Trade News

Joining the Jeep Gladiator lineup this year is the Mojave variant which is the first Jeep to get the brand's Desert Rated badge. The new rating is based on several pillars: ride control and stability, traction, ground clearance, maneuverability and desert prowess. The Gladiator Mojave comes with specially tuned Fox 2.5-inch internal-bypass shocks with external reservoirs, industry-exclusive Fox front hydraulic jounce bumpers, a reinforced frame, a 1-inch front suspension lift with a silver front skid plate, stronger axles with cast-iron steering knuckles, aggressive front seats with integrated upper bolsters and standard 33-inch Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires. Here's a roundup of snippets of Gladiator Mojave reviews from the automotive media.

"While the changes Jeep makes to turn the Gladiator into a Mojave certainly help its off-road capability, they detract from its on-road manners, which were pretty compromised in the first place. The extra ride height makes ge…

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.

Steve Lietaert, president of Hella Corporate Center USA, on how the auto parts supplier is bracing for market uncertainties; reprioritizing future projects and investments.

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Elon Musk tapped more of his shares in Tesla Inc. late last year to unlock some of his wealth and also entered into an unusual arrangement to provide liability coverage for fellow members of the electric-car maker’s board.

Musk increased the share of his Tesla holding that he’s pledged as collateral for personal loans to 54 percent at the end of 2019, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday. That compares with 40 percent at the end of 2018, when the carmaker last shared the size of Musk’s pledging.

Tesla said in the filing that the company decided not to renew its directors’ and officers’ liability policy for 2019-2020 due to “disproportionately high” premiums quoted by insurers. Musk, 48, instead agreed to personally provide substantially equivalent coverage for a year. The carmaker’s board concluded the arrangement with the CEO would not impair the independent judgment of his fellow directors.

The amended annual report from Tesla shows Mus…

Lear Corp. released a second edition of its Safe Work Playbook on Monday with new information on employee communication and training as suppliers wrestle with implementing health and safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The seating and electronics supplier stepped ahead of the industry when it released the first edition of the Safe Work Playbook on April 6. Days later, the Original Equipment Suppliers Association and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation released their own set of guidelines.

The new edition of the Safe Work Playbook includes information from the first edition along with updated guidelines for returning to plants.

The original document details appropriate social-distancing measures in manufacturing plants. It also includes information on educating employees on new work procedures and protocols for taking proactive health measures in plants, such as worker temperature checking.

The second edi…

SAIC Motor Corp. is spending 3.3 billion yuan ($466 million) on discounts and other incentives to spur demand for gasoline-powered Roewe vehicles from April 24 to June 30.

The incentives -- price discounts and subsidies for sales taxes and interest payments on auto loans – will be offered on five gasoline-powered models, the state-owned Chinese automaker said.

In addition to those five vehicles -- the i5 and i6 Plus sedans and the RX3, RX5 and RX8 crossovers -- SAIC builds and markets plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles under the Roewe and MG brands. 

First-quarter combined sales at the two brands slipped 34 percent to 99,397, reflecting the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, with many dealers and factories idled. SAIC didn’t disclose separate sales for the two brands.

SAIC is not the only Chinese carmaker seeking to attract car shoppers with incentives in the wake of the pandemic. 

Chery Automobile Co., another state-owned…

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group will launch two low-orbit satellites in the second half of the year to provide high-precision positioning services and assist fleet management and new mobility services. 

Geespace, Geely’s space technology company created in 2018, developed the two satellites. 

They will undergo final validation testing in June and then be shipped to a satellite launch site in Northwest China for deployment, Geely Group said. 

The satellites can provide centimeter-accurate positioning and enable a satellite-based artificial intelligence cloud platform to optimize fleet management and new mobility services, including ride-hailing and ride-sharing management and autonomous driving. 

The cloud platform can also be used to support remote monitoring, control and maintenance of manufacturing equipment, unmanned drone flights and urban management, according to Geely Group.

Geely Group, a private Chinese company…

General Motors is set to begin sales of its first vehicle equipped with a 48-volt system, helping to reduce fleetwide fuel consumption levels as required by Chinese regulations. 

