Trade News

SHANGHAI -- A slew of foreign automakers downsized their China operations in recent years.

More of them plan to do so: Mazda Motor Corp. will merge its two joint ventures into one while Stellantis has decided to close one of the two local plants for the Jeep brand.

And next year, international players will be allowed to operate wholly owned subsidiaries in China’s auto industry.

But let’s be clear: This does not mean the Chinese auto industry is on the verge of an imminent shakeup – even as the government this week began to signal interest in seeing consolidation, particularly in the electric vehicle market.

The primary factor that has pushed several global automakers to pare local production is competition.

The world’s largest auto market is also the world’s most crowded market, where many foreign and domestic Chinese brands have long been competing neck-and-neck for market share.

Unable to fend off the competition, several global …

SEOUL -- Key automotive battery supplier SK Innovation Co. said on Thursday its shareholders approved the company's proposal to separate its battery business into a new company.

The decision paves the way for the battery unit -- a key supplier for Ford Motor Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and other automakers -- to potentially raise funds and go public to finance its high-cost production capacity expansion.

The unit, to be launched on Oct. 1, will initially be a wholly-owned subsidiary of SK Innovation, tentatively named "SK Battery Co. Ltd."

More than 80 percentr of SK Innovation shareholders voted in favor of the plan, SK Innovation said in a statement.

"It's crucial to secure timely financial resources for further quantitative and qualitative expansions in the future," SK Innovation CEO Kim Jun told shareholders.

"With the split-off of the battery business, we plan to evaluate various ways to secure resources, such as establishing joint venture…

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and four domestic venture capital firms have jointly invested more than $300 million in DeepRoute, an autonomous driving technology developer based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

DeepRoute said this week it will tap the investment to expand its team, ramp up R&D, and scale up collaboration with automakers and fleets.

The company didn't disclose the size of Alibaba's investment. The four venture capital firms are Jeneration Capital, Fosun RZ Capital, Yunqi Partners and Glory Ventures.

Established in 2019, DeepRoute aims to develop Level 4 autonomous driving robotaxis and medium-duty trucks for freight delivery in urban areas. 

The startup has launched trial robotaxis in three domestic cities – Shenzhen, Wuhan and Hangzhou. 

The robotaxis were adapted from cars purchased by DeepRoute itself as well as vehicles supplied by domestic automakers such as Dongfeng Motor Group and…

Cepton CEO Jun Pei discusses how the lidar company will supply General Motors and the importance of balancing performance and reliability in driver-assist technology.

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DETROIT — General Motors' defense arm said it has won a $36.4 million contract to build 10 heavy-duty armored Suburban SUVs for the U.S. Department of State.

GM Defense said Wednesday it plans to deliver the purpose-built Suburbans over the next two years as part of a development contract for the department's Diplomatic Security Service.

In 2023, the GM subsidiary expects to commit to another contract that includes annual production of 200 heavy-duty Suburbans for nine years. GM Defense did not disclose the funding amount for the production contract.

The heavy-duty Suburban is being developed for a unique protection mission, GM Defense said, which requires armoring and other performance enhancements. The 10 initial SUVs, plus two test vehicles, will be built at GM's proving ground in Milford, Mich.

The Suburban also will feature a new body-on-frame chassis and suspension designed to support government vehicle performance requirements with a highe…

General Motors urged some owners of Chevrolet Bolt electric cars to park and store the vehicles at least 50 feet away from other cars to reduce the risk that a spontaneous fire could spread.

The Detroit automaker has recalled all of the roughly 142,000 Bolts sold since 2016 because the battery can catch on fire. GM has taken a $1.8 billion charge so far for the cost of the recall and has been buying cars back from some disgruntled owners. The company expects to recoup much of the cost from battery supplier LG Corp.

The new advice is likely to rankle owners who are already limiting their use of the Bolt to avoid overheating the battery and risking a fire. The parking guidance -- recommending a distance of 50 feet from other parked cars -- is especially difficult for owners in urban areas. GM has confirmed 10 fires.

The Bolt normally can go 259 miles on a charge, but that has been limited by GM’s guidance to avoid a fire. The automaker told Bolt owners t…

The IRS filed tax liens of more than $1.4 billion against former Reynolds and Reynolds Co. CEO Bob Brockman in two Colorado counties, both individually and involving properties the government says are affiliated with him, according to a newspaper report.

