Trade News

FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen will resume production of its battery-powered ID3 hatchback on Thursday, as the brand provided new, more precise guidance for its production ramp-up after the coronavirus-related shutdown.

A VW brand spokesman said the automaker is reopening its German car factories with production of the Golf-sized EV at its plant in Zwickau.

The ID3 is a key launch for VW as the first vehicle in its new generation of affordable, long-range electric cars. VW has converted the Zwickau factory to build compact-sized EVs based on its long-range MEB architecture for its VW, Audi and Seat brands.

The spokesman said the summer launch date for the ID3 in Europe remains in place despite the production shutdown that started on March 20. Manager Magazin reported in February that software glitches were threatening to delay the launch schedule.

"Our target is to deliver the 30,000 ID3 first-edition pre-booked models to all customers at the same time,"…

A cylinder-deactivation system now used in many General Motors gasoline-powered light trucks could be applied to commercial diesel trucks.

Tula Technology Inc. and diesel engine manufacturer Cummins plan to begin testing a six-cylinder semitruck diesel engine outfitted with a version of the technology, called Dynamic Skip Fire.

The system is being tested first on Cummins 6.7-liter inline turbo six X15 semi-truck engine. If testing yields positive results and it moves into production, the technology likely will appear on semitrucks.

There is also a path for commercializing the technology for diesel engines that are used in consumer pickup trucks.

The development is notable because it points in a different direction from most of the auto industry at the moment.

Powertrain programs around the world are currently focused on electrification strategies. The idea of applying Dynamic Skip Fire to commercial truck…

Amid the confusion of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. auto retailers are pushing off expenses such as dealership purchases to the second half of the year. Asbury Automotive Group Inc. didn't have the luxury of postponing what would have been its largest acquisition ever and one of the industry's largest deals in a decade.

For the Duluth, Ga., dealership group, which on March 24 terminated its planned $1 billion acquisition of most of Park Place Dealerships in Texas, the cancellation came down to time constraints related to the deal's financing arrangements.

"The last thing I wanted to do was cancel that deal," Asbury CEO David Hult told Automotive News on Friday. "We would have prolonged the closing and finished the deal at some point. But it wasn't a traditional buy-sell situation."

The largest piece of financing for buying Park Place came from a $525 million bond that required the deal to be completed before April 30, according t…

Vitesco Technologies, the powertrain business of Continental, will build a R&D center in Tianjin to develop solutions for hybrid and electric powertrains.

The center, which is scheduled to be completed in 2021, will be added to a campus where Vitesco has been making electric axle drive systems for PSA Group and Hyundai since 2019, the company said Tuesday

“The new center in Tianjin further expands our development capacities right in the center of where we expect the biggest electrification growth over the next years,” said Thomas Stierle, who is head of Vitesco's electrification technology business unit.

The 9,000-square-meter (96,875-square-foot) complex will include a lab where electric drive technologies can be tested and validated.

"The new R&D center in Tianjin is another milestone for Vitesco," said Yanfei Cao, head of the company's electrification technology business unit in Asia. “It will help us to forge even closer links to local cus…

PARIS -- PSA Group has laid the groundwork for a possible revision of the terms of its combination with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

PSA and FCA agreed in December to each pay an ordinary dividend of 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to shareholders as part of their planned merger to create the world fourth-biggest auto manufacturer.

The deal was negotiated before the coronavirus pandemic halted car production and triggered a worldwide slump in demand, almost halving the companies’ share prices.

As PSA Chief Financial Officer Philippe de Rovira detailed the severity of the damage inflicted by the health crisis on PSA and the broader European car industry, he said there has been no final decision on the payout. The company has postponed its annual general meeting to June 25 from May 14, delaying any confirmation.

The planned move "remains an open question" and any change would have to be agreed by both PSA and FCA as specified in the merger deal, De R…

PARIS -- Toyota Motor Corp. has reopened its factory in Valenciennes, France, where it makes the Yaris small hatchback, five weeks after halting production because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Some operations continued during the shutdown, including work on future projects. Starting in 2021 the factory will build a small crossover that is likely to be based on the Yaris.

The current production, which started Tuesday on a limited basis, is focused on finishing production of the current-generation Yaris. A new version of the car is due later this year. Toyota is also re-starting powertrain plants in Poland to provide components to Valenciennes.

Toyota’s factory is the first to reopen in France. PSA Group and Renault have said that safety measures are being put in place at their factories, but neither has announced a date when operations will resume amid resistance from unions.

Toyota said last week that production in France would be limited to a si…

Uber Technologies Inc. won approval to serve as a business vendor to the U.S. government, allowing the company to vie for an estimated $810 million in spending over the next five years.

Politicians and campaigns have for years relied on Uber for rides to and catering for their events, but the decision Monday is the first clearance for federal agencies to sign contracts with the company. It’s a rare bright spot as Uber struggles to adjust to the effects of COVID-19.

Ride demand has tanked since last month and upended growth plans for the business. Uber previously anticipated it would deliver a quarterly profit by the end of the year. On Friday, the San Francisco-based company yanked its 2020 forecast and said it will write down the value of its minority investments by about $2 billion.

Uber has been looking to add new sources of revenue to make up for the sharp decline in ridership. The company said this month it’s accelerating the rollout of an option fo…

FRANKFURT -- Daimler and Volvo Trucks have agreed to join forces to develop, produce and sell fuel cell systems for heavy-duty vehicles, in a sign that the coronavirus crisis is accelerating consolidation.

Global car and truck makers are exploring ways to share costs on new technologies as customers shun showrooms in areas hit by the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, denting profits.

"The common goal is for both companies to offer heavy-duty vehicles with fuel cells for demanding long-haul applications in series production in the second half of the decade," Daimler said in a statement on Tuesday.

The joint venture agreed by the two companies will operate as an independent and autonomous entity, with Daimler Truck and the Volvo Group continuing to be competitors in all other areas of business, the companies said.

"Joining forces will decrease development costs for both companies and accelerate the market introduction of fuel cell systems in prod…

Credit Acceptance Corp., the lender to car buyers with subprime credit scores, warned it’s seeing a sharp drop-off in payments as people shift their financial priorities to get through the coronavirus pandemic.

As unemployment soars, borrowers are putting off payments or “reallocating resources,” Credit Acceptance said in a regulatory filing Monday, explaining that it needs more time to publish a quarterly report. New lending is also slowing as dealerships across the U.S. are forced to shutter their showrooms, the company said.

“A continued disruption in our workforce, decrease in collections from our consumers or decline in consumer loan assignments could cause a material adverse effect on our financial position, liquidity and results of operations,” Credit Acceptance wrote.

The firm is among the first to report an uptick in delinquencies as some lenders offer forbearance, hoping that what consumers need is time to get through the pandemic so they can r…