Trade News

WASHINGTON -- Ford Motor Co. is urging major automakers to consider backing a framework deal with California on vehicle emissions in a bid to reach industry consensus before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Monday.

Major automakers are set to discuss next steps at a virtual meeting of their auto trade association Tuesday, which comes a week after General Motors abruptly announced it would no longer back the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to bar California from setting its own vehicle emissions rules.

In October 2019, GM joined Toyota Motor Corp., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and other automakers in backing President Donald Trump in the California fight.

Ford, Honda Motor Co., Volkswagen Group and BMW in July 2019 struck a voluntary agreement with California on reducing vehicle emissions through the 2026 model years that would allow them to meet a single nationwide standard. The targets would be lower th…

Groups advocating for consumer and vehicle safety on Monday released an outline for autonomous vehicle legislation that prioritizes safety, equity, accessibility and sustainability.

The diverse coalition includes Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Center for Disability Rights, Transportation for America, Consumer Reports and other stakeholders that are urging federal lawmakers to use the framework as a guide to ensure public safety.

In the outline for AV legislation, the coalition highlights a set of tenets for lawmakers to use as a "GPS," or a way to "guarantee public safety," according to the document.

The tenets include:

Requiring all levels of automated vehicles to be "subject to comprehensive and strong federal standards" that address known and foreseeable safety issues. Making sure safety and performance data is made available to key stakeholders. Guaranteeing accessibility for all, especially older adults and those with disabilities. Prese…

Automotive seating supplier Adient posted a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss of $36 million compared with a $4 million net loss in the same quarter of 2019.

Despite a deeper net loss from the year before, the results still marked a significant improvement from Adient's third-quarter net loss of $325 million.

The company on Monday said it expects increased volume and industry growth to create positive momentum going into fiscal year 2021.

Revenue during the most recent quarter fell 8 percent to $3.59 million while adjusted net income nearly doubled to $109 million compared with the same quarter last year.

In the fourth quarter, Adient also repaid nearly $100 million in debt.

For its 2020 fiscal year, Adient reported a net loss of $547 million compared with a net loss of $491 million in 2019. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and other adjustments fell 14 percent to $673 million.

"We expect several factors will influence Adient's …

Vehicle listings company TrueCar Inc. said Monday it completed the sale of its ALG subsidiary to J.D. Power for $135 million.

The Santa Monica, Calif., company said the purchase price includes $112.5 million in cash at closing and up to $22.5 million in deferred payments on achieving specific financial results. TrueCar announced the sale agreement in August.

TrueCar said the transaction will boost the company's cash balance and the proceeds will support an ongoing share repurchase program worth up to $75 million.

"We are very pleased to reach today's milestone, which reinforces our commitment to creating shareholder value," TrueCar CEO Mike Darrow said in a statement. "With over $270 million of cash on the balance sheet and no outstanding debt, we are in a strong financial position to accelerate toward our vision of building the most flexible and convenient digital car buying marketplace."

TrueCar bought ALG, which provid…

CDK Global Inc. plans to sell its international business to private equity firm Francisco Partners in a deal valued at $1.45 billion.

The Hoffman Estates, Ill., dealership management system giant said Monday the sale is expected to close in the third quarter of its 2021 fiscal year, the three-month period ending March 31, pending regulatory approval.

The company said in a regulatory filing it will use the proceeds to focus on its North American operations, which include DMS and other software for automotive dealerships and adjacent businesses in the U.S. and Canada, and repay debt.

"With this transaction, we can now focus on executing the next phase of our growth journey and spotlight our attention on our North America business," CDK CEO Brian Krzanich said in a statement.

"CDK has made significant progress over the last two years in strengthening and expanding our core business to be customer-centric and a leader in technology for our dealers, OE…

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.

This year's Automotive News All-Stars have shown their ability to adapt, innovate and persevere in what has been one of the most turbulent years for the auto industry in recent memory. KPMG's Gary Silberg discusses their accomplishments and what the industry has learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Data giant S&P Global Inc has agreed to buy IHS Markit -- a major player in the automotive data segment -- in a deal worth $44 billion that will be 2020’s biggest merger, creating a heavyweight in the increasingly competitive market in financial information.

