Trade News

The coronavirus pandemic has created an opportunity to redefine transportation.

Some say we are in a "whiteboard" moment.

We heard from experts across the industry over the past several weeks about how they see mobility evolving post-pandemic.

"One of the big changes that we have to grapple with, both at the regional level but frankly across the country, is the role and future of public transit. ... I'm a big believer that transit should be something that other innovations — whether from the private sector through a startup or some other initiative — plug into. I think COVID has really laid bare the funding challenges that transit systems across the country have, but it's also laid bare that there are many in our community that still fundamentally rely on transit to get back and forth to their jobs. We can't ignore that population. We can't ignore the importance of public transit in this solution, but we do have to take some hard looks at exactly when …

Let's face it: Any good news in 2020 was welcome. It was a hard road. Yet stories emerged this year that highlighted extraordinary efforts companies throughout the industry took to support local communities.

That should be no surprise. It's emblematic of what happens in the auto industry; When the going gets tough, its people come together to help one another.

What's also emblematic of the auto industry? It's a lot of fun.

Alex Rosenberger knows that. He's the owner of MasterCars, a seller of late-model upscale cars and motorcycles in Granite City, Ill. Having some safe fun in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic was just one of the reasons he and other local business owners along historic Route 66 east of St. Louis created the Kicks on 66 Ultra Car Show and Cruise, hosted in Edwardsville, Ill., in October.

As business owners, they also saw the event as an opportunity to tap into the history of the Mother Road to help…

Dealers around Scranton, Pa., and some other local business owners collaborated to buy more than $61,500 worth of gift cards from area restaurants that have lost significant business during the pandemic.

The idea started with Gibbons Ford owner John Grow and his wife, who wanted to buy gift cards from the restaurants and bars they would normally be patronizing during the holiday season. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf barred indoor dining from Dec. 12 through Jan. 4 after a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state.

Grow, who was raised in the restaurant business, called other dealers across Lackawanna County and said all were eager to join the effort.

"We're competitors but we're friends," Grow told the LNP newspaper in Lancaster, Pa. "Every single dealer — everybody — did not blink an eye. They said, 'What do you want? ... What do you want us to give?' "

In addition to Grow's store, the donors include Burne Honda, RJ Burne Cadillac, Pompey Auto Grou…

Israel has emerged as a hotbed of innovation in the automotive and mobility worlds as well as the broader business of making things. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Startup Nation in 2018 contributed 4.94 percent of its gross domestic product to R&D — more than any other member country.

Automakers including Ford, BMW, Volkswagen and Hyundai have invested in Israeli companies. So have suppliers such as Bosch, Denso and Continental. Among technology giants, Intel and Google have made the acquisition of Israeli startups part of their strategies to bolster their automotive and mobility investments.

Collectively, these young companies are at the center of advanced automotive developments as well as cloud computing, 3D printing, predictive sensing, the Internet of Things, augmented and virtual reality and a host of other Industry 4.0 technologies that are helping multinational corporations improve their…

The preferred ride of James Bond's superior appears poised to take on a new mission.

Gerry McGovern wants to modernize the design of Jaguar cars and make the sports-car brand "wonderful again."

After leading Land Rover design since 2006, McGovern has been promoted to Jaguar Land Rover's chief creative officer, overseeing Jaguar design boss Julian Thomson and Land Rover design head Massimo Frascella.

"I'm savoring the thought of helping my Jaguar colleagues to bring Jaguar back to the position it deserves. It's a unique brand with incredible pedigree and a lot of potential," McGovern told Automotive News Europe. "If it could be developed in a way that freed it from some of the constraints it has had in the past, I think it could be wonderful again."

Jaguar has been criticized for leaning too much on iconic designs from its illustrious heritage, although new models such as the I-Pace full-electric crossover have pushed the…

Tesla Inc. delivered a record number of cars worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2020, but fell just shy of a goal for 500,000 units for the full year.

The electric-car maker delivered 180,570 vehicles in the last three months of the year, eclipsing its prior all-time high of 139,300 in the third quarter of 2020, while increasing its yearly total 36 percent from 367,500 deliveries in 2019. The company has been ramping up output of its mass-market models to meet rising global demand for battery-powered cars.

The Palo Alto, Calif.,-based company said in a statement Saturday its delivery count should be viewed as slightly conservative and final numbers could vary by up to 0.5 percent or more.

The quarterly delivery figure is widely seen as a barometer of demand for both Tesla’s vehicles and consumer interest in electric vehicles worldwide. The result capped a remarkable year for CEO Elon Musk and his company, which joined the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index…

PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares has said that both his company and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are heading into their merger to create Stellantis in very good financial shape.

