Trade News

SHANGHAI -- In April, when China auto sales rebounded in the wake of the nationwide coronavirus outbreak, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers cautioned that industrywide deliveries this year may slip by more than 15 percent if the pandemic couldn’t be contained. 

What the trade group fretted about is materializing as the virus raging outside China now poses genuine threats to the market’s recovery in two ways. 

One is in China, as evidenced by what has unfolded in the capital, Beijing. 

On June 11, three months after the Chinese government declared victory in containing the epidemic, a new outbreak emerged in the largest wholesale market for farm produce and meat in the city. 

Initial genome sequencing data show the virus belongs to a European strain, though how the virus made its way to the market remains unknown, according to Beijing health authorities. 

As of Wednesday, 158 cases of new infection w…

DETROIT -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said several of its North America plants will not have summer shutdowns this year "in order to meet strong consumer demand."

The plants that will remain open through the summer build vehicles such as the Ram 1500, Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator, and Dodge's muscle cars.

Those plants are Jefferson North Assembly in Detroit; Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio; Sterling Heights Assembly in suburban Detroit; Brampton Assembly in Ontario; Saltillo Truck Assembly in Mexico; and Saltillo Van Assembly.

FCA said the following plants will still observe a shutdown this summer of either one or two weeks:

Warren Truck Assembly in suburban Detroit, which will close the weeks of June 29 and July 6. FCA said Warren Truck's shutdown "will extend through the end of September as retooling continues for the launch of the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer." Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois, which builds the Jeep Cherokee, will be down t…

A federal court has decided not to consider some of the claims made in General Motors' lawsuit accusing Fiat Chrysler Automobiles of bribing union officials, opting to assess only the allegations directly related to racketeering.

The court declined to hear two of the five counts in GM's suit, setting aside claims of unfair competition and civil conspiracy under state laws, according to an order issued by U.S. District Judge Paul Borman this week.

Proceeding to trial on the three claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act while including GM's two state law claims would "create insurmountable, confusing and prejudicial spillover-evidence issues, and also create jury confusion that instructions could not cure," Borman said in the June 15 filing.

GM alleges in the suit, which it filed in November, that FCA received an unfair labor-cost advantage by bribing UAW officials during years of contract negotiations over workers' wages and b…

Ride-hailing company Lyft Inc. said Wednesday every vehicle on its ride-hailing and rental car platform will be electric by 2030, but it would not provide direct financial support to drivers for switching from gas-powered cars.

Instead, the company plans to push competitors, lawmakers and automakers to make it easier for drivers to switch to electric vehicles by creating financial incentives, Lyft executives said during a call.

John Zimmer, Lyft's co-founder and president, said the company has reached a scale to impact policy change.

Lyft, whose vehicle fleet is currently made up of less than 1 percent electric cars, in a statement said it would aggressively promote and help drivers access incentive funds.

"If policymakers do their part in the next few years, EVs should reach cost parity with gasoline vehicles by mid-decade," the company said.

Environmental activists have called on Lyft and larger rival Uber Technologies Inc. to e…

After a three-month pilot program, F&I product provider EFG Cos. is debuting its first mileage service contract to knit coverage more closely to customers' driving habits.

Complex underwriting strategies delayed the launch of the product, which EFG believes may be the first of its kind.

The product, called the Motorist Assistance Plan vehicle service contract, can shift coverage in 2,500-mile increments on new vehicles or used cars with 150,000 miles or less on the odometer.

Eric Fifield, chief revenue officer at EFG, said the product's features distinguish it from standard mileage terms that consumers typically fall short of or exceed.

"Customers see more value in the product because you tailor it to their exact driving habits," Fifield told Automotive News. "And F&I producers have more confidence that what they're selling matches the customer's driving habits."

Sales of the contract increased pr…

Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta helped craft the troubled automaker's latest turnaround plan. Now his allies are pressing the board to promote him to co-CEO to drive the new strategy, said four people with direct knowledge.

Thus far, Nissan Motor Co.'s 12-member board has no plan to change the roles of CEO Makoto Uchida or his No. 2 Gupta, the people told Reuters. But the behind-the-scenes campaign, involving at least half a dozen current and former executives, points to continued tensions at the top of the Japanese automaker, which has had four CEOs in four years.

