Trade News

Jose Muñoz is not just the CEO for Hyundai North America. He is also the global COO for parent Hyundai Motor Co. As such, Muñoz has a seat at the table in developing long-term strategies for the Korean automaker.

The choice of Muñoz, who joined Hyundai in May 2019, took the industry by surprise. Three and a half months earlier, he had abruptly resigned as chief performance officer for Nissan Motor Co., which was sliding into crisis after the arrest of its now-former chairman, Carlos Ghosn.

Muñoz's tenor at Hyundai has been that of a man in a hurry. The automaker has a bold plan to reach U.S. volume of 1 million by 2025. Sales last year were up 4.7 percent to 710,004, including sales of the luxury Genesis brand. Hyundai also wants to be a global leader in green-car technologies such as hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and pure EVs.

Muñoz, 54, spoke this month with Staff Reporter Laurence Iliff. These are edited excerpts.

Q: After 13 months on the job,…

The chilling 54-second cellphone video begins with a child-size pair of expensive sneakers being placed on the front seat of a car. The voice on the video said he put them in plain view to "set up a trap for these looters." The car door closes and the camera pans to a nearby home's upstairs window. "But little do they know that's my window right there into my room," the voice on the video says. "Sniper tower."

It had been five days since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in police custody when this video surfaced. Protests — and some looting — had broken out in several U.S. cities, including Scottsdale, Ariz., where the video was shot.

As it continues, now from inside the upstairs bedroom, the man turns the camera on himself as he is holding an assault rifle and wearing an AutoNation Inc. polo shirt. "Fear nothing," he says.

The man, Raymond Trzaskos, was quickly identified on social media as an employee of AutoNatio…

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Hertz Global Holdings Inc. won court approval for its plan to raise cash by selling new shares that the bankrupt car-rental company concedes could end up being worthless.

Judge Mary Walrath ruled during a bankruptcy court hearing that Hertz can go ahead with the offering, which the company has said could bring in as much as $1 billion. It’s seeking to take advantage of the recent improbable rally in its shares to help resolve the massive debts that forced it into bankruptcy.

Hertz based its request to the court on a nearly tenfold increase in its stock from 56 cents on May 26 to $5.53 on Monday. The stock has slid since then, closing Friday's trading at $2.83. That was up 37 percent but the shares were down 10 percent to $2.55 in after-hours trading. Hertz attorney Tom Lauria said the company will seek to begin the sale as soon as possible before the opportunity slips away.

“We are trying to move very swiftly,” he said.

Ba…

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's Puebla state, where German automaker Volkswagen and its luxury brand Audi have major plants, said it is not ready to reopen its automotive sector due to ongoing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.

Puebla's Governor Miguel Barbosa signed a decree on Friday stating that the conditions for the return of the automotive and construction sectors are not favorable, according to a statement published on the state's Twitter account.

Barbosa, an ally of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has said he wants to reopen the state's economy but not if that means people's lives will be at stake.

The Mexican unit of Volkswagen Group had previously said it was ready to resume operations in Puebla and the state of Guanajuato on June 15.

Mexico has registered 133,974 official coronavirus cases and 15,944 deaths, though the government says the real number of infections and deaths is significantly higher.

Most Mexican ca…

Toyota Motor North America is elevating one of its top human resources executives to become its new chief HR officer and creating a position for the former chief HR officer to lead business revolution and transformation.

The automaker said Friday that Cheryl Hughes, who has been chief HR officer since January 2016, including having a key role on the small committee that oversaw the automaker's move from California to Texas, will now be in a newly created position: group vice president for business revolution and transformation. Toyota says that in the new role, Hughes "will be responsible for creating and steering initiatives that will help reshape TMNA's business, culture and workforce."

To replace Hughes, Toyota has elevated Craig Gruzca to chief human resources officer from his previous post as group vice president for corporate shared services and human resources. Toyota said Gruzca will perform both functions simultaneously.

