Trade News

Ally Financial Inc., one of the largest U.S. auto lenders, is navigating the coronavirus pandemic in a much tighter ship than during the 2008 financial crisis.

A perfect storm of rising unemployment, uncertainty over consumer credit metrics and spiking infection rates in many areas of the country point to rougher waters ahead.

Jenn LaClair, CFO at Ally, spoke with Staff Reporter Jackie Charniga about the current state of the company's portfolio, how automotive loans and leases are performing during the pandemic and her No. 1 fraud concern. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: How many auto accounts at Ally are in forbearance status right now (July 17)?

A: It's 1.3 million accounts, which reflects approximately 30 percent of our retail auto accounts. Thirty percent of those were scheduled to expire this quarter. We have another 70 percent scheduled to expire next quarter. The next couple of quarters are going to be really telli…

A new generation of Mitsubishi's flagship Outlander crossover will debut in early 2021 on a platform shared with the redesigned Nissan Rogue.

In a flurry of fresh product news, Mitsubishi also said Wednesday it will freshen the Eclipse Cross small crossover and Mirage economy car early next year. And it will give the Outlander plug-in hybrid updated mechanicals this year.

The plans are going public as Mitsubishi North America struggles with falling sales as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and a lack of fresh product. Only last month, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. CEO Takao Kato indicated to shareholders in Japan that the automaker may be preparing to scale back growth efforts in bigger markets such as North America.

Mitsubishi's U.S. sales fell 58 percent to 12,197 in the second quarter, the automaker reported, and deliveries declined 33 percent to 47,760 vehicles in the first half.

But the latest product updates suggest Mitsubishi intends to keep …

FRANKFURT -- German prosecutors on Wednesday said they were searching offices as part of an international fraud investigation into potentially illegal emissions cheating defeat devices found in engines used in Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep and Iveco vehicles.

A Fiat Chrysler spokesman said a number of the group's offices in Europe were visited by investigators in the context of a request for assistance by magistrates in Germany, adding it was cooperating fully with authorities.

The searches in Germany, Italy and Switzerland focus on individuals at an international automotive company and an international commercial vehicle manufacturer, the Frankfurt prosecutor's office said in a statement, without naming the companies.

In a similar emailed statement, CNH Industrial confirmed that a number of its offices in Europe have been visited by investigators after a request by German magistrates and that it was cooperating fully with authorities.

FCA and CNH Indust…

LONDON -- The U.K. government has granted a 500 million pound ($634 million) loan guarantee to Ford Motor Co. to support the automaker’s substantial exports of engines and transmissions from Britain.

The guarantee will help Ford to increase investment in electrification and protect jobs at its sites in Essex and Dagenham, the UK's Department for International Trade said in a statement on Tuesday.

The guarantee covers 80 percent of a 625 million pound ($793 million) loan from commercial banks.

"This financing will help to maintain Ford as a key U.K. exporter," said Graham Hoare, chairman of Ford in Britain, in a statement.

About 85 percent of the engines and 100 percent of the transmissions the company builds in the U.K. are shipped overseas. The value of Ford's U.K. exports, including machined engine components, is around 2.5 billion pounds annually, Hoare said.

Ford and its automotive peers in the U.K. face an uncertain future, with the pr…

BRUSSELS -- European Union antitrust regulators have suspended their investigation into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot maker PSA Group's proposed merger because they are waiting for the automakers to provide requested data.

The European Commission launched a probe into the merger plan in June amid concerns that the deal to create the world's fourth-biggest automaker may hurt competition in small vans in Europe.

The Commission said Wednesday that the probe has been suspended because the parties failed to provide, in a timely fashion, an important piece of information requested from them.

The suspension will delay the EU's decision on the merger. Its previous deadline for a decision was Nov. 13.

"Once the missing information is supplied by the parties, the clock is re-started and the deadline for the Commission's decision is then adjusted accordingly," the EU competition enforcer said.

Waymo and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles first partnered on building autonomous vehicles four years ago, and the result was the self-driving minivan, now a fairly common sight in parts of California and Arizona, where they are used as robotaxis.

