Trade News

Volvo has agreed to alter a global TV ad about seatbelt safety after complaints from the New York Times.

The ad, by Swedish agency Forsman and Bodenfors, uses a series of quotes from media to illustrate how people thought it was a "terrible idea" when seatbelts were first introduced in 1959. At one point in the spot, which features real-life survivors of crashes, a voiceover, seemingly from a news broadcast, says that the "New York Times reports it is a violation of human rights." 

In an email to Ad Age, a spokeswoman for the New York Times said it had asked Volvo to remove the reference, stating: "It appears Volvo is referring to statements by an advocate against the seatbelt laws who wrote a letter to the editor and was quoted in a news story (here and here, in 1986). We can find no other instance of those words in an editorial, news story or column." 

A spokeswoman for Volvo Cars in Sweden said: "We are aware …

Toyota Motor Corp., Hyundai and Mazda racked up October U.S. sales gains on demand for crossovers and other light trucks, in the latest sign the market continues to claw back amid the coronavirus pandemic.

At American Honda, volume fell 3.4 percent on weaker car and light-truck deliveries, with sales off 3.7 percent at the Honda division and 1.2 percent at Acura.

Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales slipped 6.1 percent, behind weaker car and pickup demand, with volume down 6.5 percent at the Ford division but up 2.8 percent at Lincoln, according to a source familiar with the results.

Overall, the automaker's car sales skidded 45 percent, while pickup demand dropped 6.9 percent and utility vehicles rose 9.4 percent. Among Ford's key nameplates, F series volume fell 4 percent to 71,593, Explorer sales rose 20 percent to 21,079 and Escape volume slipped 3.1 percent to 15,959. Ranger deliveries rose 6.4 percent to 8,779.

Toyota

Volume rose 8.8 percent t…

CDK Global Inc.'s fiscal first-quarter net profit dipped on largely flat revenue, though company executives said the quarter beat expectations amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Hoffman Estates, Ill., dealership management system giant reported Monday that net earnings attributable to CDK were $55.7 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, down 32 percent from $82 million in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue was nearly flat at $493.6 million, compared with $494.6 million a year ago, but up nearly 10 percent from $449.6 million in the fiscal fourth quarter that ended June 30.

The company recorded restructuring expenses of $8.7 million and a $12 million litigation provision in the quarter that were not reported in the year-earlier period. CDK said adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization were $195.2 million in the latest quarter, up 3.7 percent from the same quarter a year earlier.

CDK CEO Brian Krzan…

Dana Inc. is acquiring a majority of Modine Manufacturing Co.'s automotive business in a move that bolsters the supplier's electrification efforts.

Dana, which supplies axles, driveshafts, transmissions, thermal management and more, said Monday it will purchase a portion of the thermal management business of Modine's automotive segment — which represents about 70 percent of Modine's automotive revenue — in a deal that will strengthen Dana's power technologies business unit.

Modine Manufacturing, based in Racine, Wisc., supplies thermal management systems and components for automotive, HVAC, commercial vehicle, off-highway, power/industrial, data centers and refrigeration.

The agreement, which is expected to close in the first half of 2021, will add about $300 million in revenue and contribute $30 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization on a post-synergy basis, Dana said.

The…

Luc Donckerwolke, who overhauled styling at Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, is returning to South Korea's biggest automaker in the newly created position of chief creative officer.

Donckerwolke, 55, resigned as Hyundai Motor design chief in March to "focus on his health," Hyundai said in a statement. He will now lead design communications for Hyundai Motor Group's brands.

The Belgian designer will collaborate with design centers in the development and design communication for concept vehicles.

"I start this second chapter at Hyundai Motor Group to consolidate creativity," Donckerwolke said in the statement. "In collaboration with design teams, I will communicate diversity and richness of Group brands' design, which is not only technologically dynamic but also customer-centric."

Donckerwolke joined Hyundai Motor from Volkswagen Group in 2015 to lead design at the Hyundai and Genesis brands. He expanded that portfolio in 2018 to become chief design office…

Tenneco Inc. swung to a net loss of $499 million in the third quarter from a $70 million gain in the year-earlier period as it took a noncash valuation allowance charge of $523 million, the supplier said Monday.

Adjusted net income for the quarter was down 73 percent to $27 million. The maker of powertrain, ride performance and aftermarket parts reported revenue of $4.3 billion, a 1.5 percent drop from the year-earlier quarter.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization edged up by $1 million to $388 million.

Tenneco said its total debt improved by $1.1 billion to $5.8 billion compared with the second quarter's $6.85 billion in total debt.

Liquidity increased to $1.8 billion as of Sept. 30, consisting of total cash balances of $721 million and undrawn revolving credit facility availability of $1.1 billion, according to the company's statement.

Tenneco is focusing on reducing structural costs, lowering its capita…

WASHINGTON -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles disclosed it could face costs of up to 722 million euros ($840 million) to resolve a Justice Department investigation into excess diesel emissions and as a result of higher fuel economy penalties.

The automaker said the impact of a U.S. appeals court ruling in August overturning the Trump administration's July 2019 rule that suspended a NHTSA regulation more than doubling penalties for automakers failing to meet fuel efficiency requirements could be significant.

FCA in a securities filing said the amounts "accrued could be up to 500 million euros ($581 million) depending on, among other things, our ability to implement future product actions or other actions to modify the utilization of credits."

The automaker declined to comment Monday.

In October 2019, FCA said it incurred a $79 million U.S. civil penalty for failing to meet 2017 fuel economy requirements after paying $77.3 million for 2016 requirements. Read more

Ford Motor Co. said Monday it hired a new software and chief information officer who will be tasked with generating new revenue streams and modernizing the company.

Vijay Sankaran, former CIO at trading company TD Ameritrade, begins Nov. 16 and will report to CEO Jim Farley. Sankaran was with Ford for 12 years until 2013, with his final role as Ford IT's chief technology officer.

The company says Sankaran will "help create and deliver new reasons for customers to choose and stay with Ford."

Ford said Sankaran, 47, led a digital revolution at TD Ameritrade that included the creation of "client-facing mobile applications, infusing capabilities enabled by artificial intelligence to deliver client personalization and self-service, and scaling its trading platform fivefold to accommodate the stock-trading boom spawned by the coronavirus pandemic."

As vehicles become more technologically complex, software is becoming increasi…

Aeva Inc., a Silicon Valley firm developing a lidar sensor for self-driving cars to perceive their surroundings, said Monday it has agreed to go public through a merger with special-purpose acquisition company InterPrivate Acquisition Corp.

The deal makes Aeva the third lidar technology developer to agree to go public this year through a deal with a special-purpose acquisition company, following Velodyne Lidar Inc. and Luminar Technologies Inc.

The merger with InterPrivate, which values Aeva at more than $2.1 billion, will give it a cash injection of more than $300 million to develop sensors for phones, tablets and other consumer devices.

InterPrivate is a SPAC led by private equity investor Ahmed Fattouh. It raised $210 million in an initial public offering in February.

A SPAC is a shell company that uses proceeds from an IPO to acquire a private company, typically within two years. For the company, merging with a SPAC is an alternative to going …

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.

Volkswagen brand's North American COO Johan de Nysschen discusses the automaker's recent strides in vehicle quality and why it will be a battle for each ID4 EV that's built. The longtime luxury brand executive also compares and contrasts the cultures at VW and his former employer, General Motors.

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