Trade News

Editor’s note: This story is part of the annual Automotive News “Future Product Pipeline” series.

Audi's expansion of its battery-electric lineup will begin next year and will continue for at least the next four years as the German luxury brand adds battery-powered, all-wheel-drive sport sedans, crossovers and perhaps even supercars.

Over that period, however, Audi intends to add mild hybrids to many of its existing turbocharged models, boosting power and fuel efficiency. The brand also promises that future BEVs will have a more competitive range than its first offering, the E-tron, which debuted last year.

To do so, Audi is developing vehicles from Volkswagen and Porsche electric architectures for its future offerings.

A3/S3/RS 3: The redesigned 2021 A3 sedan's U.S. arrival was delayed by the COVID-19 outbreak and related production shutdowns. The sedan and its derivatives debuted this summer in Europe but won't be in North America until the se…

Jeep is in a transformative period.

While the spotlight is on the adventure brand's upcoming off-road joust with the Ford Bronco, another larger development is taking place: Jeep is setting itself up to gain ground everywhere else.

By the end of 2021, Jeep will have a varied powertrain portfolio that plays in the electrified and diesel spaces, while its new three-row options and redesigned Grand Cherokee bring fresh competition to the crossover world.

On top of that, a V-8-powered Wrangler appears close, which could add an intriguing option to the off-road war with the Bronco.

A slowed economy could hamper Jeep's progress, just like the rest of industry, but a lack of offerings won't be on its list of problems.

The brand has been checking off boxes on its fan wish list with models such as the Gladiator pickup, a diesel Wrangler and a stronger V-8 Wrangler — which still bears the "concept" tag but has bee…

A lot can happen in two-and-a-half years.

In early 2018, Georg Schaeffler became Germany’s richest person as shares of Continental AG, the vehicle supplier in which he and his mother -- Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler-Thumann -- own a major stake, surged in price. At the time, their combined fortune totaled $35 billion.

They are now worth about a quarter of that. That’s partly due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has slowed auto production and significantly curbed sales, as well as the industry’s broader shift toward electric cars.

The Schaefflers ended each of the last two years less well-off than they began, and 2020 may be the same. Both have lost about a quarter of their wealth so far this year, according the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a listing of the world’s 500 richest people.

While they are still very wealthy, the slump in the Schaefflers’ fortune is among the biggest on the Bloomberg index and highlights the slowdown in global vehicle produc…

The top executive of the National Independent Dealers Association in Arlington, Texas, has resigned.

Steve Jordan, who had been CEO since 2013, is leaving to "pursue another career opportunity in the automotive industry," the association said Friday.

Shaun Petersen, senior vice president of legal and government affairs, has been selected as interim executive vice president by the NIADA board of directors. Petersen will handle day-to-day operations, effective immediately.

Jordan will remain with NIADA in an "advisory capacity" during a 30-day transition, the association said.

"This news was a shock, but not a surprise. Someone of Steve's caliber will always be in demand," NIADA President Henry Mullinax said in a statement. "I know he will be successful in whatever he pursues and will be an asset to any endeavor to which he lends his talents. Steve has left our association in great shape and in a growth mode."

The announcement triggers a nati…

Electric carmaker Fisker Inc., which recently announced plans to go public through a merger with a so-called blank-check company, said on Friday it has a tentative deal for Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc. to build its Ocean electric SUV.

Fisker said in a statement that it expects to reach a definitive agreement "in the next few months" to have Magna Steyr start production of the Fisker Ocean at its Graz, Austria, plant as early as the fourth quarter of 2022.

A Magna spokesman confirmed the memorandum of understanding, but declined further comment.

Fisker added the companies were "also evaluating manufacturing options for the United States and China."

Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp., backed by alternative investment manager Apollo Global Management Inc., announced a deal last month to take Fisker public through a merger that valued the EV startup at $2.9 billion. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

LOS ANGELES — Hyundai Motor America has named Olabisi Boyle, a former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles engineering executive, as vice president of product planning and mobility strategy for the Korean automaker's U.S. operations.

