Trade News

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Nikola's energy unit to install hydrogen fueling stations at service centers

Remember Nikola Corp.? Yes — THAT Nikola Corp., the electric truck startup based in Phoenix that was riddled with controversy last fall.

The company seems to be turning a new leaf by exploring opportunities in the hydrogen space — this time, in fueling.

Nikola's energy division, Nikola Energy, and TravelCenters of America Inc., known as TA-Petro, are installing hydrogen fueling stations for heavy-duty trucks at two TA-Petro sites in Southern California.

The two undisclosed sites will be operational by early 2023, the companies said last week.

The stations "will provide for an open fueling network available to any truck customer and will follow a common industry standard for heavy-duty fueling protocols," Nikola and TA-Petro said in a statement.

This means the stations will not operate like some proprietary electric vehicle chargers…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday posted its highest first-quarter net income in a decade but said it could lose half of planned production in the second quarter because of the semiconductor shortage that has halted some high-profit assembly lines.

The automaker said it earned $3.3 billion from January through March as it recovered from the coronavirus pandemic that hammered the company with a $2 billion net loss a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rose to $4.8 billion in the first quarter from a $600 million loss in the same period a year earlier. Its adjusted margin rose to 13.3 percent.

Revenue jumped to $36.2 billion from $34.3 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

The automaker made $1.15 billion in the first quarter of 2019 -- the last comparable time before the pandemic.

“The first quarter of the year really defies an easy explanation or a pithy sound bite, but if I had to sum it up one way, it would …

BMW AG is giving way to the global shortage of semiconductors after months of managing to maintain output in the latest indication the auto industry’s supply-chain woes are only getting worse.

The automaker will pause Mini car production at its Oxford, England, factory for three days starting April 30, according to a spokeswoman. It’s also reducing shifts this week at its plant in Regensburg, Germany.

BMW was one of the last remaining major automakers unscathed by a shortage of chips expected to cost the industry tens of billions of dollars in revenue this year. Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk this week called the issue a “huge problem.” NXP Semiconductors said it’s expecting supply to be tight all year and warned constraints for the auto industry could extend into 2022.

Carmakers from Volkswagen Group to Ford Motor Co. have been forced to idle factories as surging demand for phones, laptops and electronics during the pandemic overwhelmed suppliers. Although BM…

DETROIT/WASHINGTON -- UAW President Rory Gamble told Reuters the union is in talks with General Motors about representing workers at joint venture battery plants, and voiced opposition to proposals for Washington to impose a firm deadline to end use of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles.

Gamble said the UAW has raised concerns with GM and Ford Motor Co about joint venture and potential EV operations set up by the automakers and supplier partners that so far are not represented by the union. GM is building two U.S. battery production plants with South Korean battery partner LG Chem. Ford is considering investments in battery manufacturing.

"We've got to make sure that work stays at a livable wage and those workers can organize," Gamble said in an interview. "We're having some discussions developing with General Motors."

GM said in a statement that its Ultium EV battery facilities "are part of a joint venture and are a separate company – Ultium Cells LL…

DETROIT -- General Motors has partnered with seven major charging providers to help customers locate and pay for electric-vehicle charging through its vehicle mobile apps, the automaker said Wednesday.

The agreements are part of Ultium Charge 360, GM’s new charging strategy that integrates charging networks, GM brands' apps, and other products and services to simplify the charging experience for EV owners.

“GM agrees with the customer need for a robust charging experience that makes the transition to an EV seamless and helps drive mass adoption,” Travis Hester, GM’s chief EV officer, said in a statement. “As we launch 30 EVs globally by the end of 2025, Ultium Charge 360 simplifies and improves the at-home charging experience and the public charging experience – whether it’s community-based or road-trip charging.”

Through GM’s mobile apps, customers will soon be able to access real-time information from 60,000 charging plugs throughout the U.S. and …

The fiery crash of a Tesla sedan that killed two people in Texas earlier this month involved a front-end collision that caused extensive damage and may have ignited the car’s powerful battery cells, according to a local fire authority’s report.

The report provides more clues to the April 17 incident involving a gray 2019 Model S that hit a tree and caught fire in The Woodlands, a wealthy neighborhood in greater Houston. Tesla is working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, two U.S. agencies that are probing the bizarre crash.

The vehicle sustained “a significant front-end collision” that may have damaged the battery, power distribution system, or battery-temperature control systems, causing the lithium-ion cells in the Tesla to ignite, according to the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office.

