Trade News

Huawei Technologies Co. appointed Richard Yu, the outspoken leader of its consumer electronics business, CEO of its smart car solutions unit, signaling the importance it places on future auto tech.

Yu, who was already director for car components, is expanding his responsibilities in Huawei’s auto business while also departing a position he only recently gained as CEO of its cloud group. Zhang Pingan, an established cloud division executive, will take over that role, according to an internal memo that Bloomberg News has reviewed. 

Huawei’s consumer tech unit was the company’s growth engine before U.S. sanctions hamstrung its ability to procure key components and effectively sidelined its smartphone business. Yu, 51, will not be relinquishing his responsibilities leading that division, however his focus going forward will likely be on recreating its success with the company’s smart car initiatives.

A Huawei spokesman declined to comment.

Rece…

Baidu, a leading Chinese self-driving technology developer, has started testing vehicle-to-everything technology that can help vehicles without sensor equipment achieve Level 4 autonomous driving on open roads with roadside sensing and 5G communication technology.

It has conducted tests at several upgraded road intersections in the Chinese capital of Beijing, the southern China city of Guangzhou and the northern China city of Cangzhou, Baidu said last week.

By deploying autonomous driving capabilities through vehicle-road-cloud coordination, the technology can “supersede the ingrained perception system” of a self-driving vehicle, the company noted. 

“This novel approach will help the industry overcome existing challenges to safely scaling autonomous driving by providing a universal, shared infrastructure that can be applied to any smart transportation vehicle,” it said of the technology.

FRANKFURT -- Daimler Truck AG on Thursday said it had intensified a partnership with Contemporary Amperex Technology, choosing the Chinese battery maker as the supplier for the Mercedes-Benz eActros longhaul electric truck.

The truck is scheduled to be ready for series production in 2024, Daimler Truck said, adding the supply agreement with CATL would go beyond 2030.

The truck maker also struck an agreement with Shell under which the oil major will from 2024 launch heavy-duty hydrogen-refueling stations between the green hydrogen production hubs at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and in Cologne and Hamburg in Germany.

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Americans leery of sharing the road with self-driving vehicles

Some autonomous vehicles are subtle. There's no easy way for passersby to detect whether they're sharing the road with a self-driving car. With other AVs, the spinning lidar sensor on the rooftop leaves no doubt.

Whether self-driving vehicles should be easily identifiable remains a complicated question for regulators and companies that operate test vehicles. A majority of motorists, though, want clear indications.

Sixty-two percent say that clear markings would make them feel safer in mixed traffic, according to a new survey conducted by AAA and the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. It's the single-most important factor in helping assuage anxiety, per the results, followed by 60 percent of respondents who desire designated lanes for self-driving vehicles.

"Regulators must establish guidelines that ensure self-drivin…

DETROIT — Facing pressure from new rivals trying to stake a claim in the burgeoning battery-electric pickup market, Ford Motor Co. designed the 2022 F-150 Lightning to do what its gasoline-powered counterpart has done for decades: outwork — and outsell — all competitors.

Ford is hoping that a bold starting price of $39,974 before shipping — about $10,000 less than what the average shopper pays for a gasoline F-150 truck these days ($50,600 in April) — coupled with new features not possible on the current model will help win over EV skeptics and expand the pool of buyers who have made the F-150 the nation's bestselling vehicle.

The Lightning, revealed late Wednesday, features standard four-wheel-drive; the F-150's first independent rear suspension; an improved on-board generator that can power a house or work site for three straight days; and the industry's largest front trunk that comes with four power outlets and 14.1 cubic feet of space — enough room for two…

Nissan Motor Co. plans to trim North American production in June because of the semiconductor shortage, the automaker said Wednesday.

Frontier and Titan pickup production in Canton, Miss., will be cut for four days in June, while Altima sedan assembly will stop for three weeks next month. Production of those models also suffered stoppages this month.

The chip shortage is striking as Nissan orchestrates a product overhaul that is central to reviving consumer interest and profitability in the U.S.

The Japanese automaker's U.S. plants are preparing to introduce three key redesigns: the midsize Pathfinder, Infiniti QX60 crossover and Frontier midsize pickup.

