Trade News

Tesla Inc. shares tumbled as much as 8 percent in postmarket trading Friday as investors who contributed to its jaw-dropping rally this year in anticipation it may join the S&P 500 Index will have to wait for another day.

Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker was widely expected to be added to the prestigious benchmark after it reported a fourth consecutive quarterly profit in July, clearing the last major hurdle for consideration by S&P Dow Jones Indices, which oversees the gauge. Some, including Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy, said the move might be announced Friday in order for the stock to begin trading as an S&P component this month, although he added that there was no guarantee a decision was imminent.

Instead, online retailer Etsy Inc., semiconductor equipment manufacturer Teradyne Inc. and medical technology firm Catalent Inc. were added, replacing H&R Block Inc., Coty Inc. and Kohl’s Corp.

S&P Dow Jones Indices, which oversees t…

The U.S. and Europe's ambition to boost production of rare raw materials used in electric vehicles and reduce dependence on China will face obstacles, including higher costs and environmental concerns.

The European Union stepped up a push to become less reliant on imported raw materials, with the European Commission vowing to create a raw-materials alliance by the end of the year due to their importance in growing industries.

Two U.S. Congressmen this month introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at reducing dependence on China for rare earths, similar to what Senator Ted Cruz introduced in May.

Concern about the outsized influence of China gained more prominence as trade tensions increased between the U.S and China. Cost, access to the raw materials and environmental concerns may be the biggest stumbling blocks for creating an independent supply chain, according to analysts.

"It's very difficult to sustain, it's expensive to sustain," said Jennifer B…

Beasts sometimes lurk at Jeep Only.

When people stop by the Las Vegas dealership dedicated to the free-spirited brand, they might catch a glimpse of beefed-up Gladiators and Wranglers loaded with Demon and Hellcat power waiting for someone to give them a home.

The monstrous contraptions bearing six-figure price tags are the handiwork of Dakota Customs, which specializes in tossing supercharged V-8 engines into Jeeps and Rams. The business also sells conversion kits for the do-it-yourself crowd, including off-road shops and Jeep dealerships.

It's a nice arrangement for Jeep Only. The store sends the Jeeps to Dakota, which does the conversions and ships back the vehicles. The dealership has sold a half dozen of the modified Jeeps in the past few months, co-owner John Grant said.

The store has a 2020 Gladiator Rubicon model with a Demon engine listed on its website for $250,000. There are a couple of Hellcat Wranglers going for as much as $169,950.<…

Editor's note: This story is part of the annual Automotive News "Future Product Pipeline" series.

Mazda's addition of the CX-30 crossover this year has paid off big for U.S. sales, allowing the Japanese automaker to weather the coronavirus crisis better than its bigger rivals.

As it awaits another new crossover next year — from its Alabama joint- venture with Toyota — Mazda is adding new powertrain options to keep its lineup lively.

They include both a down-market motor that lowers the price of the base Mazda3 sedan, and an upmarket turbocharged engine for the Mazda3 sedan and hatch that advances the brand's premium intentions. The top trim hatchback with turbo and all-wheel drive starts at $34,696 with shipping.

The turbo motor will show up in the CX-30 as well, making for a potent subcompact CUV. The smaller nonturbo motor could also be a future option for the base model.

What isn't offered are hybrid, plug-in hybrid or EV options. Mazd…

Tensions over whether drivers for Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. should be considered contractors or employees have come to a head.

For years, the ride-hailing companies have classified their workers as independent contractors rather than employees — at the same time avoiding having to provide full employee benefits.

Both companies have long said that changing the way drivers are classified would have a severe impact on already- thin profit margins. Now they face that possibility in the nation's most populous state.

In California, both companies — along with food delivery service DoorDash — are campaigning for a ballot measure set for a vote in November that would exempt app-based transportation and delivery companies from requirements of a new state labor law.

The law requires companies to reclassify their gig economy workers as employees unless three criteria are met: One, that the worker is free from the hiri…

BOSTON -- A federal judge on Friday ruled that two Massachusetts men can be legally extradited to Japan to face charges they helped former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee the country in a box and on a private jet.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell in Boston rejected the arguments against extradition by U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, and certified the case for the U.S. secretary of state to evaluate.

The Taylors' lawyers had argued they could not be extradited because Japanese penal code does not make it a crime to help someone "bail jump," and that they could only be charged if Japanese authorities were already pursuing Ghosn pre-escape.

But Cabell rejected that argument, saying their conduct "literally brings them squarely within the purview" of the law, which makes it a crime to harbor or enabling the escape of someone like Ghosn who has committed a crime.

Lawyers for the Taylors did not …

General Motors is recalling more than 7,000 2020 Chevrolet Corvettes because the vehicle can be driven with the front trunk lid unlatched, creating the possibility of the hood flipping open.

The recall prompted General Motors to place a stop-delivery order on the 2020 Corvette, according to NHTSA.

If drivers ignore vehicle warnings that the hood is not latched, wind can open the unlatched hood. The opened hood could obstruct a driver's forward view, increasing the risk of a crash, according to NHTSA.

The Corvette's hood latch warnings, prior to the recall, were both visual and audible: A hood-ajar icon in the instrumental panel, an initial audible chime activated once, a more persistent chime when the vehicle was moving above 3 mph, and a driver information center display with a message that the vehicle speed is limited to 82 mph.

GM spokesman Dan Flores said dealers will make the repair before selling any 2020 Corvett…

Before Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk returned to the U.S. after a three-day visit to Germany, he made a final stopover to meet with one of his biggest competitors -- Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess.

The two auto executives met for about two hours on Thursday evening at a small airport in Brunswick, where Musk test-drove VW's ID3 electric compact car, according to people familiar with the matter. Musk also inspected the ID4 electric SUV that VW will launch later this year, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the meeting wasn't public.

A VW Group spokesman confirmed that Diess met with Musk, but declined to comment on details.

Musk had toured Europe's largest economy since Tuesday, visiting pharmaceutical company Curevac, before moving on to Berlin for meetings with politicians and a visit of the factory Tesla is building outside the German capital in Gruenheide.

The site would be Tesla's first assembly plant in Europe and could produce as…

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.

Deloitte's Global Transportation leader Simon Dixon discusses the firm's 2020 Global City Mobility Index and explains which cities around the world are making advances and ushering in smart mobility.

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PARIS -- PSA Group and the French energy company Total have signed an agreement to create a joint venture that will build battery cells at locations in France and Germany. 

The two companies have been working on the project since last year and announced the intent to form a joint venture in January.

PSA said Thursday that Yann Vincent, formerly head of industrial operations and supply chain, would be the CEO of the battery alliance, which will be called Automotive Cells Company, or ACC. 

Ghislain Lescuyer, the chairman of Total’s battery subsidiary Saft, will hold the same post at ACC.  

PSA and Total also released a number of details about the planned factories, which will be operational in 2023 and supply PSA Group vehicles from Peugeot, Citroen, DS Automobiles and Opel/Vauxhall -- and potentially cars from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which is working toward a merger with PSA.

Batteries produced in the factories could eventual…

TIANJIN, China -- China's auto market, the world's biggest, is expected to grow only slightly in the next five years, the country's top auto industry body said on Friday.

"The next five years will be the key period of industry's transformation and upgrade," Li Shaohua, senior executive at the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, told an industry conference hosted by China Automotive Technology and Research Center in Tianjin.

CAAM predicts China's auto sales will reach around 27.75 million vehicles in 2025, up from 25.77 million units in 2019, Li's presentation showed.

Though sales have picked up in recent months, CAAM predicts they will fall around 10 percent for all of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the market hard early in the year.