Trade News

The Tesla Model 3 sedan has become the first all-electric vehicle to top Cars.com's annual American-Made Index, beating out the Ford Mustang.

The Model 3, assembled in Fremont, Calif., jumped to the No. 1 spot from No. 4 last year. It is the first time Tesla Inc. has topped the list after having three vehicles in the top nine in 2020.

The Mustang, built near Detroit in Flat Rock, Mich., made its first top 10 appearance this year.

The 2021 index comes amid a microchip shortage and heightened consumer demand.

"Despite this, there remains a high consumer focus on buying American-made vehicles as the economy is still emerging from the effects of the pandemic," Kelsey Mays, Cars.com assistant managing editor and the index's lead researcher, said in a press release.

Tesla also took the No. 3 spot this year, with the Model Y crossover.

Tesla scores well in the index's analysis of U.S. manufacturing work force and domestic powertrain sourcin…

Mercedes-Benz USA said on Thursday sensitive personal information of nearly 1,000 customers and interested buyers was inadvertently made accessible on a cloud storage platform.

No Mercedes-Benz system was compromised and no files were maliciously misused, the company added.

The data accidentally made accessible comprised self-reported credit scores, driver license and social security numbers and credit card information that was entered by customers and interested buyers on dealer and company websites between January 2014 and June 2017.

Mercedes said any individual who had credit card information, a driver's license number or a social security number included in the data will be offered a complimentary two-year subscription to a credit monitoring service.

"Data security is a serious matter for MBUSA," the company said in a statement. "Our vendor confirmed that the issue is corrected and that such an event cannot be replicated. We will continue our …

GM Financial will stop working with non-General Motors dealerships on off-lease vehicle payoffs starting July 1 to ensure GM dealerships have "priority access" to the vehicles coming back to market, according to a message obtained by Automotive News.

The microchip shortage is the primary motivator of the policy change, a GM spokesperson confirmed via email, "to better support our GM dealers through the current economic environment and the challenges they're encountering sourcing quality pre-owned vehicles."

Joe Bartuch, executive vice president of U.S. sales and credit for the lender, told GM that the captive finance company would notify customers over the coming weeks that the terms of their lease agreement stipulate they "are only able to submit a lease purchase request ... by contacting GM Financial Customer Experience or working with a participating GM dealership."

The policy will be in place for the remainder of 2021. GM Financial will then reassess…

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden pledged support for a bipartisan infrastructure framework that would uphold his goal of building 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations nationwide while slashing the funding allotted to do so.

The $1.2 trillion agreement was unveiled Thursday by the White House after the president and Vice President Kamala Harris met with a bipartisan group of 10 senators, including Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Rob Portman of Ohio.

The plan, which likely faces a challenge from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, would provide $7.5 billion to build a national EV charging network along highways and in rural and disadvantaged communities, according to a White House fact sheet on the agreement. It also would provide $7.5 billion to electrify thousands of school and transit buses and boost domestic manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles and parts.

Biden had previously called for $174 billion to boost EVs, includ…

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Robotaxi company Zoox details safety innovations in AV 'transparency' initiative

In its second publicly released safety report, Zoox Inc. is offering details about nine of the more than 100 proprietary safety features not found in conventional vehicles that the company is using to further its self-driving vision.

The technologies include rider protection in the vehicle.

The self-driving startup, owned by e-commerce giant Amazon, released the report Tuesday, after it revealed its electric, "purpose-built," autonomous robotaxi in December. Zoox says it expects to release additional reports, including information on its collision avoidance, external lighting and sound and emergency vehicle-detection systems, as well as information on its vehicles' structural energy absorbers that dampen impacts from collisions.

"You want to build trust for AVs, you need data, you need transparency and you need experience," Mark Rosekin…

Stellantis plans to extend summer downtime at two of its assembly plants and start production back up at another.

Operations will be idle at the company's Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois and Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico the week of July 5 because of the continuing effects of the global semiconductor shortage. Those plants manufacture two Jeep models, the Cherokee and Compass crossovers.

In the meantime, the minivan-making Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario will resume production with two shifts beginning the week of July 5.

"Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry," Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in a statement.

Forecasting company AutoForecast Solutions estimates the North American industry could lose more than 340,000 scheduled vehicles over the summer as a result of the chip shortage.

The Detroit News repo…

SHANGHAI – Few global automakers, scrambling to secure tight microchip supplies for assembly plants back home, have bothered to provide an update on how the chip shortfall has impacted their China production so far this year. 

But information disclosed by their local partners indicates that the severe chip shortfall has taken a heavier toll on foreign brands than domestic marques in China.

The two biggest U.S. automakers – General Motors and Ford Motor Co. – appear to be hit hard, according to production data released by their joint venture partners.

While light-vehicle output industrywide fell in May after 13 consecutive monthly gains, production at the two U.S. automakers’ main joint ventures has continued to decline since April.

Last month, output at SAIC-GM, GM’s joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp. that produces cars and light trucks for Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet brands, tumbled 34 percent to 81,196, after slipping 28 percent in April…

TOKYO — The redesigned Honda Civic hatchback continues the nameplate's tradition of gradually growing bigger. It's a little longer and gets a wider rear tread, not to mention more rear legroom.

Honda Motor Co. pulled the wraps off the updated compact hatch late Wednesday in an online unveiling.

On the outside, the 2022 hatchback shares the same styling evolution as the new-generation sedan, which was unveiled in April. The sedan has just gone on sale, and the hatch is expected to arrive stateside this fall.

The front pillar is pushed back, and the roofline tapers back into more of a fastback silhouette. The beltline gets pulled higher for a more upscale look marked with a sleek, straight crease.

The 11th-generation hatchback is longer and slightly lower than the outgoing model. It also has a longer wheelbase. The reconfiguration helps eke out extra rear-seat legroom.

It will be offered with a 1.5-liter tu…

TOKYO — The redesigned QX60 is an upscale, three-row, family-friendly crossover that is a make-or-break launch for Infiniti, heralding a fresh design language and new technologies that the beleaguered Japanese premium brand hopes will reignite its slumping sales.

The overhauled 2022 QX60 midsize crossover, unveiled Wednesday, debuts a styling evolution that imbues the brand's bestselling nameplate with a more rugged, upright utility vehicle stance.

Among the new flourishes is a reworked front fascia featuring an origami-inspired mesh grille and a "digital piano key" lighting signature. The updated look draws from the Japanese roots of Infiniti, which moved its global headquarters back to Yokohama from Hong Kong last year. The headlights, for instance, get a treatment designers call "kimono folds."

A subtle character line runs straight down the beltline, lending an air of stability, while the roofline cuts a sloping silhouette to a streamlined rear. A t…

DETROIT -- General Motors and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are teaming up in the U.S. to expand EV charging and household energy plans drawing on renewable resources.

The automaker and a Shell-owned power company, MP2 Energy LLC, are starting their joint project in Texas, where owners of GM electric cars can get free overnight charging this summer, the companies said Wednesday. The plan is to provide comprehensive energy programs to GM’s customers and supply chain partners, including fixed-rate home energy plans backed by 100 percent renewable energy.

The partnership follows a flurry of low-carbon ventures between energy producers and manufacturers across the globe, with their climate ambitions -- including emissions by their customers -- being scrutinized by investors and activists. Shell is under more immediate pressure than any of its Big Oil peers after a Dutch court last month ruled it must slash its emissions 45 percent by 2030.

GM has set a target of bei…