Trade News

WASHINGTON — A group of 16 Republican state attorneys general are pressing the EPA to not reinstate California's waiver under the Clean Air Act, which allows the state to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards and zero-emission vehicle mandates.

In a letter sent Tuesday to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, the officials from states including Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia urged the agency to continue the policy under the Trump administration's Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule, which revoked California's authority to restrict tailpipe emissions and set ZEV mandates.

The attorneys general argue that any attempt to restore California's waiver would be "unconstitutional" because "a federal law giving one state special power to regulate a major national industry contradicts the notion of a union of sovereign states," the group wrote.

"This is not the United States of California," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost…

DETROIT — Former UAW Regional Director Vance Pearson was sentenced Tuesday to a year in federal prison for conspiring to embezzle union funds and further racketeering activity with other high-ranking union officials.

The court recognized that Pearson played "a minor role but at the same time, it was active," said U.S. District Judge Paul Borman. The court did not order Pearson to pay a fine.

Pearson's original sentencing guideline was 24-30 months. But acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin last month requested a reduced 14-month sentence because of Pearson's cooperation and assistance in the investigation and prosecutions of ex-UAW presidents Gary Jones and Dennis Williams. Jones was sentenced to 28 months in June, and Williams was sentenced to 21 months in May.

In December 2019, two months after he was arrested, Pearson began cooperating with investigators through in-person and phone interviews. He agreed to testify against his co-conspirators and forfeit…

FRANKFURT Volkswagen Group is to sell a stake in its electric vehicle charging unit Electrify America, two people familiar with the matter said, as the automaker looks for outside funds to build infrastructure for battery-powered cars.

Volkswagen is working with Citi to look for a co-investor that is prepared to inject roughly $1 billion into the division, the people said, adding that the company is expected to shortly reach out to infrastructure groups and other potential investors.

Volkswagen, Electrify America and Citi declined to comment.

Set up in the aftermath of Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal that broke in the United States, Electrify America plans to spend $2 billion in the 2017-2026 period to expand charging stations for electric vehicles.

The unit, whose main rivals include ChargePoint and Tesla's Supercharger, has 635 charging stations with around 2,850 fast-loading spots up and running, while a further 125 stations are curre…

Halfway into 2021, the horse race for the luxury crown has a new leader.

BMW galloped to the front in the second quarter, powered by strong demand for crossovers, and taking a first-half lead.

At the mid-year mark, BMW outsold German rival Mercedes-Benz by 7,348 units. That's quite a reversal of fortunes from a year ago when Mercedes had a 16,795 unit lead over BMW.

Mercedes also led after the first quarter, with Lexus No. 2 and BMW No. 3.

The luxury vehicle segment has roared back to life from the COVID lockdown doldrums a year ago. Total U.S. luxury sales rose 63 percent to 624,414 cars and light trucks in the second quarter, outpacing the broader industry's 49 percent increase, even amid tightening inventories. First-half luxury sales rose 42 percent.

BMW captured the U.S. luxury crown in 2019 and 2020 after Mercedes had a three-year run atop the rankings.

In the second quarter, BMW sold 96,561 vehicles, up 90 percent from a year…

Asbury Automotive Group has closed the search for a new CFO with the hiring of Group 1 Automotive executive Michael Welch. He will take over for interim CFO William Stax on Aug. 9. Stax will return to his role as Asbury's corporate controller and chief accounting officer.

Welch, 46, replaces Patrick Guido, who was Asbury's CFO for a little more than a year. Guido stepped away from his role for personal reasons June 24, the company said.

Welch is Asbury's third CFO in the past three years. Welch, an industry veteran, has spent more than 20 years at the competing public dealership group, most recently as corporate controller.

Welch will receive an annual base salary of $550,000 and cash incentives of up to 85 percent of his base salary, Asbury said in a government filing. Once in his position, Welch also will receive shares valued at $500,000 to vest across a three-year period, a $100,000 relocation allowance and the use of a demonst…

China’s new-vehicle market contracted for the second straight month in June amid a persistent semiconductor chip shortage, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Monday.