The people, all of whom have ties to Nissan's leadership team, declined to be identified because they aren't authorized to speak to reporters and because of the sensitivity of the topic.

Nissan responded in a statement to Reuters there are "no plans or consideration for any change in the management structure at Nissan, and no change to the close collaborative working relationship between Mr. Uch…

BEIJING/SHANGHAI -- Geely Automobile Holdings said on Wednesday its board had approved a preliminary proposal for the possible issue of shares and a listing on mainland China's Nasdaq-like STAR board.

The Zhejiang-based automaker, whose parent is Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is currently listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of 116.77 billion Hong Kong dollars ($15.07 billion).

Geely Automobile and sister brand Volvo Cars, which Zhejiang Geely Holding bought from Ford Motor in 2010, are planning to merge and list in Hong Kong and possibly Stockholm.

Apart from Volvo, Zhejiang Geely Holding also holds a 9.7 percent stake in Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler.

Geely Automobile said in a filing that the new shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange would not involve conversion of existing shares. The board will hold further talks on the size of the issue.

The money raised will be used for "business development and general worki…

Uber Technologies Inc. is getting into software. The company is making the technology that powers its ride-hailing business available to others, starting with public transit agencies.

California’s Marin County transportation providers are the first customers to buy access to Uber’s software in a deal the company announced Wednesday. The tie-up represents a potential new revenue stream for Uber at a time when the company could use it.

“This is not a one-off. This is a new product and a new business,” said David Reich, head of Uber Transit, adding that the company intends to partner with other transit agencies in the future. “Together we want to make car ownership a thing of the past.”

But the effort is starting small.

The program, called Marin Connect, will power logistics for just four wheelchair-accessible vans when it begins on July 1. Teaming up with Marin Transit and the Transportation Authority of Marin, it will also make public transit sched…

The first undisguised images of Volkswagen's upcoming ID4 battery electric crossover have leaked online, showing that it will hue closely to the styling of the German automaker's fossil fuel-powered lineup while maintaining elements that identify it as an EV.

Images of the Tiguan-size EV appeared on vwidtalk.com, a forum about VW's EV lineup.

Automotive News has confirmed the authenticity of the images.

VW declined to comment,

The ID4, which is set to go on sale in the U.S. at the end of 2020, is the VW brand's second EV produced on a new MEB global architecture. The first, a Golf-size hatchback called the ID3, has been delayed by software glitches and is expected to begin deliveries in Europe in September.

The smaller ID3 is not expected to be sold in the U.S.

VW planned to show the ID4 this summer after sales of the ID3 began.

Initially, the ID4 will be assembled in Germany, with output also planned in Tennessee.

The Federal Reserve stayed the course on the benchmark interest rate last week, highlighting expectations for a rough road ahead for the U.S. economy. Until the coronavirus crisis ends, the lending environment will likely remain under duress.

Opportunities remain in the new-car market — but one economist says inventory challenges, a tighter credit environment and high unemployment rates will hinder sales.

The benchmark rate, which directly impacts auto lending, is a litmus test for the health of the lending market. The nation's central bank cut rates to zero in mid-March to ease the flow of credit as the coronavirus ravaged key U.S. auto markets. Auto loan rates have largely benefited from the drop, though Cox Automotive's chief economist, Jonathan Smoke, noted in his blog that subprime buyers remain challenged in credit access.

"Lower rates are helping to drive down average loan payments, but the consumers getting those lower pay…

Leasing, which comprises nearly one-third of new-vehicle sales, dropped in April to the lowest levels since 2015 as the coronavirus pandemic collapsed the top two leasing markets in the country and automakers saturated the market with loan incentives. Rising customer demand prompted automakers to pull back on many of those programs, but leasing levels remain well below normal.

Leasing levels fell to 24 percent in April, Experian said, down from 30 percent in April 2019. The last time the levels were below 25 percent was in the fourth quarter 2014.

Discounting auto loans is cheaper for automakers than leasing, said Melinda Zabritski, Experian's senior director of automotive financial solutions, so pulling back on leasing for the near-term makes sense. She said it is "hard to tell" when normal levels will return. "I have a hard time speculating because this is so unprecedented," Zabritski said.

As leasing levels dropped, shares of …