Trade News

MILAN -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group completed their $52 billion tie-up and formally merged into Stellantis on Saturday.

The merger will create an auto group with combined annual sales of around 8.1 million vehicles and deep enough pockets to fund the shift to electric driving and take on bigger rivals Toyota and Volkswagen Group.

"The merger between Peugeot S.A. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. that will lead the path to the creation of Stellantis N.V. became effective today," the two automakers said in a statement.

It took over a year for the Italian-American and French automakers to finalize the deal, during which the global economy was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. They first announced plans to merge in October 2019.

Shares in Stellantis will s…

ES last week came without many of the bells and whistles and celebrity appearances, and none of the in-person experiences that typically make the show both overwhelming and great.

Though far less groundbreaking than a traditional CES, the all-digital show did feature a decent lineup of discussions on electrification, automated vehicles, the many opportunities of air mobility and more.

Here are some highlights.

Two trends were especially clear throughout CES: Policymakers must move quickly to regulate self-driving technology, and gaining consumer trust in it is critical. "In the industry right now, there are a lot of different companies working on different technologies, pursuing different business models," David Quinalty, head of federal policy and government affairs at Waymo, said in a session on who will set the rules for self-driving vehicles. "This innovation and competition is very healthy. It will drive further …

LOS ANGELES — Fans of the beloved rotary engine, rejoice.

While it won't be slotted in a nifty sports car, Mazda plans to bring its first electric vehicle, the MX-30 crossover, to the U.S. with a rotary engine as a range-extending option.

Prior to Mazda's confirmation of the plans this month, the MX-30 was expected to be sold mostly in Japan and Europe, given its modest 35.5-kilowatt-hour battery and 124-mile range.

Mazda first offered a rotary engine — famously compact, lightweight, high-revving and smooth — in the 1960s and hit gold when it began powering the RX-7 sports car in 1978. The engine was dropped in 2012 though Mazda has flirted with and studied a revival seemingly ever since.

The MX-30 launched as an EV in Europe late last year, and it went on sale in Japan as a mild hybrid using an existing Mazda piston engine.

Jeff Guyton, president of Mazda North America Operations, described the U.S. version as an EV with a rotary-engine …

CarMax has pushed the industry in new directions before. Its latest move could prompt others in the highly competitive used-car space to reconsider their return policies.

The nation's largest used-vehicle retailer last week said it was increasing the money-back guarantee on its vehicles to 30 days after purchase, more than quadruple the previous seven. At the same time, CarMax also said it now offers 24-hour test drives for its vehicles.

The move comes as more consumers shop for big-ticket items online. It's CarMax's way of adding a layer of comfort for those who choose to do so, CarMax Chief Marketing Officer Jim Lyski told Automotive News.

"We have really just thought of what are all the ways we can put that customer at ease," Lyski said.

The effort, which is being marketed as CarMax's "Love Your Car Guarantee," was borne from extensive research, Lyski said. That research found that 63 percent of shoppers said they needed more than seven days …

General Motors will phase out Chevrolet Equinox assembly at an Ontario plant and spend $787 million (C$1 billion) to retool the factory to build an all-electric commercial van.

The pledge comes as part of a new tentative labor contract reached with Unifor late Friday -- several months before it was due to be negotiated at the plant in Ingersoll, Ontario.

A GM spokesperson wouldn’t say where Equinox production would move, adding the company is focused on getting a ratified deal. GM also builds the Equinox at a plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Earlier this week, GM said it’s launching a commercial electric vehicle business called BrightDrop and locked in FedEx Express as the first customer for a delivery van, the EV600, later this year.

The investment in the Ontario plant is contingent on union ratification “and confirmation of government support,” GM Canada said in a statement.

“GM Canada is engaged in discussion with the Ontario and feder…

DETROIT — Matt VanDyke, Ford Motor Co.'s director of marketing, will soon become the CEO of the company's FordDirect joint venture with dealers.

VanDyke, 48, will take the reins of the digital lead-generating company Feb. 1. He replaces Diane Craig, who became president of Ford's International Markets Group this month.

"Matt VanDyke has been an exceptional, dynamic leader at Ford, taking on challenges with Bronco and F-150 during the pandemic and leading our Built for America and Built to Lend a Hand campaigns," Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of the Americas and International Markets Group, said in a statement. "His passion and experience in marketing make him an excellent choice for the FordDirect position, and we wish him well."

Additionally, Mike Gingell, FordDirect's senior vice president, product, marketing and dealer engagement, will become FordDirect COO, a position that has been unfilled since 2018.

"We are thrilled to have Matt VanDyke …

Toyota Motor Corp. led the automotive industry with 2,079 patents granted in 2020 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

That's according to a report from Fairview Research's IFI Claims Patent Services, which created a custom ranking exclusive to the automotive industry for Automotive News.

