Trade News

WASHINGTON -- General Motors will boost global spending on electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion through 2025, a 30 percent jump over its most recent forecast as it pursues EV leadership, people briefed on the matter told Reuters.

As part of that spending, the automaker will build two additional U.S. battery plants and move ahead some of its EV investments, said the people, who asked not to be identified. In November, GM upped its spending plans from $20 billion, a figure that was announced in March before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the auto industry.

GM declined to comment.

The expected announcement of increased spending by GM comes less than a month after rival Ford Motor Co. upped its EV spending by more than a third to more than $30 billion by 2030.

The combined $65 billion in commitments by the largest U.S. automakers, as well as increased spending by EV leader Tesla Inc. and startups including Lucid and Rivian reflect the EV…

McLaren Americas President Tony Joseph is leaving the British sports car maker.

Nicolas Brown, vice president of sales for the Americas, will take over in the interim while a permanent successor is identified, McLaren told U.S. dealers on Tuesday.

Joseph, 53, had been with the brand since it set up shop in the U.S. 12 years ago, leading its growth from a fledgling operation to a profitable automaker with a growing retail base.

Before joining McLaren Automotive, the road-car unit of the British race-car builder, the Michigan native spent time at Ferrari, Porsche and Subaru.

In a letter to dealers, McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt said: "Tony . . . has played an enormous role in growing the region to become the leading global market for McLaren. Tony's passion for the brand and commitment to our shared success has been inspirational. He will be greatly missed by the entire McLaren team and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors."

McLa…

DETROIT -- Lordstown Motors Corp has "firm" and "binding" orders for the first two years of production of its electric pickup truck, the startup's president said on Tuesday, sending shares up a week after saying it had no binding orders for the vehicle.

"Currently, we have enough orders for production for '21 and '22," President Rich Schmidt said at an Automotive Press Association event in Detroit. "Those are firm orders we have for those two years."

"I don't know the exact facts of the legal aspect of that, but they are basically binding orders that are committed here in the last two weeks, reconfirmed orders," he added, when asked if they were binding orders. "They're pretty solid, and I think that's on the light side or conservative side."

In March, Lordstown's shares slumped after investment research firm Hindenburg Research disclosed it had taken a short position on the stock, saying the company had misled consumers and investors about its pre-ord…

The Fiat 500 — the world's smallest production car — makes its public debut at the Turin Auto Show on June 15, 1936.

Nicknamed the Topolino, Italian for Micky Mouse, the pint-sized car was born out of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's desire to give consumers a car that was innovative and economical.

It was the brainchild of Dante Giacosa, a mechanical engineer who joined Fiat in late 1928 as an aircraft engine expert and remained until his formal retirement in 1970.

The 1936 two-seater was powered by a front-mounted, 569 cc side-valve engine paired to a four-speed transmission. More than 520,000 were sold by the time it was discontinued in 1955.

Another Giacosa masterpiece, the Nuova 500, a successor to the 500, debuted in 1957, riding the postwar boom to sales and acclaim. When the Nuova was dropped in 1973, almost 3.8 million had been sold.

Fiat, looking to recapture some of the 500's magic and appeal, …

Jaguar Land Rover will begin testing a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle prototype later this year based on the Land Rover Defender, the company said.

The vehicle will be developed using technology and input from partners including engine specialist AVL and Marelli Automotive Systems.

The concept will be partially funded by a 8.7 million pound ($12.3 million)grant from the UK’s government-supported Advanced Propulsion Centre, which aims to support development of future automotive technologies in the country.

Jaguar Land Rover said in 2019 it was looking at fuel cells as an alternative to battery-electric powertrains as a way of powering its heavier Land Rover SUVs.

The concept is part of JLR’s push to achieve zero tailpipe emissions by 2036, and net-zero carbon emissions across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039. 

Hydrogen is attractive to makers of larger vehicles because it offers a longer range than batteries as w…

A Ford Motor Co. employee has died from injuries sustained in a mass shooting early Saturday in Austin, Texas.

Douglas John Kantor, 25, was one of 14 victims in the shooting, according to a report from KXAN-TV. Kantor died at 12:01 p.m. local time Sunday.

Authorities have arrested one person in connection with the shooting, according to Mayor Steve Adler's office.

Originally from Airmont, N.Y., Kantor was visiting Austin from his home in Michigan, his family told KXAN.

He signed on with Ford's IT department in 2018, following his graduation from Michigan State University with a degree in computer engineering.

"We were shocked and saddened to learn about the death of a Ford colleague as a result of the Austin shooting," Ford spokesman Ian Thibodeau said in an email. "We are providing support to his family and his colleagues. Out of respect for everyone affected by this tragedy, we will not be saying more at thi…

BEIRUT -- Fugitive former auto executive Carlos Ghosn said on Monday he was prepared for a lengthy process to clear his name with French authorities, and vowed to challenge an Interpol warrant that is barring him from travel outside of Lebanon.

The architect of the Renault-Nissan auto alliance has been fighting multiple probes since fleeing to Lebanon from Japan in late 2019, and has said he hopes to clear his name in financial misconduct cases against him.

Ghosn was chairman of both Nissan and Mitsubishi and CEO of Renault when he was arrested in Japan in 2018 on charges of under-reporting his salary and using company funds for personal use. He has denied wrongdoing.

The Lebanese-French executive said he had answered hundreds of questions from French investigators earlier this month in hearings centred around allegations of financial misconduct in France.

Ghosn said he had submitted voluntarily to questioning at Beirut's Palace of Justice as a …

General Motors is recalling 285,622 vehicles from the 2021 model year — 282,309 of them in the U.S. — because their airbag malfunction indicator lights might fail to warn drivers of issues with the airbags.

The vehicles' communications gateway module could incorrectly process a loss of communication with the sensing diagnostic module, which could cause airbag malfunction indicator lights to "inconsistently illuminate," according to a document filed with NHTSA.

The recall covers a range of models: the Buick Envision; Cadillac CT4, CT5, Escalade and Escalade ESV; Chevrolet Corvette, Suburban and Tahoe; and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL.

GM said it will notify vehicle owners via recall notification letters July 19, and dealers will update the software in the communications gateway module.

The automaker notified dealers June 3.

In a safety recall report filed with NHTSA, GM said the company is not aware of any accidents …

William Li is being mobbed. At a gala dinner in Shanghai, the founder of Chinese electric carmaker Nio Inc. can barely move forward in the buffet queue before being stopped for another selfie, handshake or hug. Swapping his usual attire of jeans and a T-shirt for a tailored grey suit and blue dress shirt, the tall 46-year-old happily obliges with a smile.

Li manages to spoon a small amount of fried rice and vegetables onto his plate, but he’s not here for the food. Over the next three hours, Li poses for hundreds more photos, chatting with customers of the automaker he started just over six years ago and has built into a way of life — at least for the people who buy his cars — with clubhouses, a round-the-clock battery recharging service and even clothing, food and exercise equipment, all decked out in Nio’s geometric logo.

As Li works the room, a video backdrop shows six performers, each wearing a different-colored Nio hoodie, singing a self-composed song ded…