Trade News

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden's administration has started discussions with the automobile and utility sectors about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, White House domestic climate change adviser Gina McCarthy told Reuters.

The talks are part of a broad effort by the Biden administration that McCarthy will spearhead to engage every federal agency to decarbonize the U.S. power sector by 2035 and the whole economy by 2050.

The United States is the world's second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter behind China, with the power and transport sectors making up more than half of the emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

McCarthy's first major task will be to come up with a 2030 emission reduction target under the Paris climate agreement before Biden convenes world leaders for a climate summit on April 22.

"We're already having conversations with the utility world and we're having conversations with the car companies," McCarthy sa…

MILAN -- Ferrari said it was targeting a modest increase in core profit this year and gave no indication of who would take over as its new CEO from Louis Camilleri, who stepped down from the role in December.

Ferrari did not provide any details about the search for a new boss. The automaker is now led on an interim basis by Chairman John Elkann, the scion of the Agnelli family which controls Ferrari through its holding company EXOR.

The Ferrari board "will manage the ongoing process of identifying Louis Camilleri's successor," the company said on Tuesday.

Sources have previously said the process will take "the appropriate time."

The shortlist of potential candidates has been narrowed to three top managers, all from fashion, luxury and design sectors, the Italian business paper MF reported on Monday, citing the CEO of Gucci, Marco Bizzarri; the former CEO of Valentino, Stefano Sassi; and Hans Hoegstedt, current CEO of Tom Dixon.

In an earnin…

The Coalition for Sustainable Automotive Regulation, a group representing automakers and dealers, is withdrawing from a lawsuit between California and the federal government over the state's authority to set its own emissions standards, the group said Tuesday.

"We are aligned with the Biden Administration's goals to achieve year-over-year improvements in fuel economy standards that provide meaningful climate and national energy security benefits, reduce GHG emissions and promote advanced technologies," the coalition said. "In a gesture of good faith and to find a constructive path forward, the CSAR has decided to withdraw from this lawsuit in order to unify the auto industry behind a single national program, with ambitious, achievable standards."

The action comes after President Joe Biden issued an executive order Jan. 20 directing the Department of Transportation and the EPA to reconsider the Trump administration's 2019 decision to revoke California's aut…

WASHINGTON -- Tesla Inc. has agreed to recall 134,951 Model S and Model X vehicles with touch screen displays that could fail after U.S. auto safety regulators sought the recall last month, according to a recall posted on a government website Tuesday.

NHTSA made the unusual recall request in a formal Jan. 13 letter to Tesla, saying it had tentatively concluded the 2012-2018 Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles pose a safety issue. Automakers usually agree to voluntary fixes before the auto safety agency formally seeks a recall.

The agency said touch screen failures pose significant safety issues, including the loss of rearview/backup camera images and windshield defogging and defrosting systems that "may decrease the driver’s visibility in inclement weather."

NHTSA had required Tesla to respond to its recall demand by Jan. 27. Tesla agreed that same day to the recall, the company said.

Tesla said in its filing with NHTSA that "in the interest …

Hyundai’s U.S. sales rose two percent to 43,394 in January behind an 11 percent increase in retail demand for crossovers, signaling light trucks continue to fuel the market's recovery amid the pandemic.

Overall, retail deliveries edged up 1 percent and fleet volume increased 12 percent last month, Hyundai said Tuesday. Strong retail demand for Hyundai's expanded crossover was driven by the Santa Fe, up 45 percent; the Venue, up 34 percent, and the Kona, with retail sales up 9 percent.

The latest gains came even as Hyundai dials back on incentives, with TrueCar estimating the brand's January spiffs at $2,281 a vehicle, down 26 percent from a year earlier. (See chart below.)

“We are off to a strong start to the year and remain optimistic for continued sales and market share gains in 2021,” Randy Parker, senior vice president for national sales at Hyundai Motor America, said in a statement.

Other automakers

Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Kia, Gen…

JOHANNESBURG -- Ford Motor Co. will invest $1.05 billion in its South African manufacturing operations, including upgrades to expand production of its Ranger pickup truck, the automaker said Tuesday.

The investments aim to increase Ford's annual capacity in South Africa from 168,000 to 200,000 vehicles, said Andrea Cavallaro, operations director of Ford's International Market Group.

