Trade News

General Motors' upcoming generation of electric vehicles, powered by a new Ultium Drive three-motor system, will be designed in-house and will include integrated power electronics to reduce costs and manufacturing complexity while reducing mass and volume, GM said Tuesday.

"Twenty years of electric drive system development and more than 100 years of high-volume vehicle engineering are helping GM pivot quickly from conventional vehicles to EVs," President Mark Reuss said in a statement. "Our vertical integration in this space, encompassing both hardware and software, helps give us control over our own destiny and a significant competitive advantage."

Reuss shared details on the motors at the 2021 Mackinac Policy Conference sponsored by the Detroit Regional Chamber. GM announced plans for Ultium Drive, a family of five interchangeable drive units and three motors, last year.

The Ultium motors include a 180-kilowatt front-drive motor, 255-kW rear- and fron…

WASHINGTON — The Alliance for Automotive Innovation and 14 other associations are urging the U.S. Department of Transportation to continue and expand efforts to support the safe deployment of automated vehicles in the U.S.

In a letter sent Monday to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the associations argue that implementing a federal framework for AVs can help the Biden administration achieve a "safer, more environmentally friendly and accessible transportation future" and is vital to maintaining U.S. competitiveness.

"As you told Congress at your confirmation hearing, U.S. policy has not kept pace with technology development," the groups wrote in the letter. "Other countries are racing ahead to capture this new industry, set its standards and become the home of AV development and manufacturing."

The groups also urged the department to continue identifying regulatory barriers to the deployment of AVs in the U.S. and accelerate efforts to mitigate …

Mercedes-Benz's flagship electric sedan will start at $103,360, including shipping, when it silently rolls into U.S. dealerships this fall.

The battery-powered S-Class is at the vanguard of a wave of EVs that Mercedes will deliver to the U.S. as the luxury automaker pivots to become an all-electric brand.

"The S-Class is such a symbol for the brand, and that will help us create the momentum we need for the decade," Daimler CEO Ola Källenius said on the sidelines of the IAA Munich auto show this month. "We are upping the ante on the product side, and we are on a very accelerated path. We have to get 100 percent of the market."

The EQS nameplate will be available in the U.S. in three trims — Premium, Exclusive and Pinnacle — and will top out at $126,360, including a $1,050 shipping charge.

The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan is built on a new EV platform called EVA2.

Available in rear- and all-wheel drive, the EQS is powered by a 107.8-kilowat…

Editor's note: All dollar figures in Canadian currency.

OTTAWA — The Canadian Press is projecting the Liberals have won enough seats to stay in power with a minority government but have fallen short of winning a majority.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will need the support of at least one other party to maintain a minority government.

As of late Monday night, The Canadian Press projected that the Liberals were leading in 156 ridings, the Conservatives in 123, the Bloc Quebecois in 29, the NDP in 28 and the Greens in two.

The win marks the Liberals’ third government in six years.

What a Liberal government could mean for Canada’s auto sector:

Under previous mandates, the Liberals established a relatively consistent track record for automotive support and investment, particularly when it comes to electric vehicles. 

The government announced in June that it wants all new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada be zero-emissio…

At a time when federal officials are scrutinizing the safety of Tesla Autopilot, new research sheds light on how the system is reshaping driver behavior.

When the driver-assist system is enabled, Tesla drivers' eyes stray from the road more frequently and for longer periods of time compared with manual driving, according to researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This is believed to be the first study that uses real-world driving data to measure how attentive Autopilot drivers are behind the wheel, and where they're glancing besides the road ahead.

"This is the first time we can quantify the effects of automation, in this case specifically Tesla Autopilot, on how drivers pay attention," said Pnina Gershon, MIT research scientist and one of the study's authors. "Essentially what it shows is when Autopilot is engaged, we see glances off the road that are longer."

The findings arrive as NHTSA investigat…

General Motors has signed an agreement with car rental giant Hertz Corp. to help funnel more loaner vehicles to dealerships amid the global microchip shortage.

