Trade News

Ford Motor Co. is recalling 354,330 crossovers, one set from the 2020-21 model years because their rearview cameras may not correctly display images and the other from the 2011-13 model years over suspension issues.

A global recall covers 228,297 Explorer, Lincoln Corsair and Lincoln Aviator crossovers from the 2020-21 model years equipped with 360-degree cameras. Ford said the video output of those cameras may fail, which could cause the rearview image to cut out and thus increase the risk of a backover accident or crash.

Dealers were notified Thursday. The company said it expected vehicle owners to be notified by mail between Oct. 7 and 14. Ford said dealers will update the vehicle's Image Processing Module software.

In a safety recall report filed with NHTSA, Ford said two accidents were associated with the recall. No injuries have been reported, the company said.

In that report, Ford said the components were manufactured by Magna Electronics…

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said her state wasn't given a "real opportunity" to pitch Ford Motor Co. on land, labor and tax incentives for the multibillion-dollar electric vehicle and battery assembly plants the automaker intends to build in Tennessee and Kentucky.

The Democratic governor on Wednesday pushed back on suggestions that Michigan couldn't compete for the $11.4 billion Ford and battery maker SK Innovation plan to invest in the massive projects.

"Being the primary domicile, Michigan is always going to be able to put a competitive alternative on the table when we are given an opportunity to," Whitmer said. "And we look forward to future investments and (Ford) looking to Michigan first and giving us the opportunity to really put a robust package on the table."

Whitmer said there were "probably a lot of factors" that went into Ford's decision to locate the new battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky.

She downplayed Michigan's average e…

A good relationship with the dealer's F&I department can take a price-competitive lender "over the top" to capture incremental business, a J.D. Power analyst said.

"It all revolves along [a] relationship," Patrick Roosenberg, J.D. Power automotive finance intelligence director, said Friday in discussing the firm's 2021 U.S. Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study results released last week.

He called it "absolutely" possible that a dealer would pay even a higher buy rate if a strong relationship existed with the vendor.

"Auto dealers who maintain transactional relationships with lenders, spreading their business across multiple institutions without establishing go-to relationships, have significantly lower levels of satisfaction with their lending partners," Roosenberg said in a statement Sept. 23.

"In this market, where rates are low and new-vehicle sales volumes remain significantly suppressed, captive and non-captive lenders who want to stay …

TOKYO -- Tokyo prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence for Greg Kelly, the former Nissan director indicted alongside former Chairman Carlos Ghosn for alleged financial misconduct.

Prosecutors made the case against the American defendant on Wednesday as they delivered their closing argument in the long-running trial.

Kelly, who was arrested in Japan nearly three years ago, on Nov. 19, 2018, had faced a maximum penalty of up to 15 years for the alleged violation.

Prosecutors said they sought a two-year prison sentence, mindful of the time Kelly has already spent detained in Japan. After his arrest, Kelly was locked for more than a month in a Tokyo jail before being released on bail. Since then, he has been barred from traveling outside the country.

The trial began Sept. 15, 2020, and Kelly's lawyer says a verdict is not expected until March 2022.

Kelly's defense team gives its closing argument on Oct. 27. Then, the matter rests in…

We're firm believers that everyone should have the freedom to move and pursue their dreams, and it's people like Don Pijor who are driving this mission. As someone with Multiple Sclerosis, Don Pijor, F-150 Launch Manager at the Dearborn Truck plant and 32-year Ford veteran, knows firsthand the challenges that people who require wheelchair-accessible vehicles face, and he rose to meet them.

Inspired by his own experience, Pijor collaborated with AT Specialty Conversions to convert a 2021 F-150 into a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, using a custom-built hydraulic lift. This system helps people in wheelchairs to get in and out of the truck -- plus, it automacially closes the door. In his own words, Pijor said, "Just because you're in a wheelchair doesn't mean you should have to give up the things you like. The wheelchair uplift allows freedom and a lifestyle that people in a wheelchair aren't typically able to have." 

