Trade News

In the first virtual event in our three-part series, Francesco Fazio presents Doblin's ten types of innovation and Ford's Jonathan Jennings discusses Ford's approach to process innovation.

Speakers:Jason Stein, Publisher, Automotive NewsJoe Vitale, Global Automotive Sector Leader, DeloitteFrancesco Fazio, Principal, DoblinJonathan Jennings, Executive Director, Global Commodities, Purchasing, Ford Motor Company 

The Automotive News PACEpilot series, exclusively sponsored by Deloitte, looks at innovation in automotive and exploring how things are shifting. Every Thursday from June 11 through June 25 at 11am EDT, some of the industry’s award winning innovators and experts will share their insights and strategies around recovery and sustained growth. This conversation was originally broadcast on June 11. Learn more about the PACEpilot series and register at autonews.com/PACEpilot

DETROIT -- Simon Sproule, FCA's global chief communications officer since February, is leaving the company.

Sproule, 51, told Automotive News his last day is Friday. He decided he wanted to do something different with his life and pursue other interests.

"Simon Sproule has made the personal decision to leave FCA," the company said in a statement. "Shawn Morgan will replace him on an ad interim basis for North America. We wish Simon the best in his future endeavors."

Morgan, 51, FCA's head of corporate communications, has been with the company for nearly 22 years.

Sproule began his stint on Feb. 3, but he hadn't moved to Michigan yet. He joined the company from Aston Martin, where he was vice president and chief marketing officer. He has also worked at Tesla Inc., Nissan Motor Co. and Ford Motor Co.

He is the latest person to leave FCA's top communications role after a short tenure. The previous head, Niel Golightly, left the company in Dece…

SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., under regulatory pressure to expand its electrified-vehicle lineup, has begun taking orders for a four-door, electric sedan with a starting price of 29,800 yuan ($4,220).

It is the lowest-priced EV a global automaker has launched in China. 

The Hongguan Mini EV will be distributed under the Wuling brand, said SAIC-GM-Wuling, a three-way partnership between GM and two Chinese automakers – SAIC Motor Corp. and Wuling Motors Holdings. 

The EV is powered by lithium ion batteries and can drive up to 120 kilometers on one charge and at a top speed of 105 km per hour. 

The vehicle is 2,917 mm long, 1,493 mm wide and 1,621 mm tall. The interior configuration includes 12 storage compartments and a bench-style rear seat that can be folded flat to create up to 741 liters of cargo space.

“Its compact size makes it convenient for urban commuters. It has room for up to four people to meet daily driving needs…

WASHINGTON -- Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it will recall 2.15 million U.S. vehicles with potentially faulty door latches.

The automaker said the recall covers many Ford and Lincoln vehicles from the 2011-15 model years. The recalled vehicles may not have had all door latches replaced or correctly replaced when repaired by dealerships under recalls issued in 2015 and 2016.

Ford said a recalled vehicle with a faulty latch may unlatch while driving, but said it is not aware of any reports of accidents or injury related to the condition.

The company previously recalled more than 5 million vehicles for varying door latch-related issues since 2015 and has booked hundreds of millions of dollars in costs.

The recall covers some Ford Fiesta, C-Max, Focus, Mustang. Fusion, Escape, Transit Connect, Lincoln MKZ and MKC vehicles.

Ford said the latches have a part susceptible to cracking that in some circumstances can lead to doors failing to clos…

DETROIT — Owners of 2011-2019 model year Ford Mustangs are suing the automaker for what they allege are defective manual transmissions that have caused the pony cars to slip, jerk and clash gears while shifting.

A suit seeking class-action status, filed last year in California and transferred last month to U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, alleges Ford knew about defects in the Getrag MT82 six-speed manual transmissions for a decade. Since 2011, the lawsuit says, Ford has issued seven special service messages and technical service bulletins related to shifting issues and other defects.

"The transmission is defective in its design, manufacturing, and or materials in that, among other problems, the transmission slips, jerks, clashes gears, and harshly engages; has premature internal wear, increased shift efforts, inability to drive, and eventually suffers a catastrophic failure," the lawsuit says. "Ford repeatedly failed to disclose and ac…

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group are likely headed for a lengthier probe of their merger after failing to offer early concessions in exchange for an expedited process.

Executives don’t expect speedy approval of the deal and believe the European Commission is likely to open a so-called phase two investigation that would push the deadline out to October, according to people familiar with the matter. The current target to complete the merger is during the first quarter of next year.

Representatives for Fiat and Peugeot owner PSA declined to comment.

Antitrust is a difficult obstacle for European companies seeking to buy or combine with rivals. The European Union’s authority has frequently demanded the sale of overlapping businesses to prevent the merged entity from becoming too powerful and has been unafraid of wielding its ultimate threat to veto deals, such as Siemens AG and Alstom SA’s plan to merge into a European rail behemoth.

