM is redefining how people and goods are moved,” Barra said during the keynote. “Our commitment to a vision of a world the zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion has become a movement.”

The highlight of Barra's keynote was the unveiling of the Silverado EV, which will go on sale in 2023 in two varieties: a work truck starting at $41,595 and a fully loaded retail trim priced at $106,695. Each price includes shipping. Both trucks …

The Chevrolet Silverado EV will have more than 400 miles of driving range and Super Cruise driver-assist technology and be able to tow up to 10,000 pounds. General Motors said the truck can gain 100 miles of range in 10 minutes through a DC fast charger.

The electric full-size pickup will be available in two versions initially: a work truck designed for fleet buyers and a fully loaded RST trim for retail customers that costs almost as much as the new GMC Hummer EV.

The work truck, which starts at $41,595 including shipping, will go on sale in spring 2023, followed by the $106,695 RST that fall, GM said. Reservations for the RST can be placed starting at 1 p.m. Eastern on chevrolet.com.

After production begins next year, Chevy plans to reveal a full portfolio with trims ranging from about $50,000 to $80,000.

GM revealed the 2024 Silverado EV during CEO Mary Barra's virtual CES keynote Wednesday. The launch will be crucial for GM as the automaker t…