Trade News

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. has doubled its production target for the F-150 Lightning because of strong early demand for the full-sized electric pickup truck ahead of its 2022 launch and plans to spend an additional $850 million to meet that target, several people and suppliers familiar with the plans said.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker is targeting annual production of more than 80,000 in 2024, up from its prior target of more than 40,000, according to the people, who asked not to be identified.

"They were pleasantly surprised by the demand for the Lightning," one of the people said of Ford officials.

Industry observers have questioned whether individual buyers will give up their gas-powered pickups for electric models, but commercial customers are pushing for electric trucks and vans to reduce their carbon footprints.

The ramp to the new production target includes plans to build about 15,000 next year after the electric truck's spring launch and 55,0…

In June 2017, months after General Motors beat Tesla Inc. to market with an affordable, long-range electric vehicle, it took out full-page newspaper ads touting how long its Chevrolet Bolt could travel between charges. The tagline: “Begin a long-distance relationship, now.”

Four years later, the long-distance relationship between GM and its battery partner, LG Energy Solution, is being tested like never before. At issue: who will pick up a roughly $1 billion tab.

GM last week recalled Bolt EVs for the third time in nine months because of risk their batteries could catch fire. The Detroit-based company will replace modules in more than 73,000 additional vehicles and said it’s trying to get LG to pay for the fix. LG, headquartered some 6,600 miles away in Seoul, said the expense will be divvied up depending on the results from a joint investigation into the root cause of the problem.

At stake is what has looked like one of the most promising partnerships…

BorgWarner Inc. has taken a minority stake in a Tennessee-based company that converts plastic waste into thermal energy.

The supplier of turbochargers and electric motors announced Monday the $10 million investment in Enexor BioEnergy LLC as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 and as it gradually reconfigures its business around automotive electrification.

Investing in the eco-friendly company, founded in 2015, was a "natural extension" of BorgWarner's technology portfolio, Joseph Fadool, vice president of BorgWarner, said in a news release. Enexor's marquee product, the Bio-CHP system, is powered by BorgWarner components.

"We see immense opportunity for our collaboration with Enexor and are excited to see the impact its solutions, and our investment, will have on the future of renewable power generation and the Earth's carbon footprint," Fadool said.

The companies declined to say what ownership percentage came with the investm…

Carl Beck, the founder of a group of five new-car dealerships in Florida, died on Aug. 11 while hospitalized for complications from COVID-19. He was 81.

Beck founded Beck Automotive Group in Palatka, Fla., in 1978.The group's stores, located throughout the Putnam County region, sell Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Nissan vehicles.

Beck was fully vaccinated before he contracted COVID-19.

He was born in 1940 in Indianapolis to Marie Eckstein Beck and Carl Beck Sr. He attended elementary school and high school in the city and later attended Xavier University in Cincinnati, where he studied science, business, management and marketing. He also served for a short time in the U.S. Navy.

According to his official obituary, Beck was predeceased by his parents; his life partner, Daryl Younker; and by his nephew and godson, David Beck Jr.

He has three surviving siblings: a sister, Janice, and two brothers, …

As the auto industry eyes an electrified and digitized future, Guggenheim Securities' John Casesa says companies must shift their business models to remain relevant.

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"

Volkswagen's freshened 2022 Jetta sedan will feature a slightly larger engine, more standard equipment, an additional trim level and modest styling changes intended to keep the brand's entry-level vehicle attractive to newcomers to VW.

Due in U.S. dealerships by the end of the year, the latest Jetta gets new front and rear fascias and a new grille to differentiate it from the outgoing model. It receives interior upgrades as well, including a standard 8-inch digital cockpit instrument cluster, heated side mirrors and Wi-Fi capability, along with VW's Car-Net infotainment software suite.

Under the hood, the previous standard 1.4-liter base engine has been replaced with a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine that makes 158 hp, up 11 hp from the previous model. The engine is mated to either a six-speed manual gearbox or an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, giving the Jetta more torque at lower rpms than the current engine.

