Trade News

Daimler introduces the six-cylinder 220, 220 S and 220 SE tail fin models — billed as the world's first series-production vehicles with advanced safety features and bodies — to the press Aug. 11, 1959.

The midsize cars were replacements for the "ponton" sedans that Mercedes-Benz sold through the 1950s.

The most distinctive styling features of the new Italian-influenced models were the tail fins — a blatant concession to American influence on automotive design at the time. Today, the entire model generation is referred to as the "fintails."

Four-cylinder models featured single, round headlamps and subtle chrome trim, while the high-end six-cylinder cars were equipped with stacked, quad headlamps, a longer hood and more opulent trim.

A coupe version of the 220 SE arrived in February 1961, and a convertible followed that September.

The car's safety cage — a first for a mass-produced car — was developed by Hu…

DETROIT — General Motors CFO Dhivya Suryadevara, who played key roles in the automaker’s selloff of Opel, purchase of Cruise Automation and 2018 restructuring plan, is quitting to take the top finance job at Stripe, a San Francisco online payments processor that has become one of the world’s most valuable tech startups.

John Stapleton, GM's North American CFO, will replace Suryadevara on an acting basis while the automaker searches for a permanent successor.

"Dhivya has been a transformational leader in her tenure as CFO," GM CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday in a statement. "She has helped the company strengthen our balance sheet, improve our cost structure, focus on cash generation and drive the right investments for our future. We wish her every success."

Suryadevara, 41, became GM’s first female CFO in September 2018 after holding various roles in GM’s finance office and at GM Asset Management in New York since 2004. Suryadevara grew up in India and moved …

Republic Services Inc. said on Monday it would partner with startup EV maker Nikola Corp. to develop 2,500 electric waste and recycling collection trucks.

The zero-emission vehicles, which will have a range of 150 miles, are expected to be integrated into Republic Services' fleet beginning in 2023, the U.S. waste disposal company said in a statement.

"The deal is expandable to 5,000 vehicles over the life of the agreement."

Nikola shares surged 19 percent after the announcement to $43.54 in midday trading.

Lamborghini's newest model is meant only for a race track, and it looks the part.

The Essenza SCV12 is powered by a Lamborghini hallmark, a naturally aspirated V-12 engine, and features a carbon-fiber chassis, a sequential six-speed transmission and racing slick tires.

"Essenza SCV12 is the ultimate expression of the V-12 naturally aspirated engine, the symbol of our brand since 1963," Maurizio Reggiani, Lamborghini's chief technical officer, said in a statement.

Lamborghini says the Essenza SCV12's engine is the automaker's most powerful naturally aspirated V-12 ever.

The automaker will build 40 units. Pricing has not been disclosed.

Initially teased earlier this summer, the Essenza SCV12 looks just as wild without the camouflage.

Developed with Lamborghini Squadra Corse, the Italian exotic's racing division, the Essenza SCV12 features sharp angles inside and out. The large rear wing, side fins…

Former National Independent Automobile Dealers Association CEO Steve Jordan will join KAR Global as executive vice president of dealer sales, the company said Monday. The association announced Friday that Jordan resigned as CEO.

He remains at NIADA in an advisory capacity as part of a 30-day transition period and is to join KAR in September.

Jordan was CEO of NIADA, of Arlington, Texas, for seven years. At KAR, he is to lead the vehicle wholesaling company's dealer sales organization in the U.S. and Canada, with a focus on advancing the company's portfolio of buyer and seller products and services for auto retailers.

"Steve is a true industry leader who understands the full automotive ecosystem, from high-level market and economic trends to the day-to-day challenges of running a dealership," John Hammer, chief commercial officer for KAR, said in a statement Monday. Hammer said Jordan's "broad insight and experience" will help the com…

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.

BMW North America CEO Bernhard Kuhnt says the coronavirus crisis has not impacted the automaker's future product plans. He also talks about the shift toward online vehicle sales, the recovery in the European car market and how his views on work from home have changed.

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SHANGHAI -- Geely plans to use a platform developed with input from Volvo to build new models in Malaysia for its partly owned Proton brand, a strategy that shows how it aims to accelerate a push to become China's first global auto giant.

The yet-to-be-finalized plans for Proton are just one strand of a Geely project to revamp factories at home and abroad using joint platforms it has been perfecting with Volvo since 2013. Geely bought the Swedish brand 10 years ago for $1.8 billion -- a deal that raised its international profile and sent shock waves through the global auto industry.

Senior Geely officials and engineers told Reuters that a project dubbed Compact Modular Architecture will allow them to develop, design and build different types of compact cars with similar mechanical layout faster than before -- and at lower cost.

They said CMA, along with a platform for smaller cars known as B-segment Modular Architecture that Geely plans to roll out for …

NHTSA has opened a preliminary evaluation to assess the cause of interior fires in model-year 2014 Chrysler Town & Country minivans.

The agency's Office of Defects Investigation received three reports in which complainants allege "a fire started at the charge hub mounted in the trim panel located on the driver's side of the vehicle between the second- and third-row seating," according to a document filed by NHTSA on Thursday, Aug. 6.

One injury was reported. An estimated 150,000 vehicles could be affected.

"FCA is providing full cooperation to NHTSA," Eric Mayne, spokesman for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, said Monday in a statement to Automotive News. "Customers with concerns may contact their dealers."

The charge hub is an electrical device that can be used with certain smart devices. NHTSA said the charge hub was "the likely origin or starting point of the fire," but the cause has not yet been identified.

The federal office will evaluat…

Chinese electric-car startup Xpeng Motors has filed for a U.S. initial public offering, right behind rival Li Auto Inc., which raised $1.1 billion last month.

Filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday as XPeng Inc., the company listed the size of the offering as $100 million, a placeholder that will likely change.

EV makers have been enjoying a surge in investor interest after strong share price gains this year in Tesla Inc. and Nio Inc. Li Auto, which increased the size of its IPO, has since climbed 61 percent, more than tripling its valuation prior to the listing.

Guangzhou-based XPeng recently closed its latest funding round for a total of $900 million, according to its filing. The Qatar Investment Authority put in $100 million while Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala invested another $100 million, the company said in the prospectus. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. also contributed $215 million, boosting its investment in Xpeng.

China is t…

From mid-March through May, the dealership buy-sell market came essentially to a standstill. Over the past few weeks, we have seen an ever-increasing pace of transactions, whether these were picking up where things left off in March or were simply buyers exploring new deals. While most of us are trying to restore as much pre-COVID-19 normalcy to our lives as possible, I would exercise caution as it relates to valuations of dealerships.

There are plenty of influencing factors that are working to compel us to believe that the economic outlook of dealerships today is the same as it was in February, before the pandemic. We do not have to look further than the stock markets to see this school of thought play out. This also includes dealership brokers who are working hard to hold the line on the optimistic recovery of the economy and the perceived scarcity of available dealerships while justifying high valuations.

Individuals are pointing to stronger-than-expected …