The Buick Excelle GT with the 48-volt system will hit the market Thursday, GM said. 

The system will reduce the compact sedan’s fuel consumption, powered by GM’s 1.3-liter Ecotec turbocharged gasoline engine, to 5.3 liters from 5.9 liters, according to SAIC-GM, GM’s joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp.

A 48-volt system enables automakers to apply fuel-saving and cost-effective technologies such as stop-start systems and regenerative braking.

SAIC-GM produces and markets cars and light trucks for Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac. It currently markets just two electrified models -- the full electric Buick Velite 6 compact car and the plug-in hybrid Cadillac CT6 sedan. 

GM is the second-biggest foreign automaker in China, after Volkswagen Group, and th…

BEIJING -- Inceptio Technology, a startup developing self-driving trucks, has raised $100 million in a new round of fundraising from logistics provider GLP, key strategic investor G7 and other investors, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The proceeds will be used to further develop technologies and to start commercial trials, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak to media.

The company, which aims to operate a freight network with autonomous driving trucks in China starting in 2022, has partnerships with Dongfeng Automobile Co., Sinotruk Hong Kong and Foton.

The two-year-old company is developing autonomous driving software and an in-vehicle computing system while the truck makers are responsible for engineering vehicles platforms.

Inceptio declined to comment. G7 and Singapore-based GLP did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Inceptio is focused on developing level 3 an…

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.

The Morgan Stanley auto analyst provides a pulse-check on the industry; offers insights on Ford's future, industry consolidation, the harsh new reality some dealers face and more.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Weekend 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. 

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Spo…

BEIJING -- A little-known U.S.-based engineering and design company said it plans to invest 10 billion yuan ($1.41 billion) to make sports cars with FAW Group under the brand of choice of late revolutionary leader Chairman Mao Zedong, Hongqi.

Silk EV on Monday told Reuters it has signed a memorandum of understanding with FAW to launch a joint venture in the state-owned automaker's hometown, Changchun in northern China, to make cars it has dubbed the S-series.

The plan was first reported on Friday by state media CCTV and Xinhua. FAW confirmed the CCTV report to Reuters.

Silk EV is an automotive solutions provider focused on the China auto market, its website shows.

It launched a company in Shanghai's free trade zone in April 2019 with registered capital of 1 million yuan ($141,281), according to a filing with the official National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.

Hongqi, meaning Red Flag, was launched by FAW in 1958 and is wid…

General Motors said Monday it has suspended its quarterly cash dividend on its common stock and its share buybacks to save cash in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

The company has also expanded its cash options by extending a three-year revolving credit agreement for $3.6 billion to April 2022. Earlier this month GM and GM Financial, its captive finance company, also extended a $2 billion 364-day revolving credit agreement to April 2021. In March, GM pulled $16 billion from existing credit lines, doubling its cash reserve.

Last month Ford Motor Co. suspended its dividend and tapped credit lines to raise additional cash.

GM last paid a quarterly dividend on March 5 of 38 cents a share.

“We continue to enhance our liquidity to help navigate the uncertainties in the global market created by this pandemic,” GM CFO Dhivya Suryadevara said in a statement. “Fortifying our cash position and strengthening our balance sheet …

TOKYO -- Japan's Nissan Motor Co. will slash its Japan auto production plans by 70 percent in May and 43 percent in June, documents seen by Reuters show, as the impact of the coronavirus shakes the troubled automaker.

Manufacturers around the globe are reeling from consumer demand shrunk by the spread of the coronavirus.

Nissan prior to the pandemic had already been grappling with the turmoil that followed the ousting of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.

This month Nissan said that 15,000 employees at its headquarters in Yokohama and main R&D center in nearby Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, would be required to take leave for 16 days from Monday through Japan's "Golden Week" holiday that starts on May 4.

Nissan stopped production at its Tochigi vehicle plant, which produces the Skyline sedan and Infiniti models, for much of this month, and plans to keep it closed for most of May.

Its plant in Kyushu, southern Japan, will operate only…