Trade News

MILAN -- The European Investment Bank has increased to almost 800 million euros ($949 million) its credit line being extended to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to support production of electric and hybrid vehicles, the bank and FCA said in a joint statement.

Investments to manufacture battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid EVs will be mainly directed at FCA plants located in southern Italy, supporting employment and compliance with the strictest environmental criteria.

To improve capacity utilization at FCA's Italian plants, the group has announced a 5 billion euro investment plan for the country through 2021 which envisages the launch of new electric and hybrid models.

EIB and FCA previously agreed to 300 million euros in financing before the summer to fund investments for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle production lines at plants in Melfi, in the southern Basilicata region, and battery electric vehicles at Fiat's historic Turin plant of Mirafiori over…

The Geneva auto show may return in March 2021 as a three-day, media-only event.

Automakers are being offered an all-inclusive package that covers the cost of their stands and accommodations for guests, according to documents seen by Automotive News Europe.

No automaker has confirmed participation so far and local health authorities would need to give their approval.

The annual event's 2021 edition was canceled in June by the show's official organizers, the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) Foundation. They cited a lack of interest from automakers and the threat of having to cancel the event for the second year in a row because of the coronavirus crisis.

This new, much smaller event would be staged by the management of Palexpo, the venue on the outskirts of the Swiss capital where the show is held.

"This period of transition presents an opportunity for us to reinvent our profession, evolve our events and create new platforms for bringing pe…

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Ford Motor Co. finished first with the Ford Ranger in a study that ranks a vehicle's American makeup.

The Ranger knocked out last year's victors, the Chevrolet Corvette and Volt, in the 2020 Kogod Made in America Auto Index, which measures U.S. and Canadian content in vehicles.

But General Motors still finished first this year in total domestic content among manufacturers.

"Introduced last year after an eight-year hiatus, this year's Ranger now boasts a US-sourced engine, as well as a jump in US/Canadian parts content from 50 to 70 percent," the index said. "Its domestic content score is 85 compared to its score of 61 in 2019."

In second place, by 2 points, was the automatic transmission-equipped Chevrolet Camaro.

Vehicle score includes profit, labor, R&D, inventory and capital, engine, and body interior electrical.

The study uses data from the American Automobile Labeling Act, which combine…

Elon Musk is hailed as an innovator and disruptor who went from knowing next to nothing about building cars to running the world’s most valuable automaker in the space of 16 years.

But his record shows he is more of a fast learner who forged alliances with firms that had technology Tesla Inc. lacked, hired some of their most talented people, and then powered through the boundaries that limited more risk-averse partners.

Now, Musk and his team are preparing to outline new steps in Tesla’s drive to become a more self-sufficient company less reliant on suppliers at its “Battery Day” event on Sept. 22.

Musk has been dropping hints for months that significant advances in technology will be announced as Tesla strives to produce the low-cost, long-lasting batteries that could put its electric cars on a more equal footing with cheaper gasoline vehicles.

New battery cell designs, chemistries and manufacturing processes are just some of the developments tha…

China’s carmakers risk falling behind global rivals because the country trails in the production of advanced components like chips and software that are crucial for modern vehicles, a prominent industry adviser warned.

The government should form a comprehensive component strategy and build a platform that connects automakers with suppliers, helping local developers of advanced parts, Zhang Yongwei, vice president of China EV 100, a high-profile electric-vehicle industry think tank, said Thursday at a forum in Nanjing, China.

China is pushing for greater self-reliance amid tensions with trade partners including the U.S. As the auto industry moves toward electrified and self-driving vehicles in a once-in-a-century shift, suppliers of software and semiconductors are gaining in importance.

“The supply-chain problem has to be solved,” Zhang said at the industry gathering. An automobile powerhouse must have a strong supply chain of its own, he said.

Chi…

A federal judge narrowed Tesla Inc.'s lawsuit against a former employee it accused of hacking into its computers and leaking proprietary data to a reporter. The judge also dismissed a defamation counterclaim by the former employee.

In a decision on Thursday, Chief Judge Miranda Du of the federal court in Reno, Nev., said Tesla failed to show that Martin Tripp's disclosure of confidential information caused a $167 million decline in the electric car maker's market value.

But she refused to dismiss some other Tesla claims, including that Tripp's alleged unauthorized use of data might have violated a Nevada computer crimes law, and that his conduct justified punitive damages.

