Trade News

NEW YORK/DETROIT -- Driverless car technology company Luminar Technologies Inc., backed by investors including billionaire Peter Thiel, has agreed to go public through a $3.4 billion merger with blank-check company Gores Metropoulos Inc., people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

A deal for Luminar, one of the industry leaders in lidar technology that tracks a vehicle’s external environment, could be announced as soon as Monday, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private.

Luminar is the latest private entity to merge with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, as these investment vehicles have gone mainstream this year, offering a faster route for companies seeking to go public without the scrutiny or risks of an initial public offering.

Luminar is led by 25-year-old CEO Austin Russell, who founded the company in 2012 in Palo Alto, Calif. The startup’s technology, which uses lasers to create real-time imagery of …

Hyundai's shift to an expanding crossover lineup continues next year with the reveal of a midsize battery-electric vehicle under the newly created Ioniq brand. The Ioniq 5 crossover will be based on the retro 45 EV concept from the 2019 Frankfurt auto show.

Also in 2021, a new utility vehicle will mark the Korean brand's entrance into the "lifestyle pickup" market. The Santa Cruz, soon to be presented in production trim, will go on sale in the second half of next year as a 2022 model. The four-door pickup is based on the next generation of the compact Tucson crossover, which also will go on sale as a 2022 model.

Hyundai also has some intriguing new and redesigned sedans to show off, starting with the next-generation 2021 Elantra on sale in the fall. That will be followed in 2022 by the new Ioniq 6 EV sedan based on the Prophecy concept from this year.

For existing models, Hyundai is adding new powertrain options. There will be new hybrid models for great…

A stray dog that a Hyundai dealership in Brazil adopted as its showroom mascot has become so popular that the automaker plans to use him in a national advertising campaign.

Staff at Prime Hyundai originally intended to just give the dog some food and a warm place to sleep on a rainy night, according to reports in various Brazilian media. But as the dog continued to stick around, they named him Tucson Prime, appointed him a "pawfessional consultant" and even made him a staff ID badge. (They also took him to a veterinarian for treatment and vaccinations.)

Manager Emerson Mariano told Top Motors Brazil that the dog's "very caring and docile nature" has helped customers and employees feel at home. Some buyers return to the showroom to see him, give him gifts and take pictures with him.

The dealership created an Instagram account for Tucson that has gained more than 150,000 followers. Hyundai Brazil has promoted the dog on its own soci…

SHANGHAI — When Huang Ximing, a former senior engineer at Ford Motor Co., established Bordrin Motor Corp. in Shanghai in 2016 to build electric vehicles, he was confident that the strength of his technology would ensure his new company could easily beat out other EV startups in China.

But Huang has been proved woefully wrong.

According to documents now coming into public view, Huang far underestimated the expense of launching an EV startup.

In June, the onetime Detroit resident who had also worked at General Motors, admitted in an open letter in China that Bordrin had run into a severe cash crunch.

Last month, an internal document leaked to the Internet by employees at Bordrin's operations in Shanghai revealed that the business was awaiting liquidation.

Numerous EV startups have sprouted across China in recent years.

In 2017, Huang confidently assured Automotive News China that if "90 percent" of China's EV startups vanished amid th…

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"Thank you Brandenburg & Grünheide," Elon Musk tweeted last week, in German, calling out the state and small town in Germany where Tesla is quickly moving to clear a site and construct its new European factory outside Berlin.

It is a telling tweet for this moment in the auto industry.

Germans are not used to corporations fast-tracking billion-dollar projects in their much-beloved countryside. Permits get lengthy consideration. Engineers take their time studying water table impact. And assuredly, all that is being done in Germany.

But at a moment when the global industry really needs all of its players a…

Genesis began the year ready for a brand relaunch with new and freshened product.

After its first wave of sedans sold in limited quantities while the new franchise network was being built, the Korean luxury marque began 2020 with high hopes.

