Trade News

Ford Motor Co. said it is recalling nearly 775,000 Explorer large crossovers for an issue with the cross-axis ball joint that may cause a fractured rear suspension toe link, which could affect steering control and increase the risk of a crash.

The recalled Ford Explorers are from the 2013-17 model years and affect approximately 676,152 vehicles in North America, 59,935 in China, 13,162 in Europe, 190 in South America and 25,257 in other international markets.

Ford said Friday it is aware of six allegations of injury related to this defect in North America.

"Affected vehicles may experience a clunk noise, unusual handling or a misaligned rear wheel," Ford said in a statement. "Fracture of a rear toe link significantly diminishes steering control, increasing the risk of a crash."

To fix the issue, dealers will inspect and replace the cross-axis ball joint as necessary and replace the toe links with an updated design part.

A Ford spokesman did…

Genesis sales boss Ted Mengiste says new models and healthy inventory levels are positioning Hyundai's luxury brand to "grow faster" in the second half of 2021.

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TOKYO – Honda Motor Co. CEO Toshihiro Mibe repeated the go-it-alone automaker’s message Friday that, when it comes to joining the race to electric vehicles, Honda is ready to rely on partners.

It is a sea change for the fiercely independent Japanese carmaker, and Mibe, who took the CEO job in April, wants to make sure the industry knows that Honda is now open for outside alliances.

"If through an alliance Honda can accomplish early what it should aim to be, then we'd be willing to form an alliance," Mibe told a press briefing.

Honda and General Motors now plan to introduce two jointly developed large-sized EV models in 2024 in North America using GM's Ultium batteries and Honda will launch a series of new models built on a dedicated platform called  "e:Architecture."

The two companies also are collaborating on autonomous vehicles and fuel-cell vehicle technology, and are exploring more ways to expand their alliance.

Mibe's new message…

STOCKHOLM -- Sweden's Autoliv, the world's largest producer of airbags and seatbelts, swung to a strong operating profit during the second quarter, but scaled back its full-year guidance as component shortages crimped car production.

Autoliv on Friday reported an operating profit of $164 million compared with a $234 million operating loss in the year-ago quarter when many automakers idled several weeks of production due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Total sales surged 93 percent to $2.0 billion. The company generated net income of $105 million compared with a $174 million loss a year ago.

Airbag revenue doubled to $1.3 billion while seatbelt business grew 81 percent to $712 million.

Autoliv is the first major global auto supplier to post its second-quarter results, with several more scheduled to report over the next few weeks.

While the demand recovery from the market plunge in the early months of the pandemic has been strong, a global shor…

BEIJING -- Volkswagen Group's top executive in China said he expected supplies of microchips to improve in the next six months.

Automakers around the world have had to adjust assembly lines due to the shortages, caused by manufacturing delays that some semiconductor makers blame on a faster-than expected recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

"We hope the chip supply crisis will bottom out this summer and expect to see an improvement in this situation within the second half of the year," VW Group's China chief, Stephan Woellenstein, told reporters on Friday.

Starting in August, Volkswagen will source some chips from a new supplier, Woellenstein said, adding that the move would start to ease the shortage in September.

Because of the chip shortage, VW saw its sales in China drop 12 percent between April and June compared with a year earlier.

VW builds cars in China in joint ventures with FAW Group and SAIC Motor.

VW Group's premium br…

General Motors said Thursday it is adding more downtime at five crossover plants in North America because of the global microchip shortage.

Four plants will be down from July 19 until Aug. 2:

Lansing Delta Township, in Michigan, which builds the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave Spring Hill Assembly, in Tennessee, which builds the Cadillac XT5 XT6 and GMC Acadia San Luis Potosi Assembly, in Mexico, which builds the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain Ramos Arizpe Assembly, in Mexico, which builds the Chevy Equinox and Blazer

GM also said CAMI Assembly in Ingersoll, Ontario, which previously was scheduled to be down the last two weeks of July, now will remain idle until Aug. 23. The plant builds the Chevy Equinox. The Detroit News reported the updated production schedules earlier Thursday.