…

Bentley Motors Inc. is recalling more than 6,000 vehicles globally, including 1,892 vehicles in the U.S., over a leak in the fuel line quick connector.

The vehicles are Bentayga V8 SUVs built between January 2018 and March 2020, mostly for the U.S. market, Bentley spokeswoman Erin Bronner told Automotive News.

The recalled components in the vehicle are the fuel system, gasoline hoses, lines, piping and fittings, according to a NHTSA document. If a leak occurs, there will be an odor of fuel and a risk of engine bay fire during ignition.

Bentley will begin notifying owners on July 31.

"Although this recall is a precautionary measure, Bentley authorized retailers will replace the existing fuel quick connect with one made of an enhanced material and, where required, also upgrade the engine cooling fan software. This will take approximately an hour," the luxury automaker said in a statement.

Bentley's recall number is RE20/14 and owners may call…

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation has launched a new early-warning reporting Web portal for manufacturers to submit data required by law for possible safety-related defects, product noncompliance, recalls and safety campaigns conducted outside of the United States.

The early-warning reporting rule requires automakers and parts suppliers to submit certain information to the agency that could help with identifying safety-related defects. Reporting requirements vary depending on the product and manufacturer's annual production volume.

The online portal is designed to simplify and improve the process of submitting early warning reporting information to the agency as required by the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act. It is also part of NHTSA's efforts to streamline and modernize IT systems that support the Office of Enforcement, the agency said Wednesday.

The portal allows manufacturers to upload files directly to N…

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is recalling 27,634 hybrid minivans globally — about 22,580 of them in the U.S. — because a 12-volt battery connection might pose fire risk.

The automaker said in a statement that it’s aware of “a small number of fires.” It didn’t say exactly how many but said all but one occurred in Canada. The other was in Minnesota. FCA is aware of one injury but didn’t say where it occurred.

The recall is limited to Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans from the 2017-20 model years. Neither the model’s high-voltage battery, nor its electrified propulsion system, is associated with the defect. Gasoline-powered Pacifica minivans are unaffected.

"Out of an abundance of caution," FCA said it is asking customers to avoid parking their vehicles inside buildings or structures. It’s also advising customers to not park near other vehicles or place wet items or liquids that may spill in the second-row seating area.

Twelve-volt b…

When NBA legend Larry Bird would enter the league's three-point shooting contest, he'd confidently ask: Who's playing for second place?

According to Experian, when it comes to new-vehicle auto originations right now, captive lenders are Bird and banks and credit unions are playing for second place.

Efforts to slow the COVID-19 outbreak and shield the economy are shifting the playing field for major automotive lenders, creating a lending environment that's a slam dunk for the auto industry's captive finance arms.

"When we look just at April ... whether it's total new or used, we actually have the captives really being the one to pick up market share and the bank share really steadily dropping," said Melinda Zabritski, Experian's senior director of automotive financial solutions.

For comparison sake, before the pandemic largely took hold, banks boosted their market share in the first quarter to 33.4 percent, up 1 percen…

General Motors' self-driving subsidiary, Cruise, has hired Louise Zhang, a top engineer at Lucid Motors who helped build Tesla's safety team, as its first dedicated safety chief.

Zhang oversaw vehicle safety and regulatory compliance for Lucid since 2015 after spending nearly six years at Tesla. She was responsible for overall safety of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV, which received five-star ratings in government crash testing.

Zhang also previously worked as an engineer at Delphi Automotive, leading safety system integration projects with Chinese automakers in Shanghai.

"Louise has dedicated her career to making cars and roads safer, and as we continue on our mission to build the safest self-driving service, she will play a critical role overseeing our validation capabilities and the development of innovative safety solutions and best practices across hardware and software," Cruise said in a statement.

Zhang's position, vice president of prod…

SHANGHAI -- Tesla Inc.'s stock jumped above $1,000 a share on Wednesday after CEO Elon Musk told his staff it was time to bring the Tesla Semi commercial truck to "volume production."

Musk, in an email seen by Reuters on Wednesday, did not specify a time frame for ramping up production of the Semi. Musk on Wednesday tweeted "Yes" to a question on Twitter about whether the report of the leaked Semi truck production email was accurate.

Tesla's shares rose more than 6 percent to hit $1,000 on Wednesday after Reuters reported Musk's email, making the Silicon Valley company the second-most valuable automaker in the world, behind Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. Tesla's share surge could position Musk for another payout from a stock compensation plan tied to the company's market capitalization.

The company's shares closed Wednesday's trading up nearly 9 percent to $1,025.05.

The stock also got a boost from a bullish call by Wedbush, which lifted i…