Trade News

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.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotif…

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…

General Motors ambitious push into electric vehicles could pose a near-term risk as the automaker spends less to replace its more profitable gas-powered vehicles, according to a Bank of America Global Research report.

GM’s $20 billion investment in electric models and self-driving technology over the next five years makes it one of the most aggressive automakers when it comes to rolling out plug-in models, along with Germany’s Volkswagen Group. But the Detroit-based company plans to refresh only about 65 percent of its current sales volume with revamped vehicles, which is third-to-last among major manufacturers. VW is just ahead of GM at 66 percent.

Fewer updates for popular gasoline-powered models may hurt market share, underscoring the quandary the industry faces as companies try to fund an electric-focused future. The billions spent on plug-in vehicles that typically lose money -- and that no one besides Tesla Inc. has sold in large numbers -- take…

Automotive photographer Jack Schroeder and model Britni Sumida filed a lawsuit against Volvo, alleging that the automaker used Schroeder's photos featuring Sumida and a Volvo S60 without authorization.

The 20-page lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles, contends Volvo Group North America LLC took 11 photos from Schroeder's Instagram page and website without permission and used them in its own Instagram stories and Pinterest page.

The photos included links directing customers to a website page dedicated to the S60, the suit alleges.

Six months prior, Volvo had commented on Schroeder's Instagram post asking to license the photos with no compensation, according to the lawsuit. Schroeder emailed Volvo a week later offering to "negotiate a license" and included a link to his website but received no response, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit also alleges that Volvo did not take down all of the photos from its s…

The Detroit 3 are doing things all wrong.

Their executives, clueless as always, are focused on pointless metrics such as sales, revenue and — worst of all — profits.

Don't they get it by now? That's no way to impress Wall Street.

So Ford Motor Co., on average, built an F-150 every 45 seconds last year. Who cares?

Nikola Motor, an electric vehicle startup named for the part of Nikola Tesla's name that Tesla didn't use, built zero production-ready trucks last year. It's still building zero today.

Now that's the kind of rock-solid consistency that investors can get behind. And did they ever this week, when Nikola's market cap surpassed that of Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Nikola has no sales, no revenue and nothing even remotely resembling profits. What it does have is founder Trevor Milton, with big ambitions, plenty of confidence and a Twitter account he used this week to share his views on "what legacy automakers don't underst…

Riderless scooters hit the streets of Atlanta suburb

In Peachtree Corners, Ga., residents may see an e-scooter zooming down a street – with no rider in sight.

Electric scooter company Go X and Tortoise, a startup specializing in "remote repositioning" technology, have rolled out teleoperated scooters in the northeast Atlanta suburb. They are making them available to the public in a six-month pilot project at the Curiosity Lab, an autonomous-vehicle test track and innovation center in a 500-acre technology park.

The "living lab" announced the partnership on May 20, calling this the first time teleoperated scooters have been deployed on public roads.

A Tortoise team in Mexico City remotely controls the scooters while watching a live feed from cameras mounted on the vehicles.

To take a ride, the customer uses an app to summon a Go X Apollo scooter. A remote operator sends the vehicle to the customer's location. The rider assumes manual…

DETROIT --  Auto suppliers across North America said they are encouraged as major automakers accelerate production after coronavirus pandemic shutdowns, but are holding back on hiring and investment because of longer-term uncertainty.

U.S. automakers reopened most assembly plants in late May after states began loosening restrictions, and stronger-than-expected retail auto sales in May have automakers ramping up production of the highly profitable trucks and SUVs consumers are buying.

However, several auto suppliers interviewed by Reuters worry about demand heading into 2021. U.S. and global auto sales are not expected to recover to pre-COVID-19 crisis levels until 2022 or 2023, Bank of America analyst John Murphy said during a presentation on Thursday.

Andreas Weller, CEO of aluminum parts maker Aludyne, sees very strong orders for July, but he laid off more than 10 percent of his workers because the days of Americans buying 17 million new…

DETROIT — Automakers' aggressive product launch cadence over the next few years, normally a sign of a strong industry, could be a detriment in the near term as the coronavirus pandemic hampers demand, according to the annual "Cars Wars" study of the U.S. product pipeline.

John Murphy, a senior auto analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said he expects automakers to launch roughly 250 new models over the next four years. That averages out to 63 per year, well above the average of 40 over the past two decades.

Of those vehicles, nearly half will be crossovers, and 28 percent will be SUVs or pickups.

In the immediate future, however, Murphy expects the pandemic to continue to hurt sales. Bank of America forecasts that U.S. sales will plunge about 25 percent in 2020 to 12.7 million vehicles, although it expects a recovery in 2021 to roughly 14.5 million.

The study expects 43 new vehicles to be introduced this year, but Murphy argues that automake…

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…