A heavily freshened G90 flagship sedan went on sale in January, a new-generation G80 midsize sedan was waiting in the wings, and its debut crossover — the GV80 — was just months away. The compact G70 sedan also was a rising sales star.

Of course, the coronavirus threw the timeline into disarray, mostly because Genesis needed emissions certification for the G80 and the GV80 from EPA offices that were closed. Its summer of brand rebirth is now scheduled for the fall.

Genesis has 350 dealers nationwide at the ready, along with thousands of reservations for the redesigned sport sedan and midsize crossover, which share a rear-wheel-drive platform. Word from Genesis is that the two vehicle…

Volkswagen Group's luxury sports vehicle unit Porsche has launched an internal investigation into the suspected manipulation of gasoline engines, German weekly Bild am Sonntag reported.

Porsche has informed Germany's automotive watchdog KBA, the Stuttgart prosecutor's office, as well as U.S. authorities of suspected illegal changes to hardware and software that could affect exhaust systems and engine components, the paper said.

"Porsche is regularly and continuously reviewing technical and regulatory aspects of its vehicles," a Porsche spokesman said. "As part of such internal examinations Porsche has identified issues and has, just like in the past, proactively informed authorities."

The spokesman said that the issues relate to vehicles developed several years ago, adding that there were no indications that current production was affected. The carmaker is working closely with authorities, he said.

BamS, not citing where it obtained the informatio…

Manuela Papadopol, CEO of Designated Driver, discusses why the industry adopted teleoperations and how the startup is augmenting AVs and human-driven vehicles alike.

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LOS ANGELES — Hyundai Motor Group has been teasing plans to spend big on electric vehicles, with a goal of 1 million EV sales a year in 2025. Now the metal behind that plan is coming into focus.

The Hyundai brand wants to be the No. 3 maker of eco-friendly vehicles globally, while Kia is planning 11 EV models and the Korean automaker's burgeoning Genesis luxury line has an electric arriving next year.

After talking generally about its game plan for several months, the group is now talking about the next-generation of electric vehicles it will deliver to meet those lofty goals, including the launch of an EV subbrand Hyundai calls Ioniq.

Hyundai plans to roll out the first EV on its new global modular platform, called E-GMP. That platform will yield the Ioniq 5 midsize crossover for the U.S. late next year, a sedan called the Ioniq 6 in 2022 and the Ioniq 7 large SUV two years later.

The plan is an aggressive step forw…

Cars need more than a clear view of the road ahead for new safety technology to fulfill its lifesaving potential. They need a better idea of what's happening along the periphery of their paths.

As transportation officials struggle to address a dramatic and chronic increase in pedestrian deaths on U.S. roadways, automakers and suppliers are introducing technology that improves the effectiveness of systems such as automated emergency braking.

They are enhancing the performance and placement of cameras and radar sensors that are better designed to spot pedestrians and bicyclists who emerge from the sides of a vehicle path. Those road users can be tricky to spot for motorists and driver-assist systems alike.

"It's very sad because there's technology that exists that can address these things," said Kay Stepper, vice president of driver assistance and automated driving at Bosch.

Even as new technology makes vehicles safer f…

Mini plans to sunset its two-door convertible after production of the current-generation model ends in February 2024, according to supply chain sources, ending a nearly two-decade run in the U.S.

A Mini spokesman declined to comment on future plans for the model.

"The convertible remains an appealing model in Mini's lineup," he said.

The decision to jettison the convertible is not surprising given the nameplate's relatively low volume. Last year, Mini sold 4,031 convertibles in the U.S., down nearly 25 percent from 2018. It was the lowest-selling Mini model after the Clubman.

While demand for the Mini hatchback has soared above its novelty status, the convertible remains just a niche player, requiring dedicated tooling and complexity to build, said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions.

"Buyers are moving to small crossovers while the few convertible buyers who remain can get the ... Mazda MX-5…