Trade News

Former Nissan Motor Co. CEO Hiroto Saikawa told a Tokyo court that he agreed that former Chairman Carlos Ghosn should have been paid more to prevent him from going to a rival automaker.

Greg Kelly, the former Nissan director who was arrested on the same day as Ghosn in November 2018, is standing trial for allegedly helping the former chairman of Nissan and its alliance with Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. understate tens of millions of dollars in compensation. Saikawa took the stand Wednesday to testify about his role in the events leading to the arrests more than two years ago, which triggered turmoil within the carmaker and later led to Ghosn's escape from Japan and life as a fugitive in Lebanon.

Saikawa, 67, was the most senior leader at Nissan after Ghosn when he was detained, sending shock waves through the alliance and wider business world. That put the Japanese executive in a position to know many of the details behind the allegations against Ghos…

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Wednesday aimed at addressing a global semiconductor chip shortage that has forced U.S. automakers and other manufacturers to cut production and alarmed the White House and members of Congress, administration officials said.

The scarcity, exacerbated by the pandemic, will be the subject when Biden meets a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday to discuss the issue.

Administration officials said Biden's executive order, to be signed later Wednesday afternoon, will launch an immediate 100-day review of supply chains for four critical products: semiconductor chips, large-capacity batteries for electric vehicles, rare earth minerals and pharmaceuticals.

The order will also direct six sector reviews -- modeled after the process used by the Defense Department to strengthen the defense industrial base. It will be focused on the areas of defense, public health, communications technology,…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is expanding its swanky King Ranch trim to the 2021 Explorer in a bid to move the nation's best-selling large crossover more upscale.

Slotting just below the high-end Platinum trim, the Explorer King Ranch will have leather-trimmed seats, wood accents and an optional premium technology package with special seats and sound system. Available this spring, the rear-wheel-drive configuration will start at $53,595, while the four-wheel-drive version will start at $55,595. Both prices include a $1,245 shipping charge.

Ford has used the trim, named after the famed Texas ranch, for 20 years since it launched on the 2001 F-150. The name has also appeared on Super Duty pickups and Expedition SUVs.

The exterior features a unique gray grille insert, 20-inch aluminum wheels, a liftgate scuff plate and quad chrome exhaust tips. The King Ranch "Running W" logo can be found throughout the exterior and interior.

Ford says the Explorer King …

Chrysler freshened the Pacifica minivan for the 2021 model year by giving the minivan a restyled grille, a new all-LED taillight that spans the width of the vehicle — similar to that of the Dodge Durango and Charger — and available all-wheel drive. The awd Pacifica is powered by a 3.6-liter V-6 engine with 287 hp and 262 pound-feet of torque. The Pacifica also was the launching pad for the automaker's fifth-generation Uconnect infotainment platform. Here's a roundup of snippets of Pacifica awd reviews from the automotive media.

"We drove the all-wheel-drive Pacifica on the rain-soaked roads of rural North Carolina, which was a perfect setting to put the new drive setup to the test. Chrysler engineers note that this all-wheel-drive system is a mechanical one, with a front-wheel-drive bias that delivers an appropriate amount of torque to each axle only as needed. So in perfect conditions — 65 degrees and sunny — power still travels almost exclusively to the front wheel…

Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.

New NADA Chairman Paul Walser talks about his top priorities for 2021, which include improving the relationship between dealers and automakers, pushing for more diversity and eliminating ''complex'' incentive programs.

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Nikola Corp. on Tuesday disclosed details on its hydrogen fuel cell-powered product lineup that will include vehicles with a driving range of up to 900 miles.

The lineup for North America includes the Nikola Two FCEV Sleeper, a long-haul freight vehicle, and a fuel cell EV variant of Nikola's Tre Cabover.

The company's Tre battery EV can currently handle trips as far as 300 miles.

Construction of the the first Tre FCEV prototype is set to begin in the second quarter, with testing continuing into 2022, the Phoenix-based company said, adding that production is slated to start in the second half of 2023.

The Tre FCEV Cabover will have a range up to 500 miles, Nikola said, while the Sleeper's will be up to 900 miles.

In December, the company terminated a deal with Republic Services Inc. to develop electric garbage trucks for the recycling and waste disposal firm.

Nikola shares fell 8.2 percent to $19.20 in early trading on Tues…

Automotive captive lenders are offering assistance to borrowers whose lives were upended by the winter storm that struck Texas last week.

Toyota Financial Services and Lexus Financial Services will offer payment extensions and lease deferred-payment options to impacted customers. Consumers are urged to contact the lender to work out details, Toyota said in a release.

Meanwhile, Ford Credit will assist Ford and Lincoln customers "who may need to defer a payment or two until their situations improve, or who need to request other assistance," a company spokeswoman told Automotive News in an email.

Honda Financial Services in an emailed statement said, "We are prepared to review requests for assistance on a case-by-case basis."

Larry Vellequette and Jackie Charniga contributed to this report.

FRANKFURT -- Mercedes-Benz is positioning the redesigned C-Class as a smaller, sportier version of the recently launched S-Class flagship sedan.

The latest C-Class will "raise the bar as the most sophisticated offering in its segment," Mercedes said Tuesday, reflecting extensive customization, a more luxurious interior with greater space, as well as better handling and lower fuel consumption.

"The letters C and S sit at opposite ends of the alphabet. However, in our portfolio they are now moving closer together," Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius said in a statement on Tuesday. "I am certain our new C-Class will excite even more customers with a wide range of high-tech features derived from our flagship S-Class."

The C-Class, expected to go on sale in the U.S. in early 2022, borrows heavily from the S-Class top-of-the-line sedan, including the cockpit and the latest version of the MBUX infotainment system complete with over-the-air software updates.

The …

STOCKHOLM -- Sweden has indicted a 47-year-old man suspected of handing information to a Russian diplomat, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said.

The prosecutor said in a statement on Monday that the man, who was not identified, had worked as a consultant at several Swedish companies, including Volvo Cars and truckmaker Scania, where he had illegally obtained and sold information, placing the country's security at risk. Public service broadcaster SVT said the man was Swedish.

"While a consultant at his former workplaces, I allege that he obtained material with the purpose of providing information to a foreign power, in this case Russia," prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said. "The man was apprehended while meeting a Russian diplomat where he had just received 27,800 Swedish crowns ($3,360) from the diplomat."

SVT reported that the man being charged had passed on information from Volvo and Scania, which is a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group.

Volvo told Automo…

BERLIN -- Continental has acquired a minority stake in German-U.S. startup Recogni, as it deepens its expertise in autonomous driving technology.

The startup is working on a new chip architecture for object recognition in real time based on artificial intelligence, Continental said on Tuesday in a statement.

The supplier said it expects the rollout of chip architecture production in 2026.

Financial details were not disclosed.