The Aspen Times reported the liens this week. They cover 12 years — 2004 through 2007, 2010 and 2012 through 2018 — and include unpaid balances as high as $302.2 million in 2004, according to the report. Additional tax liens list separate entities as taxpayers, each of which the IRS wrote in the liens is considered an "alter-ego" of Brockman, according to the newspaper.

Brockman, 80, has been charged with 39 federal counts, including tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and evidence-tampering in what federal prosecutors say was a scheme lasting two decades to evade taxes on $2 billion in income. Brockman has pleaded not guilty. A federal judge this week agreed to delay a competency hearing until November t…

BEIJING -- Xpeng Heitech, a flying car startup backed by electric vehicle maker Xpeng Inc., said on Wednesday that it would deliver electric flying cars to customers in 2024.

The startup, founded in 2013 and funded by Xpeng and Xpeng's CEO He Xiaopeng, now employs 400 people and will expand its work force to 700 by the end of this year, company founder Zhao Deli told the World New Energy Vehicle Congress.

Xpeng Heitech's model will be able to drive on roads, Zhao said. The electric flying car will be able to travel over 600 kilometers (370 miles) on the ground on a single charge, but Zhao did not say how far it can fly on one charge.

Other automakers that are developing flying cars in China include Geely's Terrafugia, which is building a factory in the central city of Wuhan. Volkswagen AG is also studying the industry in China.

Regulators in China, however, have yet to roll out detailed rules on flying vehicles.

Rivian, the Amazon.com Inc.-backed electric vehicle maker that registered last month for a stock market debut, is aiming to raise between $5 billion and $8 billion with the listing, making it one of the largest U.S. initial public offerings of recent years, according to people familiar with the matter.

Rivian, which counts Ford Motor Co. and T. Rowe Price among its investors, registered the IPO confidentially with U.S. regulators last month. It is seeking a valuation of about $80 billion in the listing, which is expected to land in late October or November, the sources said.

Rivian declined to comment.

If Rivian raises $8 billion in the IPO, that would rank as the fourth biggest of the past decade in the United States. Only three other companies have raised more than $8 billion in IPOs since 2011, according to Dealogic: Alibaba, which raised a world-record $25 billion in 2014; Facebook, which raised $16 billion in 2012; and Uber, which raised $8.1 billi…

Are dealership service departments coming down from the high of a busy spring and early summer? Recent data from the Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index show a dip in how the current level of fixed ops business is viewed by those in the stores.

The third-quarter survey shows dealers scored their service business a 67 (out of 100), down from 74 last quarter. And while dealerships in the Northeast and South reflect a slightly better level of fixed ops business (both gave it a 71), the Midwest and West regions were both down in the low 60s.

To be sure, this is not to say dealers have a negative view of fixed ops at the moment. For perspective, Cox says a score over 50 "indicates more dealers view conditions as strong or positive rather than weak or negative." But this quarter's numbers do show a bit less enthusiasm.

Rick Wegley, an instructor with NCM Associates in Kansas City, said many dealership service departments are struggling.

The shortage o…

BEIJING -- One of General Motors' China joint ventures said on Wednesday it is developing auto chips and aims to increase use of locally sourced chips in the next five years.

Liuzhou-based SGMW, GM's venture with partners SAIC Motor Corp. and Guangxi Automobile Group, said at an industry conference that it has been developing its own auto computing chips since 2018.

SGMW did not say whether it is merely designing chips or is also participating in chip-manufacturing but said it would boost cooperation with Chinese manufacturers to improve quality and economy of its chips.

A prolonged global shortage of semiconductor chips has affected nearly all major automakers including Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co., and Volkswagen Group, forcing many to idle or curtail production.

SGMW is also developing battery-swapping stations for its micro electric vehicles, it said at World New Energy Vehicle Congress.

Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng Inc. would consider acquiring less successful rivals to expand production capacity in the future, company President Brian Gu told reporters during a conference call.

Xpeng is building two new factories in China. At the same time, the Chinese government is signaling it wants to see consolidation in the Chinese EV sector to rein in construction of unproductive factories.

"If we need additional capacity in a year or two…we may think about using M&A as a tool to get more capacity," Gu said.

Guangzhou-based Xpeng also said that its new P5 compact sedan model will be priced between 157,900 yuan ($24,549) and 223,900 yuan after receiving government subsidies. It is now selling P7 sedans and G3i utility vehicles.