Car and truck deliveries fell short of 1.93 million units, a decline of 16 percent from a year earlier, the top industry trade group said, drawing on a preliminary tally of members.

Demand for new light vehicles -- sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles and minibuses -- fell 15 percent, while sales of new commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses slumped 21 percent, according to CAAM estimates.

The trade group didn’t release an estimate for light vehicle or commercial vehicle volumes in June.

In the first quarter, new-vehicle sales in China surged 77 percent from the new coronavirus-stricken same period of 2020.

China, the world's biggest market for new cars and light trucks, has become a bellwether for the industry's fortunes, notably EV sales.&…

Mike Knipe started his professional career in the chainsaw business working for power equipment manufacturer Stihl. But it was while doing some consulting business with his wife that Hyundai asked if he would be interested in working for the automaker. It was a "pretty crazy idea" at the time, in Knipe's words. But he interviewed and later told his wife, "This might be fun to do." It would be the start of a three-decade career in the auto industry, mostly in manufacturer aftersales with Hyundai and then Subaru.

Now 65, he officially retires as vice president of fixed operations at Subaru this week. He plans to do a bit of consulting but spend the bulk of his time traveling and fishing near his southwest Florida home. Knipe spoke with Fixed Ops Journal Editor Dan Shine. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: What changes have you seen during your time in fixed ops?

A: My mission, since I started with this business, was to elevate the visibility and understanding o…

In case one Ferrari is not enough, the Italian automaker has a new program that lets buyers get two identically configured cars — with one being a scale model. The models, made by Amalgam Collection, replicate the buyer's car in "every aspect," Ferrari says, at either a one-eighth or one-twelfth scale. Ferrari didn't provide pricing, but the models won't be cheap; the one-eighth scale Ferraris on Amalgam's website cost $10,000 to $15,000.

Two 2022 Chevrolet Silverado pickups snapped by spy photographers last week show the freshened trucks will have smoother edges, especially on the grilles.

Close attention to aerodynamics helped bump the current Silverado to the head of the pack in the fuel economy race — the diesel model edges out Ford and Ram trucks in city, highway and combined mpg.

But when the truck debuted in 2018, many found the front end, especially with the "air curtains" on the lower outer section of the grille just ahead of the wheels, somewhat jarring to look at. The latest model apparently fixes that. The new air curtains, which direct air through the wheel wells and away from the tires, are smaller and more integrated.

Other changes show the trucks appear to have a slightly higher ride height, which should improve off-road maneuverability.

Chevrolet said last week it plans to add a high-performance ZR2 package to the Silverado this fall for 2022. The ZR2 trim was re…

Rivian has cooked up a number of new ideas for its upcoming R1T off-road electric pickup, from the tank turn to the one-stop shopping experience to the guides program that pairs customers with their own personal valet inside the company.

Here's the latest ingredient in Rivian's recipe: the Camp Kitchen. The $5,000 option is a fully equipped, self-contained cooking center stored in Rivian's Gear Tunnel, a space behind the cab and in front of the bed that is accessed through a door on the side of the truck. The Camp Kitchen slides in and out of the Gear Tunnel.

It has a 1,440-watt, two-burner, induction-heated cooking surface so campers can cook outdoors without worry that high winds could blow flames from a campfire into flammable brush. The kitchen is powered by the truck's battery pack.

Rivian also thought about taking care of the dirty dishes. The Camp Kitchen comes with a 4-gallon water tank and pump, spray faucet and collapsible sink.

A full…

While North American auto factories leveled off in their production cuts because of microchip shortages this week, European and Asia Pacific plants made more volume changes. Worldwide, automakers could eventually see 6.1 million vehicles lost because of the supply crisis, according to AutoForecast Solutions’ latest weekly survey, compared with its forecast of 5.8 million vehicles one week ago.

Source: AutoForecast Solutions Inc. autoforecastsolutions.com