The mega deal, which includes $4.8 billion of debt, is a sign that deal-making activity is accelerating as breakthroughs in developing COVID-19 vaccines improve the economic outlook.

Deals touched a record high in the September quarter, with more than $1 trillion worth of transactions, mostly focused on coronavirus-resilient sectors such as technology and healthcare, according to Refinitiv data.

Under the terms of the deal, each share of IHS Markit will be exchanged for a fixed ratio of 0.2838 shares of S&P Global stock, the two companies said in a statement.

Once the deal is completed, S&P Global shareholders will own roughly 67.75% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis…

DETROIT -- General Motors and Nikola Corp. on Monday announced a reworked, smaller agreement that keeps the fuel-cell partnership intact but eliminates an equity stake in the startup for the Detroit automaker as well as plans for building Nikola's electric pickup truck.

In September, the companies announced a deal under which GM would supply batteries, a chassis architecture, fuel cell systems and a factory to build the startup's proposed Badger electric pickup in return for an 11 percent stake and $700 million. However, the deal came into question after a short seller attacked Nikola as a fraud, something the company denied.

The new deal, a non-binding memorandum of understanding, is subject to negotiation and a definitive deal, Nikola and GM said in separate statements.

Under the new agreement, GM will not take an equity stake in Nikola as originally planned. GM will supply its fuel-cell system for Nikola's Class 7 and Class 8 commercial semi-trucks, N…

HAMBURG -- Volkswagen Group's executive committee is convening on Tuesday to discuss CEO Herbert Diess' demand for a contract extension, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

"The options will be put on the table," one of the sources said, adding that the outcome of the deliberations remains unclear.

VW declined to comment.

Reuters reported on Friday that Diess had asked the families who control a majority voting stake in VW to back extending his contract as a vote of confidence in his leadership.

Diess' has encountered opposition from the board to his efforts to reform the automaker and he may review his position if his attempts continue to be stifled, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Diess was appointed head of the VW brand in 2015 and group CEO in April 2018. His contract is due to expire in 2023 and German companies tend to deliberate over contract extensions only a year before they expire.

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SHANGHAI -- Tesla has obtained permission to start selling its Shanghai-made Model Y SUV in China.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published the approval on its website on Monday.

Tesla sells its locally built Model 3 electric cars in China and has been expanding the Shanghai plant where they are manufactured to start making the Model Y, which reports say will start production early next year. The automaker applied for permission to sell the Model Y earlier this month.

The automaker started delivering Model 3 vehicles made in its Shanghai factory last December and sold more than 13,000 vehicles in China in October.

The company has started exporting the Model 3 from China to Europe and said last week it plans to also start making EV chargers in China in 2021.

Since taking the wheel of Kia Motors Corp. in April, CEO Ho Sung Song has been positioning the South Korean automaker for a new era of industry upheaval.

Under Kia's five-year business plan unveiled this year, Song, 58, wants to make the company a global leader in electric vehicles, branch into so-called purpose-built vehicles and invest heavily in new mobility. To jump-start that makeover, he also will "relaunch" the brand in January.

Under the strategy, called Plan S, Kia will create a lineup of 11 models with electric powertrains by 2025, with seven EV-only models by 2027. By 2026, Kia plans to sell 500,000 battery-electric vehicles and another 500,000 hybrids, plug-in hybrids and other eco-friendly offerings.

In doing so, Kia wants EVs to generate 20 percent of its worldwide sales by 2025, and a quarter of them in 2029. Its first dedicated EV will be delivered next year.

Kia's U.S. sales were down 7.6 percent to 428,350 vehicles in the first …

Jim Farley made clear that he wouldn't stop driving race cars just because he's now the CEO of Ford Motor Co.

And Farley showed last week that he isn't just content racing for fun; he's out there to win.

Behind the wheel of his Ford Cosworth-powered 1978 Lola T298, Farley took first place in his class in the Enduro race at the Road Atlanta Grand Prix. Ford's top executive set the fastest lap time — 1:25.592 — and highest speed — 106.832 mph — during the 70-minute race, which required one pit stop.

Some of the 13 teams competing used more than one driver, but Farley competed solo. His winnings? A medal and a bottle of champagne.

"I don't know that a CEO from any car company has won a truly authentic auto race before," Mark Dill, vice president of public relations for the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association, told the Detroit Free Press.