Trade News

Mercedes-Benz will increase its stake in Aston Martin to up to 20 percent from 2.6 percent as part of an expanded technology partnership between the automakers.

Aston Martin will get access to advanced Mercedes technologies, including next-generation hybrid and electric powertrains, Mercedes said in a statement on Tuesday.

Mercedes will receive new shares in Aston Martin as part of the partnership. Mercedes said it will not increase its holding in Aston Martin beyond 20 percent.

"We already have a successful technology partnership in place with Aston Martin that has benefited both companies. With this new expanded partnership we will be able to provide Aston Martin with access to new cutting-edge technologies and components," Mercedes' product strategy chief, Wolf-Dieter Kurz, said in the statement.

By expanding a tie-up with Mercedes that started in 2013, Aston Martin will spare its already stretched balance sheet from spending on a costly shift …

Let's face it: Toyota's product cycles can be loooooonnnnnnggggg — among the lengthiest in the industry — and as woven into the automaker's culture as is the Toyota Production System and the notion of Genchi Genbutsu (go see for yourself).

As a company, Toyota prefers the strategy of continuous improvement in its products, making small changes as necessary as a vehicle ages between generations but saving big changes for the next redesign.

If nothing else, it's a profit-rich strategy that maximizes the return on almost every investment, so long as customers keep buying. But it has a side effect: When a long-in-the-tooth Toyota does finally get that overdue redesign, the results can be, well ... jarring.

Case in point: The 2021 Toyota Sienna minivan, which is so much better in almost every respect from the 2020 Sienna that dealers would be wise to clear out their entire remaining inventory before parking the new ones where customers …

Volkswagen of America has hired former American Honda executive Ray Mikiciuk as its new senior vice president of sales.

In the role, Mikiciuk will lead the German brand's sales delivery, operations and planning in the U.S. and will report to Duncan Movassaghi, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Volkswagen of America.

Mikiciuk spent 30 years with American Honda before departing last year as vice president of sales operations. He has since worked as director of manufacturer and industry relations for Victory Automotive Group, where he managed factory relations for the group's 43 dealerships.

Mikiciuk is a graduate of Michigan State University.

WASHINGTON/SEOUL --The U.S. International Trade Commission on Monday delayed a decision in a trade secrets case involving South Korean battery makers LG Chem and SK Innovation to Dec. 10.

LG Chem, an EV battery supplier for Tesla Inc. and General Motors, filed its trade complaints against SK Innovation in April 2019 in the United States over alleged trade secret theft, seeking to block SK from producing battery cells in the United States and importing the components necessary to make the cells.

An adverse ruling by the ITC could lead to the import ban of SK Innovation's batteries and necessary components, potentially causing setbacks for Volkswagen Group and Ford Motor Co. as they move to build new electric vehicles. The automakers have said the dispute between the South Korean battery makers could disrupt supplies of the key EV parts and cost U.S. jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is clear that this delay has resulted in a longer litigation process…

The Nissan brand scored at the top among non-luxury brands in the 2020 Automotive Reputation Report.

Subaru, Toyota, Ford and Mini rounded out the top five for 2020, the second year for the report.

Reputation.com ranks 18,000 automotive brands and dealerships in the U.S. on a scale of 0 to 1,000 based on visibility, sentiment and engagement.

The scores are measured using online data reviews, listings, search results, social media and customer engagement on Google, Facebook, Cars.com and Edmunds.

The Nissan brand finished with a reputation score of 681 compared with 672 in 2019.

Mazda took the last-place spot, with 25 fewer points than last year at 548, replacing Mitsubishi on the bottom of the non-luxury list.

Lexus was the highest-ranking luxury brand in the U.S. with a 673 score, up one point from 2019.

Tesla ranked in the bottom three with the lowest rate for responding to negative reviews and the lowest engagement scores.…

Tesla Inc. expects capital spending on new plants and equipment to reach the high end of a range from $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion in 2020, according to a regulatory filing.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based maker of electric vehicles also projects that spending could almost double in each of the next two years, rising to a range of $4.5 billion to $6 billion, it said in the quarterly filing disclosed Monday.

Tesla currently has an auto assembly plant in Fremont, Calif., and a newer factory in Shanghai, China. The company has begun construction on new vehicle-assembly facilities in Berlin and Austin, Texas, with plans to begin delivering vehicles from both locations next year.

Tesla shares have risen more than 400 percent this year. The company's shares closed Monday's trading down 35 cents to $420.28.

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.

Alan Haig, president of Haig Partners, provides a glimpse into the firm's upcoming report on industry trends and how they are impacting dealership values and the buy-sell world. From improving economic conditions to soaring dealer profits, Haig remains bullish on the industry's ''amazing'' turnaround.

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Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk collected the fourth installment of his moonshot award this month, bringing his aggregate haul to $11.8 billion.

The company recently surpassed the performance thresholds for market value and adjusted earnings before adjusted interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to a regulatory filing on Monday, unlocking yet another 8.44 million options for the billionaire CEO.

Following a surge in Tesla’s stock, Musk in May collected the first installment of the massive options award he was granted in 2018. He received the second and third installments in July and September, respectively.

Musk’s complete compensation package -- the largest corporate pay deal ever struck between a CEO and a board of directors -- includes about 101 million options, split into 12 installments, that could yield Musk more than $50 billion if all goals are met, according to the electric carmaker’s estimates. He’s allowed to exercise the options as …

BEIJING -- Polestar will get electric vehicles from a new plant that parent Zhejiang Geely Holding plans to build in China, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday.

Geely wants to open a factory with annual capacity of 30,000 premium EVs in the western city of Chongqing, run by a wholly owned, newly registered company, according to documents on its website.

Polestar builds its current models in China in two plants for the local market and for export to Europe and the United States. The low-volume Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid coupe is made in Chengdu and Polestar 2 full-electric sedan is built in Luqiao.

The lineup will be expanded to add an SUV, the Polestar 3. Then will come the production version of the Precept full-electric grand tourer, which Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said will be in development for another three years.

The Precept will be built at a new plant in China, Polestar said last month without giving additi…

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group are set to win European Union approval for their $38 billion merger to create the world's No. 4 automaker, people close to the matter said.

Following feedback from rivals and customers, the automakers only had to tweak the wording of their concessions to EU antitrust regulators, with no changes in the substance, the people said. The companies did not have to use the COVID-19 pandemic to argue for the merger, they added.

To allay concerns that a combined PSA and FCA would have a dominant market share in commercial van sales in Europe, PSA has offered to increase production capacity for Toyota at their Sevelnord van joint venture in France. The plant builds Peugeot Expert and Citroen Jumpy vans, as well as the Toyota ProAce.

PSA and FCA will also allow their dealers in certain cities to repair rival brands.

The European Commission's approval would formalize the creation of Stellantis, a carmaking group that co…