Trade News

Stellantis brands Jeep, Fiat and Ram will release special edition vehicles as part of a multiyear partnership with Red, a brand licensing company that raises money to fight global health emergencies.

The vehicles will get a global marketing campaign to drive awareness to Red's cause. At least $4 million raised through the campaign will go to the Global Fund to combat COVID-19 and AIDS between 2021 and 2023, per a news release.

Red was co-founded in 2006 by Irish singer-songwriter Bono and American activist Bobby Shriver, who wanted companies to band together to address the global AIDS epidemic.

"This partnership with FIAT, Jeep and RAM is a powerful shot in the arm for (RED)'s fight against pandemics and the complacency that fuels them," Bono said in a statement. "It's hard to believe that 15 years on from (RED)'s founding we are now fighting another tiny virus ... but it's even harder to see the virus of injustice that marked the AIDS pandemic is alive …

Auto supplier Marelli Corp. is planning about 1,500 job cuts worldwide in a bid to build a leaner company amid a pandemic-driven components shortage.

The diversified powertrain and electronics company plans to eliminate about 7.5 percent of its 20,000 office staff next year in order to align its workforce and costs with industry levels, according to a letter sent by CEO Beda Bolzenius to employees and seen by Bloomberg News. The content of the letter was subsequently confirmed by the company.

Marelli is also planning a wider restructuring that will include ten new business units and six divisions, the letter said, adding that it will also look to strengthen business in China.

Volker Krebs will be appointed CFO while Juan Molla will be named global chief commercial officer, the letter said. Bharat Vennapusa will be the new chief of global operations. 

Marelli was formed in 2019, after KKR completed its acquisition of Magneti Marelli from Fia…

More would-be vehicle buyers are exiting the market, according to research posted Wednesday by Cox Automotive and Kelley Blue Book.

Most of those sitting on the sidelines, at least temporarily, are well aware that the market — which is short on inventory and high on pricing — is being affected by a shortage of microchips.

The research defined would-be vehicle shoppers as consumers who intended to purchase within a year. It included interviews with 266 consumers in April and another 173 in August.

The August survey found that 48 percent of consumers were choosing to postpone a purchase, up from 37 percent in April.

Of those consumers who said they were stepping back from the market in August, 80 percent said they planned to be sidelined for between three and 12 months. In April, that figure was at 60 percent.

A shortage of microchips has constrained production of new vehicles, which in turn has led to increased demand and higher prices for …

WASHINGTON — General Motors has hired former NHTSA chief David Strickland as vice president of global regulatory affairs, effective Oct. 1.

Strickland, 52, will lead a team responsible for working with regulatory agencies at the local, state, national and international levels on several issues affecting GM and the auto industry, the Detroit automaker said Wednesday.

He replaces Bob Babik, who is retiring Dec. 31 after a 20-year career with the automaker. Strickland will report to Omar Vargas, GM's vice president and head of global policy.

"David has an extensive background working on a wide variety of transportation and auto industry policy issues," Vargas said in a statement. "His knowledge of the issues and ability to work collaboratively with government and industry make him the perfect leader to help drive regulatory policies in support of GM's growth initiatives, including our vision for an all-electric and autonomous future."

Stricklan…

Self-driving technology company Aurora said it will begin piloting trucks loaded with its software this week to haul goods for U.S. package delivery firm FedEx Corp between Dallas and Houston, albeit with a safety driver.

Aurora, which is led by former heads of self-driving programs at Google, Uber and Tesla Inc., added on Wednesday it is aiming for trucks without a safety driver by late 2023.

The news comes a week after self-driving startup Argo AI, Ford Motor Co. and Walmart Inc. said they would together launch an autonomous vehicle delivery service in Miami, Austin, and Washington, D.C.

In January, Aurora announced a partnership with U.S. truckmaker PACCAR Inc., whose brands include Peterbilt and Kenworth, to develop self-driving trucks. Aurora now plans to use these trucks to deliver FedEx parcels.

Aurora, which is going public through a deal with a blank-check firm backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights Reid Hoffman and Mark Pincus, is also …

More criminals are deploying "synthetic" identities and fake employers to secure auto loans through fraud, said Frank McKenna, co-founder and chief fraud strategist at risk management firm Point Predictive. Here is a closer look at both types of fraud.

