Trade News – Page 620

DAILY DRIVE PODCAST: March 1, 2021 | How Polestar plans to charge up its U.S. retail network

Join Automotive News for our daily podcast series. We speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about events and trends impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.

Polestar USA chief Gregor Hembrough talks about the Swedish EV startup's retail expansion strategy, being a ''digital-forward'' brand and bringing Polestar 2 variants to the market.

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U.S. probes nearly 1.9 million Toyota RAV4s for fire risks

WASHINGTON -- U.S. auto safety regulators said Monday they were opening a probe into nearly 1.9 million Toyota RAV4 vehicles for fire risks.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the preliminary evaluation into 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles comes after 11 reports of fires.

The agency said some drivers experienced stalling prior to the fire in half of the instances where the vehicle was in motion. The 12-volt battery was identified as the area of origin in a majority of incidents reviewed, the agency said.

"Toyota is aware that NHTSA has opened this investigation and we are cooperating with the agency," said Toyota spokesman Ed Hellwig.

The RAV4 is by far Toyota's best-selling vehicle in the U.S. with deliveries of 430,287 units in 2020 -- a 3.9 percent decline from 2019.

The NHTSA said that improper battery installation or previous front-end collision repair was a factor in fire reports. But the agency said that, despite these e…

Audi appoints former Porsche exec as finance chief

Audi said it has appointed Juergen Rittersberger, a former Porsche executive, its new chief financial officer.

Rittersberger succeeds Arno Antlitz, who is moving to become CFO at parent Volkswagen Group.

Rittersberger will take over the position starting in April, Audi said in a statement.

He moves to Audi from his role as head of strategy at VW Group. Before that he was head of corporate development at Porsche from 2010 to 2018.

Rittersberger has a degree in business information technology.

In SPACs, dealers see viable option to go public

The flood of special-purpose acquisition companies on the market has some dealers exploring a new way to take their companies public. If the strategy comes to fruition, it could lead to the first expansion to the ranks of the six publicly traded franchised dealership groups since the last of them, Asbury Automotive Group Inc., went public in 2002.

With SPACs, also known as blank-check companies, on the lookout for investment opportunities, several dealership accountants, lawyers and buy-sell advisers told Automotive News they have clients closely weighing partnerships. Talks involving some dealers have accelerated over the past few months, advisers said.

Going public via a SPAC could provide quick access to capital for a growing group to buy more stores or pay down debt, or give a dealer an exit strategy. The SPAC model also could shave months off the going-public process, accountants said.

"With the amount of activities with the SPACs right now …

Ioniq 5 sends out Hyundai’s new EV vibe

Hyundai's Ioniq 5 electric crossover stands out as much for its styling as its technology.

As the leadoff model for the South Korean automaker's Ioniq electric vehicle subbrand, it gets design cues, inside and out, that exude a next-generation, car-of-tomorrow vibe.

The body is rounded here and angular there. The proportions are low and wide. The headlights and taillights are pixelated rectangles. It boasts a large sunroof and even a solar panel. Hyundai has also incorporated digital side mirrors and auto-flush door handles that lend some Tesla flair.

The model rides on an extra-long wheelbase with super stubby overhangs and wheels pushed to the edges. The idea was to maximize the shape to yield more room inside.

The 118-inch wheelbase and flat floor deliver what Hyundai says is D-segment interior space in a midsize package. The Ioniq 5's center console can slide back nearly 5.5 inches to create more space for front-se…

Former AN staffers to join journalism hall of fame

Two former Automotive News staffers, Edward Lapham and Marjorie Sorge, have been named to the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.

Lapham, Sorge and five other inductees will be honored at a ceremony in the fall. Other inductees this year will be:

Tom Henderson, longtime reporter for sibling publication Crain's Detroit Business. Al Allen, a radio and TV reporter on the streets of Detroit for 50 years. Joanne Gerstner, multiplatform sportswriter, educator, scholar, mentor and author. Jean Jennings, 40-year automotive writer and editor. Susan Whitall, former editor of Creem magazine, music historian, columnist and author.

Lapham joined Automotive News in 1977 as the newspaper's first financial editor.

He served in many capacities over 36 years, including marketing editor, managing editor, executive editor and editor.

He won several awards for reporting and opinion writing. He became internationally known for his reporting and expertise about th…

Best not to use your Tesla like an F-150

While Ford Motor Co. was encouraging dealerships in Texas to loan out F-150s with built-in generators during recent power outages, some Tesla owners learned that using the battery in a similar fashion could result in an unexpected repair bill.