As an enhancement to GM's existing Dealer Courtesy Transportation Program, Hertz will provide loaner vehicles to dealers at the automaker's current rate, a GM spokesperson confirmed to Automotive News. Hertz's primary focus will be providing Chevrolet Bolt customers with loaners during the recall process.

AutoForecast Solutions estimates that the global industry has lost 8.36 million vehicles from planned production because of the chip shortage. About 2.7 million of those vehicles were cut from North America production plans.

GM this month doubled its production loss forecast to 200,000 vehicles in the second half of the year. The automaker continues to pause production at assembly plants, especially those that build crossovers and sedans, to redirect chips elsewhere and has built some vehicl…

DETROIT — Ten months after the Chevrolet Bolt's initial recall, General Motors has outlined two solutions to eliminate fire risk: module replacements starting next month and new diagnostic software that identifies potentially dangerous anomalies or damaged batteries, the automaker said Monday.

GM plans to send battery module replacements to dealers in mid-October and launch its diagnostic software, installed by dealers, in the next 60 days.

The drawn-out Bolt recall has become a black eye for GM and diminished trust among many customers as the automaker aims for an all-electric lineup by 2035 and rolls out a new generation of electric vehicles, starting with the GMC Hummer pickup this fall. The module replacement and diagnostic software mark GM's next try at a fix after a separate software update, announced in April, failed to prevent battery fires.

Battery supplier LG has restarted production at its plants in Holland and Hazel Park, Mich., and the supp…

The U.S.’s top crash investigator urged Tesla Inc. to address safety concerns before expanding its cars’ self-driving features, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Basic safety issues have to be addressed before they then expand it to other city streets and other areas,” Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said in an interview with the newspaper.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last week drivers would soon be able to upgrade the so-called full self-driving capability of their vehicles. The move is expected to make driver-assistance tools that were designed mainly for highways usable in city environments too, though it doesn’t make cars completely autonomous.

The term ‘full self-driving’ is “misleading and irresponsible,” Homendy said. The marketing may attract more attention than warnings in car manuals, the WSJ added.

The NTSB investigates crashes and issues safety recommendations but has no regulatory authority.

…

AutoForecast Solutions' Sam Fiorani says the semiconductor supply crunch will likely persist for some time, as chipmakers continue to prioritize electronics customers over automakers.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

WASHINGTON -- U.S. auto safety investigators have opened a new probe into 30 million vehicles built by nearly two dozen automakers with potentially defective Takata airbag inflators, a government document seen by Reuters on Sunday showed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday opened an engineering analysis into an estimated 30 million U.S. vehicles from the 2001 through 2019 model years. Automakers were alerted to the investigation, which is not yet public.

The new investigation includes vehicles assembled by Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors, Subaru, Tesla Inc., Ferrari, Nissan Motor Co., Mazda Motor Corp., Daimler, BMW, Chrysler (now part of Stellantis), Porsche Cars, Jaguar Land Rover (owned by Tata Motors) and others.

The automakers on Sunday either declined to comment before NHTSA's expected public announcement on Monday, or did not immediately respond to requests for comment. NHTSA declined …

LOS ANGELES — American Honda is setting a target of 70,000 in annual sales for the Prologue crossover that it will launch in 2024 on a platform developed by General Motors.

And as the Japanese company develops its own EV platform throughout the decade, Honda expects to reach half a million EV sales in North America by 2030 on its way to becoming an entirely zero-emissions automaker by 2040, the company said Monday.

"Launching our first volume BEV in 2024 is the start of an exciting new direction for Honda," said Dave Gardner, executive vice president of national operations at American Honda. "We are working with our dealers to plan the transition from sales of primarily gasoline-powered vehicles to selling 100 percent electric vehicles by 2040."

Honda said its EV sales goals are dependent on receiving fair and equitable access to state and federal EV incentives in the U.S. Honda and other international automakers have voiced opposition to a proposal by …