Trade News

PARIS -- Renault Group will build two new "sister models" for alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors starting in 2023, as the Japanese automaker reverses a decision to wind down operations in Europe.

A model mix of the newly launched Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross plug-in hybrid utility vehicle and the Renault-developed sister models will enable Mitsubishi to be more competitive in the market, the automakers said in a news release Wednesday.

Mitsubishi and Renault provided few details on the new models, except to say that they would be "based on the same platforms but with differentiations, reflecting the Mitsubishi brand’s DNA." 

They will be sold in “selected major European markets," the automakers said. The UK will not be one of the target markets, a spokesman for Mitsubishi there said.

The vehicles will be versions of "best-sellers on the European market which already meet regulatory requirements," the release added. Renault's top t…

U.S. vehicle safety regulators have approved a request by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation to reopen the comment period on whether any test procedures related to NHTSA's federal vehicle safety standards should be replaced, repealed or modified.

NHTSA in December issued an advance notice of proposed rule-making that sought comment on amending its test procedures for any of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards "for reasons other than considerations relevant only to automated driving systems," according to an unpublished document.

The comment period ended Feb. 8 but, starting Wednesday, will reopen for 30 days.

The alliance — which represents most major automakers in the U.S. as well as some suppliers and tech companies — asked the agency in January for a 30-day extension of the comment period.

The association said the additional time was necessary for it "to conduct a comprehensive review of the extensive number of regulations" and auto …

Shift Technologies Inc. reported record revenue and vehicle sales in the fourth quarter as it continued to dig itself out of an inventory hole brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

The online used-vehicle retailer was more selective in inventory acquisition at the onset of the outbreak last spring. It also furloughed some of its reconditioning staff, relying more heavily on third parties to get its vehicles sale-ready.

This led to an inventory gap when used-vehicle demand began to surge later in the spring and into the summer.

In the fourth quarter, Shift said, the company was able to "steadily and dramatically" reduce its use of third-party reconditioning, and by January, it was back at pre-COVID levels of having just 15 percent of its vehicles processed by outside parties.

In October, Shift was processing about 250 vehicles per week in-house, and it improved that number to more than 500 vehicles by the middle of the first quarter.

The c…

Chipmaker GlobalFoundries said on Tuesday it has partnered with automotive supplier Bosch to develop radar chips for self-driving features.

Under the deal, Santa Clara, California-based GlobalFoundries said it will make high-frequency radar chips for Bosch at the chipmaker's Fab 1 facility in Dresden, Germany. Radar chips are widely used in vehicles for driver-assistance features such as emergency braking, lane-keeping and parking assistance.

The radar chips are designed to operate at higher frequency than previous generations to help the radar detect objects farther away with greater accuracy than lower-frequency radar chips found on many current vehicles. They are not related to the chips currently in short supply that have caused manufacturing disruptions at automakers such as Ford Motor Co. and General Motors.

Rather than source the chips from a third-party company to put inside a radar module, Bosch is working directly with the chip contract ma…

Kia Motors America is recalling just less than 380,000 vehicles because of issues with electric circuitry that could lead to fires in engine compartments.

Vehicle owners will be told to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete.

The recall includes Sportage and Cadenza vehicles from the 2017 to 2021 model years. The circuit in the vehicles' hydraulic electronic control units could short-circuit, upping the risk of fire.

No fires, accidents or injuries have been reported. Dealers will replace specific fuses in the models' electrical junction boxes. Vehicles equipped with an electronic parking brake will also get a software update.

The automaker will begin notifying dealers on April 15 and owners on April 30.

Volkswagen Group plans to give an update on batteries next week at an event echoing a Tesla briefing that helped boost its share price last year.

VW Group CEO Herbert Diess sent out the invitation to VW's first "Power Day" event on March 15 using his Twitter and LinkedIn accounts on Tuesday. "Please note: This is not a car presentation," he said.

Diess, 62, made his Twitter debut early this year and promptly engaged in some good-natured ribbing of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Musk has been on the platform almost a dozen years and has used it to great effect to promote what is now far and away the world's most valuable automaker. The company spends an immaterial amount of money on traditional advertising.

Boosting battery expertise and securing sufficient supplies will be vital for VW to deliver on plans for the industry’s biggest fleet of electric vehicles. At the VW brand, the ID4 crossover is joining the ID3 hatchback this year and will be sold in China…

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WASHINGTON -- A group of 17 U.S. House Democrats on Monday are introducing legislation that would award $6 billion to the U.S. Postal Service to buy tens of thousands of additional electric delivery vehicles.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Jared Huffman and seen by Reuters would require at least 75% of the new fleet be electric or zero-emission vehicles.

Last month, the USPS said it was committed to having electric vehicles make up 10% of its next-generation fleet as part of its multibillion-dollar plan to retire its 30-year-old delivery vehicles, but could boost that if it received billions of dollars in government assistance.

The legislation is backed by some key Democrats, including Rep. Peter DeFazio, who chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the Oversight and Reform committee that oversees USPS.

The bill would also require no less than 50% of medium/heavy-duty vehicle purc…

DETROIT — GMC plans to unveil and begin taking reservations next month for the electric Hummer SUV, a sibling of the 2022 Hummer pickup.

GMC will show the SUV on April 3 at 5 p.m. Eastern time during the NCAA Final Four men's basketball tournament, the brand said in a statement Monday.

General Motors is expected to begin building the SUV at Factory Zero in Detroit in early 2023, with an annual volume target of 50,000 vehicles, according to AutoForecast Solutions. GM has not confirmed production details.

AutoForecast Solutions expects the SUV to be the same size as the pickup with a unique roofline and a possible third row of seating. It will be powered by GM's proprietary Ultium batteries, which have a maximum range of 450 miles.

GM has committed to spend $27 billion on electric and autonomous vehicle development and to launch 30 EVs globally through 2025. The automaker said it plans to have a zero-emissions, light-duty portfolio by 2035.