We're creating the future of mobility -- a…

We're firm believers that everyone should have the freedom to move and pursue their dreams, and it's people like Don Pijor who are driving this mission. As someone with Multiple Sclerosis, Don Pijor, F-150 Launch Manager at the Dearborn Truck plant and 32-year Ford veteran, knows firsthand the challenges that people who require wheelchair-accessible vehicles face, and he rose to meet them.

Inspired by his own experience, Pijor collaborated with AT Specialty Conversions to convert a 2021 F-150 into a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, using a custom-built hydraulic lift. This system helps people in wheelchairs to get in and out of the truck -- plus, it automacially closes the door. In his own words, Pijor said, "Just because you're in a wheelchair doesn't mean you should have to give up the things you like. The wheelchair uplift allows freedom and a lifestyle that people in a wheelchair aren't typically able to have." 

We're creating the future of mobility -- a…

Ineos Group, the British chemical company bringing the rugged BMW-powered Grenadier SUV to North America in spring 2023, will open its order books on Thursday.

The company says 63,000 hand-raisers have expressed an interest in the boxy off-road vehicle globally, with 12,000 of those in North America. Now the company wants to see who's serious about buying a retro-looking utility vehicle that is aimed at fans of stripped-down, classic SUVs such as the original version of Land Rover Defender.

Those hand-raisers will be given a two-week opportunity to place a $450 deposit on a vehicle. After that, reservations will open to all customers, Ineos' North American Executive Vice President Greg Clark told Automotive News.

Speaking of the $450 deposit, Clark said: "We definitely want an expression of real interest, and we feel with small amounts you can get lots and lots of speculation."

Ineos is different from most other startups. Money is not a concern fo…

PHOENIX — Lucid Motors became the latest startup automaker to begin production of electric vehicles as the company's first sedans rolled off the assembly line Tuesday.

Lucid said the first customer-ready Air luxury electric sedans were completed at its assembly plant in Casa Grande, Ariz., about 47 miles southeast of downtown Phoenix. Deliveries to customers will begin in late October, the company said.

"Our technology will allow for increasingly lighter, more efficient, and less expensive EVs, and today represents a major step in our journey to expand the accessibility of more sustainable transportation," Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson said in a statement.

The start of Lucid Air assembly comes just two weeks after fellow startup Rivian began production of its R1T electric pickup in Illinois. Lucid and Rivian enter an electric market that has long been dominated by Tesla, even as more traditional automakers come to market with EV offerings of their ow…

Ford Motor Co. will receive twice the amount of Michigan tax incentives for its Dearborn Truck Plant after announcing last month that it plans to double production of the F-150 Lightning pickup at the plant.

The automaker will receive just more than $6 million in State Essential Services Assessment, or SESA, exemption tax incentives for the $200 million expansion following approval from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. on Tuesday. The expansion is expected to create 300-400 manufacturing jobs. The average annual wage for the Ford plant jobs is $61,000.

Ford received $35 million in incentives in 2019 to support a $1.5 billion capital investment and creation of 3,000 jobs at its plants in Dearborn and Wayne, Crain's Detroit Business previously reported. Crain's is an affiliate of Automotive News.

At the time, it was approved for a SESA exemption valued at $3.2 million for the Dearborn project. Following its announcement of the plant expansion, the …

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co., in what it says is the largest single manufacturing investment in its 118-year history, on Monday said it would spend $7 billion and create nearly 11,000 jobs to build electric vehicles and batteries in Tennessee and Kentucky.

The investment, meant to vault Ford among the leaders in EV output, will include a 3,600-acre "mega campus" northeast of Memphis called Blue Oval City that will include Ford's first new vehicle assembly plant in more than 50 years. The site — three times the size of the automaker's sprawling Rouge Complex in Michigan — will hire about 6,000 people to assemble next-generation electric F-Series pickups and include battery cell production and a supplier park, Ford said. It's expected to open in 2025.

South of Louisville, Ford will build a 1,500-acre battery park under its BlueOvalSK joint venture with battery supplier SK Innovation. The site will comprise two battery plants making advanced lithium ion batteries, wi…