Trade News

General Motors is set to invest $300 million in Momenta to accelerate the application of the young Chinese company’s autonomous driving technologies in future products in China. 

The move is part of a plan the Detroit automaker announced in June to invest $35 billion globally from 2020 to 2025 to develop electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles.

Momenta, established in 2016 in Beijing, is developing mass-production L4 autonomous driving systems.

As of March 2021, Momenta had raised $700 million from strategic automotive partners such as SAIC Motor Corp., Mercedes-Benz, Toyota Motor Corp. and Bosch, as well as a group of financial investors.

GM is expanding its design and engineering facilities in China for the development of EVs and self-driving vehicles. In July, it completed an expansion and upgrade of an advanced design center in Shanghai, doubling the facility’s design capacity.

“Customers in China are embracing electrification an…

Chinese retail sales of new passenger vehicles -- sedans, crossovers, SUVs and multipurpose vehicles -- are expected to contract for the fourth straight month, slipping 17 percent to 1.58 million in September, the China Passenger Car Association said this week. 

The latest decline is steeper than the 15 percent drop in August, as well as a 6.1 percent decrease in July and June’s 4.8 percent dip.

The China Passenger Car Association blames the extended downturn on the severe auto chip shortage and lockdowns by some cities to contain local coronavirus outbreaks.

China’s securities regulator ordered Huachen Group, parent of BMW Group’s partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, to pay a 53.6 million yuan ($8.3 million) fine for severe misconduct while disclosing financial information. 

Details about the fine were disclosed last week by Shenyang Jinbei Automotive Co., Huachen Group's van subsidiary listed in Shanghai. 

Huachen Group provided false information in 2017 and 2018 financial reports, used falsified financial records to win regulatory approval for corporate bonds issued in 2019 and 2020, and delayed financial information disclosures, Shenyang Jinbei said, citing a ruling from the China Securities Regulatory Commission. 

In addition, 11 former executives of Huachen Group, including its former chairman, Qi Yumin, were fined 80,000 yuan to 600,000 yuan for participating in the practice.  

In October 2020, Huachen Group defaulted on a 1-billion-yuan bond, prompting the China Sec…

DETROIT — General Motors plans to restart production at its midsize pickup plant in Missouri next week, as planned, while seven other of the automaker's plants in North America remain idle, in part because of the global microchip shortage.

The plant in Wentzville has been down since Sept. 6. It builds the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickups along with the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size commercial vans.

"With Wentzville resuming operations, we expect that all of GM's full-size SUV, full-size truck and mid-size truck plants in North America will be running regular production the week of Sept. 27," GM said in a Thursday statement.

The automakers' full-size pickup plants in Flint, Mich., Silao, Mexico, and Fort Wayne, Ind., will continue running next week, along with the Chevy Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Ky., and Cadillac XT4 production at Fairfax Assembly in Kansas City.

AutoForecast Solutions estimates that the global…

UAW auditors have alleged that a financial secretary at Local 412 in suburban Detroit misappropriated funds.

Internal auditors said they discovered more than $2 million in "improper personal expenditures" by the employee. In a statement, UAW International Secretary-Treasurer Frank Stuglin characterized it as an "elaborate" embezzlement scheme by the locally elected officer. Local 412 represents Stellantis employees in Warren, Mich.

The union said the Local 412 financial secretary has been suspended. The audit's findings have been referred to the U.S. Department of Labor and other law enforcement authorities, Stuglin said.

Local 412 President Jerry Witt wrote in a letter to members that the union was working to file a bond claim for the losses.

"Due to the severity of the possible misappropriations, I recommend that the Local Executive Board consider contacting the International Union about placing the Local in administratorship to assist the Local…

LMC Automotive's Jeff Schuster predicts what's on the horizon for the industry as microchip-related disruptions continue to impact vehicle output, inventory levels and consumer spending.

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<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Self-driving tech returns to California racetrack

Some of the most notable innovations in the automotive industry have trickled down from racing. Joshua Schachter hopes the same will someday be said for self-driving technology.

Schachter is the founder of Self Racing Cars, an annual event that allows participants to test their self-driving chops at racing speeds.

After a pandemic-related hiatus, Self Racing Cars returns to Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, Calif., next month. The event will be held Oct. 16-17 and once again meld racing and autonomy.

Teams compete for fastest lap time on the closed course. But the event is about more than lap times. It's more so a chance for anyone — from large companies such as Nvidia to small startups — to test their technologies in a closed-course setting and to gather a community of tinkerers from all corners.

It helps developers building their own systems collect data from real-…

Consulting firm AlixPartners said Thursday the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage will cost the global automotive industry $210 billion this year, a greater revenue loss than previously thought.

That figure is up considerably from the firm's May forecast, in which it estimated a loss of $110 billion.

AlixPartners also says production of 7.7 million units could be lost. That's nearly double the 3.9 million units the firm estimated would be lost when it issued its May forecast.

"Of course, everyone had hoped that the chip crisis would have abated more by now, but unfortunate events such as the COVID-19 lockdowns in Malaysia and continued problems elsewhere have exacerbated things," Mark Wakefield, global co-leader of the automotive and industrial practice at AlixPartners, said in a statement.

One problem is there are virtually no "shock absorbers" left in the industry for production or obtaining material, said Dan Hearsch…

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…