Trade News

Toyota Motor Corp., taking another step toward electrifying its lineup, began selling the first Lexus gasoline-electric hybrid sedan, the GS450h, in Japan on March 16, 2006.

Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe was on hand for the official launch in Tokyo.

The domestic sales debut was followed by overseas sales, including in the U.S. the next month.

The GS450h combined a high-output 3.5-liter V-6 gasoline engine with a high-performance electric motor and dynamic performance that was on par with a conventional 4.5-liter vehicle.

The hybrid provided 339 hp and a 0-to-60-mph time of 5.2 seconds. In fact, the hybrid GS was more powerful than the nonhybrid version at the time. It had an EPA fuel efficiency rating of 25 city and 28 highway.

It was redesigned for 2013, and The New York Times called it "quite simply, the best — or, at least, the most impressive — hybrid that Toyota makes today."

Lexus d…

Chevrolet has expanded its Bolt nameplate with the addition of the Bolt EUV. The 2022 Bolt EUV is about 6 inches longer, has more rear legroom and offers an available sunroof. The two vehicles are built on the same architecture but do not share any exterior sheet metal, Chevrolet said. The Bolt EUV has an estimated battery range of 250 miles, vs. 259 miles for the current and freshened Bolt electric vehicle. Here's a roundup of snippets of first-drive Bolt EUV impressions from the automotive media.

"We've yet to drive the 2022 Bolt EV, so we can't say how differently the EUV goes down the road, if at all. Its brake pedal is pleasantly firm, the action of its steering is linear if devoid of feel, and its relatively low center of gravity lends it a secure, planted feel around corners. Motivation comes from a familiar electric motor rated for 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque that is fed electricity from a 65.0-kWh battery pack. Weighing about 150 p…

Automotive News Europe Editor Luca Ciferri discusses how life in Italy has changed since the start of the pandemic and what's ahead for the country as it prepares for another nationwide lockdown next month.

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The idea to write about the dealership management system market came a little more than a year ago, on the floor of the 2020 NADA Show in Las Vegas.

Days earlier, dealership technology company DealerSocket had completed its acquisition of DMS provider Auto/Mate. CDK Global CEO Brian Krzanich wrote a letter that week to his dealership customers, promising continued investment in better customer service and simplified billing. And a startup called Tekion rolled out its new DMS platform around the show, calling itself a market disrupter.

I talked with nearly every DMS provider on the show floor that week. I filled my notebook with insights to explore when I returned to Michigan. A month later, the coronavirus pandemic locked down much of the U.S. My story idea went on hold while the Automotive News team reported on the escalating crisis, from documenting state and local stay-at-home orders that often changed by the day to helping dealers understand the impact…

Cruise LLC, the self-driving technology company that’s majority-owned by General Motors, said it acquired autonomous-vehicle startup Voyage, which operates a service in retirement communities.

"I’m pleased to welcome Oliver Cameron and Voyage to the Cruise team,” Cruise President Kyle Vogt announced Monday on Twitter, confirming a Bloomberg News report from early this month. “Voyage is a nimble and highly capable company that shares our mission to make transportation safer & more accessible, and we’re thrilled that they’re joining us."

The deal gives Cruise more than 60 people trained in developing and running self-driving vehicles, where experience and talent comes at a premium. Cameron, Voyage’s chief executive officer, is joining Cruise as vice president of product.

Cruise’s acquisition of Voyage happens at a time when autonomous-technology companies are consolidating. Zoox Inc. sold to Amazon.com Inc. last year. For Voyage, joining Cruise is a wa…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. said Monday that Brett Wheatley, who previously held a number of mobility and customer service roles, will become CEO of TransLoc, a software services business it acquired in 2018.

Wheatley, 53, will retain his title of vice president of mobility businesses, where he oversees Spin, a scooter company, and Office Ride, a shared mobility service in India.

In his new role as CEO of TransLoc, effective Monday, Ford said he will work to better integrate the subsidiary with its other mobility units as it prepares to launch autonomous commercial services in 2022.

"Efficient transit services are critical to the economy and the future of U.S. cities," Wheatley said in a statement. "New developments in connected and autonomous vehicles will continue to improve how we travel, but their success is dependent upon how we integrate these services into our existing transit systems across cities, campuses and corporate enterprises and continue to …

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics recently won a project for Google parent Alphabet Inc.'s autonomous driving unit Waymo to develop chips for next-generation self-driving cars, South Korean media reported on Monday.

Samsung will develop a chip that computes data collected from various sensors installed in autonomous vehicles or centrally controls functions by exchanging information with Google data centers in real time, South Korean newspaper Herald Business reported, citing an unnamed industry source.

The project is expected to be carried out by Samsung's logic chip development division, it added.

Samsung Electronics declined to comment on client company matters. Alphabet did not have an immediate comment.

Criminal charges against Sonic Automotive Inc. CEO David Smith, including felony assault by strangulation, were voluntarily dismissed last week by the Mecklenburg County, N.C., district attorney's office, the court and Smith's lawyer confirmed Monday.

Smith, 46, was arrested Oct. 5 and spent a night in jail after a 22-year-old woman, not related to Smith, told the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department that she was assaulted and restrained at a Charlotte home. She had minor injuries of bruises and scratches, according to the police report.

He was indicted by a Mecklenburg County grand jury this month on the felony charge, plus misdemeanor charges of false imprisonment, assault on a female and interfering with emergency communication. The indictment was a procedural action to move his case forward in the Mecklenburg County Superior Court after Smith had waived a probable-cause hearing Dec.1.

According to Mecklenburg County Superior Court, the distri…

CEO Mike Stanton sets the record straight on the notion that U.S. retailers are not interested in selling battery-electric vehicles in the coming years.

How do I subscribe?Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

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Android“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

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General Motors said Monday that due to the global semiconductor chip shortage the U.S. automaker is building certain 2021 light-duty full-size pickup trucks without a fuel management module, hurting those vehicles' fuel economy performance.

The lack of the active fuel management/dynamic fuel management module means affected models, equipped with the 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V8 engine with both six-speed and eight-speed automatic transmission, will have lower fuel economy by one mile per gallon, spokeswoman Michelle Malcho said.

Malcho emphasized all trucks are still being built, something GM has repeatedly stressed it would try to protect as pickups are among GM's most profitable models. She declined to say the volume of vehicles affected.

"By taking this measure, we are better able to meet the strong customer and dealer demand for our full-size trucks as the industry continues to rebound and strengthen," Malcho wrote in an email.

The change runs throug…

Tesla Inc.'s Elon Musk and his finance chief have added tongue-in-cheek titles while another one of the company’s top executives changes roles.

Musk, the carmaker’s CEO, is now also the “Technoking of Tesla,” and CFO Zach Kirkhorn has added the title “Master of Coin,” according to a regulatory filing. Both will maintain the positions of CEO and CFO.

In a separate filing, the company said Jerome Guillen, who’s been president of automotive since September 2018, transitioned last week to president of Tesla heavy trucking. Musk first showed a Semi prototype in December 2017 and said at that time Tesla would start production in 2019. It’s now planning to start deliveries by the end of this year.

“As Tesla prepares to enter the critical heavy-trucks market for the first time, Mr. Guillen will now leverage his extensive background in this industry to focus on and lead all aspects of the Tesla Semi program, including the related charging and servicing netwo…