Trade News

Penske Automotive Group Inc.'s third-quarter net income soared to a record for any quarter on higher used-vehicle revenue and stronger new-vehicle margins, even as its new-vehicle sales dropped by 16 percent as inventory tightened.

CEO Roger Penske in a statement Wednesday credited the performance to strength in all areas of the company's business. Pretax earnings from Penske's retail commercial trucks division more than doubled, and its ownership stake in Penske Transportation Solutions generated 83 percent higher income.

Penske said that since the quarter ended, it bought the remaining 51 percent of a Japanese luxury dealership group in which it had previously invested. The company in January 2016 revealed it had purchased 49 percent of that group. The acquisition of the rest of the group is expected to add $250 million in annualized revenue. Penske also said Wednesday that it has acquisitions under contract that represent another $300 million in annualized r…

Uber drivers in the U.S. will be able to offer services with Tesla Inc. electric vehicles rented from Hertz Global Holdings Inc. from Nov. 1.

Hertz also said it signed up Carvana Co. to sell off rental vehicles it no longer wants.

Taken together, the deals represent a trifecta of aggressive and innovative initiatives with the potential to upend the car-rental business and hasten the transition to greener fuel sources. The car order on Monday, the largest-ever for EVs at $4.2 billion, was such as watershed moment that it propelled Tesla Inc.’s valuation past $1 trillion.

"One of Uber's most important constituencies is their drivers," Mark Fields, Hertz's interim CEO, told Automotive News, "so the benefit for them is they get to drive a terrific vehicle. At the same time it's an opportunity for higher earnings potential.

Fields told Automotive News that Hertz's program allows Uber to rent a Tesla on a weekly basis. The program "covers insurance and…

DETROIT — General Motors on Tuesday said it will work with its dealerships in the U.S. and Canada to establish a network of 40,000 electric vehicle chargers over the next four years.

The chargers will bear the name of GM's Ultium battery brand and also be available for buyers of Ultium-powered vehicles, such as the upcoming GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq, to purchase.

GM will distribute up to 10 chargers to each store starting early next year, and it would be up to each dealer to find suitable locations in the community. The chargers are intended to be installed at sites such as shopping centers, offices or even fields used by Little League teams that the dealership sponsors, rather than at the dealerships themselves.

The effort is part of GM's $750 million commitment toward charging infrastructure through 2025.

"We want to give customers the right tools and access to charging where and when they need it," GM President Ma…

Hertz Global Holdings Inc.’s $4.2 billion deal with Tesla Inc. is about more than just an order for 100,000 cars. It’s about vaulting electric vehicles into the mainstream.

Not only does Tesla get a huge order at a premium price, it gets a way for the EV-curious masses to test-drive its Model 3. Hertz, meanwhile, gets to tap into the growing interest in EVs while aligning itself with the industry’s leader and sexiest brand. Tesla also will benefit from exposure in a splashy Hertz ad campaign starring seven-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady.

“This is an opportunity not only to fix the business, but also to employ a strategy that allows us to play a central role in development of the modern mobility industry,” Mark Fields, Hertz’s new interim chief executive officer and a former CEO of Ford Motor Co., said in an interview. “One of our objectives is to lead in the adoption of electric vehicles.”

Investors clearly thought the announcement was bigger than t…

Our Next Energy is hoping to double electric vehicle range – so EVs can work as well as, or even better than, a gas-powered car and lead to widespread adoption.

WASHINGTON -- Engine manufacturer Navistar International Corp. will pay a $52 million civil penalty and has agreed to prevent at least 10,000 tons of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions in a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over Clean Air Act violations.

The Justice Department said on Monday that Illinois-based Navistar, which was acquired by Volkswagen's Traton truck unit for $3.7 billion in July, illegally introduced into commerce heavy-duty diesel engines not authorized by EPA emissions rules.

In 2015, the U.S. filed suit against Navistar over the engines. Navistar must purchase and destroy enough older diesel engines to prevent 10,000 tons of future NOx emissions, the Justice Department said, and forfeit its current NOx credits. 

