Lisa Teed never has focused on the fact that she is a woman in the auto industry. “Honestly, I always thought of myself as gender neutral,” she says. That confidence was instilled by her family, during her early years growing up in rural Ohio. “My father worked for NASA — he truly was a rocket scientist,” says Teed. “I was one of six sisters, and my mom and dad raised us to do anything we wanted to do. There was no gender thing in our family. We learned how to do everything: changing the oil on the car, mowing the lawn, changing a flat tire. We were raised in an environment where we were treated as doers.” Teed definitely has been a doer in her 27 years at Ford Motor Co.— a career she capped this year as brand marketing manager for the Mustang Mach-E, the headline-making new electric crossover. “The Mach-E is the most significant event of my career,” she says. “The Mustang — the Pony — is such an icon, such a huge brand in the American auto industr…
The latest numbers on the microchip shortage: N.A. vehicle-loss forecast pared
For the second week in a row, the worst-case scenario for the loss of North American-built vehicles as a result of the global microchip shortage has been trimmed back.
AutoForecast Solutions, which has closely monitored the worldwide chip impact on vehicle production all year, softened its forecast for North American factory output again last week. Although the restatement is small, it provides another glimmer of hope for the industry as it steers through the long-running supply chain crisis.
AFS now estimates that North American factories will have cut 3,411,958 vehicles from their production plans this year because of the microchip shortage. That is 2,414 units fewer than the AFS estimate one week earlier. It follows a forecast improvement of 897 vehicles one week before that.
But the North American outlook has not changed the forecast for auto production elsewhere in the world. Automakers are still expected to cut about 11.3 million units from their …
Honda, Ohio aim to make smart-mobility corridor even smarter
State, county and municipal government fleets in Ohio, as well as private citizens who volunteer to participate, are expected to add hundreds more connected vehicles — specially equipped to test new advanced driver-assistance systems — along a 35-mile stretch of "smart" highway in central Ohio called the 33 Smart Mobility Corridor.
Efforts are underway to quadruple the number of test vehicles interacting with each other and with the infrastructure along U.S. Route 33, said Sue Bai, chief engineer at the Honda Research Institute and project lead for the 33 Smart Mobility Corridor.
"We're very excited to see more cars coming on board," she said in a phone interview. "With government fleets coming online, we expect at least 600 more connected vehicles."
Honda has more than 200 specially equipped, connected Honda and Acura vehicles deployed in the area, she said.
American Honda Motor Co. is a major partner and the most active automaker participating …
Nissan’s former chairman calls EV plan too timid
TOKYO — Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, the onetime electric vehicle pioneer who dove into the technology with overly optimistic expectations a decade ago, says now is finally the time to go all-in on EVs, as he blasts his former company as vision-less in this new era.
Ghosn said newcomers to the industry, including Tesla and entrants from China, have an advantage over legacy players, and he warned that old-guard companies such as Nissan Motor Co. must be faster to stay competitive in the rapidly shifting landscape.
"The speed of the shift is going to determine who's going to be the winner," Ghosn said in an online news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, where the ousted auto veteran spoke last week on the release of his recent book in a Japanese-language edition.
Ghosn spoke from his home in Beirut, where he lives as an international fugitive. He was indicted four times in Japan on allegations of financial misconduct and fle…
Automotive News live talk Dec. 15: Challenges of the new EV supply chain
Join Automotive News at noon EST Wednesday, Dec. 15, for a live talk on the new, complex supply chain facing automakers as part of their electric vehicle ambitions. Tune in to our LinkedIn and Facebook pages to be part of the discussion with Executive Editor Jamie Butters and Staff Reporters Hannah Lutz, Pete Bigelow and Laurence Iliff.
Lutz, Bigelow and Iliff have reported extensively on the technical, business, raw material and sourcing challenges facing the auto industry on the road to electrification. They will talk about their work on the Elements of Electrification project and about what the future holds for EV battery development and supply.
You may send questions in advance of the event to [email protected].
VW, Bosch to cooperate on automotive software, report says
FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen's software unit Cariad and Robert Bosch are nearing an agreement to cooperate on automotive software, a German business paper reported.
VW plans to invest a triple-digit million euro amount as part of the deal, Handelsblatt reported on Saturday, citing company sources.
VW has bundled all its software efforts into Cariad, hoping it can challenge Tesla and Alphabet in a field in which it has not traditionally been active.
Cariad ranks high on VW Group's transformation agenda, with CEO Herbert Diess taking on responsibility for the unit on the group's management board as part of a reshuffle.
Diess sees software as the key future battleground of the automotive industry, ranging from operating systems to enable autonomous driving to software services that can be installed over the air.
Cariad, which gets 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in funds from VW each year, declined to comment.
Bosch was not immediately av…
Texas dealership helps customers track down vehicles
Around 2016, Street Volkswagen ran a radio advertisement to drum up business for its sales and service departments.