The sporty Jetta GLI …

KAR Global has agreed to buy Carwave, an online dealer-to-dealer marketplace, in an all-cash transaction valued at $450 million.

KAR, which owns auction giant ADESA, said in a release Monday that the purchase will build on the company's growth in the dealer-to-dealer segment, enhance its position in the highly fragmented wholesale used-vehicle market and accelerate the firm's transformation to a digital marketplace company.

Carwave has a network of franchised and independent dealers in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and California, where it was founded in 2009. The online platform allows dealers to wholesale and buy vehicles from anywhere. It's described in KAR's release as "displacing the $100 billion traditional brick-and-mortar wholesale automobile auction industry with its innovative, Internet-based business model."

The transaction, subject to typical regulatory approvals, is expected to close before the end of the year. After closing, Carwave's co-f…

The crown jewel. The franchise. That's what the Range Rover is to the Land Rover brand. And never in the 51-year history of the vehicle — the first luxury SUV — has the debut of a new generation been so important. Here's the clearest look yet at the next-gen Range Rover that is expected to be shown ahead of a production start late this year or in early 2022.

The shape is familiar, the lines are cleaner and the iconic design cues, such as the clamshell hood and sloping roof, remain. The headlights and grille appear to be smaller. Under the skin, the new Range Rover rides on Jaguar Land Rover's aluminum-intensive MLA platform, which can accommodate internal combustion, hybrid and battery-electric powertrains.The varying gaps between the wheels and body in the series of spy photos appear to show the Range Rover will retain its adjustable suspension system.

Jaguar Land Rover design chief Gerry McGovern promised the fifth-generation version — expected to go far up…

Retail veteran Tammy Darvish quietly departed AutoCanada Inc. this year after leading its U.S. division since 2019, when she was tasked with turning around its previously struggling Illinois stores.

"I just kind of felt like I completed my mission," said Darvish, AutoCanada's former president of U.S. operations. She is taking some time off before deciding on her next step.

The dealership group, based in Edmonton, Alberta, said in April that it had tapped James Douvas, a 20-year veteran of automotive retail in the Chicago area, to become its vice president of U.S. operations. He has now effectively taken over for Darvish, reporting directly to top executives in Canada, as was evidenced by his role on the second-quarter earnings call this month.

Darvish, one of Automotive News' 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry in 2020 and 2010 and a former executive at DARCARS in Maryland, was tasked with restructuring and rebranding the group's Illino…

It’s especially tough to climb the corporate ladder while working down in your basement.

This year’s class of Automotive News Rising Stars kept advancing while having to build relationships with clients over Zoom calls. And, refreshingly, with more flexibility to focus on their personal lives, too.

They have helped keep North American automakers and suppliers running smoothly through unprecedented rockiness for the industry and in their own lives during the pandemic. 

They possess the ability to adapt quickly, constantly finding innovative ways to overcome ever-changing obstacles, to serve customers virtually and to foster collaboration among co-workers they hadn’t been in the same room with for months.

Some came to the auto industry in search of a more-fulfilling second career. Several dreamed of working with cars as they grew up in other parts of the world.

Many are tasked with forging a path into the world of electrification, a po…

Frederick "Fritz" Hitchcock, a high-profile California dealer who took an active role in the state's politics and advocated free trade, died Aug. 14 after a fall the day prior. He was 81.

A dealer since 1971, he was CEO of Hitchcock Automotive Resources, a holding company that he founded in 1979 in City of Industry, Calif., to oversee his growing automotive empire that at points included stores representing Toyota, BMW, Ford, Hyundai and Volkswagen brands.

Hitchcock started as a Ford dealer. "He would bring home order sheets and ordered cars at his desk at home," recalled his son, Ted Hitchcock, now general manager at Northridge Toyota. "He had a passion for this business, and he liked to say he was a student of the game."

After the gasoline crisis hit in the early 1970s and Ford sales tumbled at his Southern California store, the elder Hitchcock was introduced to the Toyota brand. He took a chance with the promise to be on the grou…