That is largely true, based on 2020 results, but one of the reasons for any merger is to address weaknesses. PSA and FCA have areas that need support.

They include:

Poor performance in China, the world’s largest auto market Excess capacity in Fiat's European factories Fiat's struggle to comply with increasing tough European emissions rules PSA's over-reliance on Europe for profits Fiat's brand's years of underinvestment Reviving Maserati and Alfa Romeo

Under the late Sergio Marchionne, Alfa Romeo pinned its hopes on two stylish, sporty midsize models on the Giorgio platform: The Stelvio crossover and the Giulia sedan. But the two vehicles failed to challenge Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the premium segments, and a seven-model lineup plan released in June 2018 under Marchionne …

PARIS -- Shareholders of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group are expected on Monday to agree to a merger between the two companies that will create a new global automaking powerhouse and unite two industry dynasties -- the Peugeot and Agnelli/Elkann families.  

Approval by shareholders will clear the way for the merger to close before its target date of the end of the first quarter, creating a combined entity called Stellantis.

Because of health protocols related to the coronavirus pandemic, the meetings will be held without the physical presence of shareholders, who can vote online. The pandemic altered the terms of the merger but did not derail it.

PSA executives, led by Louis Gallois, the chairman of the French automaker's managing board, will gather at the company's headquarters in Velizy, France, outside of Paris, starting at 10 a.m. central European time. Later in the day, starting at 2:30 p.m. CET, Fiat Chrysler will hold a virtual meeti…

PARIS -- The merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to create Stellantis will have both immediate and far-reaching effects on PSA Group, which has made record profits under CEO Carlos Tavares, even as its sales volumes and international footprint contracted inward toward Europe.

The merger will create a challenge on a global scale for Tavares, who has successfully tested his management theories and turnaround strategies first at PSA, which had barely escaped bankruptcy when he took over in 2014, then at Opel/Vauxhall, which was losing billions annually under GM ownership before PSA acquired it in 2017.

With FCA's brands and expertise, Tavares will have the tools to create a global automaker that can both overcome PSA's weaknesses and enhance its strengths.

Peugeot and Citroen never rose above being niche players in the U.S., and Tavares has been eyeing a return to the lucrative market since 2016. The addition of Opel/Vauxhall and a decline in the China …

TURIN – A big question is whether Stellantis -- the new company that will result from the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles -- will be able to support all its 12 brands in the future because of the huge investments that will be needed for electric cars, autonomous driving, and connectivity.

Stellantis' top-selling brand will be Jeep, followed by Peugeot. Those brands seem safe from being axed. Fiat, the third largest, could have a brighter future using PSA platforms.

At risk could be Dodge, whose high-horsepower cars will come under more pressure from tougher emissions rules, and Chrysler, which has not been promised any new models. PSA's upscale DS brand and FCA's upmarket Lancia marque face uncertain futures.

Alfa Romeo may be retained but this will mean Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who moves to the role from his current job as PSA CEO, will have to find a successful niche for a storied brand that inspires huge enthusiasm among auto …

BEIJING -- Tesla Inc. said Friday it has started selling the China-made Model Y crossover and will deliver them to customers starting this month, as the U.S. electric vehicle maker expands sales in the world's biggest car market.

China, which offers hefty subsidies for EVs as it seeks to cut down on pollution from gasoline or diesel vehicles, is key to Tesla's global strategy. It is expanding a Shanghai assembly plant, where it also builds the Model 3 sedan. In October, it started exporting the Model 3 to Europe.

It is also adding manufacturing capacity for EV chargers in Shanghai and expanding its sales and service network around the country. It sold over 20,000 vehicles in November.

The starting price of a Model Y in China is now 339,900 yuan ($52,091.95), according to Tesla's China website.

Tesla's rivals in China include Volkswagen Group, BMW, as well as local startups such as Nio Inc., Xpeng Inc., and Li Auto Inc., which all build and market …

TOKYO -- Nissan plans to further reduce its presence in Europe, including outsourcing sales of its cars to alliance partner Renault, according to a Japanese newspaper.

Nissan will cut distribution channels in 30 countries, mainly in eastern European markets such as Hungary and Poland, but also in parts of western Europe such as the Netherlands, the daily newspaper Yomiuri said on Friday, without naming sources.

Nissan will continue to sell its cars by using Renault's sales network and local importers, the paper said.

The automaker's target markets in Europe will be Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and northern Europe, where electric vehicles are becoming more widespread, according to the report.

Nissan will also close its plant …