Nissan is prioritizing high-volume models such as the Sentra, Rogue and Kicks for the limited supply of microprocessors, Michael Colleran, the brand’s U.S. sales and marketing boss, told Automotive News last week.

“It's a bit of a Rubik's cube," Colleran said, referring to allocation deci…

DETROIT/SEOUL -- Ford Motor Co. and South Korean battery maker SK Innovation are set to launch a battery joint venture in the United States to support the ramp-up of the No. 2 U.S. automaker's electric vehicle rollout, two people familiar with the matter said.

The deal may eventually include a jointly owned plant to make battery cells for use in rechargeable EV batteries, the sources said.

A memorandum of understanding about the joint venture will be announced on Thursday, the sources, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. Ford has scheduled "an update on Ford batteries" for Thursday at 9 a.m. ET.

Ford declined to comment other than to say SK is a valued supplier. SK Innovation said in a statement it does not comment on specific projects for reasons of client confidentiality.

Talks around the JV picked up speed last month after SK Innovation agreed to pay $1.8 billion to LG Energy Solution to settle LG's accusations of trade theft by its K…

The White House confirmed on Wednesday that President Joe Biden plans to nominate Jennifer Homendy to chair the National Transportation Safety Board.

Reuters reported the planned nomination on April 22. Homendy has served on the board since 2018 and previously was a senior legislative staffer working on transportation issues.

The NTSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating all civil aviation accidents in the United States and significant accidents in other modes of transportation. NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Monday he will step down on June 30.

Deliveries of McLaren's newest model, the Artura, will be delayed for a second time.

The Artura's October 2020 market launch was delayed to June because of the pandemic. But software supplier-related issues have now pushed U.S. deliveries to late August or early September, sources said.

The Artura is a hybrid supercar on a diet. The vehicle combines creative engineering and efficient packaging to achieve a curb weight of 3,303 pounds, despite being saddled with a hefty battery pack.

Lightweight design "is a pillar of our DNA," Dan Parry-Williams, director of engineering design, said during a press briefing May 11. "It adds driving engagement, agility and reduces CO2 [emissions]."

The Artura signals the future direction of the British sports car maker as throaty combustion engines are increasingly viewed by environmentally conscious governments as anachronisms.

McLaren seeks to transition to a 100 percent electrified portfolio by 2026, with…

A fully loaded 2022 GMC Hummer Edition 1 pickup will weigh 9,046 pounds, or 4.5 tons — more than twice as much as a base level GMC Sierra full-size pickup.

The electric Hummer will be more than 900 pounds heavier than the original Hummer H1 and more than 2,000 pounds heavier than a 2021 Sierra 2500 or 3500 4x4 with a standard bed. The Hummer's curb weight was reported Monday by GM-Trucks.com and confirmed to Automotive News by GMC.

GMC has dubbed the Hummer a supertruck. The brand says the pickup will offer 1,000 hp, 11,500 pound-feet of torque and a 0-to-60-mph time of three seconds. The Hummer "is bound to shatter expectations of what an electric vehicle can do," a spokesman said Wednesday.

The pickup will launch this fall with the low-volume Edition 1 trim, starting at $112,595, including shipping. That will be followed by the 3X in fall 2022, the 2X in spring 2023, and the 2 in spring 2024.

An SUV version is scheduled to go on sale in early 20…

Diehl Automotive Group, with stores spread across western Pennsylvania and one in eastern Ohio, has acquired its first Ford and Hyundai dealerships.

Diehl Automotive, of Butler, Pa., on May 4 bought Preston Ford of Sharon and Preston Hyundai of Sharon, both in Sharon, Pa., from Preston Auto Group.

Terms were not disclosed, but the dealerships have been renamed Diehl Ford of Sharon and Diehl Hyundai.

"They're two great brands and it helps diversify us as well," Matt Diehl, the group's vice president, told Automotive News. "It's just a great opportunity to partner with more OEMs."

The stores are located across the street from each other in Sharon, near the Ohio border and northeast of Youngstown, Ohio.

Diehl Automotive now has nine rooftops in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. The rest of its brand portfolio includes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Volkswagen, Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac.

The Ford and Hyundai dealershi…