The defamation counterclaim arose from four statements made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk or Tesla's communications staff, but Du said none was false and Tripp could not show actual malice.

Tripp had worked as a process technician at Tesla's Gigafactory near Reno.

Tesla fired hi…

As Nissan Motor Co. struggles to recover from a boardroom scandal surrounding Carlos Ghosn and a sales slump that threatens its alliance with Renault, China is emerging as its best bet for a turnaround.

Thanks to an early mover advantage and strategic partnership with Dongfeng Motor Group in 2003, Nissan is one of the strongest Japanese passenger automakers in China. It ranked fourth -- excluding multipurpose vehicles -- in June with a 6.7 percent share after Volkswagen Group's two joint ventures and General Motors's tie-up with SAIC Motor.

Former Chairman Ghosn, who was arrested in 2018 on financial misconduct charges and fled in a dramatic escape to Lebanon at the end of last year, called China a "new frontier" when he unveiled Nissan's push into Asia's largest economy almost two decades ago.

Now, the world's biggest automobile market is looking more like a key line of defense as China's economy returns to growth and demand for cars recovers. Nissan h…

PARIS -- Major investors in Faurecia have agreed to a six-month hold on selling shares following the closing of the merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group, which would trigger the distribution of PSA’s 46 percent stake in the supplier.

PSA’s shares in Faurecia would go to all shareholders of the new combined company, to be called Stellantis, as part of a modification of the consolidation agreement announced this week.

The investors who agreed to the share lockup are Exor, FCA’s parent company; EFP/FFP, the Peugeot family holding company; Bpifrance, the French public investment bank that holds a 12 percent stake in PSA; and Dongfeng Motor, the Chinese automaker that also holds a stake in PSA. 

The original combination agreement between PSA and FCA called for Faurecia’s shares to go to PSA investors; FCA shareholders would get a payout of 5.5 billion euros ($6.5 billion).

But the dropoff in business attributed to the coronavirus …

Dale Willey, who was chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association in 2007, died Aug. 14. He was 79.

Willey started his automotive retail career at his father's Chevrolet-Oldsmobile dealership in Lee's Summit, Mo., in 1961. After his father's death in 1965, his family sold the store and Willey went to work as a salesperson for Dave Cross Motors. In 1970, he purchased his first store, a Pontiac-Cadillac dealership in Lawrence, Kan.

Today, Dale Willey Automotive represents Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Honda brands across three dealerships.

Willey once was president of the Kansas Automobile Dealers Association and represented the state on NADA's board.

During his 2007 NADA chairmanship, Willey leveraged Capitol Hill connections to rally support behind the Hill-Terry bill on fuel economy standards. Under the bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Lee Terry of Nebraska and Democrat Baron Hill of Indiana, cars an…

LOS ANGELES — Mitsubishi is using the midcycle update of the Eclipse Cross compact utility vehicle to clean up its styling, particularly at the rear, and is adding a new powertrain option with a plug-in hybrid that could make it to North America.

Launched in 2017, the Eclipse Cross is Mitsubishi's newest product and one of its most compelling, with the only turbocharged engine in its U.S. lineup.

The automaker's headquarters in Japan has confirmed the plug-in hybrid version of the small crossover "in select markets."

The restyled CUV will hit U.S. showrooms in the first quarter of next year as a 2022 model, Mitsubishi said Thursday.

A teaser photo shows a more cohesive, coupe-like design that appears to eliminate the horizontal taillight bar that bisected the rear hatch glass. The front design is also heavily revised.

"The new design draws inspiration from the Mitsubishi e-Evolution concept, emphasizing the strength and dynamics from our SU…

BMW Group completed expansion of a battery production facility at its joint venture with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings this week to double battery output for locally built electrified vehicles. 

The expanded facility is in BMW Brilliance's Tiexi plant in the northeast China city of Shenyang. 

While ramping up output, the expanded center will become the first production site worldwide to build BMW's fifth-generation high-voltage batteries, the automaker said. 

The batteries will be first supplied to the BMW iX3 full-electric crossover to be built at the joint venture’s Dadong plant, also in Shenyang. The factory is set to launch mass production of the iX3 at the end of this month. 

BMW to date has launched sales of four locally produced electrified vehicles in China: plug-in hybrid versions of the BMW X1 crossover and BMW 5 Series sedan, and two Zinoro-badged crossovers -- the full-electric 1E and…