Trade News

DETROIT — The impending release of COVID-19 vaccines has automakers and suppliers working on distribution plans for employees.

Automakers said they are waiting for direct instruction from government officials as they prepare for the release of vaccines by Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. and other producers.The Wall Street Journal reported that many industries are fighting for priority as the vaccine awaits approval by the Food and Drug Administration. The expectation is the vaccine will primarily go first to front-line health care workers and long-term care facility residents.

The Detroit 3, in statements Friday, said they are working on ways to get employees access to the vaccine once it becomes available. They are in close contact with health officials.

Ford Motor Co. said the primary vaccination focus will be on its essential workers, including those in manufacturing plants, warehouses, workplace-dependent employees and those required…

Legislation pending in Michigan that would limit direct vehicle sales in the state has narrowed to remove an exemption for Tesla, a change that major automakers say softened their earlier opposition to the bill.

Its chances of passing, however, are not certain in the waning days of Michigan's two-year legislative term. The amended bill passed the state House this month, but it was pulled from consideration in a state Senate committee this week. The Michigan Senate has no plans to extend session days beyond Dec. 17, a spokeswoman for the Republican Senate majority leader told Automotive News, nor has the chamber made a final decision on whether the bill will come up for a vote.

Bills not passed by the end of the year are considered dead and must be reintroduced in the new term that starts in January.

If the narrower version is signed into law, opponents say it leaves Michigan vulnerable to more litigation — both from Tesla and from startup electric vehic…

Nissan will reorganize its sales offices in the U.S. as the automaker adjusts for declining sales and the pandemic.

Nissan Division will close its Mid-Atlantic region office in Herndon, Va., on April 1. The move will follow the shutting of the automaker's Northwest and Mountain offices in July.

"We're looking to streamline our operations because we want to become more efficient and agile," Judy Wheeler, Nissan division vice president of sales and regional operations in the U.S., said Friday. "This is an opportunity for us to do that."

Nissan Division's U.S. sales tumbled 38 percent to 597,064 vehicles in the first nine months of the year, in an overall market that fell 18 percent.

But the expansion of remote working in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is also playing a role in Nissan's decision to shrink it sales office footprint.

"We've learned a lot during this pandemic of how you can do business," Wheeler…

Starting in March, self-driving startup May Mobility plans to expand deployment of its autonomous shuttles to Japan.

The Ann Arbor, Mich., company said it has inked a deal to operate vehicles along a 1.9-mile route on the campus of Hiroshima University.

Initially, two shuttles will service the route. Later, May Mobility plans to expand the number of shuttles and service area as part of an overall effort to showcase on-demand service for passenger rides and grocery delivery.

May Mobility currently operates 19 shuttles with human safety operators still aboard in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Arlington, Texas. Previously, it participated in pilot projects in Columbus, Ohio, and Providence, R.I. A project in Detroit is on hiatus because of COVID-related disruptions.

A spokesperson said additional deployments are planned in the first half of 2021. The expansion to Japan had been on the horizon since Toyota Motor Corp. led the startup's $50 million investmen…

TPG Pace Beneficial Finance Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, agreed to acquire EV Charged BV, a unit of French utility Engie SA that specializes in EV charging technology.

The deal will create a combined entity, EVBox Group, with a valuation of about $1.4 billion, the companies said Thursday. It will give EV Charged, which does business as EVBox, an implied enterprise value of $969 million. Engie, which acquired EVBox in 2017, will retain a stake of more than 40 percent.

Founded in 2010, Amsterdam-based EVBox makes hardware and software, and operates a network of more than 190,000 EV charge ports in 70 countries. The transaction with Fort Worth, Texas-based TPG Pace is set to provide the company with the means to broaden its technology offerings and expand globally. TPG Pace shares surged 116 percent Friday to close at $24.

“We’ve built out a dominant pan-European position and are convinced that joining forces with a strong American sha…

New-vehicle deliveries in China continue to forge ahead in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, advancing 13 percent to some 2.77 million in November, according to data the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers released Friday. 

The final tally was higher than the industry trade group’s estimate released this week. 

Driven by massive infrastructure construction across the country, demand for commercial vehicles continues to outpace that for light vehicles.

Sales of commercial vehicles including trucks and buses jumped 18 percent to roughly 472,000 last month. 

Deliveries of light vehicles comprising sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multi-purpose vehicles and minibuses rose nearly 12 percent to approach 2.3 million.