Boyle's responsibilities include strategic direction of Hyundai's U.S. vehicle lineup, along with market research, business analytics and pricing. She starts Monday and will report to Hyundai Motor North America CEO Jose Muñoz, the company said in a news release.

"Olabisi brings to Hyundai the perfect combination of automotive engineering and product planning experience with an in-depth understanding of the technologies that are going to drive the future of the automotive industry," Muñoz said in a press release.

The product planning post was formerly held by longtime product vice president Michael O'Brien. He left the company in February after 10 years.

Boyle joins Hyundai from Visa, where she was vice…

SAN FRANCISCO -- Uber Technologies Inc. generated more revenue from delivering food than transporting people for the first time last quarter, but it failed to offset a steep and prolonged decline in ridership brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Sales fell 29 percent in the second quarter to $2.24 billion, ending a decade of unchecked growth. The loss in the quarter also widened, but Uber maintained Thursday that it will achieve its goal of turning an adjusted profit by the end of next year.

Delivery revenue, which was growing even before the pandemic, surged 103 percent during the quarter and is now central to Uber’s strategy. Along with a $2.65 billion deal to acquire Postmates Inc. and expand its food delivery operations, Uber has begun delivering other items including groceries, prescriptions and packages. Uber now includes UberEats, its food delivery service, as part of the Delivery category.

“Delivery is clearly one of the major beneficiaries of…

The growing Hudson Automotive Group is about to get even bigger.

The Charleston, S.C., dealership group, which has been acquiring stores at a brisk pace the past few years, plans to buy the four-store Beaman Automotive Group in Nashville.

Beaman announced the pending sale last week and said the deal is expected to close in October or November.

With 450 employees, Beaman Automotive generated $414 million in revenue last year. It has Toyota and Buick-GMC outlets in Nashville, a Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram-Fiat store in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and a Ford dealership in South Dickson, Tenn.

The sale will include all inventory and fixed assets, plus a parts warehouse and collision center. Other terms weren't disclosed.

Beaman Automotive CEO Lee Beaman, in remarks to employees shared with Automotive News, said he had been approached "dozens and dozens of times" over the years to sell his company, but nothing felt right until now.

"I can think of o…

Automakers and safety groups agree that automated emergency braking systems hold the potential to reduce traffic crashes and save lives. But sometimes these systems can activate when there's no imminent collision and instead place motorists in hazardous situations.

As automakers install more of these systems in their vehicles, concerns over these false-positive events have grown more prevalent.

Nissan Motor Co. is aware of more than 1,400 complaints and field reports alleging such activations, according to documents obtained by the Center for Auto Safety via public-information requests and multiple lawsuits.

The Center for Auto Safety is renewing its calls for a safety recall.

"False braking not only endangers the occupants of the Nissan vehicle but puts all surrounding road users at risk," Jason Levine, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy organization, said Thursday. "It undermines consumer trust in the long-term safety benefits of such …

Magna International’s new executive vice-president of R&D is Sherif Marakby, once a key executive at Ford Motor Co.

Marakby, 54, officially joined Magna on July 6, about eight months after stepping back at Ford, where he was CEO of the automaker’s subsidiary Ford Autonomous Vehicles. Marakby took personal leave from Ford for an undisclosed reason in November 2019. At the time, it was unclear whether he would return.

Ford Autonomous Vehicles was created in 2018 to handle Ford's fledgling AV business. Marakby rejoined the Detroit automaker in 2017, after spending a year heading Uber's autonomous-vehicle program, where he led the integration of their autonomous software into production OEM vehicles.

Marakby also was on the board of directors for Argo AI, Ford’s self-driving technology partner.

He comes to Magna with extensive experience in electrification, having led the Ford team in developing a battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hyb…