Trade News

Detroit lender Ally Financial Inc. on Tuesday reported higher profits and its largest auto origination volume in more than a decade as consumer demand for cars and trucks remains high.

Ally, one of the largest U.S. auto lenders, reported second-quarter net income of $900 million, nearly quadruple the $241 million it reported in the year-earlier period.

Consumer auto originations grew to $12.9 billion, up 79 percent from $7.2 billion in the second quarter of 2020, and marked the highest level in 15 years. There also was a record 3.5 million applications "decisioned" in the quarter.

For the first time in the company’s history, there was a net recovery in credit, in part driven by strong demand and general spending power for consumers, CEO Jeffrey Brown said on an investor call. 

Auto originations covered $7.3 billion in used retail volume, or about 56.6 percent of total originations, as well as $3.8 billion in new-vehicle retail volume and…

WASHINGTON -- Consumer Reports said Tuesday that Tesla Inc.'s "Full Self-Driving" software lacks safeguards and raised concerns the system's use on public roads puts the public at risk, citing reports from drivers.

The influential consumer publication cited videos posted on social media of drivers using it and raised concerns such as "vehicles missing turns, scraping against bushes, and heading toward parked cars."

Consumer Reports said it plans to independently test the software update known as FSD Beta 9, as soon as its Model Y receives the update.

Tesla and NHTSA did not immediately comment.

"Videos of FSD Beta 9 in action don’t show a system that makes driving safer or even less stressful,” says Jake Fisher, senior director of Consumer Reports' Auto Test Center. “Consumers are simply paying to be test engineers for developing technology without adequate safety protection.”

In April, Consumer Reports said its engineers were able to def…

If you haven't yet read the stories of this year's Automotive News 40 Under 40 honorees, definitely do so.

The young dealership leaders recognized this year have worked through the dual global crises of a pandemic that disrupted operations and a shortage of microchips that has throttled the pipeline of new-vehicle inventory.

Factories were closed. In some states, dealership showrooms were closed. Consumer demand dried up, then rebounded, even as vehicle supply became more constrained. Dealerships have had to get creative in how they do business, from setting up a process for online sales to bringing vehicles to buyers' homes.

The pandemic accelerated auto retailers' adoption of technology and digital processes throughout the past 16 months, and several of the honorees in this year's 40 Under 40 class played a role in that shift at their stores or in their dealership groups. Some of their strategies: centralizing and modernizing the business development c…

Intel Corp.'s Mobileye said Tuesday it was testing self-driving vehicles in New York City, including the bustling Manhattan borough, in an effort to prove its technology can handle jaywalkers, construction zones and even horse carriages.

Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua said at a news briefing the company has begun testing camera-only vehicles in the city in the past weeks, calling the driving environment "very challenging."

"It's really a huge headache to test here in New York City," Shashua said, listing a range of driving challenges in the Big Apple, including light pollution at night, aggressive driving, double-parked cars and pedestrians ignoring traffic rules.

Shashua said the ability to navigate NYC streets was a crucial step towards commercializing autonomous vehicles that can handle a range of driving environments.

Mobileye had received a testing permit by New York state after supplying officials with all the data from self-driving programs t…

More than 200 employees who worked or are working for Fiat Chrysler's U.S. unit will not be considered victims of a long-running scandal that involved the automaker's representatives paying off members of the UAW, a federal judge said Monday.

Judge Paul Borman of the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that the company funneling $3.5 million to the union between 2009 and 2016 did not negatively affect the 234 workers in question in the lawsuit.

FCA US, which is now part of Stellantis, pleaded guilty this year to one count of conspiracy to violate the Labor Management Relations Act. The automaker agreed to pay a $30 million fine and undergo independent compliance monitoring for three years.

The employees alleged that the bribes caused them to receive suboptimal work agreements. Labor negotiations took place within the aforementioned time frame. Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson declined to comment on the latest ruling.

Th…

DETROIT — BrightDrop, General Motors' electric van-powered goods and delivery service, has appointed executives from Lyft, Postmates and Nio to fill out its leadership team.

BrightDrop has named Anthony Armenta as chief technology officer, Rachad Youssef as chief product officer, Shaluinn Fullove as chief people officer and Steve Hornyak as chief revenue officer, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

The appointments are effective immediately.

