Trade News

The MX-30, Mazda's first mass-market electric vehicle, packs quirky design touches with a one-size-fits-all approach.

It is engineered on a versatile platform used for a variety of electrified drivetrains, including a mild-hybrid version and a full-electric variant.

But the MX-30 is also a compromise car, or for some, a niche player.

The front-wheel-drive baby crossover is powered by a new Skyactiv powertrain that Mazda calls e-Skyactiv. It runs on a 35.5-kilowatt-hour lithium ion prismatic battery. Mazda says the motor delivers 105 kilowatts of power with maximum torque of 195 pound-feet. But it delivers just 100 miles of range and availability is limited to California for the 2022 model year.

Still, Mazda has adopted some novelty flourishes inside the cabin, including cork inlays for trim detailing. It is a nod to Mazda's roots as a cork maker — the company was founded in 1920 as Toyo Cork Kogyo.

The well…

The redesigned 2023 Subaru Crosstrek has been captured testing in metro Detroit, pointing to evolutionary changes coming to one of the Japanese brand's bestselling models.

Though hidden in camouflage, the next Crosstrek appears to have a new front fascia, grille and lighting treatments as well as a new tailgate and lighting in the rear.

Though the interior wasn't photographed, Subaru is expected to equip the third-generation Crosstrek with the most advanced versions of its Starlink multimedia system as well as update driver-assistance functions and other technology.

As part of the redesign, the Crosstrek is expected to get its own Wilderness trim level.

It has been a regular top seller in the U.S. subcompact crossover segment since it hit showrooms as the XV Crosstrek in late 2012.

U.S. sales of the Crosstrek rose 13 percent through November, despite very tight supplies this year because of ongoing suppl…

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, alongside Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and other political dignitaries in Detroit, on Monday signed a package of bills to create a pair of funds totaling $1.5 billion for business development and aid in Michigan.

Among the bills approved was a $1 billion economic development fund aimed at attracting large-scale development in Michigan that was inspired by the state missing out on Ford Motor Co.'s massive EV investment in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The fund will attract "tens of thousands of jobs" and make Michigan competitive for the next generation of manufacturing, Whitmer said.

"We know the next 20 months will determine what the next 20 years look like," the Democrat governor said during the media event, held at Wayne County Community College's Eastern Campus. "We have an unprecedented, once-in-a-generation opportunity. … We should continue this spirit of collaboration into the coming year."

The bipartisan S…

Nikola Corp. has agreed to pay $125 million to settle civil charges that it defrauded investors by misleading them about its products, technical advancements and commercial prospects, the U.S. securities regulator said on Tuesday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused the EV manufacturer of violating U.S. securities laws with numerous misleading statements made from March to September 2020 about in-house production capabilities, reservation book and financial outlook.

The settlement follows civil and criminal charges filed in July against Nikola's founder Trevor Milton for using social media to repeatedly mislead investors about the company's technology and capabilities, reaping "tens of millions of dollars" as a result of his misconduct. Milton is battling those charges in court after having lost a bid to dismiss or move the case.

Milton's misleading statements aimed at inflating share prices began even before Nikola had produced a "singl…

KPMG warned that used-vehicle prices could fall abruptly and raise negative-equity issues once new-vehicle supply rebounds.

The used-car market has historically been closely correlated with the new-car market, KPMG global head of automotive Gary Silberg told Automotive News on Monday. But used-vehicle prices are up 42 percent over January 2020 levels, while new-vehicle prices have only risen about 12 percent, KPMG said in a white paper released Tuesday.

"Whatever path the new-car market takes to a 'new normal,' used-car prices will eventually return to the traditional relationship with new-vehicle prices," KPMG wrote in the white paper. "In other words, a 20 to 30 percent plunge in used-vehicle prices is in the cards."

The consulting firm also observed that ALG estimates 2021 vehicles' residual value in 2024 wouldn't be significantly higher than usual.

KPMG estimated vehicle supply and demand would achieve equilibrium sometime between Octobe…

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. said it will launch a service next year offering customization and updates for cars as customers increasingly hold on to their vehicles for longer.

The service, known as Kinto Factory, will start in late January and offer new safety features, refreshed interiors, and software upgrades to car computer systems.

Toyota is trying to transform itself from a maker and seller of cars to a more service-based "mobility company."

The new service is part of Toyota's Kinto brand, launched in 2019 and offering car-sharing services.

Kinto president Shinya Kodera told reporters on Tuesday that for the sake of sustainability, it's best for cars to be "used for a long time in a healthy condition and eventually collected and recycled."

The company would consider expanding its Kinto Factory service abroad, he added.

Kinto subscriptions, which offer flat-rate car leases and insurance, had increased to 28,000 by November from …

Florida is threatening to suspend Carvana's dealer license over issues related to title transfers on vehicles it sold, according to a report.