"It's the biggest investment in Ford's 97-year history in South Africa and one of the largest ever in the local automotive industry," he told an announcement event.

The move comes after Ford said last month it will cease production in Brazil after a century of building cars there, closing three factories and cutting 5,000 workers. The company has also eliminated thousands of positions in Europe as part of a sweeping $11 billion global reorganization.

The South Africa investment includes $683 million for technology upgrades and new facilities at its plant in Silverton…

Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess provided an upbeat outlook for the second half even as COVID-19 and a global shortage of semiconductors is poised to hit first-quarter results.

"I am looking forward to 2021 and I expect that the global economy will see an upturn in the second half of the year, by which time we should see ongoing vaccination programs take effect," Diess told executives in an internal webcast on Monday, according to remarks seen by Bloomberg News.

"Then I expect people to buy more cars. We should prepare for a significant upturn," Diess said.

The webcast was Diess's first with top managers this year and was attended by new VW group management board members Murat Aksel, who heads purchasing, and Thomas Schmall, the group's new technology boss. The two executives were appointed to the roles after an internal power struggle between Diess and labor leaders was defused in December.

VW lost the top spot in global sales to Toyota last y…

DETROIT — Even without the high-performance Blackwing engine that powered the defunct Cadillac CT6, the 2022 CT5 V-Series Blackwing is the most powerful vehicle the luxury brand has ever built, Cadillac says.

"Everything new and unique on these vehicles was only included if it served a functional purpose, while simultaneously creating a powerful signature look," Andrew Smith, executive director of global Cadillac design, said in a statement.

The track-capable CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing, which Cadillac revealed virtually late Monday, come standard with a manual six-speed transmission but also offer a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Cadillac planned to begin taking reservations for 500 vehicles after the reveal, with deliveries happening late this summer. Pricing starts at $59,990 for the CT4-V Blackwing and $84,990 for the CT5-V Blackwing including shipping.

The CT5-V Blackwing has a 6.2-liter supercharged 668-h…

The Levels of Automation were supposed to be for engineers.

But the numeric scale that describes the capabilities of various driver-assistance and autonomous-driving systems — which runs from Level 0 to Level 5 automation — has spread beyond its initial audience. Created by SAE International, it's now referenced far and wide by industry executives, government officials and others.

Trouble is, the Levels of Automation are pretty wonky. For ordinary motorists, they can cause confusion.

The time has come for a consumer-friendly counterpart, says Phil Koopman, co-founder and chief technology officer at Pittsburgh-based Edge Case Research, which advises companies on autonomous-vehicle testing and safety validation.

"The SAE levels are very actionable for engineers, but not particularly actionable for normal, everyday drivers," he tells Automotive News. "If we want to communicate clearly so people don't take their eyes off the road when they're not sup…

Israeli automotive data startup Otonomo said Monday it would merge with a special-purpose acquisition company to go public at a valuation of $1.4 billion.

The deal with Software Acquisition Group Inc. II is expected to fetch Otonomo $307 million in cash, including a $172.5 million private investment from investors such as Fidelity Management & Research Co. and BNP Paribas Asset Management Energy.

The combined company would be listed on Nasdaq under the symbol "OTMO".

The startup sources data from more than 20 million vehicles, according to its website. Companies can use the data to develop apps and services for fleets, smart cities and individual consumers. Otonomo's partners include Daimler, Mitsubishi, BMW and Avis Budget Group.

Otonomo raised $46 million in a funding round in April last year. The funding included investments from Avis Budget Group, South Korean conglomerate SK Holdings, Alliance Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners.

TOKYO -- Japanese companies including auto supplier Denso Corp. scrambled to assess the turmoil in Myanmar on Monday after a coup in the country once feted as Southeast Asia's last big frontier.

The Myanmar military seized power against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her party in early morning raids.

Major Japanese companies have pushed into Myanmar since Suu Kyi's party won a landslide election in 2015 and established the first civilian government in half a century.

Although some investors have grown wary over the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority, hundreds of Japanese companies have remained in Myanmar, drawn by an emerging market of more than 50 million people.

One of those companies, Denso, said it was struggling to reach staff after phone and internet connections were disrupted.

"We haven't been able to establish contact with them, so we don't know what …