Trade News

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…

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…