WFLA reported that the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles told Carvana in an email last week that the online-based used-car retailer had until Jan. 31 to submit title applications for all vehicles sold in 2021 before Dec. 1. Should the company fail to do so, the department "may commence administrative action to suspend Carvana's dealer license in Florida," the email reads, according to WFLA.

The email reportedly included a spreadsheet showing 300 Carvana vehicle sales dating to 2019 that have not had their titles transferred, including more than 100 in Florida. State law requires retailers to apply for a title within 30 days of completing the sale.

"The Department remains concerned with Carvana's apparent inability to comply" with Florida law, the email reads in part. "Florida law allows the De…

WASHINGTON -- The EPA is finalizing new vehicle emissions requirements through 2026 that reverse former President Donald Trump's rollback of car pollution cuts and will speed a U.S. shift to more electric vehicles.

"We are setting robust and rigorous standards that will aggressively reduce the pollution that is harming people and our planet – and save families money at the same time," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

In August, President Joe Biden's administration proposed undoing the Trump-era action easing requirements imposed during the presidency of Barack Obama. The new rule finalized Monday is tougher than EPA's August proposal or requirements issued by Obama.

If expressed in miles per gallon (mpg) requirements, the EPA rules would result in a fleetwide average of about 40 mpg in 2026, versus 38 mpg under the August proposal and 32 mpg under the Trump rules.

The Democratic administrations of Biden and Obama have pushed f…

MILAN -- Ferrari said three managers will leave the automaker as the company implements a new organizational structure.

The three executives include Chief Technology Officer Michael Leiters, who oversaw the development of the first series Ferrari hybrid cars: the SF90 Stradale, the automaker's first plug-in hybrid launched in 2019, and its first plug-in hybrid V6, the 296 GTB, launched earlier this year.

Leiters had held the post since 2014, when he moved to Ferrari from Porsche.

The other two executives are Chief Manufacturing Officer Vincenzo Regazzoni and Chief Brand Diversification Officer Nicola Boari.

The managers "will end their cooperation with Ferrari to pursue new opportunities," the company said in a statement on Monday.

The management shake-up is one of the first major moves of Ferrari's new CEO Benedetto Vigna, who took on the role in June with a task to drive the automaker into the new era of electrification.

Ferrari ha…

General Motors said Monday it is extending a production halt at its Orion Assembly plant in Michigan, which makes the Chevrolet Bolt EV, through the end of February.

The largest U.S. automaker in August widened its recall of the Bolt to more than 140,000 vehicles to replace battery modules after a series of fires. Earlier this month it extended its production shutdown through late January. GM has also indefinitely halted retail sales of new Bolt vehicles.

The suburban Detroit plant halted production in August but conducted two weeks of limited production at Orion starting Nov. 1 to help provide courtesy transportation vehicles for customers during recall repairs.

GM President Mark Reuss said in October the company was addressing the recall before resuming production. The company said Monday it will continue to prioritize recall repairs and "focus on battery module replacements."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an ongoing inv…

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and CEO of Tesla Inc., said on Twitter that he’ll pay more than $11 billion in taxes this year, an amount that could constitute a record payment to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

The billionaire may face a tax bill of more than $10 billion for 2021 if he exercises all his options due to expire next year, calculations last week by Bloomberg News showed.

The unusually high levy comes after Musk exercised almost 15 million options and sold millions of shares to cover the taxes related to those transactions. That was following a Twitter poll last month when he asked followers whether he should sell 10% of his stake in the electric carmaker, whose shares have rocketed more than 2,300 percent over the past five years.

Since the unusual move to ask Twitter users about the plan, Tesla has declined nearly a quarter and the company’s market value has slid back below the $1 trillion mark to $937 billion. The shares were 2…

Chinese electric carmaker Nio Inc. unveiled its second sedan, which will compete more directly against Tesla Inc.'s most popular Model 3.

The all-electric ET5 was revealed by founder and CEO William Li at the annual Nio Day event in Suzhou on Saturday. With a starting price of 328,000 yuan ($51,450) before government subsidies, and 258,000 yuan ($40,463) with a leased battery, the most basic variant is designed to drive 550 kilometers (342 miles) on a single charge. The post-subsidy price for an entry-level Tesla Model 3 in China is 255,652 yuan ($40,095).

The ET5 will be available in September. Its launch follows that of Nio's first and more-expensive ET7 electric sedan -- which Li sees as a rival to Tesla's Model S -- and where deliveries are scheduled to start in March. Nio is also expected to unveil another electric vehicle in 2022.

"ET5 is a key product of us as Nio has long focused on sports utility vehicles," Li in an interview with Bloomberg on S…