Trade News

LONDON -- Bentley has spent big to upgrade its top-selling model, the Bentayga SUV, in a bid to hold off new competition such as the Aston Martin DBX.

The British ultraluxury automaker has redesigned the SUV to give it a higher market position, farther away from rivals, CEO Adrian Hallmark said in a news release Tuesday.

With the exception of the doors, all of the SUV’s exterior panels have been redesigned, with the most dramatic changes coming at the rear.

The current model’s conventional tailgate has been replaced with one that stretches around the side of the vehicle. The change eliminates the shut lines seen from the rear and also allows the adoption of elliptical lights similar to those on Bentley’s Continental GT coupe and convertible.

“The level of investment in this car is significant,” Bentayga product line director Chris Cole told Automotive News Europe at a pre-reveal of the SUV in March.

“With new entrants such as the Roll…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. will begin accepting $100 refundable deposits for the 2021 Bronco immediately after revealing the SUV on July 13.

The deposit essentially puts customers in line for the vehicle, allowing them to configure it and choose a dealership. Ford will convert those deposits into completed orders at a later date, when the customer confirms final pricing and specs.

The process is similar to what Ford offered with the Mustang Mach-E, although customers had to shell out $500 to earn a spot in line for the electric crossover, which hits showrooms later this year. The deposit trend was popularized by Tesla, which last year began accepting $100 refundable deposits for its Cybertruck. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the company received more than 250,000 deposits.

The news of the refundable deposit first appeared on Bronco fan forums yesterday, and a Ford spokesman confirmed the plan to Automotive News.

Ford will…

The 2021 Audi Q5 crossover and its derivatives this fall will add extra power to the base engine, improved infotainment and driver-assist systems and exterior styling changes.

Audi's update of its top-selling U.S. model adds a 12-volt mild-hybrid system to its 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four engine, boosting output by 13 hp over the outgoing model to deliver 261 hp and 273 pound-feet of torque. A plug-in hybrid version boosts output to 362 hp and 369 pound-feet of torque. Both are mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission. The more powerful SQ5 keeps its existing V-6 engine and eight-speed transmission.

Inside the cabin, Audi improved the infotainment offerings to Volkswagen Group's more robust MIB 3 system, and it added new styling touches including walnut inlays and contrasting stitching in the leather seats. The German premium brand also made its Integrated Toll Module — which allows automatic toll payments from the driver's accoun…

Ford Motor Co. said Monday it would pause advertising on all social media platforms in the United States for the next 30 days, joining a growing list of companies that have stopped spending on Facebook Inc. in support of a campaign that called out the company for not doing enough to stop hate speech on its platform.

The automaker said it would re-evaluate its presence on all social media platforms and added that hate speech, violence and racial injustice in content on social media "needs to be eradicated." A spokesman said Ford is evaluating such spending in other regions.

Last week Honda Motor Co.’s U.S. automobile division said it would withhold its advertising on Facebook and Instagram for the month of July.

The Geneva auto show will not be held in 2021, the organizers have announced.

The reasons for the cancellation were lack of interest from automakers as well as the uncertain situation over the control of the coronavirus, the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) Foundation said in a statement on Monday.

The Geneva event is Europe’s only major international auto show to be held annually. This year's event was due to take place in March but was canceled just days before opening as the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic became clear.

"A majority of GIMS exhibitors who took part in a survey stated that they would probably not participate in a 2021 edition and that they would prefer to have a GIMS in 2022," the foundation said in the statement.

A 2022 show was not confirmed.

Holding the show next year without automaker support might kill it off for good, GIMS Director General Sandro Mesquita told Automotive News Europe in an interview in M…

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may be removed by the president for any reason, reversing the agency's foundational pillar that it should operate independent of presidential or congressional intervention.

The court in a 5-4 ruling said the current structure of the federal watchdog is "unconstitutional" without oversight from the executive branch. Previously, the CFPB director could only be removed by the president for "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office."

Spearheaded by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the bureau was granted broad jurisdiction to pursue and penalize businesses in the consumer financial product industry for practices it considered abusive, unfair or deceptive after passage of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Automotive finance experts have long insisted the bureau's reach was too broad under a single director. Celia Win…

DETROIT — Ex-UAW President Dennis Williams has returned $55,000 in travel expenses to the union following an internal review of expenditures.

In a Monday statement to members, President Rory Gamble said the expenses were found to have been "not appropriate" but he did not detail where they came from. Additionally, he said the union was finalizing the sale of a cabin in northern Michigan, built in part with nonunion labor, for Williams' use.

"As I said from day one, we are committed to recovering any and all dues funds that have been misappropriately spent," Gamble wrote. "I hope this sends a strong message to all UAW leadership that you are stewards of sacred dues dollars and we will do whatever is necessary to protect that oath of office."

The update comes a day before Gamble is set to meet with U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider to discuss reform efforts. Since becoming UAW president in November, Gamble has attempted to show that the union can clean itsel…

The Society of Automotive Engineers considers it among the top inventions since the dawn of the automobile. The EPA says it has saved thousands of lives and prevented hundreds of thousands of throat and lung ailments. In California, it is responsible for abating much of the yellow air, first studied in the 1950s, that has hovered over the greater Los Angeles basin for decades.

The modern catalytic converter, which scrubs smog- and soot-producing hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides from automobile exhausts, has revolutionized air pollution controls with its invention in the 1970s.

It was the brainchild of two chemical engineers, John Mooney and his boss, Carl Keith, as well as a small team of their colleagues at Engelhard Corp.

Mooney, who died June 16 at home in Wyckoff, N.J., at age 90, is credited with the big breakthrough.

Catalytic converter development began in the '50s, was spurred by federal regu…

DETROIT -- A U.S. appeals court on Monday stayed a lower court's order requiring the CEOs of General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to meet to resolve GM's racketeering lawsuit.

"In order to provide sufficient time to consider the matters raised in GM’s petition, and having considered the relevant factors, we conclude that a temporary stay is appropriate," the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a court filing.

GM said in a statement that it looked forward to the appeals court's review and decision. FCA in a statement reiterated GM's lawsuit was meritless and in a filing called on the appeals court to deny GM's request to reassign the case to a new judge.

On Friday, GM asked a U.S. appeals court to allow it to continue pursuing its civil racketeering lawsuit against FCA, rejecting U.S. District Court Judge Paul Borman's belittling of the complaint. The No. 1 U.S. automaker called Borman's order "unprecedented" and "a profound abuse" of jud…

DETROIT -- GM Defense landed a $214.3 million contract to build infantry squad vehicles for the U.S. Army.

Based on the 2020 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 midsize truck's architecture, each vehicle will have "a cargo superstructure powered by a 186-horsepower, 2.8L Duramax turbo-diesel engine, and six-speed automatic transmission," GM said in a statement on Saturday.

The Army authorized the purchase of 649 vehicles and can increase that to 1,070 to reach the full $214.3 million amount. If the Army expands production to 2,065 vehicles, then more dollars would be allotted to the contract.

GM Defense will build and receive payment for 27 vehicles in the first year of the contract. The first eight are due on Oct. 27 for production qualification testing.

Ricardo Defense Inc., which specializes in government defense programs, will partner with GM Defense to "support key product logistics and fielding requirements."