Last week, AutoForecast Solutions estimated that the industry could lose 6.2 million vehicles globally because of the chip crisis. Automakers in North America alone could…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is weighing plans to start shipping partially built vehicles that are awaiting semiconductors or related components to dealerships around the country, a move that, if approved, would place responsibility on its retail network to complete the assembly once the chips are available.

The automaker began detailing the plans, which are not final, to its some of its dealers this week, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions. Only dealers who would choose to receive the unfinished vehicles would get shipments and service technicians would be trained on how to install the chips, one of the people said. Dealerships would be compensated for slightly less than an hour's worth of labor for each vehicle, the person said.

Still unclear is whether the dealers would be responsible for the vehicles while they sit on their lots awaiting chips. Dealers are not expected to have to floorplan the vehicles before they're finished, one perso…

Nissan Motor Co. has extended U.S. production downtime for the Altima until the start of August due to the ongoing global microchip shortage.

The mid-sized sedan model has not been built in Canton, Miss., since June 4, which includes the regular two-week summer shutdown. Nissan sold 61,930 units in the first half of the year, down 10 percent from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Nissan said Altima, Titan and Frontier production also will be idle for two days each in the first half of August.

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Goodyear’s airless tire to be tested on Local Motors' autonomous shuttle in Florida

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. says it plans to affix airless tires it has developed to Olli, a 3D-printed, autonomous and electric shuttle, for test runs in Florida.

The tire manufacturer is partnering with ground mobility company Local Motors and mobility network operator Beep, both of which developed the second iteration of Olli. Shuttles equipped with Goodyear's NPTs, or non-pneumatic tires, will be used in the Jacksonville Transportation Authority's Autonomous Vehicle Test & Learn program.

Jacksonville's urban landscape is ideal for testing the alternative tires because of its speed limits and streamlined travel paths, Goodyear said in a Tuesday news release.

"This is an important milestone as we look to advance mobility today and as we look to introduce the first completely sustainable and maintenance-free tires by the end of th…

Stellantis's assembly plant in Brampton, Ont., might not have anything to build beyond 2023 as the automaker plans to move production of the Dodge Charger and Challenger muscle cars to the U.S. the next year, according to AutoForecast Solutions, a leading forecasting and consulting firm.

“Analyzing the Stellantis portfolio... across North America, one of the things we see is the Charger and Challenger potentially going to the United States, leaving a void at Brampton starting in 2024,” AutoForecast Solutions CEO Joe McCabe told Automotive News Canada when asked about the automaker’s electrification plans.

McCabe’s comments came after Stellantis’ EV Day earlier this month, when the automaker said it would introduce a battery-electric muscle car to its lineup in 2024. Stellantis has not said where that car would be built.

Brampton Assembly currently builds the gas-powered Charger and Challenger cars, as well as the Chrysler 300 sedan, which is ex…

DETROIT — BrightDrop, General Motors' electric vehicle delivery brand, plans to open its first dealerships later this year, an executive said Thursday, but some of the stores may be outside of GM's existing dealer network.

"We are not looking exclusively at existing General Motors dealers. What we are looking at is the very best of the commercial dealers out there," Scott Young, BrightDrop vice president of vehicle distribution, told reporters Thursday.

Outsourcing to non-GM dealers would mark a shift from GM's traditional commercial strategy. GM dealers facilitate sales of the automaker's existing gasoline-powered commercial vehicles.

BrightDrop is in talks with select dealers in California, Young said.

"From there we will grow that network, which is really focused on large fleets and delivery of goods and services across the U.S.," he said.

BrightDrop plans to launch the EV600 van later this year, initially being built by a supplier in …

Environmentalists say they are concerned the Biden administration will yield in coming days to automaker pressure and adopt modest limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars, instead of the strict standards they say are necessary to combat climate change.

The requirements set to be proposed by the end of the month are the linchpin of the administration’s efforts to limit planet-warming pollution from the transportation sector that is now the leading U.S. source of greenhouse gases. Yet automobile companies have lobbied the Biden administration to adopt an industry-friendly approach negotiated with California that gives extra credit to electric vehicles.

Environmentalists have warned the White House not to go along.

“Our nation’s standards must be robust, have integrity and ensure strong year-over-year on-road emission reductions,” more than two dozen major environmental groups said in a letter to President Joe Biden on Thursday. “The standards must not…