Trade News

SEOUL -- Hyundai Motor Co. is being sued over a string of battery fires in its electric vehicles just as General Motors recalls nearly 70,000 EVs with batteries from the same maker, LG Chem Ltd.

The owner of a Hyundai Kona EV, a South Korean civil servant who asked to be identified only by his surname Kim, is among some 200 people who lodged a lawsuit seeking class-action status against Hyundai last week, seeking compensation for what they say is the reduced value of their EVs and other losses, Kim and two lawyers representing them told Reuters.

The court filing is not a public record.

Kim had initiated a petition drive to sue the Seoul-based automaker after the same brand of EV caught fire in his neighborhood, forcing about 20 residents to evacuate their homes.

One of the lawyers said they were initially seeking 8 million won ($7,200) per plaintiff but they could increase demand as the trial proceeds.

The plaintiffs want Hyundai to replace…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has implemented new restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19 cases in his state.

With coronavirus cases hitting new highs around the country, dealerships in other states could face similar restrictions. During the first wave of COVID-19 that beset the U.S. this spring, dealerships in many states had to reduce operations or close for at least a few weeks.

But in some cases, auto retailers were protected as an essential service -- particularly for parts and service functions.

In California, Newsom on Monday moved 28 counties back into the most restrictive tier, with 41 counties now in the purple tier.

The California New Car Dealers Association said in a statement to its members that a majority of California dealerships operate in purple tier counties.

Newsom said in the announcement: "The spread of COVID-19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes. Th…

Joe Ashton, who negotiated the UAW's 2011 contract with General Motors and later became a GM board member, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison for money laundering and wire fraud.

"Leaders of the union have to be honorable at all times," U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman said.

Ashton had three witnesses speak on his behalf, and Friedman received numerous letters of support for Ashton.

But "people have to know that they have to respect the law no matter who they are," Friedman said. "Sometimes good people do bad things."

Ashton pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire fraud last year.

"I cannot tell you how ashamed and remorseful I am for what I've done," Ashton said at his sentencing hearing. "No apology will change the damage that I have done."

Including Ashton, prosecutors have charged 15 former UAW officials and auto executives in connection with the corruption scandal that centers on the misuse of union funds…

NEW YORK --  Tesla Inc. is set to join the S&P 500 in December, a major win for CEO Elon Musk and his shareholders, triggering a massive $51 billion trade as index funds are forced to buy the EV producer's shares.

Shares of Tesla surged 12 percent on Monday in extended trade after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that the company would join the S&P 500 index prior to the opening of trading on Dec. 21.

"(Tesla) will be one of the largest weight additions to the S&P 500 in the last decade, and consequently will generate one of the largest funding trades in S&P 500 history," S&P Dow Jones Indices said.

With a market capitalization over $380 billion, Tesla is one of the most valuable companies on Wall Street.

Tesla's inclusion in the widely followed stock market index means investment funds indexed to the S&P 500 will have to sell about $51 billion worth of shares of companies already in the S&P 500 and use that mon…

WASHINGTON -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Monday it was upgrading a probe into nearly 159,000 Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles over touchscreen failures to an engineering analysis.

The auto safety regulator had opened a preliminary evaluation in June. The NHTSA said the failure can result in the loss of rear-camera image display when in reverse and reduced rear visibility when backing up, and can impact defogging ability, and audible chimes relating to Autopilot and turn signals.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

NHTSA can order a recall of a vehicle following an engineering analysis.

The probe now covers 2012-2018 model year Tesla Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles. The preliminary investigation covered 63,000 Tesla Model S cars.

NHTSA said the failure does not affect vehicle-control systems.

The memory control unit uses an Nvidia Corp. Tegra 3 processor, NHTSA said.

The flas…

STOCKHOLM -- The CEO of Swedish bearings manufacturer SKF will step down in 2021 after six years in the role, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Alrik Danielson, 58, has since 2015 been at the helm of the world's biggest maker of industrial bearings, where he started a revamp of its vast factory network, raised spending on automation, pushed performance-based revenue models and cut costs.

"The board, together with Alrik Danielson, has made the assessment that now is the right time to identify a new president and CEO who can continue to execute SKF's strategy," Chairman Hans Straberg said in a statement.

"He has implemented major and important changes that have positioned SKF very well for the future," Straberg added.

SKF, which competes with Germany's Schaeffler, has beaten earnings forecasts throughout this year, and it raised its long-term margin target earlier this month.

The company said it had started a recruitment process, add…

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Joe Biden is meeting Monday with the CEOs of General Motors and Microsoft, as well as key labor leaders, as he begins to outline the economic agenda for his administration.

Mary Barra of GM and Satya Nadella of Microsoft are among the business leaders joining him for a video meeting on how business and labor can work together, Biden’s transition office said. Labor officials participating in the conversation include Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO and Rory Gamble of the UAW, as well as a number of other labor leaders.

"We have a lot of problems facing us," Biden told participants at the beginning of a video conference from his home state of Delaware seen by reporters. "It's going to take all of us working together."

Biden started the meeting speaking about his love of Corvettes with Barra and Gamble, whose union represents some of the automaker's employees. Biden then switched to a more somber tone as he addressed the "pretty d…

Editor's note: All dollar figures have been converted to U.S. dollars at current exchange rates.

MONTREAL -- The Canadian province of Quebec said Monday it will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars as of 2035, joining California and others in announcing moves to shift to electric vehicles and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Canada's second-most populous province announced the ban as part of a $5.1 billion plan over five years to help Quebec meet a target of reducing its greenhouses gases by 37.5 percent by 2030, in comparison with 1990 levels, Premier Francois Legault told reporters in Montreal.

“We are aiming for a target of 1.5 million electric vehicles on Quebec roads in 2030,” the provincial government said in a statement on its website.

Quebec will also renew the rebates on the purchase or rental of an electric vehicle and charging stations for citizens. Currently, the government offers individuals, businesses, organizations a…

When Grené Baranco’s parents, Gregory and Juanita Baranco, moved to Atlanta in 1978 to open a Pontiac dealership, they became part of the first wave of African American auto dealers in the United States.

“It was a family business from the start,” says Grené, who remembers how exciting it was to be a 6-year-old at the dealership—and starring with her parents and sister in TV commercials.

Baranco worked at the dealership as a receptionist in high school and during her college years at Georgia State University. She thought about graduate school, but her parents offered her the opportunity to become assistant to the manager at their new Mercedes-Benz store—and she couldn’t say no.

“My path was always on the sales side,” Baranco says. That included a stint as internet sales manager.

After the Pontiac dealership closed following the Great Recession of 2008-09, the family focused on that second dealership, Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead, where today Baranco i…

The head of Peugeot maker PSA Group expects more consolidation in the auto industry as carmakers invest vast sums to make EVs, he said on Monday, while predicting some wouldn't make it through the coming decade.

"Only the most agile with a Darwinian spirit will survive," Carlos Tavares said at the Reuters Automotive Summit teleconference, adding PSA was no longer investing in internal combustion engines as Europe and China push for cleaner driving.

Tavares also said PSA was far ahead of its objectives in meeting European Union CO2 emission targets.

PSA is working towards a planned merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Tavares reiterated this was on track for the first quarter of 2021.

"So far, so good," he said, adding much of the hard work in bringing the two companies together had already been done.

PSA and FCA will operate under the name Stellantis after they merge, becoming the world's fourth-largest carmaker.

Tavares said on…