Toyota moved up from second to first last year with a 2 percent increase in patents granted over 2019.

The study ranks companies based on most innovations and granted patents.

"Innovation across Toyota is driving our transition to a mobility company, and Toyota's leading patent portfolio is one important measure of that progress, along with our investments in research, collaboration and partnerships," Frederick Mau, intellectual property counsel for Toyota Motor North America, told Automotive News in a statement. "We are excited to have expanded our patents across a wide range of advanced technology fields and proud of the incredible accomplishments of our…

WASHINGTON -- Tesla Inc. filed a petition with U.S. auto safety regulators saying that 612,000 vehicles produced since 2012 do not fully comply with federal safety standards because displays can be switched from miles per hour to only metric measurements, documents released on Friday show.

The automaker asked NHTSA to declare the noncompliance issue inconsequential to safety, according to the agency's filing.

Tesla said it corrected the issue in production in September and that more than 75 percent of the affected U.S. vehicles have accepted the firmware update released in September.

Tesla said if vehicles are set to only display to kilometers, all functions tied to speed limit like Traffic Aware Cruise Control and Speed Assist will "convert mapped data from mph to km/h, resulting in the vehicle speed automatically matching the appropriate speed limit."

Tesla added that vehicle operators can change the display back to miles per hour, saying the op…

PSA Group may reconsider its plans to re-enter the U.S. market with the Peugeot brand following the imminent completion of the merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA, which will give the newly formed company an established presence in the country, Peugeot CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said.

PSA’s strategic plan calls the French automaker to return to U.S. retail sales by 2026, and in 2019 the group’s CEO, Carlos Tavares, said the brand would be Peugeot, which left that market in the early 1990s. Peugeot is PSA's top-selling brand. Its other marques are Opel, Citroen and the upscale DS Autos.

Tavares will be the CEO of the merged company, Stellantis, which will include FCA’s American brands Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler. Jeep and Ram in particular have been highly profitable with their lineups of pickups and SUVs.

But the merger, to be completed Saturday with listings on the Paris, Milan and New York stock exchanges early next week, has made that plan le…

FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group said higher sales of battery-powered and plug-in hybrid vehicles helped to offset plunging demand in its global markets in 2020 caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Global deliveries fell 15 percent to 9.3 million last year, VW said in a statement.

The figure includes sales of the VW, Audi, Porsche, Skoda and Seat brands, as well as its VW commercial vehicles, Scania and MAN heavy truck units.

The sales slide slowed in December when deliveries declined 3.2 percent compared with December 2019.

VW Group's Spanish-based Seat brand had the worst sales performance in 2020 with full-year deliveries down 26 percent, followed by Skoda, whose volume fell by 19 percent. VW brand's deliveries dropped by 15 percent, Audi was down 8.3 percent and Porsche was down 3.1 percent.

China, VW Group's biggest market, had the lowest sales decline because the country rebounded from the pandemic faster than the rest of the word. The g…

TOKYO — Kia is dumping "Motors" from its corporate name as part of a global brand relaunch meant to position the South Korea automaker as a mover in electric vehicles and new mobility.

In changing its name to Kia Corp., from Kia Motors Corp., the company is reaching for a new identity that better reflects its push into new fields, CEO Ho Sung Song said in news release. The move follows the adoption of a new company logo and slogan this month.

"Changing our corporate name and logo is not only a cosmetic improvement," said Song, who took the helm last April. "It represents us expanding our horizons and establishing new and emerging businesses that meet and exceed the diverse needs of our customers worldwide."

The new direction targets a mass ramp-up of EVs through 2025 and a rapid expansion into what the company calls purpose-built vehicles, or PBVs. These are runabouts dedicated to new mobility enterprises such as ride-hailing, robotaxis and on-the-go e-…

BMW is shutting down its vehicle subscription pilot at the end of the month.

The Access by BMW subscription pilot launched in April 2018 and never expanded beyond its initial Nashville market. It was targeted at affluent customers willing to pay high monthly fees for two tiers of service starting at $2,000.

"Our intent with the pilot was to learn about the viability of the subscription model and gauge customer interest," a BMW spokesman told Automotive News Thursday. "We are in the process of developing the next iteration of the program," he said, declining to elaborate on details.

Audi Select, a similar program offered by the Volkswagen Group premium brand, will be discontinued on Jan. 31, according to a notice on the service's website. It was billed as a new interaction with Audi dealers when it was launched at five Dallas-Fort Worth stores in Sept. 2018. 

Rival Mercedes-Benz ended a similar pilot last summer after seeing lackluster demand…