Navistar said it had signed "a definitive settlement agreement" with the Justice Department and the EPA.

"Navistar is pleased to put this legacy issue behind us and eager to focus on transportation so…

Hertz said on Monday the car rental firm has ordered 100,000 Tesla Inc. cars for delivery by the end of 2022 as it invests to build the largest EV rental fleet in North America.

Tesla shares were up 4 percent at $946.32 before the bell. Bloomberg first reported the story earlier Monday.

Hertz had filed for bankruptcy protection last year as travel demand sank during the height of the pandemic and talks with creditors failed to provide relief.

It was rescued by a group of investors including Knighthead Capital Management, Certares Opportunities and Apollo Capital Management.

Earlier this month, Hertz named former Ford chief Mark Fields as interim CEO.

DETROIT -- General Motors and Ford Motor Co. are likely to show investors both the positive and negative financial impacts of the global semiconductor chip shortage when the U.S. automakers report third-quarter results on Wednesday.

GM and Ford have had to bring some assembly lines to a halt for lack of semiconductors, and contend with rising costs for other parts and raw materials as well as shipping. Lost production and rising supply-chain costs put pressure on profit margins.

However, GM and Ford have been able to offset that pressure thanks to strong demand for their lucrative full-size trucks and SUVs, which has allowed them to cut back on discounts and maintain strong profits.

Investors will be listening carefully to what GM CEO Mary Barra and Ford CEO Jim Farley say about how long they can protect profits from the supply-chain storm.

Both GM and Ford have recently outlined strategies for generating more revenue from software-powered servi…

NEW YORK/ SAN FRANCISCO -- Tesla on Sunday rolled back the latest version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software, less than a day after its release, after users complained of false collision warnings and other issues.

The setback comes as Tesla is under regulatory scrutiny over the safety of its semi-autonomous driving technology, which it calls "FSD."

"Seeing some issues with 10.3, so rolling back to 10.2 temporarily," CEO Elon Musk said in a Twitter post on Sunday.

"Please note, this is to be expected with beta software. It is impossible to test all hardware configs in all conditions with internal QA (quality assurance), hence public beta," he said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.

The release of the new driving assist system to some owners of Tesla models, which the company said featured several improvements, had been announced for Friday, Oct 22.

On Saturday, M…

TOKYO -- Panasonic unveiled a more advanced prototype battery that has five times the storage capacity of current ones, with the company's battery chief saying it will help deepen business ties with U.S. electric-car maker Tesla.

During a media roundtable where Kazuo Tadanobu unveiled the new battery for the first time, he also said Panasonic had no plans to make cheaper Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) EV batteries.

Panasonic this year established a test line in Japan to make the 4680 format, which is a 46 mm (1.6 inches wide) and 80 mm tall battery cell that Tesla says will store more energy, halve battery costs and drive a 100-fold increase in battery production by 2030.

"We have developed this because of the strong desire of the other party, and we think this can only lead to stronger ties," Tadanobu said.

Panasonic's commitment to deepening business ties with Tesla comes as the EV maker diversifies its suppliers beyond the Japanese company, forgi…

STOCKHOLM -- Volvo Cars cut the size of its initial public offering on Monday, setting the price for the listing at 53 crowns ($6.20) per share, the low end of its previously announced range.

Volvo had previously said the shares would be priced within a range of 53 crowns to 68 crowns per share, but the market for European IPOs has taken a turn for the worse in recent months as inflation and global supply chain crunches have increased stock market volatility.

Automakers have been particularly hurt by production disruptions due to the semiconductor shortage as several of them cut production targets and shut factories on concerns that the crisis will run well into next year.

At the current price, Volvo would be valued at just over $18 billion, down from as much as $23 billion it had expected at the top of the pricing range.

Volvo Cars said on Monday it was planning to raise around 20 billion Swedish crowns ($2.3 billion) in the IPO, down a fifth fro…