Now the companies intend to spread the technology beyond the Chrysler Pacificas and throughout the FCA fleet. They're also thinking beyond cars and embarking on a project involving delivery vehicles.

Waymo and FCA said Wednesday they will deepen their relationship and build commercial vehicles for transporting cargo. They initially will integrate Waymo's self-driving system onto the Ram ProMaster van, which the companies say is a "highly configurable platform that will enable access to a broad range of global commercial customers."

The news comes amid a frenetic series of industry developments related to self-driving delivery vehicles. Complications in deploying passenger-carrying autonomous taxis, combined with a COV…

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk qualified on Tuesday for a payout worth an unprecedented $2.1 billion, his second jackpot since May from the electric car maker following its massive stock surge.

Tesla's closed Tuesday's trading down 4.5 percent, eroding a recent rally that has elevated the company's market capitalization to almost $300 billion, larger than any other carmaker.

Despite Tuesday's stock dip, and importantly for Musk's personal finances, Tesla’s six-month average market capitalization for the first time has reached $150 billion. That triggers the vesting of the second of 12 levels of options granted to the billionaire in his 2018 pay package to buy Tesla stock at a discount. Musk, who is also majority owner and CEO of the SpaceX rocket maker, receives no salary.

Even with Tuesday's decline in Tesla's stock, its six-month average market capitalization rose, thanks to the stock's strong rally in recent months.

In early May, Musk’s first level v…

When Tesla Inc. reports second-quarter results after the bell on Wednesday, investors will be keen to see whether the electric carmaker has delivered a profit during the global pandemic that has sunk most of its internal combustion rivals deep in red ink.

Analysts' estimates for Tesla's second quarter range from an adjusted loss as steep as $2.53 a share to a $1.41 per share profit. On average, they expect an adjusted 11 cents loss per share and a net loss of $240 million, according to Refinitiv data. More bullish investors have sent Tesla's shares soaring in recent weeks and made it the world's most valuable automaker.

Tesla's April-June results also have wider ramifications. A profit would mark the company's first cumulative four-quarter net income, a goal it must accomplish to be added to the S&P 500 index, where it would be among the most valuable companies.

Some analysts have said that failing to reach that goal could send Tesla shares plummetin…

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Hertz Global Holdings Inc. agreed to pay lenders who indirectly control the company’s fleet of rental cars $650 million as part of a deal to suspend a bankruptcy court fight over the vehicles, according to court documents.

Under the accord, Hertz will for the rest of the year halt its effort to cancel some of the nearly 500,000 leases on the cars the company rents out to consumers. A separate Hertz entity owns the vehicles, which the company leases back.

The company will ask U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath to approve the settlement at a court hearing scheduled for July 24. It filed its proposed resolution in Wilmington, Del., just before midnight on Monday.

Since filing for bankruptcy in May, Hertz has been fighting with lenders who funded the purchase of its vehicle fleet and are repaid through the lease deal. The two sides have been at a standoff over how best to shrink the Hertz fleet and still maintain regular payments to the l…

DETROIT — While Tesla Inc. helped popularize the notion that electric vehicles can be fun to drive, Ford Motor Co. is trying to take that idea a step further.

The automaker unwrapped a one-off racing prototype called the Mustang Mach-E 1400, featuring seven motors and 1,400 peak horsepower. The vehicle, not intended for production, comes on the heels of a Cobra Jet 1400 electric prototype released this year.

Ford plans to use the Mach-E 1400 as an example of what an electric vehicle can do on the track as it tries to build excitement for the launch of the Mach-E crossover this year. The company said it will introduce the Mach-E 1400 prototype at a NASCAR race "soon" and equipped the vehicle with passenger seats that hint at the ability to offer test rides.

The prototype comes with three motors attached to the front differential and four attached to the rear. Ford says the design lends itself to drifting or high-speed racing.

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.

Francois de Bodinat, chief product officer at ZeroLight, explains how the 3D visualization company is using a cloud-based platform to help dealers create an interactive digital experience for car shoppers.

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