One Tesla owner posted instructions and photos in a Facebook group showing how to connect the battery to lights and appliances through a store-bought inverter. But a few days later, the owner followed up to say that his car's 12-volt battery had gone bad as a result and that Tesla was making him pay for a replacement.

"They are replacing the 12v not under warranty because they looked up this Facebook post and used that to determine I've violated the use of the car," the owner wrote in a widely shared post. Another Tesla fan who shared the post wrote: "It pains me to post this, but if you used the awesome battery of your Tesla car to keep lights on in time of need, DO NOT brag about it on social media! It's a warranty-vo…

Plus co-founder Shawn Kerrigan: Trucks ride a ‘continuum’ toward self-driving future (Episode 86)

Shawn Kerrigan, chief operating officer and co-founder at trucking-tech company Plus, says his company will commercialize an advanced driver-assist system for trucks this year, and that’s a starting point on an evolution toward fully autonomous big rigs. He further discusses rising demand for freight movement amid the pandemic.

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Google Play: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" is available on Android devices through the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe.

Fisker aims to capture iconic appeal of the Mini, VW Beetle with ‘affordable’ EV

Fisker's new full-electric car developed with Apple partner Foxconn Technology Group will be an affordable five-seater that will have the same broad appeal as the original Mini and Volkswagen Beetle, CEO Henrik Fisker said.

Fisker and Taiwan's Foxconn on Wednesday announced a partnership for Foxconn to build a car targeted at markets including North America, Europe, China and India, and sold under the Fisker brand. Production is set to start in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Fisker said he has moved to the 3D modeling phase of the design of the car.

The former Aston Martin designer said it would appeal to a wide base of buyers just like the original Mini launched in 1959 and the first-generation Beetle that became an icon in the 1950s and 1960s.

"Billionaires had them, ordinary people had them. That's the sort of iconic vehicle that we are looking to make, a feel-good vehicle," Fisker said. "I want to create a vehicle that can go across social borde…

Toyota banks on plug-ins as rivals push BEVs

Toyota's decision to add at least a third plug-in hybrid nameplate to its U.S. lineup next year bucks an industry trend that has seen other automakers pull back their PHEV offerings as full battery-electric vehicles proliferate.

The industry fall-off in plug-ins might be because of the vehicles' added cost and complexity or the fact that regulators don't seem to value them as much as full BEVs. But Toyota, sticking to its pioneering hybrid technology, sees plug-ins as part of a broader overall strategy that seeks to cut carbon emissions sooner before full EV charging infrastructure is in place.

A presentation from its chief scientist indicates that Toyota sees a case for expanding plug-ins to several different types of vehicles — which means the U.S. could see more plug-in hybrids on roads in coming years.

The automaker promised last month to add a third plug-in hybrid to its lineup next year, though details of what model will j…

The awkward timing of Hyundai’s EV recall

Just as Hyundai pulled back the curtains on its ambitious new electric vehicle initiative last week, it got a stinging reminder of the perils ahead in electrification. The South Korean automaker said it will have to recall 82,000 EVs because of a potential for battery fires — a recall that will cost $900 million.

News of the recall came one day after Hyundai's global reveal of its new Ioniq 5 EV, a potentially high-volume model that will kick off the company's all-electric Ioniq subbrand this year.

The recall does not pertain to the Ioniq 5 but focuses largely on Kona EVs built between 2018 and 2020 that were sold mostly in Hyundai's Korean home market. It will be necessary to replace the battery systems.

There have been 15 cases of fires involving the Kona EV — 11 in South Korea, two in Canada and one each in Finland and Austria.

But the recall also shines a light on a changing auto industry reality: When it comes to …

Jeep keeps Cherokee name, opens dialogue

DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles contacted the Cherokee Nation last summer about setting up an educational program for its employees.

It was supposed to be a cultural enrichment endeavor to shine a light on the people whose name has been attached to one of Jeep's most popular vehicles for nearly 50 years.

The event didn't pan out, but the dialogue wasn't over.

Months later, after FCA merged into Stellantis, the automaker approached the nation again. The Cherokee were the ones making a request this time: Stop using our name.

The meeting occurred after Car and Driver learned of the Cherokee's stance on the use of the name and raised it with Jeep. The Cherokee Nation didn't go out of its way to make it a public issue, said Chuck Hoskin Jr., its principal chief.

Hoskin just answered a question honestly.

"We don't go out across America's cultural landscape [looking] for things that offend us and …