In the commercial, the dealership in Amarillo, Texas, offered to help consumers buy a vehicle they spotted elsewhere or transport a vehicle from out of town, owner John Luciano said. A few people took the store up on the offer.
Soon, Luciano and a few other dealership leaders realized that interest potentially could become something bigger. The store drew up a form for customers to fill out with make, model, year, mileage, trim and color specifications of a particular vehicle they wanted, Luciano said. The fledgling program got a name — Car Catcher — and a mascot of sorts, a caricature of a dog holding a magnifying glass.
"People want the car and don't want to have to drive to Oklahoma City or Dallas or whatever. They'd rather deal with us," Luciano said. "We charge them a flat fee to do it, and they love it. We do all the work."
…
Tesla closes in on established luxury leaders
The U.S. luxury market, long a battleground where Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus fought for every inch of terrain, is increasingly facing a challenge from Tesla, according to the latest new-vehicle registration data from Experian.
Through the end of October, Tesla's Model Y crossover and Model 3 sedan were the two most popular vehicles offered by any premium brand, regardless of powertrain, the Experian data found.
Tesla totaled 134,504 Model Y registrations in the U.S. through October, as well as 112,314 Model 3 registrations. Those two nameplates have dominated the EV space this year, accounting for 65 percent of all electric vehicle registrations in the first 10 months of the year.
But they've also become more popular than the best-selling nameplates offered by any premium brand, including gasoline-powered mainstays such as the Lexus RX, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3 Series.
According to Experian, 98,297 RX crossovers were registered through …
Jeep beats back challenges by expanding lineup
MOAB, Utah — Jeep is no stranger to overcoming obstacles.
This is true on dusty, rock-laden trails as well as in a marketplace that has been upended this year by the coronavirus pandemic and a shortage of microchips.
Despite those challenges, the off-road brand is building up steam by broadening its portfolio with new powertrain offerings, redesigned models and forays into segments where it hasn't competed before.
The goal now is to continue churning out metal while working around parts shortages to fulfill orders for customers who are ready to experience the next phase of Jeep products. But with so many important launches in a short period, the brand will have to ensure it keeps building on the quality gains it has made in recent years and avoid snafus that could slow its momentum at a critical time.
"Jeep is white hot right now," said Brian Moody, executive editor at Autotrader. "They clearly know who they are and how…
Rivian to announce plan for Georgia EV factory, report says
Rivian Automotive Inc., the electric truck startup valued at more than $100 billion, is planning to announce that it will build a vehicle-assembly and battery plant in Georgia, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Irvine, California-based automaker, which had also considered competing sites in Texas and Arizona, is expected to reveal the plans at an event Thursday, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the information before it's public. While Georgia has been selected provisionally, no agreement has yet been signed, some of the people said.
A Rivian representative declined to comment.
The company launched its first model in September, the plug-in R1T pickup. Rivian will roll out an electric SUV, the R1S, from its factory in Normal, Illinois, by year-end. It also has an order to produce 100,000 battery-powered delivery vans for Amazon.com Inc., the EV maker's largest investor with a 20 percent stake.
Rivia…
Canada threatens tariffs on U.S. goods over proposed EV tax credits
WASHINGTON — Canada is threatening to impose tariffs on U.S. exports, including auto sector goods, if Congress advances a proposal on electric vehicle tax credits that the Canadian government says poses a "significant threat" to its automotive industry.
In a letter sent Friday to U.S. Senate leadership, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Trade Minister Mary Ng said they are "deeply concerned" about the proposed EV tax credits in the Democrats' Build Back Better Act.
"We want to be clear that if there is no satisfactory resolution to this matter, Canada will defend its national interests, as we did when we were faced with unjustified tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum," they wrote in the letter.
"In that regard," they continued, "Canada will have no choice but to forcefully respond by launching a dispute settlement process under the USMCA and applying tariffs on American exports in a manner that will impact American workers in the au…
Toyota’s first EV seed: North Carolina battery plant
North Carolina beat nine other states for a $1.29 billion battery plant that will soon rise in the central part of the Tar Heel State. But Toyota Motor North America's investment toward its electric vehicle future there won't be its last.
It may not even be the last in North Carolina.
Why? Because the company still has billions of dollars that it has committed to North American EV production, and the place where it will build its batteries is hundreds of miles from the nearest place in which to use them.
The plant, which Toyota says will eventually produce up to 1.2 million lithium ion battery packs annually for its lineup of North America-built hybrids, plug-in hybrids and eventually EVs, is expected to begin producing saleable battery packs in 2025. It will create about 1,750 jobs and be built on some portion of an 1,825-acre site — more than 2.85 square miles — near the town of Liberty, N.C., about 20 miles southeast of Greensboro.
For compar…