…

Lexus is rescheduling for next Monday the online reveal of the redesigned 2021 Lexus IS sedan in the wake of ongoing civil unrest in the U.S. over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Lexus on June 5 said it had "respectfully postponed" the debut, originally scheduled for last Tuesday, without citing a specific reason, though Toyota Motor North America issued a statement June 3 decrying "unacceptable bigotry and a lack of education around the COVID-19 virus to more recent societal issues of violence, killings and racism against African Americans in Minnesota, Kentucky, Georgia and elsewhere."

As it had planned previously, Lexus will introduce the redesigned luxury sports sedan at its headquarters in Plano, Texas. It can be viewed here beginning at 7 p.m. EDT Monday.

TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. has resumed production at automobile and motorcycle plants in the United States and other countries after they were hit by a suspected cyber attack this week, a spokesman said on Friday.

The suspected attack comes less than a month after Honda reopened its North American vehicle assembly plants following closures in late March to comply with coronavirus-related, shelter-at-home rules in the United States and Canada.

The spokesman said the automaker had resumed vehicle output by Thursday at its large assembly plant in Ohio, which produces models such as the CR-V crossover and the Accord sedan.

"It appears that our customers' personal information has not been affected," the spokesman said by telephone, but declined to comment on any production impact.

Another vehicle plant in Turkey and motorcycle plants in India and Brazil were back up and running by Wednesday, he said, while some North American call centers&…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is making official what some dealers have already been offering throughout the coronavirus pandemic: free maintenance for essential workers.

The automaker said Friday that members of its FordPass Rewards loyalty program who are defined by their states as essential workers can download an offer for a free service package through the end of June. Called "The Works," the package includes an oil and filter change, tire rotation and pressure check, brake inspection, vehicle inspection, fluid top-off, battery test, filter check, and belts and hoses check.

Ford says the offer must be downloaded by June 30 but customers can redeem it throughout the year.

"Wherever possible, we want to take the worry out of our customers' lives so they can focus on what's really important right now – staying healthy and taking care of their families and communities," Catherine Pearce, director, FordPass business operations, said i…

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.

Marco Schnabl, CEO of automotiveMastermind, talks about using predictive analytics to drive showroom traffic and how dealers can navigate new shopping behaviors from consumers.

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TOKYO -- Nissan Motor Co. has scrapped a plan to offer yen-denominated bonds this month, in what would have been a return to the credit market after delaying a debt sale last year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Japanese automaker had been targeting an issuance size of 200 billion to 300 billion yen ($1.9 billion to $2.8 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month.

“We are considering various fundraising methods,” said Azusa Momose, a spokeswoman for Yokohama-based Nissan. “We can’t comment on any detailed plans for future fundraising.”

COVID-19 has piled extra pressure on Nissan, which was already under strain following the 2018 arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who had pushed for volume growth. The automaker posted its biggest loss in 20 years for the fiscal year ended in March and unveiled a sweeping turnaround plan last month.

The company postponed a sale of 250 billion yen ($2.3 billion) in c…

The bankruptcy court estate for Reagor Dykes, the Texas dealership group toppled by claims it defrauded lenders in an elaborate Ponzi-like scheme, is suing Ford Motor Credit Co. for $315 million, alleging that the captive lender knowingly turned a blind eye to its illegal dealings.

The estate filed the suit in federal court in Lubbock, Texas, on Wednesday, alleging that Ford's captive arm could not have acted in good faith, as the lender "unquestionably knew or should have known" about the fraud schemes.

The $315 million sought in the suit is the same amount in interest payments the dealership group made to Ford Credit from August 2016 to August 2018. During the scheme, Ford Credit "racked up millions in profits from interest" that the dealership and its customers paid on vehicle deals originated at the stores, the suit also claims.

The Lubbock group imploded in 2018 after Ford Credit and other lenders sued it for floorplan fraud. Ford Credit in particul…