"Their robust backgrounds — spanning robotics, autonomy and machine learning — will enable us to accelerate our vision of delivering better cities while helping decarbonize the last mile of delivery," BrightDrop CEO Travis Katz said in the statement.

Armenta, Youssef and Fullove will work out of BrightDrop's San Francisco Bay Area offices, and Hornyak will be based in Atlanta.

BrightDrop plans to launch the EV600 van later this year, initially built by a supplier in Livonia, Mich., b…

Porsche's bestselling people mover is getting a freshening that adds style, substance and capability.

The 2022 Macan compact crossover arrives in U.S. dealerships early next year, starting at $56,250. The Macan S variant, starting at $66,750, and GTS variant, starting at $81,250, will follow in the spring. All prices include a $1,350 shipping fee.

The Macan is a volume driver and a gateway model for converts to the sports car brand. In the U.S., Porsche delivered 11,489 Macans in the first half of the year, up 48 percent from the same period in 2020.

Since the Macan's launch in 2014, Porsche has sold more than 137,000 of the crossovers in America.

Macan sales are likely to receive a further jolt when a battery-powered version silently rolls into the U.S. in the second half of 2023. The electric Macan will be based on Volkswagen Group's Premium Platform Electricrchitecture developed in collaboration with Audi. Like the …

Jeep is traversing greener turf with a new plug-in Wrangler hybrid with 25 miles of electric range.

The 2021 Wrangler 4xe hybrid also heralds Jeep's North America electrification strategy.

The plug-in Wrangler's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, two electric motors and a TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission deliver a combined 375 hp, an estimated 49 mpg-e and 470 pound-feet of torque. Combined city/highway gasoline fuel economy is rated at 20 mpg.

We've collected some early reviews from the automotive media.

"he Wrangler's integration of gas and electric power is excellent. The 4xe seems to always know where the power should come from and puts that source at the fore with little hesitation. Aside from the lack of engine noise when running in EV mode, it's hard to tell the Wrangler is even a PHEV when under throttle.

"Rather than mounting the motors directly to an axle, engineers attach…

DETROIT — GMC will join the electric pickup fray, executives said Monday.

Duncan Aldred, vice president of global Buick and GMC, told reporters a full-size electric pickup would arrive in "due course." Aldred declined to say whether the pickup would share the Sierra name with its gasoline-powered counterpart.

GMC's confirmation of an electric pickup follows Chevrolet's April announcement that it would build an electric Silverado, powered by GM's proprietary Ultium battery, at GM's Factory Zero plant in Detroit. Forecasters expect GM to also build the GMC pickup at Factory Zero, alongside the 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup, the 2024 Hummer EV SUV and the Cruise Origin.

GM declined to provide production timing for the full-size pickups, but forecasters expect both to go on sale in 2023, facing a number of competitors, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T and Tesla Cybertruck.

WASHINGTON — Fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents will be allowed into Canada as of Aug. 9, joined by the rest of the world Sept. 7, federal officials announced Monday — much to the delight of some in the Canadian auto industry — as the country prepares to lower border barriers that were erected to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Officials say the 14-day quarantine requirement will be waived beginning the second week of August for eligible travelers who are currently residing in the United States and have received a full course of a COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in Canada.

“We’re excited to see this as news. This will help certainly ease some of the tension that’s been realized by the companies doing cross-border business,” Jeanine Lassaline-Berglund, president of the Canadian Association of Moldmakers (CAMM) and Automate Canada, which advocates for Canadian manufacturers, told Automotive News Canada moments after the announcement.…

DETROIT -- In the next two years, Chevrolet dealers will add a high-performance Corvette to their lineups.

Chevy plans to launch a supercharged version of its midengine Corvette for the 2023 model year, the brand said in a statement Monday.

The 2023 Corvette Z06 will add racing components to the standard stingray. Chevy plans to share details on availability and launch timing when it reveals the Z06 this fall.

The 2022 Corvette will go on sale this year with an upgraded direct-injection fuel system, improved engine calibration and an enhanced active fuel management range.

Chevy also launched a special-edition racing Corvette last month as the brand returned to the Detroit Grand Prix for the first time in 13 years.

The special edition features Corvette Racing-themed graphics, including a No. 3 on the back of the yellow edition and a No. 4 on the gray edition. Chevy will build 1,000 special-edition models for le…