Trade News

When John Krafcik visits his mother in Southern California, he faces the same dilemma as many with elderly parents.

"I often spend the whole trip driving her around to run simple errands and visiting friends she can't easily see on her own," he wrote in a blog post.

Self-driving vehicles could someday provide transportation that unlocks mobility options for older adults who no longer drive or preserves independence for those who still do.

Krafcik knows that better than most. As Waymo CEO, he understands the potential of autonomous-driving technology. He's already given his mom, who turned 101 in September, a sneak peek.

Millions more await such a look. After handing over their keys, the average American still has seven to 10 years where transportation alternatives are essential, according to statistics kept by AARP. More than 3.5 million U.S. residents 85 or older still have a driver's license.

"That's …

Advanced rearview mirror technologies have made Gentex Corp. a key Tier 1 supplier in the auto industry. Now the Zeeland, Mich., company is pursuing a new mirror function that could position it for changes in the way people will drive in the future.

Gentex has formed a partnership with PayByCar Inc., a Boston provider of in-vehicle payment solutions. The partners use Gentex's Integrated Toll Module that operates via RFID transponder to let drivers pay for gas entirely contactless.

The solution allows drivers to use their smartphone and toll transponder to fuel up at certain gasoline stations without using cash or a credit card.

The module is still early to market and limited in its capabilities. PayByCar's technology is available at only seven locations — four Alltown stations in Massachusetts and three Circle K locations in North Carolina. And it works only with vehicles equipped with a compatible module. For Gentex, that means sev…

DETROIT -- Nearly 1 in 5 Cadillac dealers in the U.S. reportedly have decided to quit the brand rather than make costly upgrades to sell and service electric vehicles.

A Cadillac spokesman would not confirm how many of the brand's 880 dealers accepted the buyout offers first reported by Automotive News last month. Dealers had until Nov. 30 to decide on the offers, which generally ranged from $300,000 to more than $500,000.

About 17 percent, or roughly 150 dealers, are taking the buyouts, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing sources it didn't identify.

Cadillac has prohibited dealers who accepted a buyout from discussing it publicly as a condition of the payment.

General Motors is requiring dealers who stay with Cadillac to spend at least $200,000 on chargers, tooling and training in order to sell the EVs being rolled out starting in 2022. Cadillac expects to sell only EVs by 2030 if it feels the market is ready. GM recently said it…

Ford Motor Co. is delaying the launch of the highly anticipated Bronco SUV until the summer of 2021 because of coronavirus-related supplier issues, the automaker informed its dealer network Friday.

"The all new Bronco two-door and four-door customer deliveries will begin in the summer rather than the spring due to COVID-related challenges suppliers are experiencing," Ford said in a statement. "We are committed to building Broncos with the quality our customers expect."

Ford did not specify which suppliers were experiencing problems. The Bronco is being built at the automaker’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich. 

Ford said order banks, which were set to open next week, will now open in mid-January for reservation holders to complete their purchase.

They have until March 19 to finalize their dealer selection, place their order and agree to a final price. That deadline was originally set for Jan. 31.

Additionally, the Sasquatch …

WASHINGTON -- Nissan Motor Co. on Friday joined General Motors in exiting a group of automakers that had backed U.S. President Donald Trump in his bid to prevent California from imposing its own vehicle emissions rules.

GM last week reversed course in an ongoing court fight and abandoned the outgoing Republican president, winning praise from Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20.

"We are confident that productive conversations among the auto industry, the Biden administration and California can deliver a common-sense set of national standards that increases efficiency and meets the needs of all American drivers," Nissan said in a statement.

GM had joined Nissan, Toyota Motor Corp., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and other automakers in October 2019 in support of Trump effort's to bar California from setting its own fuel-efficiency rules, or zero-emission requirements, for vehicles -- separate from federal requirements.

…

Editor's note: This version of the story has updated figures from Toyota for the number of new, redesigned or refreshed vehicles along with an updated time frame.  

The Toyota and Lexus brands are engaged in an aggressive lineup overhaul that will see 25 new, redesigned or refreshed vehicles on U.S. dealer lots within the next 16 months, Toyota Motor North America executives said today. The executives also confirmed that the automaker will offer its first battery-electric vehicle in the U.S. in the "short term" — though they declined to provide further details.

Speaking to reporters via video conference, Bob Carter, head of sales for Toyota Motor North America, said the automaker's "robust" three-year product plan involves seven more vehicles than the previous three-year cycle.

Carter and other Toyota executives declined to detail the automaker's upcoming product plans. However, new Toyota Motor North America CEO Ted Ogawa told Automotive …

DETROIT — General Motors' existing footprint of assembly plants for internal combustion vehicles will be an advantage to GM's electric vehicle future, Dane Parker, chief sustainability officer, said Friday.

GM has 11 assembly plants in the U.S. alone. Factory Zero, previously called Detroit-Hamtramck, is being retooled for all-EV production. Spring Hill Assembly in Tennessee is also being revamped to build both EVs and gasoline-powered vehicles.

"The capacity we have today to assemble vehicles will translate to assemble electric vehicles in a fairly straightforward way and fairly quickly," Parker said at the Goldman Sachs Global Automotive Conference. "From a total capital perspective, adding capacity for electric vehicles and adding capacity for combustion engines isn't materially different for us."

On the propulsion side, he added, GM will make additional investments to develop batteries and electric motors.

"We're able to, in many cases, retrof…

WASHINGTON -- Hyundai Motor Co. is recalling 129,000 U.S. vehicles for an engine issue that can increase the risk of a fire, U.S. regulators said Friday.

The recall covers some 2015-2016 Veloster, 2012 Santa Fe, 2011-2013 Sonata Hybrid, and 2016 Sonata Hybrid vehicles because connecting rod bearings inside the engine may wear prematurely, which over time can result in engine damage. Dealers will conduct inspections and if bearing damage is found, the engine will be replaced, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

Hyundai said all recalled vehicles will also receive an enhanced engine control software update containing a new Knock Sensor Detection System that monitors engine vibrations for unusual patterns potentially indicating an abnormal condition with the engine, such as a damaged connecting rod bearing.

Last week, Hyundai and Kia Motors' U.S. units agreed to a record $210 million civil penalty after U.S. auto safety regulators said …

WASHINGON/SEOUL -- South Korean battery makers LG Chem and SK Innovation are sparring over whether the U.S. International Trade Commission should consider recent EV recalls in a trade secrets case.

LG Chem, an EV battery supplier for Tesla and General Motors, filed its trade complaints against SK Innovation last year in the U.S. Alleging trade secret theft, LG seeks to block SK from producing battery cells in the U.S. and from importing the components necessary to make them.

SK has denied wrongdoing. 

Last month, SK asked the ITC to consider that "LG Chem batteries have been involved in a series of fires and explosions, raising substantial public interest concerns."

In the request, SK said General Motors and Hyundai Motor Co. had each issued recent recalls for EVs with LG Chem batteries. The recalls "raise questions of public safety and underscore the critical need for SK batteries in the United States," the company said.

It added…

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2020 may be the ultimate test of what it means to be a great employer. And a large number of dealerships, navigating a pandemic that kept customers from showrooms and disrupted their employees' work and family life, have passed that test. We congratulate the 100 stores that made Automotive News' ninth annual list of the Best Dealerships To Work For.

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