China’s new-vehicle market has grown eight consecutive months after the virus outbreak was largely contained in mid-March.

Due to a 43 percent decline in first-quarter volume, total sales of new vehicles i…

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.

Lear's Chief Technology Officer John Absmeier says the seating and electronic systems supplier is focused on developing ''intuitive'' user-focused technologies that are geared toward creating a better customer experience. Plus, how the industry's pace of innovation is changing amid the pandemic.

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Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri is retiring from the role, effective immediately.

Camilleri, 65, is stepping down for personal reasons, Ferrari said in a statement on Thursday.

Ferrari's Executive Chairman, John Elkann, will act as interim CEO while the company identifies a successor, Ferrari said.

Camilleri will also give up his board seat.

Camilleri also is retiring from his role as executive chairman of tobacco giant Philip Morris International, the Marlboro maker said separately.

At Philip Morris, Camilleri's retirement triggered a succession plan that has been in place for some time, the company said.

Philip Morris CEO Andre Calantzopoulos will become executive chairman. Lucio Noto, the company’s independent presiding director, will serve as interim chair in the meantime. Chief Operating Officer Jacek Olczak will succeed Calantzopoulos as CEO when he takes the chairman spot.

Bloomberg contributed to this report

Hyundai Motor Group on Thursday said it is launching a brand dedicated to its hydrogen fuel cell system in a move meant to boost that business.

Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., said the name "HTWO" stands for the hydrogen molecule, H2, as well as "hydrogen" and "humanity."

The South Korean automaker said it is stepping up efforts to develop fuel cell systems that can be used in the Urban Air Mobility (UAM), auto, vessels and trains markets, with a focus on Korea, the U.S., Europe and China.

Since introducing the ix35 fuel cell electric vehicle in 2013, Hyundai has added the NEXO SUV, the XCIENT fuel cell heavy duty truck and a fuel cell electric bus.

When he took over as Hyundai Motor Group's group chairman in October, Euisun Chung identified hydrogen fuel cells, as well as autonomous driving, electrification, robotics and UAM -- industry jargon for flying cars -- as his initiatives for the futu…

A new group that includes General Motors, Merck & Co. and Walmart Inc. is pledging $100 million in an effort to hire 1 million Black workers during the next decade, expanding on existing corporate vows to increase minority employment.

The OneTen initiative, co-chaired by Merck CEOnKen Frazier and International Business Machines Corp. Executive Chairman Ginni Rometty, will focus on hiring and training Black workers without four-year college degrees, according to the plan released Thursday. The goal is to provide “family sustaining” jobs that pay an average of about $50,000 a year.

Companies are under pressure from investors, employees and activists to increase workforce diversity and give more opportunities to minorities after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police sparked widespread protests. Black American have consistently had higher unemployment rates than White people and trailed in promotions and pay.

Other members of the founding boa…

Miami nice: Ford and Argo use self-driving tech to keep fresh food on kids' plates

Before the pandemic struck, Miami-area nonprofit The Education Fund distributed fresh food to students at 26 schools, ensuring they and their families had enough to eat.

With some kids no longer attending school in person, organizers sought a safe way to keep them and their families stocked with healthy groceries.

Enter Ford Autonomous Vehicles and its self-driving technology partner, Argo AI. Miami happens to be where the two companies have been kicking the tires on their autonomous driving technology and, in parallel, developing the foundation of a commercial ride-hailing and delivery business.

The companies and The Education Fund embarked on a pilot project in late October that will conclude by the end of this month. The team is using self-driving test vehicles — with human safety drivers behind the wheel — to deliver food directly to 50 students who attend Mia…

SHANGHAI -- China is expected to sell 80 million internal combustion engines annually in the next five years, in line with previous years, an engine industry association said on Thursday, amid a broader industry transformation toward electrification.

Internal combustion engines still dominate China's auto industry and are also used in motorcycles, agricultural machinery, ships and power generators, according to the China Internal Combustion Engine Industry Association.

Xing Min, secretary general at CICEIA, said the industry expects the sources of fuel for engines to increasingly diversify to include gasoline, natural gas, methanol and more, and to improve thermal efficiency in the next five years to lower overall carbon emissions.

China, the world's biggest vehicle market, is accelerating development of electric vehicles. Carbon dioxide emissions from China's auto industry were expected to peak around 2028, and drop to 20 percent of peak levels by 2035.…