Traditional identity theft involves a fraudster posing as a specific party. However, synthetic identity fraud entails a completely phony persona generated with a "hodgepodge" of details, such as one person's Social Security number, another party's name and an address unrelated to either, said McKenna, whose company uses artificial intelligence to flag potential fraud.

"That's growing like crazy," he said.

The fraudster will apply for credit and begin generating a credit history, potentially bolstering that pedigree by adding the fake identity as an authorized user to an unsuspecting person's credit card.

Point Predictive sees thousands of synthetic identity scenarios "…

Incoming AutoNation Inc. CEO Mike Manley will earn an annual base salary of $1.3 million and receive a $1.5-million cash sign-on bonus when he comes onboard Nov. 1, according to a regulatory filing late Tuesday.

AutoNation on Tuesday announced it had hired Manley, former CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and head of Americas for Stellantis, the company formed when FCA and PSA merged in January. Manley will replace outgoing and longtime AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson, who will retire from the post and from AutoNation's board also on Nov. 1.

AutoNation's board of directors hired Manley on Sept. 9, according to the filing. Manley on the same day entered into a three-year employment agreement with the auto retail giant that will automatically renew on his third anniversary date and annually after.

Manley collected total compensation of $14.45 million in 2019 as CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles -- his last full year in that position.

As part of his contra…

DETROIT -- Most of the show at the new Motor Bella event in suburban Detroit took place off the stage for its debut Tuesday.

The event at M1 Concourse drew hundreds of industry representatives and media members in Pontiac, Mich., as it marked the return of a major auto show to metro Detroit and offered a glimpse into the possible future of the North American International Auto Show.

At the event entrance, Jeep Wranglers, Compasses and Grand Cherokees lined up on an off-road track like roller coaster cars, taking passengers over a steep hill and a mound of rocks and through 19 inches of water. On the opposite end of the show's 87-acre footprint, racecar drivers in Toyota performance vehicles put on a noisy show for spectators lined up along the track.

Around 80 companies and sponsors set up tents and activations to exhibit products and meet with clients and potential customers. For many, it was among the first large in-person events since the COVID-19 p…

General Motors President Mark Reuss said on Tuesday the global supply of semiconductor chips will begin to stabilize but at lower levels than the auto industry wants as it tries to rebuild vehicle inventories.

"We're going to see a stablization to some extent before we see getting the volume we really need," Reuss said at a conference hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber on Mackinac Island in northern Michigan.

The global chip shortage has caused GM and automakers globally to idle production at plants, with some executives warning the issue could linger into 2023. 

GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said last week GM expects a "more stable year" in 2022 for chip suppliers, but warned third-quarter wholesale deliveries could be down by 200,000 vehicles due to the shortage.

Looking ahead, Reuss said a crucial issue for the auto industry would be recycling materials used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, such as rare earth minerals.<…

Longtime AutoNation Inc. CEO Mike Jackson may finally have his retirement date.

More than two and a half years after AutoNation's board of directors thought it had found its replacement for Jackson only to later recall the auto retail veteran to that role, the nation's largest dealership group has landed a top auto industry executive as its next CEO.

AutoNation on Tuesday said it had hired former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Mike Manley to replace Jackson as CEO effective Nov. 1. Manley, who has auto retail experience, is currently head of Americas for Stellantis — the company formed when PSA and FCA merged in January.

Jackson, 72, who has been CEO of AutoNation for most of the past 22 years, will also retire from AutoNation's board of directors.

The hiring of Manley, 57, marks a new era at AutoNation, which will have its fourth CEO since February 2019. The dealership group, with $20 billion in annual revenue and 228 dealerships, is in the midst…

LOS ANGELES — The freshened 2022 Acura RDX crossover arriving at dealers in early November will have revised front and rear styling, additional features, a new trim package and a quieter interior.

American Honda did not announce pricing for the new model year.

"RDX has been an incredible success for Acura, with more than half a million sold since it was first introduced in 2006," said Emile Korkor, assistant vice president of sales. "The new 2022 RDX is the best it has ever been and further proof of Acura's commitment to deliver exciting premium performance products based on our unique DNA."

The styling changes to the compact RDX are inspired by the fourth generation of the midsize MDX crossover that went on sale this year, Acura said. The updates include a thinner chrome strip around the front rims and a larger air intake.

At the rear, the RDX gets a revised fascia with cutouts for the new rectangular exhaust finishers. The RDX A-Spec appearanc…