The fire was caused by the collision, investigator Chris Johnson concluded, ruling out factors not spec…

The Supreme Court sided with businesses in two cases this month that lessen the powers of the Federal Trade Commission and narrow the scope of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The decisions were victories for companies, including auto dealerships and lenders. Still, legal experts say compliance in both instances remains vital.

Though the FTC's ability to retrieve ill-gotten gains from businesses and return them to consumers is impacted, it likely won't change how the agency approaches its cases against auto dealerships, said Michael Goodman, a partner at Hudson Cook.

Several cases the FTC brought against dealerships were resolved without including monetary redress or penalties, he said.

"That kind of relief is more common when the FTC believes there has been consumer harm," he said. For the agency to seek monetary redress, "it would have to be a pretty extreme advertising case against the dealer."

The FTC can still investigate dealerships an…

Auto supplier Dana Inc. said its first-quarter sales grew because of a recovery in demand for light and heavy vehicles, but profit conversion was diminished by material cost increases and other supply chain constraints.

Dana reported net income of $71 million in the quarter, up 22 percent from the year-earlier period.

The axle and transmission producer, of Maumee, Ohio, joined several suppliers this month in reporting first-quarter results as the COVID-19 crisis lingers around the globe. More companies are set to report results over the next few weeks.

Dana posted revenue of $2.26 billion, an increase of 17 percent from the year-earlier period.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose about 14 percent to $234 million. Dana reported adjusted free cash flow to of negative $26 million, although that was an improvement from negative $114 million a year earlier.

The company's sales in the light-vehicle segment…

MILAN — Alfa Romeo, the premium Italian line with a racing heritage, must do better in the crucial U.S. market, the CEO of the brand said.

Frenchman Jean-Philippe Imparato ran the Peugeot brand for PSA until the merger with Fiat Chrysler formed Stellantis on Jan. 16, when he was put over Alfa Romeo. He has assembled a mostly Italian leadership team and has American industry veteran Larry Dominique, who had been plotting Peugeot's return to the U.S., in charge of North America.

Alfa Romeo sales in the U.S. rose 25 percent in the first quarter, a little more than the segment's 20 percent rise, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center. But it still ranked 14th out of 15 luxury brands in the market, having pulled ahead of only Jaguar.

"We must improve the quality of our business model in terms of economic performance, product quality and the right distribution channels," Imparato said at a roundtable with Italian media on April 21.

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WASHINGTON -- A group representing auto suppliers told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday it opposes setting a firm date to end the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and expects those vehicles will be sold for at least another 20 years.

The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, which represents more than 1,000 vehicle suppliers, told a Senate Commerce subcommittee on transportation that the Biden administration should continue to set regulatory requirements that ensure suppliers keep working to improve internal combustion engines.

Ann Wilson, MEMA's senior vice president of government affairs, told the panel that new gasoline-powered vehicles "will likely be on the road for an additional 20 years."

Climate change concerns "will not be met unless the propulsion system containing the internal combustion engine continues to improve its efficiency," she added.

Wilson warned that a "fully electric vehicle fleet will require significantly fe…

Net income nearly increased fivefold for Asbury Automotive Group Inc. in the first quarter this year thanks to favorable comparisons with the same time last year during the coronavirus pandemic. The retailer also posted record-high adjusted earnings per share.

Asbury, the sixth-largest U.S. new-vehicle retailer, on Tuesday reported net income of $92.8 million in the first quarter, up from $19.5 million a year earlier. In 2019's first quarter, Asbury posted net income of $40.9 million.

The Duluth, Ga., company also reported revenue of $2.19 billion, up 36 percent.

Asbury's core business lines improved by double-digit percentages across the board, with gross profit for finance-and-insurance surging 25 percent and parts and service profit up 21 percent.

New- and used-vehicle sales increased 24 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Asbury CEO David Hult said in a statement that the quarter was "very active" for the company.

"In addition…

Lithia Motors Inc., fresh off its purchase of Michigan's Suburban Collection this month, has acquired a Honda dealership in New Jersey in a deal that is expected to add $230 million in annual revenue.

Lithia bought Planet Honda of Union on Sunday from Tim Ciasulli. The dealership had been in the Ciasulli family for 48 years. It has been renamed Planet Honda.

Bill Feinstein, who owned 20 percent of the dealership, is staying on as general manager and will lead the store.

"We are excited to welcome Bill Feinstein and his dedicated team to the Lithia and Driveway family," Lithia CEO Bryan DeBoer said in a statement. "Adding one of the highest performing Honda stores in the country further strengthens our ability to serve communities throughout the New York and New Jersey metropolitan areas."

Lithia rolled out Driveway, a portal that lets customers purchase or sell vehicles online and schedule at-home service, last year.

The dealership group …